Tips and Tricks Blank Screen - Bankruptcy and Adversary Categories Missing Clearing Browser Cache Changing ECF login or password E-Mail - Changing Preferences and addresses E-Mail Notices from ECF Are Not Being Received Embedded Fonts - PDF notices and Chapter 13 Plans to the BNC Fees - Overpayments and Refunds Fees- Pay.Gov Payment Issues Fees- Reconciling Credit Card Charges Fees - Credit Card Screen Doesn't Appear Fees - Locked Out of ECF for non-payment Filing - Statement of Social Security Numbers Login and Password Aren't Working Orders - Submitting Proposed Orders PDF - Incorrect PDF Attached to Entry PDF - File size is too large to upload Notice - Electronic Notice vs. Service Scanned Documents Signatures - Electronic Signatures on ECF Documents Blank Screen - Bankruptcy and Adversary Categories Missing If you don't see the Bankruptcy and Adversary categories on the blue ECF menu bar then you've probably logged into PACER. Log out and try again by using your ECF login and password. If the categories are still missing try clearing the browser cache. Clearing Browser Cache If the screen is blank when your log into ECF, or if menu items are missing try clearing the browser cache. Internet Explorer Browser: With IE browser open, click "Tools" , "Internet Options..." Under the "General" tab locate the box titled "Temporary Internet Files" and click "Delete Files". Click "OK". Log into ECF. Netscape Browser: With Netscape browser open, click "Edit" , "Preferences". Select "Advanced". Click on "Cache". Choose "Clear memory cache". Click OK. Log into ECF. FireFox Browser: With FireFox browser open, click "Tools" , "Options". Select "Privacy". Click on "Cache". Choose "Clear". Click OK. Log into ECF. Changing ECF login or password Log into ECF. Click "utilities", "Maintain Your ECF Account". Click the "More User information" button and change the Login and/or password. NOTE: It is recommended that your ECF Login is different than your Pacer Login. If you are unable to remember your Login or password, please call the court at 509-353-2404 and press "0" to have your existing account re-set. E-Mail - Changing Preferences and addresses Notices of Electronic Filing can be transmitted to you as each document is filed or as an end-of-day summary. To change the delivery method, log into ECF, click "Utilities", "Maintain Your ECF Account" and click the "Email information..." button. Enter your primary e-mail address and check the box labeled "to my primary e-mail address". Click the appropriate button to either receive your e-mail notice with each filing, or as a daily summary report. E-Mail Notices from ECF Are Not Being Received If you are not receiving e-mail notices from the ECF system, it could be due to one of the following reasons: 1. Has your e-mail address changed? Log into ECF and change or verify your e-mail address. 2. Your e-mail provider or software could be filtering messages from ECF thinking it is spam, or junk mail. Check your e-mail software settings or preferences to verify that EMAIL FROM ecffilings@waeb.uscourts.gov is not blocked. For more information, you may need to contact your ISP (Internet service provider). Embedded Fonts - PDF notices AND Chapter 13 Plans to the BNC The Bankruptcy Noticing Center generates all notices for the court, including PDF notices of the Chapter 13 Plan and trustee notices. The BNC however, is limited in the types of fonts available. If the font cannot be identified by the BNC, the form or notice will fail. To get around this issue, attorneys and trustees must embed their fonts in the document when it is converted to PDF. THIS IS A ONE TIME SETTING FOR ALL DOCUMENTS CONVERTED TO PDF. To create PDF documents with embedded fonts, do the following: 1) Create the document using word processing software (Word, WordPerfect, etc.) 2) Go to File, then Print 3) Under Current Printer: Select Adobe PDF Writer. To the right, select Properties 4) Under Adobe PDF Conversion Settings, select Edit 5) Select the Font tab 6) Click in the box to the left of Embed all Fonts 7) Select OK 8) Select Print 9) Save PDF File As [file name] Fees - Overpayments and Refunds In the event you have paid a fee in error through the ECF credit card module a written request is required to obtain a refund. Send an e-mail to the court's Financial Administrator at Lyn_Hamilton@waeb.uscourts.gov. In the subject line type "Refund Request" In the body of the e-mail explain why you are requesting a refund and include your name and phone number. Fees- Pay.Gov Payment Issues Pay.Gov is a Government-wide payment collection service of the United States Department of the Treasury. All ECF transactions that require a filing fee must be paid through the Pay.Gov system. After completing an ECF transaction which required a fee, the Pay.Gov website will automatically open in a new Internet Browser Window, also known as a "pop-up" window. You MUST disable pop-up blocking in your Internet settings or preferences. Do not use the Back button during the payment of fees on ECF. If the "Pay Now/Continue Filing" screen is displayed and you don't want to pay the fee at that time, click the "Continue Filing" button and navigate to the menu of your choice using the ECF menus. If the pay.gov credit card payment screen(s) is displayed and