Training

Make the most of AspenLaw Studydesk by utilizing the Legal Concepts index. See how it works with this brief overview.

Aspen Publishers’ popular study aids, such as Casenote Legal Briefs, CrunchTime, Emanuel Law Outlines, Examples & Explanations, and Law in a Flash cards are available in AspenLaw Studydesk eBook format. Sample chapters for many first-year law school courses are included in the software so you may explore how the material interacts with your own notes. If you would like to utilize the full text, more than one hundred titles are available for purchase at this website and in bookstores across the country.

For help importing your eBooks into AspenLaw Studydesk, refer to this step-by-step guide.

Don't let a computer crash (or an equally tragic event) come between you and your class notes. AspenLaw Studydesk performs a database backup each time you close the application. However, you should also back up to an external source periodically to ensure your database can be recovered by our customer support team in the event of computer loss or system failure.

To back up your data to external media, follow the steps below.

In AspenLaw Studydesk 3:

• Go to the File menu.
• Select Database Tools > Backup.
• Name the file.
• Click Save.

In earlier versions of AspenLaw Studydesk:

• Browse to the following directory on your computer's hard drive: C:\Program Files\Aspen Publishers\AspenLaw Studydesk. If you installed the software to a location other than the default directory shown above, browse to that directory.
• Copy the database file titled “alsd.sdf.”
• Store the file in a safe location, such as an external drive or CD.

For assistance with reinstalling your software or restoring your database, please contact Technology Support at 1-877-471-5632 or email supportservices@loislaw.com.

AspenLaw Studydesk's briefing template can be modified to suit your or your professor’s preferred style. You can create your own fields, name them whatever you want, switch the order in which they appear, save a special version of the template for each course, and more!

Follow this step-by-step guide to customize your case briefs.

Using AspenLaw Studydesk's self-assessment tools are a perfect way to review the semester's material. You can generate flashcards and on-screen quizzes based on the information you have put into the application and test yourself over and over until you've mastered the key topics. Click here to learn how to create flashcards and quizzes.

Utilize the New Source template to copy and paste material from Aspen Publishers' study aids and the content will appear in AspenLaw Studydesk's Flashcard, Quiz, and Outlining wizards.

1. First, copy the material you wish to use.
2. Highlight it and press [Ctrl-C] or right-click and select Copy.
3. Open a New Source document.
4. Paste the material by pressing [CTRL-V] (you must use the keystrokes to paste rather than right clicking).

Note that when you copy Aspen Publishers’ material, a copyright notice will appear which you must acknowledge before proceeding. The pasted material will appear with gray highlighting to help protect you from copyright infringement.

For statutory or code-based courses like Civil Procedure, Taxation, or Secured Transactions, create a New Statute item for each key provision of the course's relevant statute (e.g., the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for Procedure, the Internal Revenue Code for Tax, the UCC for Secured Transactions). You can often find this information online. Once your statutes and codes are entered into the application, you can utilize the Quiz wizard to help commit them to memory.

In AspenLaw Studydesk, there are several ways to organize your materials, such as by course (via the New Course tool), and by topic (by assigning Legal Concepts to your documents). You could add another level of organization to your materials by utilizing Folders. This is a great way to prepare for class in advance because it allows you to store all the materials you anticipate needing on a particular day in a folder so you can access them more easily.

To organize your materials by class day:

1. Create a folder by clicking New Folder.
2. Right-click any of your briefs, notes, or other documents you would like to store in the new folder.
3. Select Add to Folder.

Important! Documents saved in folders are “satellite” copies of the original. Any edits you make will be saved in all the locations the document exists. Likewise, deleting a document from a folder will delete it from all locations. If you wish to remove a document from a folder, use the “Remove from Folder” option rather than deleting it.

The Mini View feature displays thumbnails of your documents on one screen so you can scan and access information at a glance. With MiniView, you'll have the information you need at your fingertips the next time your professor calls on you.

Learn more about using MiniView with this brief guide.

If you assign Legal Concepts to your notes and briefs throughout the semester, you will reap the benefits when it’s time to prep for exams. Here is a tip that helps you easily find all the information you have in AspenLaw Studydesk about a Legal Concept:

1. Click the Legal Concepts tab in the left navigation pane.
2. Search for a concept in the keyword field.
3. Click on a highlighted concept in the search results.
4. AspenLaw Studydesk serves up your entire library of class materials and the relevant content in your Aspen Publishers’ eBooks based on the concept selected.

You now have in front of you all your notes, briefs, and eBooks on the topic you’d like to study.