Minimum System Requirements

Wise Owl Legal has specific requirements to function correctly and optimally. If your computer does not meet these requirements, Wise Owl Legal may function with reduced speed, functionality or not function at all. The Wise Owl Legal Helpdesk cannot provide support unless your computer meets these requirements.

Web Browser

Your web browser is the most important component to consider when using Wise Owl Legal. With the latest web browser, even a relatively old computer can use Wise Owl Legal.

Important: You should always keep your web browser up to date. New versions are released frequently and contain important security fixes, performance improvements and additional features. But always check with your IT department before upgrading your web browser, as the upgrade may cause problems with other websites you use.

Wise Owl Legal is developed using the current HTML5 web standards. It should work on any modern web browser supporting HTML5. However, the following web browsers are officially supported in Wise Owl Legal (on desktop and mobile devices):

• Internet Explorer 8 or newer
  • Internet Explorer 8 is only supported under Windows XP. 
    • Important Note about Windows XP: Extended Support for Windows XP ended in March 2014. This means no new updates are being released for Windows XP, ever. As such, we do not support Windows XP and highly recommend all clients upgrade to a newer version of Windows immediately.  
  • Internet Explorer 9 in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
  • Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
  • We highly recommend using Internet Explorer 10 or newer if you are using Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.
  • Internet Explorer 8 is by far the slowest web browser supported by Wise Owl Legal. If you are experiencing difficulty using Internet Explorer 8, we recommend installing an alternative browser.
  • Automatic spell checking requires a 3rd party add-on for IE 8 and 9. Please see Spell Checking Support.
• Mozilla Firefox versions up to 6 months old
  • As new versions of Firefox are released every 6-8 weeks, we only support versions released in the last 6 months. We recommend upgrading to the most current version as soon as it becomes available.
  • The most current Firefox Extended Support Release is also supported for 12 months after release.
  • There are portable versions of Firefox available from PortableApps which do not require administrative rights to install. 
  • Australian English dictionaries are available for download. We recommend installing the en-GB version of Firefox for best language support. Please see Spell Checking Support for more details.
• Google Chrome versions up to 6 months old
  • As new versions of Chrome are release every 6-8 weeks, we only support versions released in the last 6 months. We recommend upgrading to the most current version as soon as it becomes available.
  • Chrome does not require administrative rights to install.
  • Australian English dictionaries are installed by default, but may require manual activation. Please see Spell Checking Support.
• Apple Safari 5.1 or newer
  • Safari is recommended for Macintosh computers and iPhone / iPad devices. 
  • Although Safari works under Microsoft Windows, other browsers are usually a better alternative.

Other web browsers may work with Wise Owl Legal, but they have not been extensively tested. You may receive a pop-up nag screen if you use an unsupported or untested web browser. Wise Owl helpdesk staff may not be able to provide support if you are using an untested web browser; you will be asked to use a supported browser instead.

Javascript and cookies must be enabled in your web browser for the Wise Owl Legal site.

Automatic Document Check-in / Check-out

TODO - when document module is working. Will probably only work on Windows OS, and may require Flash / Silverlight to work on Firefox / Chrome.

Spell Checking

Australian English dictionaries are available for most major web browsers. Some require a 3rd party add-on.

Please see Spell Checking Support for more details.

Operating System

Minimum Operating Systems for desktop environments:

• Microsoft Windows Vista or newer. Windows 7 or newer is recommended. 
  • 32 and 64 bit operating systems are supported. We recommend 64 bit operating systems on all newly purchased computers.
  • Windows XP Extended supported ended in March 2014. This means no new updates are being released for Windows XP, ever. As such, we do not support Windows XP and highly recommend all clients upgrade to a newer version of Windows immediately.  
• MacOS X TODO

Linux based systems may work if a recent web browser is installed, however some functionality will not be available. Wise Owl Legal has done only basic testing on Linux systems, as such, Linux based systems are not supported by the Wise Owl Helpdesk.

Tablet and Phone Devices

Wise Owl Legal is primarily designed for use on desktop system. While some support for iOS and Android based devices is available, we do not recommend using mobile devices for day-to-day usage. Support is best on tablet sized devices. Data entry is particularly troublesome and we recommend using tablet devices for viewing and accessing documents only.

In particular, the following modules are not supported on tablet and phone devices:

• Trust Accounting

Supported devices:

• Any device that has access to a browser, including:
  • Tablets (e.g. Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Amazon, Google) 
  • Smart Phones

Hardware

Wise Owl Legal does not have any particular hardware requirements in terms of CPU, RAM or hard disk. In general, you should consult the minimum hardware requirements of your web browser. Obviously, more powerful computers and larger screens will improve speed and productivity.

TODO: do we want specific requirements here?

TODO: printers