Customizable Solutions

It's your intranet. Customization is key. You've got your own ideas about layout, navigation, usability, and color, and you want to mix content from a variety of sources.

We understand.

You'll see that there is virtually no limit to the level of customization you can apply to our Integration Solutions. We've been thinking about your law firm intranet every step of the way. For specific instructions about customizing each product, see the relevant sections below:

Company Research Pages  |  Practice Area Pages  |  Newslink  |  IntraClip  |  Find&Print   Build a Custom Link or Search Box

The Basics

For the most part, Westlaw Integration Solutions components are sets of well-organized links to valuable, subject-specific (or in the case of Newslink, publication-specific) information or custom research templates. All of these links can be made to point to a frameless, stand-alone version of these subject-specific information pages or research templates. What this means is that you can download any or all of these links and then use them on your site any way you like. These links are usually used in law firm intranets in one of two ways, with frames or without frames.

In framed presentations, the downloaded links are often put in a left frame, and the content is presented in a right frame. Without frames, the links simply open the content in a new browser window (or refresh the current browser window). The beauty of this is that you now have complete control. With the Integration Solutions links you download, you can mix links to free Web sites or other vendor content. You can rename the links and choose a font, size, and color that matches the rest of your intranet. You can use the links in an expanding/collapsing table of contents in a left frame, or in a drop-down box in a top frame, or in a simple tabular display in the center of a no-frames page.  It's all up to you.
 

Build a Link or Search Box for Your Intranet for a Westlaw Database or Document

You can further customize your pages by building a link or a search box for almost any Westlaw database or document. Want to add a search box for the Chicago Tribune on your current awareness page, or add a link to a breaking news story about one of your clients? No problem. Simply use our wizards to make any sort of link or search box you'd like.
 

Style Sheets

The problem with simply framing our content in your intranet is that you are stuck with our display. And while our display is generic and looks good in most intranets as-is, we know that you may want to change the font, text size, or color to match the rest of your intranet. You can now do precisely that by appending the location of a style sheet on your intranet to the URL of our Integration Solutions links as follows:

http://integrationsolutionsURL&style=URLofStyleSheetOnYourIntranet

For help with style sheets, please contact us at west.integration@thomson.com.
 

Custom Images

We've seen intranets where librarians or other content managers mark links with indicators of quality, cost, source, or asterisks for footnotes. That's easy to do when the content resides on your intranet, but how can you do it with framed content from another source? Again, we've given you the ability to make our content more closely match the look and feel of your intranet. If you'd like to mark the links on one of our content pages as coming from Westlaw, simply append the following parameter to the URL of our Integration Solutions links as follows:

http://integrationsolutionsURL&img=west

Or, if you would like to use your own image, simply append the location of an image on your intranet to the URL of our Integration Solutions links as follows:

http://integrationsolutionsURL&img=URLofImageOnYourIntranet

For help with custom images, please contact us at west.integration@thomson.com.
 

Transparent Authentication

If you don't want your intranet users to be bothered with typing in a Westlaw password and Client ID every time they access some current awareness material or other Westlaw Integration Solutions content, you can set up your links to bypass this. We can also help you set up your links to bypass the Westlaw Integration Solutions registration prompts.

Currently, the most common method we use for doing this is to provide you with a sponsor parameter that is tied to your IP address range or an encryption process. We will need to set up this sponsor for you. Once we do, you can simply append it to your links as follows:

http://integrationsolutionsURL&sp=YourSponsorParameter

Another method of bypassing the Westlaw password screen is to pass the user's Westlaw password and Client ID as parameters on the URL. For this, however, we will need to install an encryption component.

For help with transparent authentication, please contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative, or e-mail us at west.integration@thomson.com.
 

Customize Company Research Pages

Customizing Company Research Pages essentially involves using our download utility to download each company-related link that you want, renaming them or adding sponsors or targets as necessary. Once you've got the links you want, simply put them in your intranet wherever you want -- in a frame, drop-down box, etc. Here are the steps:

1.   Download the links for the companies you want. You will find a download utility at the bottom of the left link section on each Company Research Page, which reads, "download these links for your intranet."

