Case Numbers for Matters

A case number (also known as the CASENUM field) is a unique, internal number assigned to a matter. Case numbers can contain up to 15 characters. Case numbers are assigned to matters on the Standard tab of the Matter window.

Using prefixes with case numbers

You can use prefixes with case numbers and they will increment independently. There is no special setup for these prefixes, but you have to add a record with your prefix followed by a number to get it started. For example, add a matter with Case number of RE-1000.

Now add a new matter and enter RE- into Case number. Press Tab and the Case number changes to RE-1001.

For the incrementing to happen, the prefix must end with a hyphen (-), AND the prefix must already exist in the database followed by a number. Try using "RE-" for Real estate cases, "PI-" for Personal Injury, etc.

NOTE: This has no effect on how a new record is initialized before you edit it. The program will still look to the last record added to increment a proposed Case number. Just overwrite this with one of your prefixes to get the desired result.

Affects of changing case numbers

Since the case number is the link to events, notes and names, changing it causes Abacus to automatically update all of that matter's events on your calendar to match the new number. Abacus also automatically alters the attachments to notes and names, so they are still related.

WARNING: When you change a case number, it also gets changed in Abacus Accounting Manager.

NETWORK NOTE: Changing case numbers requires locking the events and cross-reference databases, so while you are doing this no one else can edit the calendar or attach names to matters. Try to decide how you want case numbers formatted before you begin adding records. If for some reason you need to change a lot of them, do it when no one else is using Abacus on the network.