Catalyst CR

Catalyst CR FAQs

We get a lot of good questions about Catalyst CR from clients, partners and users. This page collects the most frequent questions and provides answers. If you have other questions, please email them to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

FAQ Topics:

Dynamic Folders

For additional information on Dynamic Folders, please consult the CR User Guide.

1.  What are Dynamic Folders and who creates them?

Dynamic Folders are based on a database field. The value in that field is what is shown under the Dynamic Folders. For example, the top level of the Dynamic Folder tree might be based on custodian so the values in the Custodian field would show in that tree. When you click one of those folders, you are running a SQL database search to find documents containing that field value. Thus, the folder is "dynamic" because results are based on a current database search.

Dynamic Folders run off the SQL database rather than the FAST full-text search engine. Therefore, folder results are always up to date (although the folder tree may need to be refreshed). Thus, if you have a Dynamic Folder based off the Reviewed field and you change the value in the field from “Not_Reviewed” to “Reviewed,” it will immediately move to the Reviewed folder.

Dynamic Folders can have multiple levels. There is no technical limit to the number of levels, although practically speaking most clients only have three or four levels.

Dynamic Folders have one key limitation: They must be based on single value fields, and that field should be populated; otherwise, the document will not show in the tree structure. Custodian is a common field to use because each document can only come from one custodian and Custodian is usually populated. Witness or Issue wouldn't work because a document could relate to more than one witness or issue.

Dynamic Folders are often used to organize data at upload time (e.g., group custodian, not reviewed or reviewed data) or assist with workflow. As data is uploaded in increments to a site, the Dynamic Folders will be updated automatically.

Catalyst will create Dynamic Folders for you, typically as part of site setup. You can create several different folder trees if you need them. This can also be done at a later time. Please consult with your Catalyst Project Manager to discuss Dynamic Folders further.

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Folder Focus Search (SQL vs. FAST)

1. What is the difference between searches run when you are in Public, Private, Shared or Review folders (Folder Focus Search) versus searches run through the Search Helper on the search screen?

The CR Search engine, Fast Instream, is used for all searching done from the Search tab, or Search Helper window. The syntax to create searches is fully explained in the CR Search Guide. The searching that happens in folders with Folder Focus Search works a bit differently.

If you have fewer than 3000 documents in your folder, you have the option of doing a Full Text search or a Fields Only search. The Full Text search will work just like searching from the Search Helper; you can search doctext, anytext or names as well as fields. If you chose the option Fields Only you will be running a SQL search, which provides you with the ability to search in real time – meaning updates to a record do not need to be indexed for them to come back in the SQL search. For Fast searching, they do.

There are differences between Fast and SQL searching. With SQL searching (Folder Focus Fields Only), you will have to remember to do the following:

  • Use only the fields that are available in the drop-down menu fields list.
  • Use the operators available in the drop-down menu that are associated with the field you chose in the fields list.
  • Put quotes around the value.
  • The “co” (contains) operator will stem (e.g. author co tom will find “tom”, “tommy” and “tomas”). In Fast, it does not.
  • The “=” (equals) operator will not stem, so you may get different results when you use equals versus contains.

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Forms Administration

For additional information on Forms Administration, please consult the CR Admin Guide.

1. What happens if I put the wrong Display Type on a form, and how do I know what type to put with each field?

You should know what your field types (e.g., multi-value, single-value, date) are before you display a field on a form. Consult the Admin Guide on what the different Display Types are in Forms Admin, and use the proper type according to what kind of field you have. For example, if your field is a single-value field, you would want to choose radio, dropdownlist or label as the Display type. You would not want to select checkbox or other multi-value field display types, because the values will not get saved to the system properly. Most importantly, searching will not work properly. Less importantly, you also may find that setting up a display incorrectly will make the form appear confusing.

2. What happens if you have a rule on a field and a macro on a field and they conflict with one another?

Remember this: Rules rule. Rules will overwrite the macros if they conflict. It may not be apparent to your users that your rules and macros conflict, so use caution when creating them.

3. What happens if you change a form from a multi-column form to a single-column form? What about dual monitor to single monitor?

You can change a multi-column form to a single-column form, but you have to be careful. It is not just a matter of clicking Edit Form and making it one column. First you have to go into the form designer and click Clear to clear all of the columns and then Save. Then you can edit the form and change it from multi-column to single-column and if it is a dual monitor form, change it to single. Refresh your screen and then you can change the field order on the fields list.

4. How do rules work with respect to multi-value fields?

Rules cannot be made on multi-value fields but you can make a rule on another field that allows the multi-value field to be visible or active. For example, you can create a rule that makes the Issues field (multi-value) visible on the form if the value "Responsive" is selected in the ReviewStatus field.

