Evidence Dossier — User Manual

Audience: Attorneys, candidate attorneys, litigation support staff, records clerks, and trial-preparation teams
Version: 1.0 — April 2026
Module: Mod-Evidence-Dossier

Introduction
Getting Started
Evidence Timeline
Promoting Material to Evidence
- Promote an Email
- Promote a Document
Working with Bundles
Version History and Audit Trail
Statuses, Types, and Sections
Troubleshooting

1. Introduction

The Evidence Dossier module provides a matter-scoped evidence register for litigation and hearings. It lets you:

promote stored emails and documents into the formal evidence register,
classify each item by type and section,
flag key events for quick chronology review,
group selected items into structured evidence bundles,
lock bundles through DRAFT → FINAL → FILED states, and
generate an evidence bundle index for court-ready output.

The module is designed to work with the currently selected matter. If no matter is active, the Evidence Dossier windows stay empty until a matter is selected elsewhere in the application.

2. Getting Started

Open the Evidence Dossier windows from the Matters menu:

Window	Purpose
Evidence Timeline	Chronological evidence register for the selected matter
Evidence Bundles	Bundle-oriented tree and reorder view for the selected matter

Matter Context

Both windows follow the active matter selected through the application's matter selection service. The heading area shows the current matter number and matter name so you can confirm you are working in the correct case.

If you see "No matter selected", first select a matter in the matter-management area of the application.

3. Evidence Timeline

The Evidence Timeline is the day-to-day working view of the evidence register.

Each row represents the latest version of an evidence item and includes:

Column / Indicator	Meaning
Event Date	The date that places the item in the chronology
Section	Litigation bundle section, such as Pleadings or Correspondence
Type	Evidence type, such as Email, Affidavit, or Court Order
Title	The display title of the item
Description	A short relevance or narrative note
Key	Marks the item as an important milestone in the matter

Common actions

Button	What it does
Open Selected	Opens the underlying source item if a source navigator is available
Add to Bundle / Remove from Bundle	Assigns or removes the selected item from a bundle
Version History	Shows prior saved versions of the selected evidence item
Remove	Removes the item from the evidence register without deleting the source document or email
Refresh	Reloads the matter's evidence rows
Save Changes	Commits an inline type or section change
Hide Metrics / Show Metrics	Toggles the summary cards above the table

Double-clicking a row performs the same action as Open Selected.

3.1 Timeline Metrics

The metrics cards give a quick overview of the current matter:

Metric	Meaning
Total Items	All evidence rows loaded for the matter
Visible	Rows remaining after filters are applied
Key Events	Rows flagged as major chronology points
In Bundle	Rows already assigned to a bundle

The cards also act as shortcuts:

Total Items clears all filters.
Key Events toggles the key-events-only filter.
In Bundle toggles the in-bundle-only filter.

3.2 Timeline Filters

The filter bar works on already loaded rows, so filtering is immediate and does not require another database round trip.

Available filters:

Type
Section
Date preset (All time, Last 7 days, This month)
Search across title and description
★ Key events
In bundle
Clear

Use these filters when preparing witness consultations, pleadings, or trial bundles for a specific date range or topic.

3.3 Inline Classification Changes

You can edit Section and Type directly in the timeline table.

Typical workflow:

Select the row.
Change the Section or Type cell.
Click Save Changes or press Ctrl+S.

The module then creates a new saved version of that evidence item so the classification history remains traceable.

4. Promoting Material to Evidence

The module supports promotion of already-persisted source material into the evidence register.

Promotion is usually triggered from the source module, such as the email viewer or a document-management view.

Promotion dialog

When the Promote to Evidence dialog opens, complete or confirm:

Field	Meaning
Title	Working evidence title shown in the timeline
Type	Evidence classification
Section	Bundle section; auto-suggested from the selected type
Description	Short note about relevance or context

Available evidence types include:

EMAIL
CORRESPONDENCE
PLEADING
NOTICE
AFFIDAVIT
FINANCIAL
EVIDENCE
NOTE
COURT_ORDER
EXPERT_REPORT

Available sections include:

PLEADINGS
NOTICES_AND_APPLICATIONS
CORRESPONDENCE
FINANCIAL_DISCLOSURE
EVIDENCE
EXPERT_REPORTS

4.1 Promote an Email

Use this when an email forms part of the matter record and must appear on the litigation chronology.

Typical examples:

service correspondence,
settlement communications,
instructions from a client,
expert engagement emails.

What happens when an email is promoted:

the email is linked to the selected matter if not already resolved through the matter link,
an evidence row is created with source type EMAIL,
the event date comes from the sent or received date,
the item becomes visible in the Evidence Timeline, and
an audit note is recorded.

4.2 Promote a Document

Use this for pleadings, affidavits, notices, court orders, reports, scanned exhibits, or similar stored documents.

