For a lost or missing client/matter (and saved forms), try the following in this order:
1.) Unfortunately, we do not have a search option in the Client Information tab.
a.) However, you can click the “Expand All” icon on the menu bar in the Essential Forms program:
"Expand All" explodes into view your entire database revealing all the saved forms, clients and matters. This may take some time depending how extensive the client list.
That may help to locate the missing client/matter a little better. Maybe, the matter (and saved forms) ended up under the wrong client.
b.) Or, possibly the matter is under another client name in the case the client was entered last name first or first name first.
c.) This is a bit of a stretch, but is it possible the user is not pointing at the correct data folder in the program? Confirm the data path by clicking Configure>Data Directory. Is that path in the window the correct path?
Network Administrators- More Advanced
The other option, if you might have created the client/matter that could be captured in a backup or before the most recent Judicial Council Update was run (since we do store backups in the Release Backups folder) it could be restored to a copy of the data folder, configure to that data folder temporarily and export the client/matter out, then switch back to the current data folder and import the client/matter back in.
I’ll include those instructions below.
Restoring A Lost or Deleted Client/Matter
Get everyone out of the Essential Forms program, if they share the data folder. Close ALL the Essential Forms Updaters in the system tray. Right-click "Exit" and "Yes" you're sure you want to close the Updater.
If you don’t have a recent backup:
Make a copy of the current Essential Forms data folder. If you're not sure where that resides open Essential Forms, click Configure>Data Directory that's the path. Close the program and the red bowtie again.
Go under File Explorer root-down to the Data folder copy it, then paste it either next to the current data folder or someplace else and rename it to set it apart. Then, launch Eforms and click Configure>Data Directory and “browse” to that backup “Data” (copy) folder. Restore the most recent backup to that Data folder copy. Which if you don’t have your own, you can in the Eforms program, click File>Restore Data From Backup and click “browse” now root-down in that Data folder you will see a “Release Backups” folder open that folder and you should see a
series of numbered 6 month backups “……2201, 2209, 2301…” (example, “2301” would be January 2023). Restore the most recent backup.
Then, right-click on the “matter” and click Export Matter(s). It will bring up a “Transfer” folder by default, click “save”. Repeat the process for other missing client/matters.
Then, when you have exported all the deleted client/matters, click Configure>Data Directory and “Browse” back to the current Data folder. Then you can click File>Import Matter(s) and you can block select then by holding down the <shift> key. Then, click “open” in that Import Data window.
**Note: If the client name and the matter name of a matter being imported is an exact match for a client and matter already in the target data set, you'll see a dialog asking if you want to overwrite that matter. You can work around this by taking note of the client and matter names and saying "no" (don't overwrite). Then, you can find that client on the list, click on the plus sign, right-click on the matter name, and selecting "rename". You can just add a "1" or an asterisk or something to the matter name to slightly change it. Then re-import the matter that prompted the confirmation message. You can drag and drop forms from one matter to the other and then delete the superfluous matter.
After that you can delete the data (copy) folder.