ndLink

ndLink is used to link your firm's time and billing (TAB) software to NetDocuments to more easily update your client/matter list.

• Installing NDLink on a 64-bit Operating System

Contact your NetDocuments Administrator or NetDocuments Support for more information. 

Download ndLink (.zip)

Below you will find the administrator setup guide for ndLink: 

ndLink Installation and Setup Guide (.docx)

ndLink can connect to most ODBC compliant data sources (access databases, SQL Server, etc.)

Common systems we encounter include:

• Aderant
• Elite (local only, not hosted)
• Juris
• Omega
• Coyote
• Rippe Kingston Webtime
• PerfectLaw
• ProLaw
• RainMaker
• Tabs3 (requires a faircom driver and configuration that Tabs can provide)
• Time Matters (requires customization based on the specific configuration) 

NOTE: Older versions of ndLink2 do not support federated login. Multiple custom attributes with the same name is not supported in any version of ndLink2. 

The most recent version, dated 6/25/2020 will work with a Federated Identity account. If you would like to federate the account used with Ndlink2, please download and maintain the most recent version available. 

Please review all of the below instructions before getting started.

1) When on a 64-bit Windows operating system you need to make sure that you run the 32-bit version of the ODBC managing utility. Both versions are named Odbcad32.exe. Otherwise the ndLink program will not be able to see the existing system DSN values that you set up. Learn more

The 32-bit version is located in the C:\Windows\SysWoW64 folder.

The 64-bit version is located in the C:\Windows\System32 folder.

2) Decide if you are going to run ndLink as a local application or as a ‘Windows Service’.

3) Make sure that the running machine has .NET Framework 4.6.1+ installed.

4) Determine the name, location, and connecting credentials that will be needed in order to connect to the desired user source database table[s].

5) Determine which NetDocuments account you will be connecting to, including which repository you will be uploading the lookup table data to. You will need a NetDocuments account username and password.

6) Decide how many NetDocuments tables you want to sync to. You may sync several different NetDocuments lookup tables using ndLink.

7) You will need to be able to supply the SQL statement that will pull the data from your billing software database. You may need to coordinate with your billing software support to create the SQL statement. NetDocuments Support is occasionally able to provide a sample statement to assist with the creation, but the NetDocuments customer is ultimately responsible for providing the complete SQL statement.

8) See item #1 above if running on a 64-bit machine. Otherwise using the windows ‘Administrative Tools’ utility select ‘Data Sources (ODBC)’ and create one or more ODBC (DSN) connections to the necessary source database(s).

9) If you will be running as a local application then you may use either a System DSN or a User DSN.

10) If you will be running as a ‘Windows Service’ then install the ‘ndLink2Service’ service into the windows service manager by clicking on the included ‘Setup’ program.

11) Install and run the ndLink program. This program is necessary whether you run as a local application or as a ‘Windows Service’. The necessary data folders and files will be created in the same folder where you install the ndLink program. The ndLink2Service program (if you are running as a Windows Service) will read its settings and data from the same install directory location.

12) After running ndLink click on the ‘Help’ button and read the included help documentation to determine how to establish and run the syncing activities. The ndLink program allows you to set all the necessary parameters and settings to sync up to three NetDocuments lookup tables.

13) For firewall purposes the NetDocuments IP addresses to allow through are:

ndLink will use port 443 by default. 

When Implementing ndLink...