News

The Viewer has been updated to deliver improved control over how multiple projects are managed.

New projects can now be created directly from the File menu. New documents can then be added using the Watched Folder mechanism. They can also be added using the Import mechanism.

Transferring documents between Projects has also been made easier. The Export mechanism now allowing a selection (or an entire set) of documents to be transferred to another Project. It is also possible to create a new Project as part of the Export process. 

The Viewer has been refined so that hierarchical tag trees can be defined. This enables multilevel tags to be defined and applied to documents. Tags cannot also now be removed from documents. 

The Viewer has been given a make-over that introduces a context sensitive control panel and improved help facilities. Functionality has been enhanced to include search options that are fully integrated with the existing browse and filter mechanisms.

Persistent Search

The new search feature creates a special �keyword� tag for each new search term and adds the tag to all of the responsive documents. The keyword tags are automatically included as levels within the Browse and Filter controls, so it easy to relocate responsive documents or to use one or more keywords as a filter. Keywords that are no longer required can be easily removed. New documents added to a collection will be automatically searched and tagged to the currently defined keywords.

Search within Filename

The keyword search can be constrained so that it only considers the file name (including folders) from the original file. The use of a wild card (*) as the search term will generate a series of keyword tokens by parsing the filenames using typical naming delimiters, such as space, underscore or change of case. The search within filename mechanism is particularly powerful when a structured approach was used to organise the original files.

Search within Metadata

The keyword search can be constrained so that it only considers the metadata associated with a document. The metadata may include data imported from a loadfile or file system information from the original file ingestion.

Search within Content

The keyword search can be directed to search through the document content. This is possibly the most conventional of the search options, but does require the document content to be searchable. PDF files may need to be put through an OCR process if they were created without searchable content.  

The latest version of the Viewer incorporates a number of new features that facilitate distributed document management. The approach taken uses modern cloud-based techniques to remove the requirement for a centralised server. The result is a simple and reliable system for linking information to documents and then sharing it between devices and/or team members.

Document Profiles

The most obvious new feature is the introduction of a �Profile� panel into the preview pane of the Viewer. This displays the attributes currently associated with the document. For documents ingested directly from Windows this will be the metadata extracted from the file system. For documents ingested from PST files it includes basic email metadata. For data imported from Ringtail load files it includes all of the fields associated with each document.

Sidecar Files

The most exciting new feature is the introduction of �sidecar� files to hold the document profile information. These files are created when new tags or annotation are added to a document. The new tag and all of the other attributes are saved into a file that has the same name as the document, but with a �ZDM� file extension.

Data Sharing

Creating sidecar files enables metadata, such as tags and annotation, to be shared between devices and/or between users. All that is needed is for the files to be stored on a shared drive, such as a network drive or a �cloud� drive like Dropbox or Google Drive. Updates to the document profiles are then synchronised with other versions of the Viewer using the �Sync Watched Folders� menu option.

Data Dictionaries

The easiest way to associate new tags with a collection of documents is by loading data dictionaries that contain sets of pre-defined attributes. There are currently data dictionaries available to support legal processes, such as early case assessment and reviews for relevance and privilege.

Custom Pick Lists

To complement the ready-made tags available through data dictionaries, the new version of the Viewer also includes the ability to define custom tags on the fly. This feature is ideal for creating new classification schemas for sets of documents. The custom tags are automatically linked to the browser panel, so locating documents associated with the custom tags is simply a matter of navigating to the required tag.

Annotation

Adding notes and comments to a document is sometimes as important as adding a tag. The new version of the Viewer includes the ability to add annotation to documents. The annotation is treated the same way as the other metadata, so comments and notes are included within the document profile and then shared using the synchronisation process. 

An updated version of the Pleadings Analyser has been released. This version includes minor changes to improve reliability and performance. 

A free version of the Zenesi Viewer has just been released. The Viewer Express includes all of the read-only functionality of the Viewer, making it an ideal tool for quickly reviewing the contents of any set of documents.

View Common Document Formats

Viewer Express supports most of the common document formats, including PDF, text, HTML, MS Office documents and various image files. It handles data provided as loose files better than Windows Explorer and is better for read-only review of email files than Outlook. Viewer Express also makes it possible to easily review documents and related information directly from a Ringtail load file.

Quick and Flexible Browsing

Viewer Express enables a list of documents to be filtered and sorted using various criteria. This makes it quick and easy to locate and display documents of interest. The navigation options include the ability to browse by inherent file attributes (such as date, file type or file location) or by various custom tags that may have been added to the documents.

Aggregate File Sets and Monitor Changes

Viewer Express has the ability to aggregate data from multiple file sets, making it a nice little tool for maintaining a personal library. Viewer Express can also be used to detect changes within a folder hierarchy, so it is great for aggregating the contents of multiple shared folders (including network drives and cloud drives such as Dropbox and Google Drive) and monitoring any changes.

Export to CSV or Excel

Viewer Express has the ability to export data. It can create a file list in CSV format that is ideal as a record of the contents of a folder at a given point in time. Alternatively, it can create a file listing in Excel format that includes hyperlinks to the corresponding PDF files. 

The latest release of the Pleadings Analyser includes new functionality designed to assist with tracking numerous issues across multiple documents. The basic mechanism is the same as with the traditional approach to linking pleadings: documents are deconstructed and individual paragraphs are linked to other documents using cross references. The difference is in the use of a master 'issues' document as the target document for all of the cross references. The other major difference is that a folder of documents is linked to the master as a batch, rather than opening and processing each document individually. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes refinements to Pleadings Analyser that improve handling of working documents. 

