Most systems allow you to specify the format and contents of the filenames which the documents will have within the generated ZIP file. You will of course include document name and document date in the filename and there may be some additional fields held for documents which you want to include as well.
Particularly if you are generating a ZIP file of documents to be sent to someone else (rather than e.g. to be kept by you as a backup) it can be useful to number the documents so that if the person you send them to wants to refer to a document in communication with you they have a convenient reference number to quote. You can include a number at the beginning of the filename of each document in the ZIP file or you could simply send in or with the ZIP file a numbered list of the documents.
If you have already assigned numbers to particular documents (for example often the key documents accompanying a statement of case are numbered) so that the numbers - typically prefixed with a party letter such as R in the case of the Respondent - are stored in a field in the document management system, the system may allow you to specify that that field will be included in filenames within the ZIP file. Using the Bundledocs system, as an example, you can use the Zip Index Source (Document Name) option of @Description and specify a Zip Index Source including that field (as well as the @Name and @Date fields).
Alternatively you can get the system to generate numbers when the ZIP file is being created, perhaps with the option of starting at a particular number (useful if you have already "used up" some numbers when generating and sending a zip file earlier). Using the Bundledocs system, as an example, you can use the Zip Index Source (Document Name) option of @Description and specify a Zip Index Source including the @Order field (and use the First Document Display Order Number option as required).
Some systems automatically produce a list of the documents in the ZIP file when it is created, or you might have to create a list, if you want one, as a separate operation.
A list can be useful and it is necessary if there is any important information in the list which is not reflected in the filenames of documents. For example the list might number the documents and that number might not appear in filenames. A list may also be important if there are any "partial document dates".
Partial document dates
There may be a few documents where there is no exact date for the document. For example the exact date of an old non-digital photo may not be known although the year it was taken might be. Different document management systems have different ways of handling such partial dates. Typically there will be a date field which you always have to enter as an exact date - e.g. 15/06/1997 - which will then be used by the system to arrange documents in chronological order, but then the system may allow you to choose for the part of the date which is uncertain/not applicable not to be shown when the document is listed so that it simply shows as e.g. Jun 1997 or just 1997.
As long as the document management system either consistently supports partial document dates, or else does not support them, there is no particular problem when producing a ZIP file because whatever arrangement applies when displaying document dates in the system itself will also apply for generated ZIP files. However some systems have a certain degree of inconsistency - they may display partial dates in lists of documents but still include the full input date (in yyyy-mm-dd format) at the beginning of the filename for partial-date documents within the generated ZIP file. In this case it is necessary to indicate by means of a list within the generated ZIP file, which documents should be considered to have only partial dates notwithstanding that the full input date appears in their filenames within in the ZIP file. One way of doing this is to include within the ZIP file a folder named README containing a README file containing a list of all the documents in the ZIP file showing which ones have full, and which ones have partial, dates headed with a note saying e.g.:
The documents in this ZIP file are listed below.
Please note that where a document in the ZIP file has a filename commencing with a date ending in -01 for example 2024-09-01 that might mean that only the month and year are known for the document. Consult the date column on the list below to see whether the document date is exactly e.g. 1st September 2024 or whether the exact day is unknown and it just means September 2024.
Similarly where a file name commences with a date ending in -01-01 for example 2025-01-01 that might mean that only the year is known for the document. Consult the date column on the list to see whether the document date is exactly 1st January 2025 or whether the exact day is unknown and it just means January 2025 or just 2025.
When you download documents to a ZIP file it will only contain copies of the documents selected to be included (i.e. in sections with an Included status in the Bundledocs system or folders ticked in the Create Download panel in the eBrief Ready system). This enables you to leave out any documents you do not want to be in the ZIP file.
For example, if you are generating a ZIP file of copy documents to send to the other side at the Disclosure of Documents stage of litigation you will want to leave out of the ZIP file the document copies which the other side has recently disclosed to you which you may have already loaded to the system. So you will want to move them temporarily to a separate folder/section within the system and exclude that folder/section when generating the ZIP file.
On the other hand if you are generating a ZIP file to keep as a backup you probably want to ensure that it includes all documents you have in the system.
If your system has a "merge" facility, and if you have used it in the past, see here.
Tap the Generate and Customise Bundle button toward the top left of the screen in Bundledocs and set the following options:-
Generate as Source-ZIP
Apply Continuous Display Order
Bookmark Description Source (Document)... @Order @Description
Show Date Column on Index Pages
Suppress Page Column on Index Pages
Remove Global Title Page
The ZIP file will contain a PDF list of the documents with a filename of Index. By default the title at the top of the list will also be Index but you can fill in the Index Name option to give a more informative title to the list of documents such as Respondent's Disclosure List.
Tap Generate. Once generated the ZIP file will be automatically downloaded to your computer.
If you want to create a list of the documents which will be in the ZIP file and you want the list to be headed with a specific title such as Respondent's Disclosure List and/or to contain the partial date note described above, you should create a HEADNOTE Word document containing that text.
Tap Create Bundle and select the following options:
Format... Index only
Hide page number column
if you created a HEADNOTE document, tap Cover Page and select the HEADNOTE document and tick merge last cover page with first page of index
Tap Create.
If the list contains the partial-date note you will want to download it and then tape Add Document to add it to the matter so that it will be contained within the ZIP file when that is generated.
ZIP file
In your account settings, under Preferences - select a Download filename format which includes both document name and date.
Tap Create Download, select the Original File Format option, and tap Create.
If you want to send the generated ZIP file to someone else you can either send it as an email attachment or send a download link using Bundledocs/eBrief Ready.
If you are sending as an email attachment you need to make sure that the ZIP file does not exceed the size limits of your email system. Different email systems impose different limits but 20MB is common. This may mean that in order to send as email attachments you have to unZIP a large ZIP file which exceeds the limit, distribute the documents amongst a number of folders, and then ZIP the contents of each folder separately to produce ZIP files each of which is below the limit. Then you would attach each ZIP file to a separate email.
If you send the ZIP file as an email attachment then a copy of the email with attachment will automatically be saved in your email system as a record of what you sent but if you send by download link there may be no automatic record of what was sent. It is a good idea, therefore, if sending by download link, to send a list of the documents as an email attachment.
If you are sending to the other side in litigation there may be restrictions on what method you can use if it is to count as "valid service". If you are sending to the tribunal office then you may find that there is an upload facility which the tribunal requires to be used (rather than emailing a download link).
Someone you have sent the ZIP file to ask you to send a hardcopy, for example if some particular document is greater than A4 size and the recipient only has an A4 printer.
Disclaimer
This information page is designed to be used by clients of John Antell who have entered into a written agreement for the provision of legal services.
The information about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only and you should satisfy yourself, before using any techniques, software or services mentioned, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.
Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information in this page is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me.
This page was lasted updated in June 2025. Disclaimer