Webinars and Resources

Please click on the RSVP link for the webinar you're interested in. Once you RSVP, an email is sent confirming your acceptance, a link to the session and a calendar invite. If you are not available for the next scheduled session, you can sign up for a later session or watch previously recorded webinars from the Archive section below. Upcoming Webina...

Tandem Account Overview

An AppColl Tandem account is an effective and secure way for IP firms using AppColl PM Plus to provide clients with a controlled copy of their own IP portfolio information. A Tandem account, available at no cost to AppColl PM Plus subscribers, provides a capable set of features that allows a client corporation to view and generate reports based on d...

How to Sponsor AppColl to Retrieve Your Patent Center Data

This FAQ  answers any questions you may have on sponsoring AppColl. Here are the steps: Sponsor AppColl to access your Patent Center account. Sponsoring email is myuspto@appcoll.com. The USPTO will email a confirmation to AppColl and AppColl adds your sponsorship to the account(s) associated with the login. Select the registration number in the AppC...

Manage Data Synced to PM Pro/Plus or Tandem Accounts

Please click here for a Tandem Account Overview. Please click here for instructions on setting up a corporate Tandem account and the initial data sync. Once a law firm's AppColl PM Plus account is connected to another PM Plus, PM Pro or corporate Tandem account, there are different options for controlling what data is synced. By default, the data be...

New Users Start Here

The following list of articles and videos address the most common topics and questions that arise in your first few weeks with AppColl. We also recommend attending a  live New User webinar  hosted every Tuesday. Additionally we have a list of  recently archived webinar topics  covering many aspects of AppColl. How to Set Up Your Account AppColl Term...

AppColl PM Plus Features Overview

This article covers basic information on each AppColl PM Plus feature, which includes: Automatic download of documents and XML data from Patent Center QuickBooks™ Online Integration  PM Invent disclosure collection infrastructure Conflict Checking Automated Email Communication Handling Advanced Graphical Reporting Trust Account Reports Email Convers...

Menu Icons

AppColl's top-right menu is user-friendly and groups related links under icons.   Details about each icon and its contained items are as follows:   User Options     Your Profile: Manage your contact information, change your password, or set your login page. Switch Accounts: Log out from the current account and log in to a different account that you ...

Simultaneous Use of Multiple Tabs and Windows

You may find it beneficial to have multiple tabs open for multiple matters, a matter and a billing item, a billing item and an invoice, etc. AppColl supports having multiple pages open at the same time. Simply right-click on a module button or a column heading, then click "Open Link in New Tab," or "Open Link in New Window". You will then easily be ...

User Password Settings for Account

AppColl provides the ability to manage your account's user passwords, such as the syntax, rotating passwords and screen timeouts.   Note : only account administrators can change these settings. To change the settings, click the Settings link in the upper-right corner. Locate the Login Settings section, as shown below. Use the "Password must contain ...

Filter Your Data with Database Queries

Overview For some of the AppColl modules, you can create filters by using “programming language” database queries to select records from within that module. These queries use Boolean expressions that use the column headings from the particular module. If you are comfortable writing queries in this way, you can quickly create complex filters and repo...

Session Navigation History

AppColl stores your session's browsing history, which allows you to return to any previous point in your session with a single click. In the upper-left corner of your screen is a small blue downward-facing arrow. Click the arrow to display a popup of your browsing history. Click any of the rows in the popup window to jump to that page.  The blue arr...

Remove a Client from AppColl

To remove a client from AppColl, everything associated with the client (billing items, invoices, matters, tasks) must be removed first. This is a safety measure to prevent accidental deletion of a client. The below series of steps must be completed in the order shown. For example, inventors can not be deleted until their associated matters are remov...

Specify Confidentiality Text

Account Administrators can create text to appear at the bottom of all PDFs of generated reports and Invention Disclosure Forms to designate the forms as Confidential.  In any module, click the Settings link in far upper-right corner. Scroll down the Settings page to the Confidentiality Text section and enter "Confidential" or other text into the tex...

