This page describes RTG Scripts, a program designed to automate tasks involving RTG Bills and RTG Timer.

1. Introduction


2. Features


3. Limitations


4. Scripts


5. Requirements


6. Windows Script Host


7. Installation


8. How To Order


9. Questions

RTG Scripts was designed to automate tasks involving RTG Bills and RTG Timer. Scripts are small programs. They can start other programs, choose menu items, enter text, and do other tasks that people normally do.

RTG Scripts uses the Microsoft Windows Script Host, a feature of Windows itself, to execute scripts. The script language is Microsoft's VBScript. Several useful scripts are supplied with RTG Scripts.

Included in RTG Scripts is the RTG Report Script Wizard. This wizard creates new scripts that can generate a report. You don't need to know VBScript to use it.

For a quick introduction to RTG Scripts, take a tour:

Report scripts
The RTG Report Script Wizard, included with RTG Scripts, creates scripts that generate reports. You can create a script for any report in RTG Bills, RTG Reports, and RTG Timer.

RTG-supplied scripts
Several scripts written by RTG are included for immediate use with RTG Bills or RTG Timer.

Prompts for values
A script can be defined to include values that you may wish to change each time you run the script. RTG Scripts gives you an easy way to see the values of these variables and change them, if you wish, before the script is run.

Additional features
RTG Scripts includes programs, subroutines, and functions that a script can use to perform operations that are otherwise difficult or impossible to accomplish in VBScript alone. They will be valuable if you plan to write your own scripts.

Scripts to generate reports are automatically written when you run the RTG Report Script Wizard that is part of RTG Scripts.

Apart from report scripts, however, RTG Scripts does not write new scripts. RTG Scripts is not a macro recorder that would record your actions and play them back. In order to create a new script, you need a knowledge of VBScript (which is a simplified form of Visual Basic). For this reason, we expect most people to use the report scripts and the scripts supplied by RTG.

RTG Scripts should be able to accomplish any task that you can perform from the keyboard. This includes all, or nearly all, operations in RTG Bills and RTG Timer. However, it does not have the ability to move or click the mouse.

Here is a list of the scripts that are supplied with RTG Scripts:

• 1000: Test the RTG Scripts installation
  This test is described below. It reports the version number of the Windows Script Host. It also tests that the RTG Bills database can be read. Optionally, it can run RTG Bills, pause, then exit from RTG Bills.
  
  
• 1001: Test the BoxChecked feature
  RTG Scripts makes it possible to check if a checkbox on the screen is checked or not. This script demonstrates how that is done. It is intended as an example of how to use that feature if you intend to write your own scripts.
  
  
• 1002: Overdue Matters report (with e-mail option)
  Checks each matter to see if it is overdue for 30, 60, 90, or 120 days. The number of days is a variable that you set before you run the script. Creates a report (in a text file) for each billing timekeeper with a list of their overdue matters. Optionally, it can send each billing timekeeper an e-mail message containing the report. (See script 1003.)
  
  
• 1003: Edit timekeeper e-mail addresses
  RTG Bills does not store e-mail addresses for timekeepers. In order for script 1002 to send a report to each billing timekeeper, it needs to know the e-mail addresses of the timekeepers. This script allows you to enter the e-mail address of each timekeeper for that purpose. You can also enter an e-mail address for timekeeper 0, which is used for matters for which no billing timekeeper has been entered.
  
  
• 1004: Change the bill format of one client's matters
  You set two variables: the client number and the new bill format number. The script changes every matter for that client to use the new bill format.
  
  
• 1005: Change the rate table of one client's matters
  You set two variables: the client number and the new rate table number. The script changes every matter for that client to use the new rate table.
  
  
• 1006: Change the billing timekeeper of one client's matters
  You set two variables: the client number and the new billing timekeeper number. The script changes every matter for that client to have the new billing timekeeper.
  
  
• 1007: Change the matter discount of one client's matters
  You set two variables: the client number and the new matter discount. The script changes every matter for that client to use the new matter discount.
  
