Bundles - Setting Bundle Numbers

Introduction

There is a field on the Main Tab called List No. It can hold any number which reflects the Item's position in a sequence of numbers given to Items in a Selection or a Report. In a simple Case, an Item may have only one List No - the number printed in the left margin of a List of Documents for Disclosure. There is a Manual section called Setting List Numbers which tells you how to put these numbers into the Item Cards.

More complex Cases may require multiple sets of List Numbers i.e. that Items must have one set of List Numbers for one purpose (say the Disclosure List) and another set for a different purpose (e.g. an index to an Affidavit). This is catered for by saving such Selections as Bundles and setting a sequence of numbers for the Bundle.

This section tells you how to set the Bundle Numbers i.e. give a number to every Item in a Bundle.

How to set Bundle Numbers

Having saved your Selection as a Bundle, go to the Bundles Screen by pressing <Bundles> on the Control Panel. Highlight the Bundle and press <Set Bundle Numbers>. The screen shown below appears. It offers you three options - to set a sequence of numbers from a start number of your choice or to copy the Item Numbers so that they become also the Bundle Numbers or to acquire the List Numbers from the Item Cards.

User defined Start Number

There is only one option - what number do you want the numbering to start from? This will usually be 1 but can be any whole number. Press <Set Bundle Numbers> and a sequence of numbers will be added to the Bundle Items, starting from your chosen start number.

Item Numbers

This goes through the Items in the Bundle and copies the Item No from each Item so that the same number becomes also the Bundle Number. You will want to this if you intend to make an Exported Case from all or part of your Case and wish to preserve your Item Numbers as the numbering for the new Case.

List Numbers

This reads the List Numbers from the Item Cards and uses them as the Bundle Numbers. Where you have, for example, arrived at a Selection of Items for your Disclosure List and entered them into the Item Cards (whether programmatically or manually), you can adopt those numbers as your Bundle Numbers by taking this option.

Once the numbering has been set, then information about the numbering appears in the status bar at the foot of the Bundles screen when that Bundle is highlighted. This includes the start and end numbers.

Adding Bundle Numbers

to Item

Cards

Bundle Numbers are not automatically stored in the Item Cards when you load the Bundle. There is a function on the Allocate sub-menu of the Control Panel Data Menu called Allocate / Numbers / Numbers (from a Bundle) which does this. This is greyed out if your current Selection was not loaded as a Bundle. You need Exclusive Use and Administrator rights to use this function. See the Manual section Set List Numbers for more information about this option.

This leaves it open to you to display and use whichever set of numbers is appropriate, whatever Selection is loaded. Suppose for example that you have a set of List Numbers used in the Disclosure List but that your current Selection is loaded from a Bundle which comprises key documents such as those used in an affidavit index. You may want to see the List Numbers set for and used in the affidavit - but you may equally want to see the numbers which the Item bears in the Disclosure List. It is for this reason that the choice of displayed List Numbers is left up to you.

A tool-tip appears when the mouse hovers over the List Nos field which warns you that the displayed number may not relate to the current Selection.

Note that you can add a sequence of List Numbers directly into the Item Cards in a Selection without first storing them as Bundle Numbers. There is a function on the Allocate sub-menu of the Control Panel Data Menu called Allocate Numbers to current Selection / List Numbers (as opposed to List Numbers (from Bundle) which does this. See the Manual section Setting List Numbers for more information about this option.

Note also that you can edit or zero List Numbers in their Item Cards. This does not affect the numbering in the Bundle from which the numbering was derived and you can recall those numbers from the Bundle into the Item Cards. If you want to keep List Numbers which you have edited you must re-save the Selection as a new Bundle and opt on the Bundles Save screen to store List Numbers. See the section called Saving Bundles.

Restrictions on Numbered Bundles

The numbering is possibly vital to the integrity of the Case database. Once a Bundle has been numbered, certain restrictions apply (which parallel those for the equally important Paginated Bundles), namely:

You cannot re-number the Bundle unless you are the owner or have Administrator rights.

You cannot delete Items which are included in the Bundle

You cannot delete the Bundle unless you have Administrator rights and Exclusive Use

Message explain or warn as appropriate. This one tells you that you are about to overwrite an existing set of numbers (for those entitles to do this):

The message shown below appears if you try to delete an Item which is in one or more Bundles for which Bundle Numbers have been set.

Tip: Do not give Bundle Numbers to Bundles unless you need to. These restrictions, which are necessary to protect what may be vital information, may become tiresome if used without discrimination.

Non-Sequential Numbered Bundles

The norm is that Items are numbered sequentially from a given starting point, usually 1. There may be circumstances where you need a non-sequential range of List Numbers e.g. where you are matching an existing set of numbers which may have gaps or duplicates.

You can arrange this by adding List Numbers manually in the Item Cards (perhaps by setting a sequence of List Numbers first and then editing it).

Numbering is peculiar to own

Bundle

Bundle Numbers belong only to the Bundle in which the numbers are saved. Any of the functions which allow you to make new Bundles from existing Bundles (Merge Bundles, Modify Bundles, Re-Query etc) do not carry the numbering into the new Bundles.