Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
(for Corel WordPerfect users)
Contents
Overview of Hyperlinking in Federal Court ......................................................................................................... 2
Types of Permissible Hyperlinks .......................................................................................................................... 3
Creating a Hyperlinked Table of Contents........................................................................................................... 4
Marking Table of Contents Entries................................................................................................................................... 4
Defining a Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................ 4
Generating Lists ............................................................................................................................................................... 5
Editing Lists ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Drafting Documents to Include Links to CM/ECF ................................................................................................ 7
Gathering Links for Citations to the Record ..................................................................................................................... 7
Formatting the appearance of the links inserted ............................................................................................................. 9
Linking to CM/ECF Documents .......................................................................................................................... 11
Inserting Links to Documents Previously Filed on CM/ECF ............................................................................................ 11
Adding Links to Attachments to the Document Being Filed ........................................................................................... 12
Automated Links to Legal Citations ................................................................................................................... 16
Access to Linking Software ............................................................................................................................................ 16
Linking Software—Compatibility Information ............................................................................................................... 17
Westlaw InsertLinks ....................................................................................................................................................... 18
Installing West InsertLinks ............................................................................................................................................. 18
Using West InsertLinks ................................................................................................................................................... 18
Shepard’s Links 2008 ...................................................................................................................................................... 19
Installing Shepard’s Links ............................................................................................................................................... 19
Using Shepard’s Links ..................................................................................................................................................... 20
Manually Inserting Hyperlinks ........................................................................................................................... 21
Manually Creating Links to Online Research Resources................................................................................................. 21
Manual Links to Court Websites .................................................................................................................................... 23
Final Editing ....................................................................................................................................................... 26
Removing Links .............................................................................................................................................................. 26
Editing Linked Text ......................................................................................................................................................... 27
Publish to PDF—Retaining the Hyperlinks ......................................................................................................... 28
Conversion to PDF .......................................................................................................................................................... 28
Additional Tips ................................................................................................................................................... 29
Viewing a website location opened from a link in a CM/ECF filing ............................................................................... 29
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Overview of Hyperlinking in Federal Court
In the internet research world, hyperlinks are a standard way of “drilling down” for
more detail or specific information. Just as all web pages contain links to other pages,
cases downloaded from legal research services such as W estlaw or Lexis contain links
to the cases, statutes, articles, or other sources cited within the opinion. The links allow
immediate access by the reader to these referenced materials.
Attorneys can include links to cited law and CM/ECF filings in their briefs filed in
CM/ECF, adding another level of persuasion to their writing. Hyperlinks in briefs and
other court filings provide quick, easy, and pinpoint access to particular sections of a
case, or to specific filings in the court’s record. The attorney can thereby highlight the
precise issue presented, and the specific evidence and controlling or persuasive law the
court should consider.
Hyperlinks in court filings are very beneficial for court chambers. Court
submissions which include links to relevant case law and case filings are easy for
chambers staff to review. The attorneys’ arguments can be immediately verified in the
context of the relevant law. The judge or judicial clerk is able to read the text of the
cited case law on one screen while reading the attorney’s brief on the other. And if a
brief contains links to referenced exhibits, and even to specific pages within those
exhibits, the judge or judicial clerk can access the relevant evidence without having to
navigate through the CM/ECF record. Particularly when dealing with large and complex
cases, links save chambers considerable time and effort. Links make it easy for the
court to verify – and adopt – the positions taken by an advocate.
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Types of Permissible Hyperlinks
Subjecttothecourt’slocalrules, the following types of hyperlinks are typically
allowed in court documents.
Internal Links For example, the Table of Contents located at the
beginning of this Guide.
Links to documents
previously filed on CM/ECF
Links to attachments and
exhibits being filed with your
brief
Links to case and statute For example:
citations
Westlaw,
Lexis,
or court websites.
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Creating a Hyperlinked Table of Contents
A table of contents in a W ordPerfect document can include internal hyperlinks for
navigating the document. The following steps are used to create a Table of Contents in
a W ordPerfect document.
Step 1: Mark all of the items that belong in the list.
Step 2: Insert a page break before the list and add a title or page header.
Step 3: Define the format and position for the list.
Step 4: Generate the list and cross-references.
