Creating and using briefcases

This article covers creating briefcases, document order, categorized views, sorting, and adding and modifying documents in briefcases.

try it - Creating a briefcase
  • Click [R+ Create > Production Briefcase].
  1. On the next screen, enter the production name.
  2. Click OK to create the new briefcase.
  3. If you are creating a briefcase on a server, 'Domino server' will be preset with your server name. Do not change it. In this case, 'Administration server' will also be preset, unless you have more than one on-premise Domino server, in which case enter your Domino administration server name there.

A briefcase name always begins with 'PRODUCTION --'.

If you prefer to keep briefcase databases in a folder, you can prefix the filename with the folder name. For example 'MF\Briefcases\PRODUCTION --'.  The prefix MF\ is always added, even if you delete it.

The status bar updates as the briefcase is being created and then displays the following screen. It can take several minutes.

  • Click OK and the briefcase will be automatically opened.
Adding documents to a briefcase

Flat views

Documents are added to a briefcase in date order only from a 'flat' view, i.e. the by Date' view or a folder based on the 'by Date' view. Other flat views are 'by Last edit date' and 'by Entered date'. Categorized views have unspecified order.

Categorized views

When you select documents from a categorized view (any view with red section titles) to add to a briefcase, the order in which documents are added may be unpredictable if they appear in multiple categories in the view.

[L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > by Production History : Bates] is a categorized view and this warning applies if documents you need have been disclosed more than once since they will appear in more than one category. 

To add documents from a categorized view to briefcase and retain date order

  1. Create a folder based on an uncategorized view such as "Documents > by Date"
  2. Drag the selected documents into it.
  3. Click on the folder to switch to it and add your documents to the briefcase from there.

The briefcase's [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > Briefcase's unproduced docs] view displays documents in the order they were added.

You can also use Ctrl click to switch to the 'by Date' view, preserving the categorized selection, from where you can then add your selection to the briefcase in chronological order. See this article for more information. 

Understanding production order

There are two points to keep in mind when planning production:

  1. When documents are added to a briefcase, the order in which they are added is the production order.
  2. Documents are sorted in chronological order within each batch added at any given time. For example, let's say you select and add four documents and then select and add two more. Each batch (shown in red in the briefcase's default view [L+ Pleadings : Disclosures > Briefcase's unproduced docs] below) is in chronological order within itself, but each batch follows the other.

    Why might you want do that? Because that's the order you want to produce in.

    If you want a very specific order, add documents one at a time in the exact order you want. If they are all going to be produced in chronological order and you add them in chronological order, they will remain that way.

The [L+ Documents > by Date] view ignores these batches and presents all documents in descending date order (shown by the hollow arrow) by default. Clicking on the arrow fills it and displays the documents in ascending date order. Therefore, in the 'by Date' view, the order in which documents were added is ignored.

Bates numbering is applied and continues in the order of the view in which you have selected documents to process.

try it - Adding documents to a briefcase
  • Select documents in the source database.

Attachments

If a document has attachments you'll be presented with the options to add them to the briefcase. Attachments are added immediately after their parent document.

For documents with attachments you'll see

And for emails, you'll see

  • Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher > Add to briefcase].
  • Choose the briefcase to add them to from the list displayed. Since we have a native and a PDF production in process, and we're adding these emails to the PDF production, that's the one we select.

[R+ Evidence Cruncher > Add to last/new briefcase] lets you add your selection to a newly created briefcase or the last briefcase you added documents to which speeds up the process.

Note that OCR text is brought over to the briefcase so it can be distributed with documents after production, if necessary.

If you add a document twice by mistake nothing is altered.

Documents already produced can not be deleted nor updated.

Reviewing or changing a briefcase's contents

Deleting profiles

Unlike case databases, briefcases let you permanently delete documents from any view individually, or in bulk.

If you have a batch of documents to delete, after selecting them, click [R+ Profile Maintenance > Delete/Undelete] to delete to soft trash. Switch to [L+ Miscellaneous > Deletions and Exclusions > deleted Documents] and you'll see all deleted documents there.

  • To delete documents from any briefcase view, select them, and press the 'Delete' key. The selection check marks will change to crosses. Press Shift F9 to permanently delete the selected documents.

Updating profiles

  • To update documents, revise them in the source database and add them back to the briefcase. They will not be duplicated, but updated and their position in the production sequence will not change. You can use this ability to correct errors, update PDFs that were missing when the document was first added, etc.

Tagging

Tagging some or all of a briefcase's documents in the source database forms the core of functions to update or correct production profiles or fix mistakes. For example, suppose you notice a key document was missed and Bates numbering has already been started, or the production order is incorrect. In either case, you would have to restart production restarted from scratch. By tagging the briefcase's profiles in the case database, there's no need to locate them all again.

To tag briefcase documents in the source database.

  • Select the documents in the briefcase.
  • Click [R+ Evidence Cruncher > Tag selected > Source].
  • Enter a topic with which to tag them in the source database.
  • Click [L+ Document > by Issue/Topic] in the case database and locate the topic you entered. Issue/topic views are categorized views; please note the warning regarding adding documents to briefcases from categorized views.