Set Your Login Page

AppColl provides the ability to specify which module will be opened after you login. By default the Tasks module will be opened. You can specify another module or have AppColl return to the module you were in when you logged out. Click on the 'Your Profile' link in the upper right to change your login page....

Recover Deleted Information

To recover deleted information, click the "Trash" link in the upper right corner of the window. Locate the item you deleted and click on the check box next to it in the left column, then click the Undelete button in the left margin. If you accidentally permanently deleted an item from the Trash window, please contact AppColl support  as soon as poss...

Change Your Password or User Name

If you want to change your password, follow these steps:    Click on the "Your Profile" link in the upper-right corner of any page.  Click the Change Password button in the left column. Complete password text boxes. Your passwords must be at least 5 characters long.  Click the Save button. If you want to change your user name (login), contact AppCol...

Search and Filter Information

AppColl allows filtering for specific information you wish to see, in any of the seven modules. In the Change View section in the left column, click the Add Filters button.     This will produce a popup window, where you can select filters, as shown below.       The top row lists any optionally preset filters (in this case, all open tasks). To filte...

Verify that Task-Specific Email Reminders are Being Sent to Users

If you are not sure whether a user is receiving task-specific email reminders, try the following: 1. Verify that emails are being sent by reviewing the Account Activity report. In the Reports module, select an activity report from the Report dropdown menu at the top of the window, such as "Account Activity - All." If emails are being sent, their ent...

Track System Changes and the Activity Log

AppColl tracks changes made to any of your information. To review what changes have been made, who made them, and when they were made, go to the Reports module and select one of the Account Activity reports from the Report dropdown list in the upper center of the window. To narrow the information in the report, use the Add Filter button in the Chang...

Delete Information from AppColl

You can delete items from the various modules in AppColl, as shown below. Certain items, such as contacts, cannot be deleted if they are used by other modules in the system. Go to the module that contains the information. On the main page of the module, locate the information you want to delete and check the checkbox in the left column of the row.  ...

In-place Editing

The in-place edit feature in AppColl allows you to quickly update fields in the Tasks, Matters, Billing and Contact modules directly from the main table. With this feature you can easily make changes to records without having to open the record. Additionally, you can in-place edit tasks from within a matter details page. To perform an in-place edit,...

Data Backups and Archives (Exporting your Data)

You can back up all of your data in AppColl with just a few mouse clicks.  Backing up your AppColl Database Backups are available for Tasks, Task Types, Matters, Prior Art, Billing, and Contacts. Within the desired module, follow the steps below.        1) Click the Excel icon in the upper-right corner of the screen.   2) In the popup window, select...

Frequently Used Terms (Terminology)

AppColl sometime uses terminology that may not be the same as you are used to. Below is a list of important terms and how they are defined in AppColl.   Affiliated A person is Affiliated with a matter if they are listed as the Matter Partner, Matter Attorney, Matter Contributor or Matter Paralegal. AppColl can generate reports based on matter affili...

Change the Date and Time Format

The date and time format displayed by AppColl can be set for the entire account or on a per-user basis. Please note this can only be done by an Account Administrator. AppColl supports dates in the form year-month-day, day-month-year and month-day-year. The month and day can be spelled out if desired. Times can be displayed in 12- or 24-hour formats....

Bulk Edit Command

The Bulk Edit command, available in the Tasks, Matters, Billing and Contacts modules, allows you to set a single field in multiple records to the same specified value all at once. To execute a bulk edit command, select all of the records you wish to modify and click on the Bulk Edit button. Important note:  The bulk edit command allows a large numbe...

Being cc'd on AppColl Generated Emails Sent to Someone Else

To copy someone for all emails sent to a particular person, follow these steps: Go to the Contacts module and find the contact whose email you want to have copied. Click on the contact to open the Contact record. Add the email address in the "Email Cc" text field. If desired, you can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas. For example: “...

