# Matter Configuration
Settings in the Matter section of the CRM Configuration screen.
# Table of Contents
- Automatic archiving of closed matters
- Who sees the Permissions field
- Configuration Reference
- URL Reference
# Automatic archiving of closed matters
A matter that has been closed for a configurable number of months is archived automatically: the nightly job sets its archive date to the day it runs. Only matters that have a close date and do not have an archive date yet are picked up, so a matter is never archived twice and a manually set archive date is left alone.
The job runs as part of the nightly background service. To check the result of a new setting right
away, start it by hand with https://<cm>/crmconfiguration.aspx/Run/AutoArchiveMatters (see
URL Reference).
Because archiving changes the matter, integrations that synchronise the archive date (LegalSense, for example) pick the change up in their next synchronisation run.
# Who sees the Permissions field
The Permissions field makes a matter private — see Matter Permissions for what private means and which users keep access. Showing the field to everyone is often unwanted, so its visibility can be limited to specific users, roles, or the matter's own responsible/originator.
Two settings work together:
- ShowUsersGroupsPermissions must be
VisibleorRequired— this switches the field on. - ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsRole then limits who actually sees it. Left empty, everyone sees the field.
# Configuration Reference
Every setting in the Matter configuration section, grouped by topic.
# Roles and access
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| VisibleRole | Members of this role can see the matter. See Roles Used in Settings — Administrators keep access to the Matters tab regardless of this setting. | a role name | Everyone |
| CreateRole | Members of this role can create a matter. See Roles Used in Settings — Administrators can always create a matter regardless of this setting. | a role name | Everyone |
| VerifyRole | Members of this role can verify a matter's fields. | a role name | empty |
| CloseMatterRole | Members of this role can close a matter. | a role name | Everyone |
| ArchiveMatterRole | Members of this role can edit the archive date/number. Leave empty to disable editing. | a role name | empty |
| ReopenMatterRole | Members of this role can reopen a closed matter. | a role name | Administrators |
| FinancialVisibleRole | Members of this role can see financial fields on a matter. | a role name | Administrators |
| ResponsibleTimekeeperRole | Role from which the responsible timekeeper (RTK/Owner) is selected. | a role name | Everyone |
| BillingTimekeeperRole | Role from which the billing timekeeper (BTK/OwnerSub) is selected. | a role name | Everyone |
| HideResponsibleTimeKeeper | Hides the responsible timekeeper (RTK/Owner) field. | true, false | false |
| HideBillingTimeKeeper | Hides the billing timekeeper (BTK/OwnerSub) field. | true, false | false |
| FillBTKfromRTKIfEmpty | Copies the value from RTK to BTK when BTK is empty while editing a matter. Requires ResponsibleTimekeeperRole and BillingTimekeeperRole to be equal. | true, false | false |
| RTKUseOwnerFromClient | Uses the client's owner as the default RTK value on a new matter. | true, false | false |
| BTKUseOwnerSubFromClient | Uses the client's sub-owner as the default BTK value on a new matter. | true, false | false |
| DisableOfficeChangeMatter | Prevents changing a matter's office once set. | true, false | true |
| DisableDepartmentChangeMatter | Prevents changing a matter's department once set. | true, false | true |
| DisableMatterTypeChangeMatter | Prevents changing a matter's type once set. | true, false | false |
| AllowInActiveOwnerAndOwerSub | Allows an inactive user as owner (RTK) or sub-owner (BTK) when changing a matter. | true, false | false |
| ChangePermissionsRoleForOwner | Users, roles and owners allowed to edit the Owner field, separated by ; — e.g. username;Administrators;username2;Owner;OwnerSub. Empty means no restriction. The Owner/OwnerSub tokens are case-sensitive and only apply to existing matters; on new matters the field is always editable. | a user/role/token list | empty |
| ChangePermissionsRoleForOwnerSub | Same as ChangePermissionsRoleForOwner, for the OwnerSub field. | a user/role/token list | empty |
| ChangePermissionsRoleForMatterType | Same as ChangePermissionsRoleForOwner, for the MatterType field. Applied on top of DisableMatterTypeChangeMatter — can further restrict but cannot override it. | a user/role/token list | empty |
| ChangePermissionsRoleForAreaOfLaw | Same as ChangePermissionsRoleForOwner, for the AreaOfLaw field. | a user/role/token list | empty |
# Archiving
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArchiveAfterMonthsClosed | Number of months after the close date at which a matter is archived automatically. 64 archives a matter 64 months after its close date. | a positive number of months, or -1 to disable the feature | -1 — requires ContactManager 24.3.0 or newer |
