Below are links to working drafts of a “how to” guide to inserting hyperlinks into documents for filing in the federal court’s CM/ECF electronic filing system for Microsoft Word users and Corel WordPerfect users. This guide is continuously being updated. Your thoughts are welcome.
Guide to Hyperlinking
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts – Word Users
Attorney Guide to Hyperlinking in the Federal Courts for WordPerfect Users
Please let us know if you have any comments on this guide. We welcome input and suggestions to improve the ease of hyperlinking by attorneys.
Using LinkBuilder
LinkBuilder will search a Microsoft Word document for citations to CM/ECF filings and insert a hyperlink to the corresponding file in the CM/ECF system. LinkBuilder can recognize and link to attachments in the record, as well as page-specific references, to create pinpoint access to specific information in the case. Using LinkBuilder will greatly aid the court by creating easy access to documents relevant to the brief being filed. The judge and the law clerk working on the document will not have to search CM/ECF for the proper document but will be able to call it up with the click of a mouse. Judge and Chambers Staff may want to use LinkBuilder in orders to show attorneys how useful these links can be.
A log-in and password for either CM/ECF or PACER is required as well as internet access. LinkBuilder now is compatible with Bankruptcy CM/ECF. LinkBuilder is tested and known to work with CM/ECF 5.1.1 and higher and in Word 2010 and Word 2013. (It does not work on the Mac version of Word.) For best results, LinkBuilder requires a component report to be installed in the court’s CM/ECF system. This report provides hyperlink information to the LinkBuilder program for ease in creating links and without PACER charges being incurred by the user. Court’s can download the companion report LinkBuilder will run from a Docket Sheet if the companion report is not available.
Lawyers – Getting Started with LinkBuilder
- Download and install the LinkBuilder Word add-in on computers of staff who wish to generate links:
http://www.ned.uscourts.gov/internetDocs/cmecf/LinkBuilderforMSWord.pdf - Inform your attorneys and staff of the availability of the LinkBuilder tool and of those in the office who have the tool.
You got me excited until I saw that LinkBuilder is not available for the Mac. I can’t afford to have a Windows computer, as the support costs are too high, so I’ll have to keep doing hyperlinks manually. I’ve been doing that for years, and have been thanked by law clerks (but not judges). It just seems considerate to me. Why would a lawyer not want to make a judge’s job easier?
Maybe I need to create a Mac program to do the hyperlinks.
We are sorry to report that we could not make it work with the Mac. I use one at home so I appreciate your interest. I also agree that lawyers ought to want to make a judge’s job easier. I have never understood why it hasn’t caught on.
Tim O’Brien