5. What is the difference between “visible” and “enabled” in the rules?

If a rule makes a field “visible” the field will show up on the form only if the designated value is selected by the user. For example, a rule can be created so that if the reviewer selects the value “responsive” for the ReviewStatus field, then the fields “privileged” and “confidential” show up on the form. If the reviewer selects any other value, those fields remain hidden. If the rule is created to make a field enabled, then the fields will be visible whether or not any value appears, but they will not be active unless the value “responsive” is chosen. In this case they are still visible but not active, so they cannot be tagged until that value is chosen.

6. What are the limitations of having a field required?

Required fields are useful in circumstances when you want to make sure the field is coded by a reviewer before they can move on to the next record. Do not make multi-valued associated fields required because if the field needs to be cleared of any tags, you will not be able to clear it.

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General Review

For additional information on General Review, please consult the CR User Guide.

1. Why does Catalyst provide a “preview” and what is the preview?

The preview is an HTML preview of the native file. We provide it so that you can see the native file contents very quickly, and perhaps avoid having to open the native file at all. Native files can take a while to open, especially if they are very large files, like some Excel spreadsheets. With the HTML preview, you can also see the hits highlighted.

2. Why is it that some documents do not have an available preview?

There are thousands of file types, and we do support the more common ones and encourage conversion to PDF for less common file types. We have previews for text and .msg files. PDF and TIFF files do not require previews and Excel files are displayed in a specific Excel previewer.

Records that do not have previews include:

  • Spreadsheet files other than Excel
  • Older Excel spreadsheets, such as Excel 97
  • Log files or certain other large files
  • MS Office 2007 files

At times, the preview is not available for files that typically do have previews. This can happen if the file is password protected or partially corrupted or for other reasons that prohibit providing a preview of the file.

3. With the Catalyst Excel Viewer, are hidden rows and columns visible? What about comments and notes in native files like Word documents or PowerPoints?

The Excel Viewer in CR will expand hidden rows and columns. You will not see formulas, so to see them, you would need to open the native document. Comments in Word document or speaker notes in PowerPoint slides, depending on how they were processed, will usually need to be viewed natively.

4. When I am reviewing, I scroll from document to document and review. Then I notice that when I think I’m done, there are still documents that haven’t been reviewed yet. What is going on?

When reviewing from a search results page or from dynamic folders, you may run into the situation where indexing occurs or the search refreshes and the results that you are reviewing will change, causing you to “skip” documents. Two things are going on; first we index to keep your database up to date and second, we refresh the search in order to present results faster. You therefore may find a skipping as you move through the records. The way to avoid this is either to folder search results in static folders for review or click on your dynamic folder to refresh your search and bring back the non-reviewed documents. Just check to make sure you have reviewed everything by clicking on that folder and re-running the search.

5. Why does my computer slow down, freeze or shut down while I am reviewing documents in Catalyst CR?

The Speculative Download feature within Adobe Acrobat and Acrobat Reader can slow down and eventually freeze a user's computer while reviewing documents. Some affected computers display the Internet Explorer error message: An error has occurred and Internet Explorer must shutdown. In order to correct this, the user must disable the speculative download feature in Adobe products.

Click here for detailed instructions on how to disable speculative download in Adobe.

6. I need to update several records at one time, how can I do this?

Multiple records can be updated simultaneously using the Bulk Update feature. Usually Administrators have permissions to do this.

7. I have a field that only opens when I click a certain value on another field. When I change the value of both fields, only one of the values is saving, why?

You have what we call an “associated field”, where one field is based on the value you choose for a different field. Often times, this is the PrivBasis field being associated with the Privileged field so that PrivBasis only opens when you choose “Privileged” for the Privileged field. When you make changes to the PrivBasis field, you need to make sure that the field is showing on the form when you click Save. For example, if you ran across a document that is marked “Privileged” and has the PrivBasis “AC” and you decide to update that document and make it “Not-Privileged,” you first have to clear the checkbox of the “AC” value in PrivBasis, then click Save, and then change “Privileged” to “Not-Privileged” on the Privilege field, and click Save again.

8. Why don't hot keys work when I am viewing a PDF file?

Our review forms can be configured to use hot keys to speed the review process. Hot keys are invoked by pressing the Alt key and another letter combination. Alt-S invokes the Save & Next function. Alt-N simply calls for the next document without saving the previous record.

Unfortunately, hot keys are problematic when viewing PDF files. The reason is that the PDF plug-in takes control of the browser window. As a result, the hot key command is issued to the PDF files and they don't recognize it.

You can solve the issue by clicking the Web page itself. This will place the focus on the Web page, which will recognize the hot key command.