Step 5: Edit the generated list.
Marking Table of Contents Entries
Follow the steps below to mark entries for a table of contents (TOC).
STEP ACTION
1 On the Tools menu, point to Reference and then Table of
Contents.
Note: The Table of Contents Feature Bar appears.
2 Select the block of text to include in the table of contents.
Note: This is best done using Reveal Codes, being careful with any
formatting codes.
3 Click the Mark button on the Feature Bar to choose the indentation
level you want for the selected text. There are 5 Mark buttons
which correspond to five levels of indentation. The leftmost
position in the table of contents is level 1.
Note: W ordPerfect will mark the selected text with [Mrk Txt ToC]
codes which you can see in Reveal Codes.
Defining a Table of Contents
Follow the steps below to define the position and format for a table of contents.
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STEP ACTION
1 Turn on the Table of Contents Feature Bar (Tools➔Reference➔Table
of Contents)
2 Move the cursor to the point where the table of contents should appear.
Note: To start the table on a new page, press Ctrl+Enter. Press ↑to
move the cursor before the [HPg] code. Enter a title if you'd like one,
such as Table of Contents, and press Enter.
3 Click the Define button on the Feature Bar to open the Define Table of
Contents dialog box.
4 Use the following options to customize your table.
Number of Levels Allows you to choose how many levels to
display in the table of contents, from 1 to 5.
Position Allows you to choose where to place page
numbers in each level.
Styles Allows you to customize the appearance of
the text in each level.
Page Numbering Lets you customize the page numbering
format.
5 Click OK to return to the document window. The message <<Table of
Contents will generate here>> will appear at the cursor position.
6 To ensure proper page numbering, move the cursor to the top of the
first numbered page (the first page that follows the table of contents).
From the Format menu, click Page, then Numbering and click the Set
Value button.
7 Click the Page tab, change Set Page Number to 1, and click OK.
Generating Lists
Once you've marked your lists, generating them is easy. Follow the steps in the
table below to generate the table of contents.
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STEP ACTION
1 Click the Generate button on the Feature Bar. Or from the Tools
menu click Reference, then Generate.
2 If you want, select or clear the following options:
Save Subdocuments: W ordPerfect saves changes to
subdocuments of the master document being generated.
Build Hyperlinks: W ordPerfect generate and saves hyperlinks in
your document.
3 Click OK.
Warning: W ordPerfect does not update the lists automatically when
you change the document. Be sure to regenerate the list after
making changes.
Editing Lists
If you decide to edit a generated list, pay special attention to the codes that
define the list and its contents. You'll typically see codes like these after you
generate a list.
[Def Mark][Gen Txt].....list goes here....[Gen Txt]
Each list begins at the [Def Mark] code that W ordPerfect inserts when you define
the list. The generated list appears between the [Gen Txt] codes. Each time you
generate a list, W ordPerfect will replace all of the text between the sequence of
codes. You should, therefore, keep the following in mind.
• Always place list titles and page headers before the [Def Mark] code, not
after it, or between the [Gen Txt] codes. (Otherwise they will disappear
when you regenerate the list)
• If you edit the generated list only, your changes will be lost when you
regenerate the list. Therefore it is best to edit the references within the
main document and then regenerate the list.
When the entire document is complete, using MS W ord, Save the document as a
PDF or Create PDF in accordance with the instructions in this Guide.
Note: Do not Print to PDF. All active links in your Word document become
inactive in PDFs created using Print to PDF.
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Drafting Documents to Include Links to CM/ECF
If you intend to include CM/ECF links in a document you are creating, use a
consistent citation format that cites the CM/ECF filing number along with the CM/ECF
page number. For example:
1 Download the filings from CM/ECF, and save them in your computer.
Reminder: you can download a document from CM/ECF one time for free
when you receive the notice of electronic filing. Charges apply to each
additional download of the same document.
2 Documents downloaded from CM/ECF will include a header that identifies the
CM/ECF filing number and the page numbers within that filing.
3 When drafting your brief, cite to the CM/ECF filing number and CM/ECF page
number to which you are citing. For example:
Assume you are citing to the following page of evidence.