New Product Range

After many months of development, the Zenesi Viewer has been released. The launch of the Viewer marks the introduction of a new product range that will enable users to view, organise and share documents. The initial version of the Viewer enables documents to be viewed and tagged in their native format.

Preliminary Review

The Viewer is designed to assist lawyers with the preliminary review of documents (including emails) provided by clients. It provides a consistent interface for quickly navigating and tagging sets of documents. The Viewer supports the most common document formats, including PDF, Microsoft Office documents, plain text, HTML and a variety of image formats. It handles data provided as loose files, Outlook PST files and Ringtail load files.

Ideal for Smaller Firms

The Viewer is suitable for small and medium sized firms that do not have an in-house ediscovery capability: it enables documents to be reviewed in native format, so there is no need to outsource preparation of documents for review. On smaller matters the Viewer may have all of the functionality necessary to complete the entire review. For larger matters, potentially relevant documents can be tagged, extracted and sent to a bureau that provides a hosted review environment. Using the Viewer for the preliminary review reduces unnecessary up-front processing and the ongoing hosting costs.

Useful in Larger Firms

The Viewer is also suitable for larger firms that require a tool to preview and cull data before it is loaded into a formal review platform (such as Ringtail or Relativity). Native review avoids the need to prematurely allocate document identifiers or to unnecessarily render irrelevant material to PDF format. Using the Viewer reduces the amount of irrelevant material that ultimately ends up being processed and stored on various servers. It also reduces the delay between when documents are received and when they can be assessed.

Free Trial Period

To encourage users to explore the functionality of the Viewer it can be downloaded and tested at no cost during August 2013. To take advantage of this opportunity please go to the Downloads section of the Zenesi website.  

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes refinements to Workbench to support importing of Concordance, IPRO and Opticon load files. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes refinements to Workbench to improve data exports to Excel. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes an updated version of the Workbench and the Pleadings Analyser.

The new version of Workbench includes a number of new features:

1. Keyword search
2. Printing in chronological order
3. Merging of data files

There are also changes to both tools that make the installation process more robust.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set is an updated version of the Pleadings Analyser. This version of the tool has a number of significant improvements:

1. Ability to cross-reference any other document (not just prior document)
2. Ability to use hidden �Names� to refer to paragraphs
3. Faster assembly of consolidated documents
4. Better structuring and formatting of consolidated documents

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The File Analyser has been enhanced to facilitate extraction of document references from within PDF files. This is an alpha release, so is not available as a general release download. Anybody interested in testing the new feature should make contact via suppor[email protected] so that a copy of the tool can be provided. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes enhancements to the Loadfile Manager plus some refinements to the Pleadings Analyser.

The Loadfile Manager now has the ability to split PDF files into TIF images. This is useful in situations where TIF pages are needed to support redaction of images.

The Pleadings Analyser has refinements that improve the extraction of document references.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes significant enhancements to the Pleadings Analyser, plus some new features for the Loadfile Manager.

The Pleadings Analyser now has the ability to import source documents that are in PDF format. It also has a range of new tools for cleaning up source documents in readiness for analysis. The ability to import and cleanup both Word format and PDF format source documents enables the Pleadings Analyser to be used in most situations.

The Loadfile Manager now has the ability to generate PDF files from TIF images. This is particularly useful in situations where TIF pages have been redacted, but where PDF documents are to be provided.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set is an updated version of the Pleadings Analyser. This version of the tool includes improved handling of automatic numbering within Word documents and interpretation of revision markup.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set introduces the Pleadings Analyser - a tool designed specifically to assist lawyers and support the litigation process.

Pleadings Analyser enables side-by-side cross-referencing between the key documents in the litigation process. It aligns each response in a Defence to the corresponding paragraph in the Statement of Claim. And then it aligns each response in a Reply to the corresponding paragraph in the Defence. This enables efficient analysis of the pleadings and all the corresponding responses.

The result of the analysis process is the ability to create a compound document containing the consolidated pleadings. The compound document can be viewed as a single �sheet� using a browser, or imported into Word for conversion into distinct pages.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes significant enhancements to the Loadfile Manager and the restructuring of the File Manager to create a distinct File Renamer tool.

Loadfile Manager has been enhanced to facilitate the creation of basic load files. It creates 'documents' by matching native files with the corresponding TXT and/or PDF files. It can create PDF files if required. It automatically allocates document identifiers based on file name, or can generate new identifiers using sequential or hierarchical numbering schemes. Load files can be saved in a variety of formats, including hyperlinked spreadsheets and Ringtail Export files.

File Renamer has been enhanced to enable the interactive specification of new file names. The editing capabilities include an edit-replace tool that enables bulk modification of multiple records. Interactive editing of records makes renaming of files quick and effective.

An overview of all the tools in the Zenesi products suite can be found in the Product Overview and Product Features sections of the Zenesi website. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes refinements to File Manager and Loadfile Manager.

File Manager has been enhanced to include the ability to copy, move or rename files using an Excel input file. The Excel input file containing the list of source files can be generated by the File Manager or any other suitable utility.

Loadfile Manager has been enhanced to facilitate the normalising of people names in Ringtail loadfiles. In many cases, effective normalisation will consolidate multiple variations of names and may significantly reduce the need to introduce aliases. 

The latest release of the Zenesi tool set includes a new tool called 'File Manager' that facilitates the manipulation of files and their content. The initial version of File Manager provides the ability to extract CSV data from HTML tables.

This release also includes a refinement to the File Analyser that enables the detection of Word and Excel documents that contain embedded documents. 

The first set of tools developed by Zenesi is now ready for distribution. These tools are already in use by a number of major law firms, service bureaus and corporate legal departments. They are now being made available on a 'free trial' basis to other organisations via the Zenesi website.