Using Everlaw's search query builder and the Bates/Control search term, you can locate documents by their assigned identifiers (e.g. Bates numbers, control numbers). This article provides instructions for both standard Bates/Control searches and advanced search methods for large or complex lists. It also covers how to search for Australian Doc IDs using the same Bates/Control search term.
Basic vs. advanced search
The Bates/Control search term can be used by populating its standard fields, or you can perform an advanced search. Your choice of method depends on the complexity and scale of your search:
- For single documents, simple number ranges, or a few non-consecutive numbers that share the same prefix, follow the standard instructions for the Bates/Control search term.
- If you're dealing with a large number of items to search (e.g. you receive a court document with a large list of Bates numbers), or your list includes a mix of different prefixes (e.g. ABC, PROD, DEF, #), use the advanced settings of the Bates/Control search term. This option is built to handle bulk input and more intricate search requirements efficiently.
Search by Bates or Control #
To search according to Bates, OtherBates, or control numbers (#):
- Add the Bates/Control search term into the query builder.
- In the prefix field, choose an option from the dropdown menu.
You can select from:Prefix type Description A Bates prefix Choose the associated Bates prefix from the dropdown menu (e.g. "ABC", "XYZ"). This applies to documents processed off-Everlaw or produced on Everlaw. # (Control number) Select the hash symbol for documents that were natively uploaded and processed by Everlaw, as these are assigned control numbers. Any Prefix Performs a search across all prefixes in your dataset, including standard Bates, OtherBates, and control numbers. - Specify the number or range you want to search for.
Search type What to include Single document
Finds the specific document that starts with this number.
Enter the Begin Bates/control number (e.g. "Bates001", "#12345"). Consecutive range
Finds documents whose Bates, Other Bates, or control numbers fall within a specified sequence of numbers.
Enter the start and end numbers separated by a dash (e.g. 100-500, 500-600) Greater than
Finds all documents with a Bates or control number greater than or equal to the specified number.
Enter the number followed by a dash (e.g. "5-"). Less than
Finds all documents with a Bates or control number less than the specified number.
Enter a dash followed by the number (e.g. "-100"). Multiple non-consecutive numbers
Finds documents where any of the entered numbers are their beginning Bates or Control number.
Separate the numbers with commas or spaces (e.g. "1, 5, 5" or "1 5 10").
- [Optional] To search for a Bates or control number that may appear after the first page of the document (i.e. it may not be the Begin Bates or control number of the document), select Page search.
This will search for the number across all of the pages of your documents.Note
If Page search is selected and the last number you enter is not the last Bates or control number of a particular document, the entire document will still be returned.
Advanced search
If you're dealing with a large number of items to search, or your list includes a mix of different prefixes (e.g. you need to search for Bates/control number, and Other Bates numbers all at once), use the advanced settings of the Bates/Control search term. This option is built to handle bulk input and more intricate search requirements efficiently.
To perform an advanced search:
- Add the Bates/Control search term into the query builder.
- Select Advanced.
This opens the Advanced search for Bates numbers dialog. - In the Paste Bates/Control numbers including prefixes field or the Upload a text field of Bates numbers field paste or upload your list of Bates, control (#), or OtherBates numbers. Numbers must be listed one per line. If you are uploading a plain text file, make sure that your file is plain text (.txt) and follows the same formatting convention as the typed list.
- [Optional] To search for a Bates or control number that may appear after the first page of the document (i.e. it may not be the Begin Bates or control number of the document), select Page search. This will search for the number across all of the pages of your documents.
- When you have listed your Bates/control numbers, select Search.
A search task starts. When it completes, Everlaw displays a notification in the bottom right corner of your screen, and a dialog box appears with a report about your search. - The dialog box displays counts for:
- Documents that match your search: Total number of distinct documents that matched your advanced search query
- Repeated Bates numbers found: The number of documents whose Bates number referenced a document that was also identified by another Bates number in the search query. For instance, if your search query included both a document's Bates and Other Bates numbers, then you would have found 1 repeated Bates number.
-
Bates numbers were not found: The number of Bates numbers in the search query that did not match any documents
Tip
Select Download report to download a list of any documents that were not found or were duplicates. This can help with generating Bates gap reports, for example.
- To complete the search, select Add to Search.
To edit your advanced Bates search after it has been added to the query builder, select the term's Edit button. This reopens to the dialog box with the list you searched.
Australian Doc IDs
The Australian document ID system uses a distinct numbering scheme compared to the American Bates numbering system (e.g. ABC.001.001.0001). When searching for these documents using the Bates/Control search term, here's what you need to know:
-
Prefix Selection: First, select the relevant prefix from the dropdown menu (e.g. "ABC" for
ABC.001.001.0001). -
Entering the Number: Type the numerical segments into the input box, omitting any leading zeros. For example, for
ABC.001.001.0001, you'd type "1.1.1". You can search for other Australian documents in the same fashion.
All other search conventions you've learned for Bates/Control numbers apply directly to Australian Doc IDs. This means:
- To search across a range of document IDs (e.g.
1.1.1-3.3.3), use a dash (-) to indicate the range, just as described in the standard instructions. -
To search for multiple, non-consecutive IDs (e.g.
2.1.2, 4.1.1), separate them with commas or spaces, as outlined in the standard instructions.Example: A search like "1.1.1-3.3.3, 2.1.2, 4.1.1-9.9.9" would return documents within the first range, the single ID, or within the second range.
- You can also cut and paste a list of Australian Doc ID numbers and ranges into the advanced search, ensuring they respect the search conventions detailed earlier in this article.
- If you need to expand your search to include pages within documents (i.e., the Doc ID might appear after the first page), select the Page Search option in the search term. This functions identically to how it's described for other Bates/Control numbers.