The citation within the brief could appear as follows:
The Plan included a Trust Agreement. (Filing No. 13-1, at CM/ECF p. 3).
Gathering Links for Citations to the Record
Now that the filing numbers and associated page numbers are in the brief, you
can manually add links to the electronic record.
To obtain the url for the document without incurring a PACER charge:
1 Collect and save on your computer the notice of electronic filing (NEF) for all
filings in the case.
2 When you later need the link for the
document cited,
--retrieve the NEF for that document,
--right-click on the Document Number, and
from the drop-down menu that appears,
Select Copy Shortcut.
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To obtain the url for the document from the PACER docket sheet (PACER
chargeapplies):
STEP ACTION
1 Open the CM/ECF docket sheet and scroll to the cited docket filing.
2 If linking to the main CM/ECF filing,
right-click on the docket filing number,
and Copy shortcut.
If linking to a sub-file within a CM/ECF filing number:
Either:
Click on the docket filing number;
A window will open which lists all sub-
filings for that docket filing number.
Place your cursor over the link for the
document you are citing,
right-click, and from the drop-down
menu that appears, and
select Copy Shortcut.
Or
Right-click on the sub-
filing number in the
docket text and,
select Copy Shortcut.
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Formatting the appearance of the links inserted
Before inserting links into a document, you may choose how those links will
appear in the final document. For example, do you want them to appear:
blueandunderlined,
bold and black,
black and italicized, or
some other appearance?
To select the appearance of the links in your document:
STEP ACTION
1 Open a W ordPerfect document which
includes hyperlinked text.
From Format on the menu bar,
Select Styles.
2 In the Styles box,
scroll to and select Hypertext.
Click Edit.
3 The Styles Editor box
will open.
Double-click on a
Reveal Codes command in the
Contents box; e.g. on
or .
4 The Font Properties
box will open.
Select the desired Color.
Select the desired Appearance.
Click OK.
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STEP ACTION
5 You will return to the Styles
Editor box.
Click OK.
6 You will return to the Styles
box.
If you want to set your
changes as the hyperlink
text format for every
document,
Click on Options, and from
the drop-down that appears,
Select Settings.
7 In the Style Settings box,
Select Default Template.
Click OK.
8 You will return to the Styles box.
Click Close.
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Linking to CM/ECF Documents
Inserting Links to Documents Previously Filed on CM/ECF
To manually add the links you have copied from the docket to the MS W ord
document you are drafting:
STEP ACTION
1 In the brief, use your cursor to select the citation you want to link.
2 From Tools on the menu bar,
select Hyperlink.
3 A Hyperlinks Properties dialog box will appear.
Use the Delete key
from the computer
keyboard to remove
4 Right-click in the
Document/Macro box.
Select Paste.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
Revised on June 6, 2014 Page 11 of 30
STEP ACTION
5 The link to the first page of
the filing will appear.
To link to the filing only, or
to only page 1 of the filing,
click OK.
The link to the citation will
be added in your brief.
6 To link to the specific page number of a CM/ECF filing to which you areciting,
In the address box, scroll to or place your cursor at the end of the link
address.
Add the following text: ?page=<page number> . For example,
To link to page number 3 of a filing, add ?page=3. Click OK and the
link to the page will be added to the citation in the brief.
Note: W hile the document remains in W ordPerfect format, the link will
go only to the first page of the document. But upon conversion to
PDF, the PDF link will go to the specific page you cited.
7 Convert the brief to a PDF following the instructions below.
8 File the PDF version of the document in CM/ECF.
Note: It is not necessary to re-file or re-attach the documents to which
you are linking to if they have been previously filed in CM/ECF.
Adding Links to Attachments to the Document Being Filed
If a document cited in your brief has not previously been filed on CM/ECF, you
may link to the document within your brief only if the document is filed as an
attachment to your brief. Follow the steps below to add active hyperlinks to
documents you will be filing as brief attachments in CM/ECF.
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STEP ACTION
1 Save all the documents you will cite to into a single folder in your
computer. The documents must be in PDF format.
2 While drafting your brief, include the citations to the documents saved
in your computer.
3 In W ordPerfect, select the text to which a link will be added.
4 From the Tools menu, select Hyperlink.
5 A Hyperlinks Properties dialog box will appear.
Click the folder button.