# Permissions field
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShowUsersGroupsPermissions | Switches the Permissions field on. Must be Visible or Required for ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsRole to take effect. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsRole | Users, roles and matter owners that may see the Permissions field on a matter, separated by a semicolon — for example Administrators;jdoe;Owner. | a role name, a user name, Owner, OwnerSub | empty — everyone sees the field. Requires ShowUsersGroupsPermissions set to Visible or Required |
| ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsFilterType | Which kind of entries the Permissions field's picker offers. | User, Role, UserRole (any other value, including empty, results in both users and roles) | UserRole |
| ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsAdditional | Usernames/role names always added when a matter is made private with owner permissions. | one or more user/role names | none |
| ShowUsersGroupsPermissionsAdditionalReadPermissions | Usernames/role names always added when a matter is made private with read permissions. | one or more user/role names | none |
# New-matter wizard
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShowOfficeDepartmentNewMatter | Shows the office and department choice in the new-matter wizard. | true, false | false |
| ShowOfficeNewMatter | Shows the office choice in the new-matter wizard. | true, false | false |
| HideOfficeDepartmentMatter | Hides the office/department field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| CreateNewForType | Contact type(s) that can be selected as the "create new for" contact when adding a matter. Combine multiple values with a comma. | None, Company, Person, Employee, CompanyDepartment | Person, Employee |
| MatterContactRequired | Requires a contact to be selected on a matter. | true, false | true |
| ActivityTypeUseDefaultValueForNewMatter | Pre-selects a default activity type value on a new matter. If disabled, no default value is selected. | true, false | true |
| WindowHeight | Height, in pixels, of the matter wizard window. | a number of pixels | 620 |
# Matter fields and tabs
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| HideMatterCloseDate | Hides the close date field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowMatterAsTab | Shows the matter as its own tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowMatterDescription | Shows a free-text description field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowMatterComments | Shows a free-text comments field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowEngagementLetter | Shows the engagement letter field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowRate | Shows the rate field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowBudgetAmount | Shows the budget amount field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowLimitationPeriodDate | Shows the limitation period date field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowAreaOfLaw | Shows the area of law field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ConnectAreaOfLawToDepartment | Links area of law to department via their codes — the area of law code must be prefixed with the department code. | true, false | false |
| ShowMatterType | Shows the matter type field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | Required |
| ShowIndustry | Shows the industry field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| HideLanguage | Hides the language field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| HideClientReference | Hides the client reference field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| HideLongMatterName | Hides the long matter name field. | true, false | false |
| ShowNimsInMatterWindow | Shows NIMS information in the matter window. | true, false | true |
| ShowAttendeeReference | Shows the attendee reference field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowAttendeeReferral | Shows the attendee referral field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowActivityType | Always shows the activity type field on a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowActivityTypeAndEditable | Always shows the activity type field on a matter and makes it editable for everyone on a new matter. Enabling this also enables ShowActivityType. | true, false | false |
| ShowText1 | Shows the first generic, customer-configurable text field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowText2 | Shows the second generic, customer-configurable text field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowDate1 | Shows the first generic, customer-configurable date field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowDate2 | Shows the second generic, customer-configurable date field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
# Payor and debtor (billing)
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShowMultipleMatterPayors | Allows one or more additional payors to be added to a matter. | true, false | false |
| ShowMatterPayorInMatterWindow | Shows the payor in the matter window. | true, false | true |