What happens when a document is promoted:

an evidence row is created with source type DOCUMENT,
the selected title, section, and type become the initial classification,
the item appears in the matter chronology,
the original source record remains intact, and
an audit note is recorded.

5. Working with Bundles

The Evidence Bundles window is used to organise selected evidence items into court-style bundles.

The window shows:

each bundle for the selected matter,
grouped section nodes inside the bundle,
individual evidence items,
bundle status,
assigned page counts once finalised.

Bundle statuses

Status	Meaning
DRAFT	Editable; items can be added, removed, and reordered
FINAL	Locked for editing; page numbers assigned
FILED	Final bundle has been formally filed; still locked

5.1 Create a New Bundle

Open Evidence Bundles.
Confirm the correct matter is selected.
Click New Bundle.
Enter a bundle name.
Confirm.

If the matter already has a bundle with the same name, the system refuses the duplicate.

5.2 Add or Remove Evidence from a Bundle

From the Evidence Timeline:

Select the evidence row.
Click Add to Bundle.
Choose a bundle in the selection dialog.
Confirm.

To remove the item again, select the same row and click Remove from Bundle.

Important:

Items can only be added to or removed from mutable draft bundles.
If no bundles exist yet, create one first in Evidence Bundles.

5.3 Reorder Bundle Items

In Evidence Bundles, select an evidence item and use:

Up
Down
Move to Top
Move to Bottom

Keyboard shortcuts are also available:

Alt+Up
Alt+Down
Alt+Home
Alt+End

These actions change the order in which items appear inside the bundle.

5.4 Finalise a Bundle

Use Finalise Bundle when the draft is ready for controlled output.

When a bundle is finalised:

the bundle status changes from DRAFT to FINAL,
page numbers are assigned,
a bundle snapshot is created,
further bundle edits are blocked, and
an audit note is recorded.

You should finalise only when the bundle order and included items have been checked carefully.

5.5 File a Bundle

Use File Bundle only on a FINAL bundle.

Filing:

changes the status to FILED,
preserves the locked state,
creates an additional bundle snapshot, and
records the filing transition in the audit trail.

5.6 Generate a Bundle Index

Use Generate Index on a FINAL or FILED bundle.

The system generates a PDF index through the reporting service. You will be asked where to save the file and can optionally open the generated PDF immediately afterward.

Use this when preparing a working index for counsel, court filing, or hearing packs.

6. Version History and Audit Trail

The Evidence Dossier preserves history rather than silently overwriting important classification changes.

Evidence Version History

The Version History action in the timeline shows previous saved versions of the selected evidence item, including:

version number,
date,
type,
section,
title.

This is useful when reviewing how an item was reclassified over time.

Bundle Snapshots

When a bundle is finalised or filed, the system creates a bundle snapshot. This preserves the state of:

the bundle status,
included items,
assigned page ranges,
snapshot hash metadata.

This supports later reporting and defensibility if a bundle is challenged.

Source Preservation

Removing an evidence item from the register does not delete the original email or document. It only removes the evidence-register entry.

7. Statuses, Types, and Sections

Recommended evidence types

Use a type that reflects the nature of the source:

Type	Use for
EMAIL	Stored emails and replies
CORRESPONDENCE	Formal letters and general correspondence
PLEADING	Particulars of claim, pleas, replications
NOTICE	Notices and applications
AFFIDAVIT	Founding, answering, replying, confirmatory affidavits
FINANCIAL	Statements, schedules, reconciliations, invoices
COURT_ORDER	Orders and directives
EXPERT_REPORT	Expert opinions and supporting reports

Recommended sections

Use sections to prepare later bundle grouping:

Section	Typical contents
PLEADINGS	Statements of case and pleadings
NOTICES_AND_APPLICATIONS	Notices, motions, interlocutory papers
CORRESPONDENCE	Letters and email chains
FINANCIAL_DISCLOSURE	Statements, schedules, invoices, bank records
EVIDENCE	General exhibits and documentary proof
EXPERT_REPORTS	Expert reports and annexures

8. Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	What to do
No matter selected	The matter context has not been set	Select a matter first in the matter-management area
No bundles available	You tried to add an item to a bundle before creating one	Open Evidence Bundles and create a new bundle
Only DRAFT bundles can be edited	The bundle has already been finalised or filed	Create a new draft bundle or work from the latest draft
Only FINAL bundles can be filed	The selected bundle is still draft	Finalise the bundle first
Only FINAL or FILED bundles can generate an index	The bundle is still editable draft state	Finalise the bundle before generating output
A bundle with that name already exists	Duplicate name for the same matter	Use a different bundle name
Evidence service unavailable	The module service could not be resolved from Lookup	Reopen the window or restart the application if the condition persists

Good practice tips

Keep titles short and descriptive so the timeline and bundle tree remain readable.
Use sections consistently from the start of a matter.
Mark only genuinely important chronology points as key events.
Finalise bundles only after confirming inclusion, order, and classification.
Use Version History before major hearings to verify the latest classification state.