9. How can I add a new value to a field on my form?

Your administrator can add a value to the lookup table for you. If you have permissions to add values to lookup tables, you will see an Add button when you open the lookup table from the form. The field has to be displayed as a lookup list in order for you to see this; it will not be available if the field is represented as checkboxes.

10. I have coded several documents and my changes do not seem to be saving. Why are my changes not appearing?

The Internet Explorer cache feature can sometimes cause users to view a cached Web page, rather than the updated Web page where the coding changes have occurred.  Learn more about adjusting your Internet Explorer settings.

11. After running a search in Catalyst CR, I've noticed that blank pages are displaying when I access PDF files. Why does this happen?

There could be a number of reasons for this problem. One simple thing to try is to close your browser and close Adobe Acrobat. If need be, you can close Acrobat using your computer's Task Manager. You can also review additional help on this issue.

 12. What is a placeholder file and why is it needed?

A placeholder is typically used for a container file (PST, ZIP, etc.). When we process data, we comb through the logical directory structure and process documents as they exist in their physical location. When we come across a container file, the container file is placed in a folder to be processed separately or as a new job. We create a placeholder PDF signifying that a container file was found and that it will be processed separately. The placeholder also indicates the physical location or order of where it was received by Catalyst.

The placeholder files serve three purposes: first, they specify that the particular file exists on the system; second, they provide the location of that file on the source media; third, they inform our production people that the container exists and requires additional processing.

The production team processes container files separately from the main production workflow. Placeholder records do not specify their contents nor do they provide a dynamic link to their content.

However, when the container files are processed, the Original Name field (if contained in the database design) is populated with the contents of the placeholder record.

13. Can I save more than one View/Display for my Results page so that I don’t have to change it?

Only one display may be saved other than the Default Display set by the Site Administrator.

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General Searching

For additional information on Searching, please consult the Search Guide.

1. What is the difference between DocText, FieldText, AnyText and Names searching?

DocText searches search the full text of a document, as well as the doctitle and the subject fields.

FieldText searches search the major fields in the database. You can customize the fields associated with this search at site setup time. The default fields and those set up for most CR sites are the following:

  • Author
  • Recipient
  • CC
  • BCC
  • Custodian
  • BegControl
  • Issue

Names searching will search only the Author, Recipient, CC and BCC fields. Sites that are more current have Names searching in place of FieldText searching.

Anytext searching will search a combination of DocText and either FieldText or Names.

*Anytext searching is not a search of all fields in the database.

2. I am receiving different numbers of hits in my results set for the exact same search. Why is this occurring?

The number of records returned will vary slightly when the collection is being changed (new documents, updates to documents, replacement documents, or document deletions). Usually, this is not noticeable; however, sometimes the results count will not match your previous results.

Typically, the results are higher than the previous count that you have run, and the older, duplicate records will be excluded from the results set. This happens when the distributed data structures account for duplicate versions of the document in the collection across many servers. Our display methods will not show the duplicate documents; they are only reported in the results. So your results page will reflect the proper results, but the number that is reported may be higher than the last time you ran the search.

If this causes confusion for reviewers because searches are being used for the review, we suggest copying the results set into a public, private or shared folder (including related/attached or duplicates, as appropriate). The reviewers can then select a folder which will always return the same number count in the results set during their review. Alternatively, the Review Module can be used in a similar fashion, depending upon how the site administrator has set up the review workflow.

Use the Indexing Information link, available to administrators, to see the activity of the indexing on your site. If the light is green, no indexing is taking place and the results of your search should not fluctuate.

3. Why do I receive a timeout error when I have an asterisk (*) in my search?

The * search is the universal wildcard. It can be added to the front, back or middle of a word. Thus, a search for pre* will return a wide range of words including pretty, precedent, present, etc.

With large document populations, some wildcard searches would bring back literally thousands of different word stem possibilities. Because this is probably not useful to the searcher and to preserve the speed of search response, our search engine will cut off any search that brings back too many possibilities. Instead you will get an error message and a chance to limit your search.

This happens most often on searches where an * is placed at the front of the word. While FAST allows this syntax, it will first analyze the number of possible word combinations that could come out of its indexes. When this number is over a set amount (e.g., 500), it will stop the search and cause a timeout error. That is why you get the Timeout error message.

You can fix this by narrowing your search to cut out word possibilities. Try adding more letters after the * to limit possibilities (and improve the relevance of the response). Break the search into several * searches as well.

If you have questions about search syntax, please contact our Support Department.

4. When I conduct a search on the Date field, I do not receive any results. I know that there is a date associated with this document. Why am I not receiving any results?