How to Improve Performance

There are two components to the performance you see with AppColl. One is the amount of time AppColl takes to generate the page you see. The second is the time it takes for the page to be sent from AppColl’s servers to your computer. At the bottom of each page in AppColl are two numbers, one designated with "A" and one designated with "N", as shown i...

Add a Company Logo to Invoices

You can include your logo in the upper left corner of each page in the invoice PDF. The image size on the page is 1.5” wide by 0.75” tall and your image size should be least 450 x 225 pixels. AppColl will automatically scale the image to fit on the page, so images with larger pixel dimensions are acceptable. Images with aspect ratios close to 1.5 by...

Activate the AppColl PM Plus Trial

The following article discusses the steps for activating your AppColl PM Plus 30-day trial. Please note: the trial can only be enabled by an account administrator. Click here (PM Plus Features) to read more about these features. For account administrators. click the "Manage Account" link in the upper right corner of any page. You should see the foll...

Save Your Current Table View

AppColl has default filters and column settings that decrease the amount of information shown in each module. To change the filters or columns, follow the steps in the article,  Searching and Filtering for Information . AppColl remembers your new settings, even if you log out, so they are still intact when you return to a module. 1. To return to the...

Search for Matters and Contacts

AppColl has a convenient way to search for matters and contacts that is available from any page in AppColl. Click on the search box at the top of every page and start typing. When you enter one or more characters into the search box, AppColl searches for matters and contacts using the following database fields (in a case insensitive manner). AppColl...

Export Information from AppColl

You can export information from a module into an Excel spreadsheet with just a couple of clicks. (This feature is not available in the Files module.) (optional) Change the information shown in the table by selecting a filter as shown here or adding and deleting columns as show here . Click on the Excel icon in the upper-right corner of the window. T...

Change Columns and Column Ordering in a Table

You can add or remove columns (data fields) from most of the main tables in AppColl.  1.         Click on the Columns link in the upper-right corner of the main page in any module (except the Prior Art module). 2.         In the pop-up window, in the Available Columns box on the left, click any column heading you would like to add to the table. Clic...

Show Item Activity History

For most item details pages, there is a "Show History/Discussion" link in the upper right corner. Clicking the link opens a vertical pane on the right side of the screen showing all the history for that specific item.  This history contains the same information available in the Account Activity reports in the Reports module, but filtered for this sp...

Resend Task-Specific Email Reminders or Regenerating Task Notifications (Deprecated)

This feature has been deprecated. Please use Scheduled Task Reports. To resend a task reminder, go to the Contacts module, select one or more task owners from the contacts list, and click on the Resend Reminders button.  To regenerate a task notification, go to the Tasks module, select one or more tasks, and click on the Resend Notifications button....

Getting Started Guide (Where do I begin?)

AppColl has a downloadable "Getting Started Guide" (attached) that takes you through the basic steps to get your account setup. The guide covers the following topics: Getting Help Terminology Basic Account Setup Other Things You should Know Attachments AppCollGettingStartedGuide.pdf...

Background Operations

A background operation is processing that occurs "in the background" while a user is performing other tasks in the system. The two main background operations are updating matters from the USPTO via the Update Matter button on the matter details page and scheduled reports, which run at specified days and times. To view background operations that are ...

How to Send Annuity Information to CPi

AppColl has created some reports that can be sent to CPi for annuity payments. The reports are created as a csv file that can only be run by scheduling the them in the report scheduler and emailing the results to yourself or CPi. The following video explains the necessary steps to set up this process. Please note there are two reports that CPi would...

AppColl Community Forum

The AppColl Community Forum is an online platform designed for users of AppColl's Intellectual Property Management Software to connect, share ideas, ask questions, and engage in discussions related to AppColl and intellectual property management. The forum is organized into several categories to facilitate focused conversations: Community Forum User...

