Hardware:
- Personal computer (PC) with a standard operating system (i.e.Windows 95 (OSR 2.0), Windows 98, Windows Millennium, Windows 2000, or Windows NT (4.0 w/Service Pack 5 or 6));
- 64 MB or more of RAM;
- 115 MB of hard disk space;
- CD ROM drive.
- A Pentium (or equivalent) based processor is suggested as the processor speed of the PC could impact the response time of the CM/ECF application.
or
- Macintosh with Mac OS 8.8, 9.0.4, or 9.1;
- 64 MB or more of RAM;
- 105 MB of hard disk space;
- CD ROM drive.
- Scanner for documents that are not available in electronic format.
- Modem that is at least 56K.
- Connection can be made at speeds less than 56K, however response time may be less than optimal.
Software:
- Web Browser
- Netscape Navigator software, version 4.6 or higher
or
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5
- *Adobe Acrobat Writer software (or other software) to convert documents from word processing format to Portable Document Format (PDF) or to save scanned documents to PDF. Note: The Adobe Acrobat Reader software that is available at no cost on the Court's website www.vawb.uscourts.gov does not allow for conversion of documents to PDF
- Word processing package such as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect.
Internet:
- An Internet Service Provider (ISP) using point-to-point protocol (PPP). It is recommended that the provider be capable of a minimum connection speed of 56K. High-speed access (i.e. ISDN, cable modem, and DSL) is recommended for attorneys who plan to do a high volume of electronic filing.
*Adobe Acrobat is commercial software from Adobe that allows you to save your documents in PDF (portable document format). All documents filed in ECF must be in PDF format (with the exception of the case mailing matrix, which is required to be in txt format). Acrobat is available from commercial software retailers for approximately $200 - $300. Adobe also distributes a program called Acrobat Reader that allows you to view and print (but not create) PDF documents. The reader is available for free download from the Court's website at www.vawb.uscourts.gov and at www.adobe.com. There are many other PDF converter products available at lower costs at Internet sites such as www.docauto.com.