Let’s look at how to configure both Windows tools to Bates number a production.īates Numbers. Both impressed me with their flexibility and ease of use.įor Mac users, there’s a nice free tool called File Renamer for MacOS 64 bit, which I’ll also touch on below. Seeking a simpler tool and one free to use commercially, I found two: File Renamer Basic and Ant Renamer. It’s free for personal use and $93 for commercial purposes a powerful tool, but overwhelming to some. I’ve long praised a powerful, flexible too called Bulk Renaming Utility.
Multiple free and low-cost bulk renaming tools are available. You can even add protective language like “PRODUCED SUBJECT TO PROTECTIVE ORDER.” You can prepend Bates number ( Bates#_filename.ext), append Bates number (filename_Bates#.ext) or replace the filename with the Bates number, storing the original name in a load file. But anyone doing electronic production in-house can add Bates numbers to filenames simply, quickly and cheaply. Certainly, if you use an e-discovery vendor, it’s as easy as saying, “Bates number the native files.” They know what to do. It’s one thing to say something is easy and another to prove its simplicity. Where did they think the names of all those TIFF images came from? The truth is, litigants have been naming files to match Bates numbers for as long as we’ve done e-discovery! It’s easy! I find that odd because parties have always named files for Bates numbers whilst doing clunky TIFF productions. Sometimes, the other side balks at a proposed e-discovery protocol, arguing it’s unduly burdensome to rename native files to their Bates numbers.