Upload Document

Documents from external sources can be uploaded to ContactsLaw.

Most commonly, these come from the file system (local or network drives). Other sources include applications such as Microsoft Outlook, or devices such as scanners and fax machines.

When uploading documents, you must specify a description (which may be overwritten during cataloguing) and a destination. All documents must be associated with either a matter, contact or workgroup, which determines the permissions required to access them.

You can optionally specify a document type. If the parties and fields required by the document type can be inferred from the content of the document, it will automatically transition into the catalogued state. Individual document types can override this behaviour.

Processing

Optional processing may occur prior to finalising an upload. This also enables transformations and previews during uploading.

Extracting Attachments

If enabled, ContactsLaw will extract the attachments from emails (as well as other compatible file formats) and upload these as separate documents. Relationships will be created between the documents and a record of the original attachment names will be retained within the message.

Duplicate Detection

ContactsLaw also detects duplicate documents, providing the user with an opportunity to skip uploading such documents. For emails, a document is considered a duplicate if it represents the same unique message (regardless of file format). For all other file formats, a document is considered a duplicate if it has exactly the same content.

Password Management

If the document requires a password to preview its content or read metadata, you can specify this when uploading. ContactsLaw will remember the password and allow other users to utilise it (provided they have permission to read the document).

Large Files

For performance and policy reasons, there is a maximum file size that can be uploaded in a single request. Files which exceed this limit are termed large files and must be uploaded in multiple parts.

ContactsLaw imposes several limitations on large files:

• Processing does not occur (therefore previews are not available)
• Transformations are not applied
• Editing may not be possible (unless the new version has a smaller file size)

Desktop App

The Desktop App adds the following functionality:

• User preferences
• Drag-and-drop (or copy and paste) documents into the upload window
• Optionally delete the original document(s) from the file system after uploading

Destination Unknown

When documents are uploaded non-interactively (such as through Microsoft 365 integration) and a destination cannot be determined, a task item may be created for a member to finalise the upload manually. The document will be held in a temporary location (accessible only by the member) until the activity has been completed.