Browse to and select the saved file you want to link.
Click on the file. The name of the file will appear in the File name box.
Click Select.
(Note: The file selected as the link must be in PDF format.)
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STEP ACTION
6 The path to the file will appear in the Document/Macro field.
7 A link to the file will be added to the text. If you hover over the link with
your cursor, you will see the link address.
Add links accordingly to all the citations in your brief.
Note: Specific page links can be added by following the directions in
the previous section. Use the PDF page number, not a Bates number
or footer page number, for the citation.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
Revised on January 31, 2014 Page 14 of 30
STEP ACTION
8 File the brief and evidence as follows:
a Following the normal procedure for filing briefs on
CM/ECF, browse to and select your brief with links as
the main document.
b Browse to and select as an Attachment each PDF file
to which a link was created in your brief.
c Using the drop-down list, select the type of document
attached, and provide a written description of the
document. (Note: From the court’s perspective, the
written description you provide in CM/ECF can
become, automatically, the name of a PDF bookmark in
the downloaded file).
Repeat the foregoing steps until all cited evidence is
filed as an attachment to your brief.
d When all evidence attachments have been added to
the brief, click Next and complete the remaining steps
for filing the brief on CM/ECF. Once filed, the links in
the brief will link directly to the evidence filed of record
with the brief.
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Automated Links to Legal Citations
Links to legal citations can be added manually or, assuming the software is
compatible with your computer and word processing software, by using automated
linking software available through W estlaw or Lexis.
Access to Linking Software
Tool Cost URL
W estlaw InsertLinks Must purchase a W est http://legalsolutions.thomsonre
BriefTools subscription. uters.com/law-
products/solutions/brief-
Estimated cost: $100/month
tools?searchterms=brief+tool
for small firms;
$300 to 500/month for larger
firms (10 licenses)
Shepard’s Links Lexis is currently not selling a http://support.lexisnexis.com/ln
2008 software subscription which will download/record.asp?ArticleID
insert links to documents that =6056
will remain active upon
conversion to PDF. The last Note: The Shepard’s
version of such software was BriefSuite dictionary is getting
created in 2008 and can be old and may not recognize
downloaded from the some of the newer reporters.
Lexis/Nexis website for free. Its accuracy as a linking tool is
inconsistent.
Lexis for Microsoft This Lexis software product will http://www.lexisnexis.com/en-
Office add links for research and us/products/lexis-for-microsoft-
drafting purposes, but those office.page
links are lost upon conversion
to PDF. Lexis is investigating
the issue.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Linking Software—Compatibility Information
The following graph outlines the compatibility of Shepard’s Links 2008, W est
InsertLinks, and Lexis Links for Microsoft Office for inserting links into MS W ord
and W ordPerfect documents with a W indows XP (SP3) 2GB Memory, W indows
Vista (SP2) 4GB Memory, or W indows 7 – 4GB Memory computer.*
Shepard’s Links Lexis for West
2008 Microsoft Office InsertLinks
MS Word 2010 X** X***
MS Word 2007 X** X***
MS Word 2003 X X***
MS Word 2000 X
WordPerfect X6****
WordPerfect X4 – X5 X
WordPerfect X3 X X
WordPerfect 10 – 12 X
* The W est and Lexis linking software programs cannot be used on Apple computers.
Moreover, although Shepard’s Links was not designed to operate on W indows Vista
and W indows 7 (as reflected in the Lexis literature), it is working on these computer
systems.
** Lexis for Microsoft Office is being developed and tested. However, in its current
stage of development, any links added by Lexis for Microsoft Office are being stripped
out upon conversion to PDF. Lexis is investigating this issue.
*** W estlaw product information states InsertLinks is compatible with both 32- and 64-bit
Microsoft W ord. However, while it works well with 32-bit W ord, InsertLinks is not fully
compatible or useful with 64-bit W ord.
**** W est currently has no linking software compatible with W ordPerfect X6. W est
indicates it may develop and release this product during the summer of 2013.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Westlaw InsertLinks
InsertLinks is a W estlaw computer software program which scans Microsoft W ord
or Corel W ordPerfect 1 documents to locate legal citations, and then automatically
inserts hyperlinks to the W estlaw internet address (url) for those citations into the
word processing document.
See attached InsertLink example-W ord
InsertLink example-W ordPerfect
Installing West InsertLinks
InsertLinks is part of the W est BriefTools suite, and a BriefTools
subscription is required in order to use this software.
• The current W est BriefTools product is Version 2.7.2039, which
was updated on December 10, 2012.
• The attached BriefTools Software Download instructions
outlines the system requirements and provides instructions on how
to install W est BriefTools.
Using West InsertLinks
Once InsertLinks software is installed, W estlaw links can be installed
automatically in W ordPerfect documents using the following steps:
STEP ACTION
1 With the W ordPerfect document to which you are adding links
open on your screen:
Select Insert Links from the menu bar.
1
Currently, InsertLinks is not compatible with, and cannot be used for, automatically inserting links into
WordPerfect X6 documents. It does, however, work with prior versions of WordPerfect.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
Revised on January 31, 2014 Page 18 of 30
STEP ACTION
2 The InsertLinks software will begin searching the document
for citations and inserting the appropriate links.
3 The Inserting Links box depicted above will disappear when
the process is complete and all links are installed.
Shepard’s Links 2008
Shepard’s Links is a Lexis computer software program which scans Microsoft
W ord or Corel W ordPerfect 2 documents to locate legal citations, and then
automatically inserts hyperlinks to the Lexis internet address (url) for those
citations into the word processing document.
Reminder: Although free, Shepard’s links has not been updated since 2008 and
provides inconsistent auto-linking results.
Installing Shepard’s Links
Shepards Links is part of the Shepard’s BriefSuite.
• Shepard’s BriefSuite has not been updated since 2008.
• The attached BriefSuite software download instructions
provides a step-by-step description on how to install Shepard’s
BriefSuite.
2
See compatibility graph above.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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Using Shepard’s Links
Once Shepard’s Links software is installed, Lexis links can be installed
automatically in W ordPerfect documents using the following steps:
STEP ACTION
1 Click on the Shepard’s Link button, circled in the screenshot
below
2 Click the checkbox (optional) and click OK.
3 Click Cancel. Logging in is optional.
4 Click OK.
5 The new document with the hyperlinks opens in a new tab.
Save the document as a PDF as described in these
instructions.
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Manually Inserting Hyperlinks
As previously described, hyperlinks to documents filed on CM/ECF can be
manually added to a document. It is also possible to manually create links to
documents available through commercial legal websites (e.g., Lexis or W estlaw), and
those posted on the court’s website (Local Rules).
Manually adding links can be labor intensive if the document is long, but the
process is not difficult. And even if you are primarily using software to add links to a
document, understanding the underlying mechanics of hyperlinking within W ordPerfect
and W ord documents is helpful and may be necessary if, for example, you need to
make corrections to the automatically created links.
Manually Creating Links to Online Research Resources
The process for manually adding links to W estlaw, Lexis, Google Scholar, or any
other online research resource (LoisLaw, FastCase, etc.,) is the same.
STEP ACTION
1 In the brief, use your cursor to select the citation from which you want
to link.
2 Sign into the legal research website and open the cited document.
Select the url address for the document.
Right-click, and Copy the address. See e.g.,
OR
Note: Check your local rules for any authority or limitations on the
legal research websites to which links are permitted.
Note: Some attorneys have reported difficulty using this method to
insert links to Lexis research. An alternative option is described in
Appendix A.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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STEP ACTION
3 a From Tools on the menu bar,
select Hyperlink.
b A Hyperlinks
Properties dialog box
will appear.
Use the Delete key from
the computer keyboard
to remove
c Right-click in the
Document/Macro box.
Select Paste.
d Click OK.
e The link to the citation will be added in your brief.
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Manual Links to Court Websites
You may wish to cite to published opinions on a court’s website, or to the court’s
local rules. To do so:
STEP ACTION
1 In your brief, select the text to be linked.
2 Locate and copy the url address for the citation. See e.g.,
OR
3 Referring to the previous section, “Manually Creating Links to
Online Research Resources,” complete Step 3.
