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User Tools and Preferences in LeanLaw

How to use LeanLaw's personal tools and preferences — including creating and using snippets and short codes for faster time entry, display settings, and the Tools tab in My Settings.

LeanLaw's My Settings area includes tools that help individual users work more efficiently — most notably snippets and short codes for faster time entry descriptions, and the Tools tab for installing companion apps like Desktop Tracker.

 

Snippets: Pre-Written Description Templates

Snippets are pre-written text blocks that you can insert into time entry, expense, and fixed fee descriptions with a single click. They save typing time for commonly used phrases and ensure consistent description language across the firm.

📋 Snippets are firm-wide: Snippets are shared by all users in your firm — not personal. Any snippet you create is available to every user, and any user with appropriate permissions can create snippets. Create snippets for common activities your whole team uses.

 

Creating a Snippet

  1. Click the gear icon ⚙️ → Settings.
  2. Under Team Settings, click Snippets and Short Codes.
  3. Add the text for the Snippet under Add New Snippet
  4. Click Save Settings

 

Using a Snippet

When creating or editing a time entry, expense, or fixed fee:

  1. Click in the Description field.
  2. Click the Snippets dropdown that appears near the field.
  3. Select the snippet you want to use. LeanLaw pastes the snippet text into the description field automatically.
  4. Edit the pasted text if needed before saving.

 

Short Codes: Type-to-Expand Shortcuts

Short codes are abbreviations linked to snippets. Instead of opening the dropdown and selecting a snippet, you type the short code directly in a description field and press Space — LeanLaw replaces it with the full snippet text automatically.

 

Creating a Short Code

Short codes are assigned when creating or editing a snippet:

  1. Go to Settings → Snippets and Short Codes.
  2. Open or create a snippet.
  3. In the Short Code field, enter your abbreviation (e.g., 'cc' for 'Case conference with').

 

💡 Short code tips:

  • Keep short codes brief: 2–4 characters work best — long enough to be unique, short enough to type faster than the full text.
  • Avoid common words: Short codes trigger on any match followed by a space. A short code like 'a' would trigger on every 'a ' typed. Use uncommon letter combinations.
  • Not case-sensitive: 'CC' and 'cc' both trigger the same short code.
  • Supported fields: Short codes work in the description field of time entries, expenses, and fixed fees.

 

Using a Short Code

In any description field in LeanLaw:

  1. Type your short code (e.g., 'cc').
  2. Press the Space bar — without clicking anything else first.
  3. LeanLaw immediately replaces 'cc ' with the full snippet text.

📋 Note: Short codes only trigger when you press Space immediately after the code with no other characters typed or clicked in between. If the short code doesn't expand, check that you haven't moved the cursor or clicked elsewhere after typing it.

 

The Tools Tab (My Settings)

In My Settings → Tools, you'll find:

  • Desktop Tracker install: A link to install LeanLaw's Desktop Tracker application on your Windows or Mac computer.
  • Mobile app links: Links to download the LeanLaw mobile app for iOS and Android from their respective app stores.