This article will discuss how to recognize and troubleshoot basic processing errors when uploading native data to Everlaw. To troubleshoot errors specific to Office 365 uploads, please visit this article.

Native files go through three stages during processing: Examine, PDF Conversion, and Text Conversion. Your data may experience issues during any of these stages. It is important to investigate these errors in order to ensure that all of your documents are uploaded properly. 

 

Table of Contents

• How do I know if my upload contains an error?
• Container file errors
• Missing passwords for password-protected documents
• No errors, but zero documents uploaded
• Unsupported file type
• Corrupted files
• Documents flagged as malware

How do I know if my upload contains an error?

If any documents in your upload encountered errors, you will see a count of the errors below the stage of processing in which they occurred (i.e., Examine, PDF Conversion, Text Conversion). Additionally, any stages with errors will be red. 

In the image above, there were processing errors in all three stages of processing.

To begin troubleshooting any errors, click "View Report" at the bottom of the upload card. 

The following sections will discuss common errors found in native uploads. However, if you need help troubleshooting other errors in your upload, or if you have additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to support@everlaw.com. 

Container file errors

Container files are documents that only contain other documents. File extensions such as .zip or .pst are examples of container files.

Note that:

1. Container files contain other documents in a compressed format, so they will not be part of any production to opposing counsel. Every document inside a container should have its own document on Everlaw that they could produce. 
2. Everlaw does not charge any hosting fees for container documents in native uploads. Instead, only the files extracted from the container count toward your cost. This prevents you from being billed twice when container files are present.
3. It is not possible to create an image for container files

In the Examine stage, you may notice errors related to container files. One cause for this error may be that your container file was not properly unpacked, which can happen if your container file is corrupt. This can be very problematic for review and billing reasons, and you should diagnose this issue before moving on to any review work. For example, a container file may contain large volumes of data, and if you do not address the issue, the documents within that container file will not be included in your document count in Everlaw and cannot be reviewed or searched for.

To identify whether you have a corrupted container file:

• Click the View Report button on your upload card
• Look to the Container Errors section to identify if there are issues
• If there are issues, click on the number to go to the results table

You can also search for container errors flagged as Container Error, using the Uploaded search term.

 

You can also view the file path in the results table, which can help you locate the file on your Custodian's local machine. In the results table, you can examine the file paths by adding a column to the results table. Click the +/- sign in the results table and add the column File Path. Then, view the file path of the container file.

You can also extract the container file on your local machine. If the container extracts correctly without error, then it is likely not corrupt. If you find that the file is not corrupt, please reach out to support@everlaw.com, explaining the steps you have taken up to this point. This will help us expedite the process and identify what processing error might have occurred.

If the container file does not open correctly, then it’s likely corrupt. Do not reprocess a corrupt ZIP file on Everlaw. Instead, request a working copy of the data from the providing party.

Missing passwords for password-protected documents

If you are missing a password or decryption key, you will see an error on your upload card. Checking the upload report is an easy way to identify whether any documents were not decrypted. Click the View Report button at the bottom of the upload card. Then, view errors under the Missing Passwords section. Click the number under Missing Passwords to view these documents.

You can also run a search for documents flagged as Encrypted, using the Uploaded search term.

On the results table, you can reprocess these documents and provide a password. Reprocessed documents will also use additional decryption keys you have added since your initial upload. See this short article for instructions on reprocessing documents.

Documents encrypted at the folder level, for example a password-protected ZIP, are able to be reprocessed on Everlaw. PDFs that are protected from within an application and that are uploaded natively should be uploaded successfully, provided that Everlaw has the password.

Note that the native viewer will not be available for encrypted files until you reprocess. After reprocessing with the password, you will be able to use the native viewer.

No errors, but zero documents uploaded

Another reason that no documents are shown as uploaded is that the files in the container were deduplicated. Your container file will appear unpacked because the documents in the container are duplicates.

Click View Report on the upload card, then view the number of deduplicated documents. If the number is high, it’s likely that the contents of your container file were successfully unpacked and simply deduplicated. To identify which documents were deduplicated, you can download the deduplication report (learn more here). 

Unsupported file types

If you notice an error in all three stages - Examine, Text, and PDF - you may have attempted to upload a file that Everlaw does not support or that is corrupted. Please refer to the accepted native data types article to learn about which file types are supported on Everlaw. If the file you tried to upload is unsupported by Everlaw, but the native upload is complete, then the document cannot be imaged or processed by Everlaw. You can still download the document to review it locally, but it will not be possible to search the text of the document or to view it via the Native or PDF views of the review window. Please reach out to support@everlaw.com to request future expanded processing support for a specific file type. 

Corrupted files

If a document uploaded in a supported format has errors in Examine, Text, and PDF, confirm it is not corrupt by downloading and opening it on your local machine. If the document's native isn't viewable in its native software as well as Everlaw, it is likely corrupt. If you believe that the document is in a supported format and is not corrupt, please contact support@everlaw.com.

Documents flagged as malware

Everlaw’s native uploads tool will scan all submitted files for malicious software, or malware. These files can potentially damage your computer, and must be handled with caution. For any native upload, the set of files flagged as malware can be viewed by first navigating to the native upload card, then clicking “View Report,” and finally clicking the "Flagged malicious" row of the Flags section in the Upload report tab.

It is also possible to search for documents flagged as potentially malicious during native uploads using the Everlaw query builder. To do this, use the Uploaded search term to search your desired native dataset (or search any native upload), and change the “flags” toggle from “(Any Flags)”  to “Flagged malicious.” 

If your workflows permit you to simply discard any documents flagged as potentially malicious, then running the above search and deleting the malicious files is a simple way to reduce risk. Once you have confirmed that your team wishes to discard these files without review, simply follow the document deletion workflow.  

On the other hand, if your workflows require you to host, review, and/or produce files from a native upload that are flagged as malicious,  you may find it helpful to see our articles on 

• Document Access Management
• Exporting potentially malicious files
• Identifying potentially malicious documents that will be included in a production and creating rules for how those files ought to be handled

For workflow help or questions regarding reviewing and producing potentially malicious native data, you can also contact support@everlaw.com.