Creating a case
What a case is, which kinds of files the app reads, and how to create a case and start reading it.
#What a case is
A case is the folder of files your attorney sent, plus any folders and single files you add to it later. The app reads those files where they are and keeps everything it learns from them in one database of its own. Your originals are only ever read, never changed, moved or renamed.
You can have as many cases as you like. Each one is independent: its own documents, search index, highlights, people merges, studies and agent log.
#Create a case
The first case is created during setup (see First launch and setup). After that:
- Open All cases in the left column.
- Under New case, type a Case name.
- Choose the folder your attorney sent.
- Click Create case.
The app opens the new case's Progress screen and starts reading straight away. A new case takes over the settings of the case you had open last (for example whether agents may use it).
#What the app reads
| Kind | File types | How it is read |
|---|---|---|
.pdf | The text the PDF carries; pages without text (scans) are read with OCR. Page numbers are kept. | |
| Pictures | .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .bmp, .webp, .heic, .heif, .tif, .tiff | OCR, line by line. |
| Word and text | .docx, .doc, .rtf, .txt, .html, .htm, .md, .log | Their text, paragraph by paragraph. |
.eml, .msg, .mbox | One document per message, with From, To, Cc, Date and Subject. Attachments become documents of their own. | |
| Spreadsheets | .xlsx, .xls, .csv | Row by row, so a single row can be cited. |
| Audio | .mp3, .m4a, .wav, .flac, .ogg, .aac, .wma, .aiff and similar | Transcribed with timestamps. |
| Video | .mp4, .mov, .m4v, .avi, .mkv, .webm, .wmv | What is said is transcribed with timestamps; text that appears on screen is read too. |
| Archives | .zip | Opened, and the files inside are read like the rest. |
The app looks at what a file actually is, not only at its name, so a PDF saved with the wrong extension is still read as a PDF.
Files the app sets aside, with a reason: exact duplicates (read once), empty files, password-protected files, links to other files, and types it doesn't read. The Progress screen lists them under Files so nothing disappears silently.
#Productions with Bates numbers and load files
If the folder is a formal discovery production, the app notices:
- Load files (
.datand.optfiles that list the production's documents and pages) are used to assemble documents from their page images. They're listed as Production load files rather than read as evidence. - Bates numbers stamped on pages are read and kept for each page. You can open a document by a Bates number, and citations can use them.
See Citations, IDs and Bates numbers.
#Document IDs
Every document gets a short ID that is used everywhere: in search results, citations, highlights and the exhibit index.
| Prefix | For |
|---|---|
DOC- | PDFs, Word and text files |
EMAIL- | E-mail messages |
SHEET- | Spreadsheets and CSV files |
IMG- | Pictures and TIFF images |
AUD- | Audio recordings |
VID- | Videos |
So DOC-0417 is a PDF or Word document, and VID-0012 is a video.
#A note on confidential folders
If a folder inside the case is named confidential, the app marks its files as confidential. On Search and Documents you can filter to them (Folder → Confidential) or leave them out (Everything else). In this version, confidential files are otherwise read, searched and shown like any other files, including to your AI agent.
#When the folder moves
If you move or rename the case's folder, or it lives on a drive that isn't connected, the app tells you when you open the case: "This case's folder is not where it was." Everything already read stays searchable. Click Find the folder (on Progress) and choose where it is now. The app checks how many of the case's files it finds there before switching. You can also change it any time under Settings → This case → Case folder → Change folder…
#Next
- Adding files and folders to an existing case.
- Progress and the reading estimate while it reads.