How to Change Themes

In AppColl, you can change the theme you are working in.  To do so, hover over your initials and click "Your Profile"  On the left-hand side, click the themes dropdown and select a theme. Click Save. Your theme will be applied. The following themes are currently available. Classic Modern Dark Solarized...

AppColl Prosecution Manager Overview Manual

AppColl Prosecution Manager is a cloud-based intellectual property management system that includes seven distinct and integrated modules. These modules are: Tasks, Matters, Prior Art, Files, Billing, Reports, and Contacts. This document provides an overview of AppColl and each of these modules, what they do, and why you would use them. Common Featur...

Discussions

AppColl users now have the ability to comment on most records in AppColl.  This includes matters, tasks, billing items, invoices, contacts, and others. These comments are only visible to AppColl users that have permission to access the specific record.  Each comment has a date and username associated with it. You may add the discussions column to yo...

Conflict Checking

Please note: this feature is only available in AppColl PM Plus. Click here for pricing and details on the plus features. Overview AppColl’s conflict checking feature is designed to assist in identifying potential conflict of interest situations where doing the best thing for one client may harm another due to an adverse relationship between the the ...

AppColl Learning Center Navigation

  Logging in In order to get access to the AppColl Learning Center, you must be a current subscriber to AppColl. To gain access, simply fill out this short form to receive a login. The AppColl support team will send you a login via Litmos, the AppColl Learning Center platform. If you do not receive a login, reach out to learn@appcoll.com for help. A...

Report Use Statistics

For AppColl PM Plus users, the Reports module can show when and how often a report is being viewed. You may find this useful to determine if a report can be deleted due to lack of use to reduce clutter. To see report usage statistics, click on the Reports module, locate the report in the list on the left hand side of the page and hover over the repo...

One-Click Setup

New customers can now utilize data from the USPTO and TSDR to import their matters into their account. Customers must first complete the USPTO sponsorship process, Next, AppColl will take over and automatically pull in all matters within the given USPTO account. AppColl can also pull in your trademarks from TSDR - you will just need to provide a lis...

Team Leadership in the AppColl Learning Center

If you  have an Account Admin or Account Admin (backup) role in AppColl, you may be request to be designated as a Team Leader for your organization in the Learning Center.  Team Leaders can add as many users to their team as they have logins to AppColl and view the progress of those on the team.    Completing your own Learning In order for a Team Le...

Patent Center Transition Updates

The following article shows all communications AppColl has sent out to users regarding the Patent Center transition on November 06, 2023. 11-08-23 Effective November 06, 2023, AppColl successfully transitioned away from Private Pair and now exclusively uses Patent Center to retrieve data for your U.S. and PCT patents and applications. While we conti...

November 2023 USPTO Patent Center Transition

Summary This article describes the effect of the USPTO transitioning (on November 8th, 2023) from Private Pair to Patent Center as the source of patent information for US matters in AppColl. In both cases, data contained in an XML file is used. Changes to the way data is presented in the XML file after the transition to Patent Center alters the way ...

In-App Help Articles

AppColl's in-app help widget allows the user to see support articles, videos, and job aids while remaining in the AppColl tab. To access In-App Help, click the question mark icon in the top-right corner of any screen.    AppColl has over 350 articles in the Help Center, which can also be accessed at support.appcoll.com. With the in-app help widget, ...

Account Copy

AppColl Support can copy/transfer cases from one AppColl account to another AppColl account using a Copy Report from the source account.  A Copy Report will copy Matters and Contacts, and all the Tasks, Files, Prior Art and Billing items and Invoices (if applicable) related to those matters. The copy report will not pull reports, custom forms, or te...

Clearing Page Locks

If a record is open to be edited, and the browser tab is inadvertently closed without clicking the Save or Cancel button, the record will now be locked for a period of time preventing anyone from editing the record. A new ‘Clear Your Locks’ command has been added to allow these false locks to be cleared. This command is available from the user menu ...