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Create Bookmarks in a PDF
A bookmark is a type of link within Acrobat PDF documents. Each bookmark
goes to a different view or page in the document. They can mark places in a
document for easy access later. Follow the steps in the table below to add
bookmarks to your PDF files.
Step Screen
1. Click the Bookmark tab on the left
side of the window to open the
bookmarks panel.
2. Navigate to the page where you want
the bookmark.
In the Bookmarks pane, click the New
Bookmark icon.
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3. A new bookmark will appear as
Type a name for the bookmark.
Note: If you highlight text on the page
before clicking the New Bookmark
button, the selected text will
automatically become the name of the
bookmark.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 until all bookmarks
are placed.
To ensure that the bookmarks are
displayed when the document is
opened, we need to set the view
property.
5. From the File menu, choose
Properties.
6. Click on the Initial View tab.
7. From the Navigation tab list, choose
Bookmarks Panel and Page or
Attachments Panel and Page depending
on your situation.
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Final Editing
Removing Links
To remove a specific hyperlink in a W ordPerfect document:
Press Alt + 3 to open Reveal Codes.
Place your cursor in front of the
Hyperlink coding for the link to be
removed.
Press the Delete key.
To remove all hyperlinks in a W ordPerfect document:
Press Alt + 3 to open Reveal Codes.
Place your cursor at the beginning of
the text in the Reveal Codes box.
Type Ctrl + F.
A Find and Replace dialogue box will
open.
Select Match, then Codes.
A Codes box will appear.
In Find codes, scroll and select
Hyperlink Begin.
Click Insert.
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[HyperLink Begin] will appear in the
Find: box.
Replace with <Nothing> and select
Replace All.
A display will open stating how many
hyperlinks were replaced with
“nothing.”
Click OK.
Editing Linked Text
To make additions to or change hyperlinked text in a W ordPerfect document:
1. Place your cursor at the end of the linked text.
2. Use the back arrow on your keyboard to move your cursor into the
linked text to the position where the text must me added or
changed, and
3. Type in your changes.
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Publish to PDF—Retaining the Hyperlinks
All documents filed in CM/ECF are PDFs, so all documents created for filing must
be converted to a PDF document. To include hyperlinks in your filed documents, place
all the links into the document using your word processing system before converting the
document to a PDF format.
Once all links are in the document, use your word processing software to save or
convert your briefs, or other documents you have created for filing, in a PDF format.
Note: Do NOT use Print to PDF to create a PDF of a brief with hyperlinks–the
hyperlinks will be lost. Do NOT print the document and scan it to PDF format.
Conversion to PDF
To save (“publish”) a W ordPerfect document in PDF format:
STEP ACTION
1 Select File –>
Publish To –>
Publish to PDF.
Or
Type Alt + P.
2 The Publish to PDF dialog box will
open.
Browse to the file location for
saving the file.
Name the file.
Click Save.
A PDF will be created with active
links.
3 After the document is published to PDF, you may filed it on CM/ECF
using typical filing processes. W ith the exception of filing a document
with links to its own attachment (discussed previously), no special
steps are needed for filing a hyperlinked document on CM/ECF.
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Additional Tips
Viewing a website location opened from a link in a CM/ECF filing:
When opening a PDF document filed on CM/ECF, make sure you are opening
PDFs in your PDF software and not within the W eb browser itself. Opening the
CM/ECF documents in the web browser will result in unnecessary toggling
between the document opened on CM/ECF and any website locations opened
from links within that CM/ECF document, and will make it difficult or impossible to
display the CM/ECF document on one screen and the website location on
another.
For those who use Adobe Acrobat, this setting adjustment is made as follows:
With an Adobe Acrobat
document open,
Click Edit,
then Preferences.
From the Categories,
scroll and select Internet.
Make sure Display PDF in
browser is not selected.
Click OK.
After you change this setting, you will need to close and reopen your W eb
browser before opening CM/ECF filings.
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
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This manual was based on the instructional guide produced by
Magistrate Judge Cheryl Zwart of the District Court of Nebraska.
Please share your comments, questions, corrections, and
experiences with hyperlinking or using this Guide by contacting:
IT Department
US District Court for the Central District of California
(213) 894-6133
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts
Revised on June 4, 2014 Page 30 of 30