2.   When using the utility, you may enter a sponsor or target for most links, though this is optional. If you are going to target the content in a right frame called "rtframe," then you can fill in the target field with "rtframe" (without the quotes), and the utility will add all of your targets for you. You can choose to target links in a new window if you wish, as well. If you do not already have a sponsor parameter, but you would like to transparently authenticate specific links (or all links), simply contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative or e-mail us at: west.integration@thomson.com

3.   Once you've downloaded the links, simply copy and paste them into your intranet pages any way you like.

4.   If you would like to then change the look and feel of the content pages to match the look and feel of your intranet, or use custom image markers, simply add parameters to your links that specify your style sheet or custom image as described in the style sheet and custom image sections above.

Customize Practice Area Pages

Customizing Practice Area Pages essentially involves copying the links that you want from the left frame of each Practice Area Page. Unfortunately, we do not yet have a utility that you can use for downloading these links that is similar to the utilities available for Company Research Pages or Newslink. For now, you can download these links by copying them from the frame source code. You may rename the links or add sponsors or targets as necessary. Once you've got the links you want, simply put them in your intranet wherever you want -- in a frame, drop-down box, etc. Here are the steps:

1.   Download the links you want from each Practice Area Page. To do this, right-click inside the left frame for each Practice Area Page and choose "View Source" (IE) or "View Frame Source" (Netscape), then copy the links you want.

2.   Add targets or sponsors to the links as desired. If you do not already have a sponsor parameter, but you would like to transparently authenticate specific links (or all links), simply contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative or e-mail us at: west.integration@thomson.com.

3.   If you would like to then change the look and feel of the content pages to match the look and feel of your site, or use custom image markers, simply add parameters to your links that specify your style sheet or custom image as described in the style sheet and custom image sections above.

Customize Newslink

Customizing Newslink essentially involves using our download utility to download each publication or jurisdiction-related link that you want, renaming them or adding sponsors or targets as necessary. Once you've got the links you want, simply put them in your intranet wherever you want -- in a frame, drop-down box, etc. Here are the steps:

1.   Download the links for the publications or jurisdictions that you want. You will find a download utility at the bottom of the left link section on the main Newslink page, which reads, "download these links for your intranet."

2.   When using the utility, you may enter a style sheet or custom image that applies to every link (see the style sheet and custom image sections above), or a sponsor or target that may be applied to individual links, though this is optional. If you are going to target the content in a right frame called "rtframe," then you can fill in the target field with "rtframe" (without the quotes), and the utility will add all of your targets for you. You can choose to target links in a new window if you wish, as well. If you do not already have a sponsor parameter, but you would like to transparently authenticate specific links (or all links), simply contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative or e-mail us at: west.integration@thomson.com.

3.   Once you've downloaded the links, simply copy and paste them into your intranet pages any way you like.

Customize IntraClip

IntraClip is customized on a link-by-link basis. You can access the frameless, stand-alone version of each IntraClip results page by first clicking on the name of the clip on the main IntraClip page (once you have set up some clips), and then clicking on the "Full Screen" link near the top right portion of the page. Once you have done that, simply copy the URL that you see in the address field of your browser (location field for Netscape users). Once you have that URL, you may use it in your intranet any way you like. As with other Integration Solutions links, you may add a sponsor, target, Client ID, style sheet, or custom image. See the style sheet and custom image sections above. If you do not already have a sponsor parameter, but you would like to transparently authenticate specific links (or all links), simply contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative or e-mail us at: west.integration@thomson.com.

Customize Find&Print

The main Find&Print page is at http://findprint.westlaw.com. Many law firms simply link to this page or frame this page on their intranets. However, if you would like to customize this page to match the look and feel of your intranet, provide for fewer boxes or options, add a sponsor (transparently authenticate) or Client ID, etc. you may do so by accessing the WestFind&Print generator. If you do not already have a sponsor parameter, but you would like to transparently authenticate a Find&Print form (or anything else), simply contact your local Westlaw Technical Representative or e-mail us at: west.integration@thomson.com.