  
• 1008: Open a Web page with Internet Explorer
  This script starts Internet Explorer and opens a specified Web page. You must set two variables: the Web page address (the URL), and the location of Internet Explorer on your computer (normally C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\Iexplore.exe).
  
  
• 1009: RTG Bills Database Report
  This script looks through the RTG Bills database for a variety of minor errors. For example, it points out matters whose Abbreviation field is blank. This would prevent the Alphabetical Matter List from working correctly, because it uses the Abbreviation to alphabetize the matters. It also includes a warning if you have not created a backup or compacted the database in a specified number of days.
  
  
• 1010: Reprint all bills for one matter
  You enter the matter number and the script reprints all the bills for that matter number. This is much easier than printing a Matter Ledger to get the bill date of each bill, then using Historical Bills to enter the bill date and reprint each bill.
  
  
• 1011: Reprint one bill to specified printer
  You enter the matter number, the bill date, and the printer name. The script prints the bill for that bill date using the specified printer. This script can be used to create a PDF file by specifying the PDF output device as the printer.
  
  
• 1012: Reprint latest bill to specified printer
  This script is similar to script 1011, except that it prints the most recent bill for the matter, so you don't need to specify the bill date. This is equivalent to the menu choice Bills > Reprint Bills in RTG Bills.
  
  
• 1013: Timer: Unbilled Fees and Expenses (older than N days)
  Prints the Unbilled Fees and Expenses report in RTG Timer. You can view the output or print it. The unusual aspect of this report is that it only includes transactions that are older than a specified number of days. The number of days is used to calculate the end date of the report (something that the Report Script Wizard cannot do).
  
  
• 1014: Timer: Release all fees and expenses to RTG Bills
  Releases all RTG Timer transactions to RTG Bills. The first time you run this script, RTG Scripts creates the script file S1014.wsf. Using the Windows Task Scheduler, you can schedule this script to run every night or at the end of every week.
  
  
• 1016: Hide a range of client numbers
  Specify the starting and ending client numbers, and the script sets them all to hidden.

• Windows 7, 8, 10, or 11
  In order to use RTG Scripts, you need Windows Script Host Version 5.6 or above. This software is supplied as a standard part of Windows.
  
  
• RTG Bills Version 2.27 or later
  We recommend that you upgrade to the latest version of RTG Bills. Versions prior to V2.27 will not work with the current version of RTG Scripts.
  
  

RTG Scripts must be installed in the RTG Bills program directory, which is usually

C:\Program Files (x86)\Rtgbills

Some of the files needed for RTG Scripts are installed in the Scripts subdirectory of the RTG Bills directory.

The RTG Scripts program itself is the file Rscripts.exe. The icon is a script R on a yellow background. During installation, a shortcut to the program is placed on your Windows desktop.

To test the program, double-click the shortcut to start RTG Scripts. You should see the main window, which contains a list of the available scripts. Script number 1000, Test the RTG Scripts installation, should be the first item on the list. Click that item to select it (if it is not already highlighted) and click the Run button. You should see a message box that says Testing RTG Scripts followed by the version number of Windows Script Host (which should be 5.6 or above), the location of the RTG Bills folder, and the number of timekeepers in your database. Click OK.

Next you will see another message, either telling you that RTG Bills will run next or that the test is complete. Running RTG Bills is an option in this script. If the script runs RTG Bills, the program should appear on the screen and, after a few seconds, exit automatically.

RTG Scripts is $75. Pay by credit card:

Purchase RTG Scripts

When your order is approved, you will receive an email message that contains two important pieces of information:

1. the address of the Web page where you can download the program, and
   
   
2. the password you need to install the program.

Please allow 24 hours to receive this email message. Be sure to save the message so you can download and install RTG Scripts.

You only need to license one copy of RTG Scripts for each copy of RTG Bills. Even if you have several people using RTG Bills, or several people using RTG Timer, you can still use the same copy of RTG Scripts for everyone. The only requirement is that everyone be using the same copy of RTG Bills, or a copy of RTG Timer that is used with one copy of RTG Bills.

Check the RTG Scripts Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you have further questions about RTG Scripts, click here to contact us.