WalkingPDF

guide

What a slip sheet for a native file has to contain

A production that includes native files - spreadsheets, presentations, anything not printed to images - needs a slip sheet for each one: a page in the numbered set that stands where the native would have been, carrying the Bates number, the confidentiality designation, the original filename and enough metadata to identify the file. Without it the paper set has a hole where the native should be, and the receiving party cannot tell a missing document from a withheld one.

The six things a slip sheet carries

  • The Bates number of the page itself, in the same sequence as the rest of the set.
  • The confidentiality designation, spelled the way the protective order spells it.
  • The original filename, exactly as produced, including the extension.
  • The Bates number of the native file if natives are numbered separately.
  • A short description and the document date, so the paper index and the native index agree.
  • The producing party's name, if the set is produced by more than one.

Why a missing slip sheet is a blocker and not a warning

A gap in a numbered sequence is visible to anyone who reads the numbers. A missing slip sheet is worse than a gap, because the number is present and the content is not: the page that should point at the native is simply another document. The check looks for a native-format file with no corresponding placeholder page and reports it against that file.

What the check does, and what it does not

We flag a native file with no slip sheet, and a slip sheet whose Bates number sits outside the sequence. We do not generate slip sheets at launch - generation is part of Prepare, alongside conversion and stamping. If your set already has them, the check tells you whether they line up; if it does not, the finding is the specification for the person who will create them.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a slip sheet if the native is also produced as images?

If the images are in the numbered set, they stand in for the slip sheet. The finding is about a native with nothing in the set representing it.

Can the audit create the slip sheets for me?

Not at launch. Slip-sheet generation ships with Prepare. Today the audit tells you which natives are missing one.

Keep reading

guide The production index columns that matter A production index is the map between Bates numbers and documents. The columns that matter are the ones a receiving party will use to load, search and object: Bates begin, Bates end, attachment begin and end, confidentiality, document date, document type, the original filename and the native path. Everything else is convenience. Get these wrong and the set loads with documents attached to the wrong parents. guide How to QC an incoming production A production you receive has to load, read and reconcile before anyone can review it. These twelve checks run in the order that surfaces the expensive failures first: does the load file import, does every row have an image, does the numbering hold, and is every page searchable. Run them before the review clock starts, not after. hub Watermark glossary A short glossary of the words used around PDF watermarking, each defined in one or two sentences before any detail: what a watermark is, the difference between text and image marks, what diagonal, background, tiled and confidential mean, and why a dynamic watermark is not the same as a fixed one. Every term links back to the page that shows it in use. guide How to watermark a PDF To watermark a PDF, upload the file, choose a watermark style, type your wording, set the opacity to somewhere between 25% and 35%, apply it to every page and download the marked copy. The whole procedure takes about a minute in a browser, needs no software, and the original file is not changed - you keep the marked copy as a new file. guide What is a PDF watermark? A PDF watermark is text or an image placed on the pages of a document to say something about it - who it belongs to, what state it is in, or who may read it. It becomes part of the page rather than a note attached to the file, so it appears in prints, screenshots and single-page extracts, and it carries no technical protection: anyone can still open, copy and forward the document. guide Batch watermarking PDF files Batch watermarking means applying the same mark to several PDFs so they look like one set. With a browser tool you do it by settling the settings once - style, wording, opacity, colour - then running the tool once per file with those same settings, which takes under a minute each and produces consistent output without installing anything or creating an account.