you don't want to pay the fee at that time, close the pop-up window and navigate to the menu of your choice using the ECF menus on the main browser window. Fees- Reconciling Credit Card Charges ECF has a report that can be used to reconcile credit card charges for filing fees. On the blue menu bar in ECF, click on Utilities/Internet Payment History. Type in the desired date range. The report will list all payments that have been made for filing fees either using the credit card module in ECF (Pay.Gov). If you want to import this information into a spread sheet or database, use the Internet Payment History Raw Data report. Instructions are available on the screen where you enter in the date range. Fees - Credit Card Screen Doesn't Appear A pop-up blocker installed on your browser will prevent the credit card module screen from appearing when you try to pay filing fees in ECF. You must either disable the blocker or modify the settings to allow pop-ups from our CM/ECF web site to access the pay.gov site and process the credit card transaction. You may also temporarily disable pop-up blocking by holding the "Ctrl" key on your computer keyboard (refer to MS Windows "help" for more information). Many virus protection software products now come with pop-up blocking. Be certain you have configured your browser and virus software to permit pop-ups from the web site https://ecf.waeb.uscourts.gov. Fees - Locked Out of ECF for non-payment The ECF system will automatically lock out a user who has not paid filing fees within 72 hours of the electronic filing of the document requiring the fee. Three total e-mails reminding the user of fees due will be sent prior to lockout. Lockout allows the user to login to the ECF system, but access to menus is limited to "Utilities". If you suspect you are locked out of the ECF system, click on "Utilities", "Internet Payments Due" and pay any outstanding fees via Pay.Gov. If you suspect you owe fees but don't see any due, log out of ECF, clear your browser cache, and login again. Filing - Statement of Social Security Numbers Form B21, Statement of Social Security Numbers is no longer required to be filed in cases that are opened through ECF. Full social security numbers are still to be entered when opening a case, however the ECF system will automatically redact the first five digits persuant to Judicial Conference guidelines. If you are using windows-based petition software, the full social security number should still be entered. The ECF system will redact numbers as appropriate. Login and Password Aren't Working Make certain you are using the bankruptcy court's ECF login and password (not PACER). Clear your browser cache (see "Blank Screen-Clearing Browser Cache for more info). If you are still having problems, call the court at (509) 353-2404 and press "0". Orders - Submitting Proposed Orders Local Bankruptcy Rule 9013-1 requires that all orders "submitted" by outside counsel be preceded by the electronic filing of a Request For Entry of Order (LF 9013). Proposed electronically prepared orders are to be "submitted" through the court's Electronic Submission of Orders Program. For more information and an explanation of the court's submission program, please review the information on the court's Proposed Order Submission website. PDF - Incorrect PDF Attached to Entry If the incorrect PDF has been associated to an entry, the court will contact the filer by sending a "Notice of Quality Control Audit Finding" which will list the steps to cure the filing. PDF - File size is too large to upload Pursuant to the court's Administrative Procedures for Electronic Filing, Signing, and Verification of Documents, pdf files should not be more than 2.0 megabytes in size or 60 pages in length. Large PDF files may be split into smaller files through your Adobe Acrobat software. (Refer to instructions in your Adobe software for extracting pages). Notice - Electronic Notice vs. Service While the ECF system has the ability to automatically provide a Notice of Electronic Filing to parties by electronic means, filers must still comply with applicable federal bankruptcy rules regarding notice or service. Please see the court's Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Documents By Electronic Means for more information. Scanned Documents Scanned documents frequently cause large PDF file sizes, and ECF will time out when you try to submit it. To avoid this choose the optimal scanner setting of black and white (not grayscale or color), set the resolution 200 dpi, and the paper size of 8½ x 11. If the scanned document is still too large a PDF file either separate it into smaller PDF files, or rescan a few pages at a time for a maximum file size of 1.5MB. Signatures - Electronic Signatures on ECF Documents The signature lines on all ECF documents must contain a signature, either by indication "/s/ Jane Doe" or by scanning an original signature. Refer to the court's Administrative Procedures for Filing, Signing, and Verifying Documents By Electronic Means for more information. Note: Proposed order should NOT contain a signature - please see the court's Proposed Order Submission website for more information on how to deal with signatures on proposed orders. UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON