Tag Archives: Link Exhibits Patterns

Lesson #127

Setup – Link Exhibits Patterns function

If you want to embed exhibits in PDF transcripts using hyperlinks instead of delivering a PDF transcript and its related exhibits as separate files, you can add them as you create RB-PDF Transcripts or use RB9’s Link Exhibits function. Automate the process of adding hyperlinks to transcripts by setting up the Link Exhibits Patterns function first.

In RB-PDF Transcripts, hyperlinks are called aliases and can be either words or phrases used in transcripts to reference the exhibits. If your exhibit file names and transcript references/aliases follow a pattern — for example files and aliases are numbered consecutively (file names like EX01, EX02, and transcript references like Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2) — you will save production time by defining those patterns before producing hyperlinked transcripts.

Setting up your own linking patterns

Before creating hyperlinked RB-PDF Transcripts, customize the included default list of commonly used exhibit file names and aliases as patterns that RB9 can use to automatically link exhibits to the relevant references in a transcript. You can edit and delete patterns — and create new patterns — in the Link Exhibits Patterns function.

Setting up a Link Exhibits Pattern entails creating a file name pattern and its associated alias pattern:

• File name pattern is how the files are named. It includes the common (shared) portion of the name and optionally the numerical file sequence which is designated with a ?.
• Alias pattern is how the exhibits are mentioned in the transcript. Like file name patterns, it includes the common portion of the text mention followed by a ? for the matching number. The common portion of the alias pattern can be different from the file name pattern, for example exhibit vs. EX.

If this is unclear, when creating patterns there is more specific information in legends above the 2 pattern fields about how to create each pattern which is helpful. You can also review the existing patterns to get a better understanding of what patterns look like.

Managing linking patterns

The main screen of Link Exhibits Patterns lists all of your stored patterns in ascending order by file name pattern. Sort the list by either file name or alias pattern in ascending or descending order. If the list is too long to find a pattern, you can narrow the results by searching for a partial/complete file name and/or alias. Export the list as an Excel spreadsheet or a CSV (comma-separated values) file to save, share, print, or use in other applications.

You can edit or delete any pattern listed. You can also create new patterns with a file name and alias using question marks in the pattern to indicate where numbers appear. If exhibits are referred to by alphabetic characters, you can make patterns but they have to be one-to-one matches (one pattern example: EX A => exhibit A). There is no ? wild card equivalence for alphabetic characters.

After your initial customization of Link Exhibit Patterns, you can update it at any time. Set up as many patterns as you need — there is no limit to the number of patterns you can create.

Using Link Exhibit Patterns

When creating transcripts in the PDF Transcripts function or adding exhibits to existing RB-PDF Transcripts in the Link Exhibits function, you select which link exhibit pattern(s) to apply. RB9 will automatically embed all the exhibit files from the transcript’s witness repository hyperlinked to the aliases in the transcript that match the selected link exhibit pattern(s).

In addition to your stored link exhibit patterns, you can create patterns for individual transcripts that have their own exhibit references that do not fit your general patterns. When linking exhibits to an RB-PDF transcript, if any file names do not fit your patterns you can create one-off custom patterns for those exhibits. Patterns set up in individual transcripts this way are not saved in your Link Exhibits Patterns database.

NOTE: This is an RB9-only function. It is not included in RB Lite.

TL;DR: Customize RB9’s Link Exhibit Patterns to match your company’s naming conventions for exhibit files and transcript references. Then apply them automatically to RB-PDF Transcripts.

RB concepts in this lesson

Alias: Link in RB-PDF Transcripts to related exhibit that can be either a word or phrase used to reference the exhibit.

RB-PDF Transcript: PDF version of a transcript with built-in transcript-specific features. More >

Lesson #110

Customize your RB setup

You can run your business using the setup defaults that RB includes. Or use this module to edit them, delete any you don’t need, and add your own options to tailor RB to your work processes. You can update any Setup function at any time. In this module, you can:

• Customize lists by adding, editing, merging, and deleting list entries. Set the default entry that appears in any field tied to a list.
• Set up users, store work-related and personal information about them, and give them user names and passwords to access RB. Group them according to their access levels and job functions, so they can perform their jobs and receive internal messages. 
• Customize the default Chart of Accounts to match your general ledger or accounting software.
• Set up service items and group related service items so you can locate them quickly in their subgroups when billing, instead of scrolling through a long, undifferentiated list of all miscellaneous service items.
• Enter billing, pay, and rush rates for services, including e-billing information.
• Set up billing rate groups for different categories of clients so you don’t have to scroll through all of your billing rate tables each time you invoice a client. Set up pay rate groups for resources too.
• Group service items into billing sets to speed up billable services selection because you only have to choose the set, not each of the items individually.
• Set the year’s pay dates and their corresponding cutoff dates for each pay period. 
• Create your own invoice headers and messages for different circumstances.
• Set up tracking items to match your production workflow, then define the steps each item goes through in your process.
• Define preferences for how your RB-PDF transcripts will appear and what options they will include. Create multiple transcript preference profiles to cover different transcript requirements.
• Create stamps like “Original” or ”Certified Copy” to apply to transcripts.
• If exhibit file names and exhibit references in transcripts follow a pattern, for example they are numbered consecutively, save production time by setting up those patterns before producing hyperlinked transcripts.
• Set up exhibit stamp templates that will automatically include RB job information and number PDF exhibits sequentially.
• Set global preferences for difference features in RB.

Setup functions by name

• Lists
• Users and Groups
• Chart of Accounts
• Service Item Subgroups
• Service Item Master
• Rush Type Master
• Billing Rates
• Pay Rates
• Billing Sets
• Pay Dates
• Invoice Headers
• Invoice Messages
• Tracking Steps – RB9-only function
• PDF Transcript Preferences – RB9-only function
• PDF Transcript Stamps – RB9-only function
• Link Exhibits Patterns – RB9-only function
• Exhibit Stamps – RB9-only function
• System Preferences

TL;DR: Customize RB to match your business better.

RB concepts in this lesson

Job: Usually the reporting of a deposition, but can also be any kind of service you provide with your reporters or other resources. More >

RB-PDF Transcript: PDF version of a transcript with built-in transcript-specific features like hyperlinked exhibits, word lists/indexes, errata sheets, and enhanced headers/footers containing case and depo information.

Service items: Regular charges that you bill to your clients are called service items in RB.