| ShowCurrencyInPayorStep | Shows the currency field on the payor step of the matter wizard. | true, false | true |
| DebtorHideDepartment | Hides the department field on the debtor form. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorComments | Shows a free-text comments field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowClientReferenceOnDebtorTab | Shows the client reference field on the payor/debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowClientReferenceMultiLine | Shows the client reference field on the payor/debtor tab as a multi-line memo field. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillReference | Shows the bill reference field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillReferenceMultiLine | Shows the bill reference field on the debtor tab as a multi-line field. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillEmailAddress | Shows the bill e-mail address field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillEmailAddressRequired | Requires the bill e-mail address on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillEmailAddressExistingEmailAddressesOnly | Restricts the bill e-mail address to existing e-mail addresses only — no free input. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorBillEmailAddressAllowSingleEmailAddressOnly | Allows only one bill e-mail address. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorDunningEmailAddress | Shows the dunning e-mail address field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorDunningEmailAddressExistingEmailAddressesOnly | Restricts the dunning e-mail address to existing e-mail addresses only — no free input. | true, false | false |
| ShowDebtorDunningEmailAddressAllowSingleEmailAddressOnly | Allows only one dunning e-mail address. | true, false | false |
| ShowDistributionContact | Shows the distribution contact field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowDunningContact | Shows the dunning contact field on the debtor tab. | true, false | false |
# Referral, originator and linked contact
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShowReferral | Shows the referral field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowReferralInfo | Shows the referral info field on a matter. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowReferralContact | Shows a single-selection Referral Contact field on the matter tab. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowReferralContactRole | Which contacts can be selected as a referral contact — a role name, a folder ID, or REFERRAL (category, capitals required). | a role name, folder ID, or REFERRAL | empty |
| ShowReferralContactSub | Shows a single-selection Referral Contact Sub field on the matter tab. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowReferralContactSubRole | Which contacts can be selected as a referral sub-contact — a role name, a folder ID, REFERRAL (category, capitals required), or EMPLOYEE to link it to ShowReferralContactRole. | a role name, folder ID, REFERRAL, or EMPLOYEE | empty |
| ShowOriginator | Shows a single-selection Originator field on the matter tab. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowOriginatorContactRole | Which contacts can be selected when adding an originator — a role name, a folder ID, REFERRER (category, capitals required), or ClientEmployees. | a role name, folder ID, REFERRER, or ClientEmployees | empty |
| ShowOriginatorGrid | Shows the Originator grid on the payor tab. | true, false | false |
| ShowOriginatorSub | Shows a single-selection Originator Sub field on the matter tab. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowOriginatorSubContactRole | Which contacts can be selected when adding an originator sub — a role name, a folder ID, REFERRER (category, capitals required), or ClientEmployees. | a role name, folder ID, REFERRER, or ClientEmployees | empty |
| ShowLinkedContact | Shows a single-selection linked contact field on the matter tab. | NotVisible, Visible, Required, Automatic | NotVisible |
| ShowLinkedContactRole | Which contacts can be selected as a linked contact — a role name, a folder ID, REFERRER (category, capitals required), or ClientEmployees. | a role name, folder ID, REFERRER, or ClientEmployees | empty |
| CopyOriginatorToClientIfEmpty | Copies the matter's originator to a field on the client contact (person/company) if that field is empty. Use Owner or OwnerSub as the target field. | Owner, OwnerSub | empty |
# Chamber of Commerce
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| DownloadChamberOfCommerceRegistrationRefreshTimeInDays | Number of days after which a Chamber of Commerce registration is refreshed. | a positive number of days, or -1 to disable automatic updates | -1 |
# Verification
| Setting | Description | Allowed values | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| RemoveVerifiedForFields | Matter fields whose "verified" flag is cleared when the field changes. | one or more field names | none |
# URL Reference
| URL | What it does |
|---|---|
https://<cm>/crmconfiguration.aspx/Run/AutoArchiveMatters | Runs the automatic archiving job immediately instead of waiting for the nightly run. Administrators only. |