One possibility is that the Date field may not have been set up as a true Date field when the site was designed by your site administrator. It may have been formatted as a text field to allow for fuzzy dates (10/00/2002). If that is the case, it could be your search was not an exact match of the text values in that field. Try a broader search and see how dates are formatted. Then run a search with correct formatting.

We recommend using true Date fields. This allows range searches as well as exact matches. If your field is a true Date field, you will see range operators like , =, or =. The operators for a text-type Date field will be contains (co), not contains (nc) or equal (=).

5. How do I determine which documents do not have a date?

In order to find documents that do not have a date, you must first return all documents in the database by running a blank search. When results are returned, sort the results by docdate to determine the earliest date. Once the earliest docdate is determined, run the following search:

docdate < [Insert earliest document date]

This search will result in all documents with an empty docdate.

Another way to return blank dates is to run the search ~orbdocdate: 1901-01-01

6. What are Special or Reserved Characters?

Certain characters are not indexed by the search engine and are ignored if you use them, including:

, (comma) ; (semicolon) : (colon) . (period) _ (underscore) - (dash) / (slash) % (percent) # (pound)

These characters are treated as blank spaces by the search engine. This can be important for certain mixed text and numeric characters that are often separated with a dash.

For example: the control ("Bates") number "AMB-000002347" would be treated as if it were two items rather than one: AMB and 000002347.

Fortunately, you can still find the record by entering the whole control number in your search, e.g. Begcontrol = AMB-000002347.

The search engine will ignore the dash but will look for records where the Begcontrol field contains: AMB 000002347.

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Highlighting

For additional information on Highlighting, please consult the CR User Guide and Search Guide. For information on Highlight Administration, consult the CR Admin Guide.

1. Why don't my Search highlights show up on the document and how does highlighting work?

There are a few reasons highlights may not appear on your document.

If you are viewing a PDF version of the record, you may need to click the Highlight link at the top of the document frame to display the highlights.

For searches that contain several terms, only the top 20 search terms will be highlighted. All words from the Highlight Administration module will appear in highlights. For example, if your administrator has placed automatic highlights on 25 different terms, and you run a search of 25 terms, exclusive of the terms listed for automatic highlighting, all 25 terms from Highlight Administration and the top 20 search terms will be highlighted in your document.

Highlights on documents are literal and require exact matches. If you search for Johnson & Johnson in CR, you can leave out the & (ampersand) character because the search engine ignores it anyway. However, the highlighter will look for an exact match of the words Johnson Johnson. It will not highlight the phrase "Johnson & Johnson."

We do not highlight proximity matches. Instead, we highlight all instances of the individual words from your pairing. This means you see more than just the proximity pair.

Another reason that search terms don’t highlight can be due to the document type.

Search terms can only be highlighted on HTML files (email or HTML previews) or on PDF files with embedded OCR. If the document is an image-only file (TIFF or some PDFs), then the file won't highlight. If the TIFF or PDF has an associated text file, that file can be highlighted. Switch to the Text tab in your record to see the highlights.

2. What is the difference between Search Highlighting and Highlighting that is not from a search?

After you run a text search, your terms will highlight on the preview or on the PDF (if the PDF has embedded OCR text). If you see other highlighting your preview, it is done by the Highlight Administration module. Administrators have the ability to highlight certain words or phrases so that every time you see that word or phrase in a document, you will see it highlighted in the preview. This is to draw attention to the word. The administrator may choose to highlight words in different colors for the preview (although these colors will not show in the PDF files, only the HTML or text version).

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Miscellaneous

1. I can't remember my password to log into Catalyst CR.

Many administrators have the ability to reset passwords for their users. If your site administrator does not have the ability to reset your password, a new password may be requested from Catalyst Support.

Catalyst suggests that all users change their passwords frequently. To change your password, log in to Catalyst CR, go to the Admin tab and select Other Administration. The first option under Other Administration is Change Password. Select the Lock button on the right side of the screen. You will be asked to enter your old password, then enter a new password and confirm it.

2. Does CR have a timeout feature?

Yes, CR has a global timeout variable of two hours. The user will lose his or her session if the browser sits idle for more than that amount of time, but the site will not close. You will begin a new session when you continue working.

3. What languages are supported by Catalyst CR?

Catalyst supports over 70 languages. For more information in our foreign language capabilities, including a list of supported languages, please visit our Web site.

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New Administrative Users

1. What Specific things can I do as an Administrator that regular users cannot do?

The Catalyst Administrator's Guide outlines the specific features that are available to Admin users and fully explains each feature. There are basic Admin features as well as other features that are only available to Administrators with special permissions. All Admin users have access to Default Fields, Default Display, Field Names, Audit Trails, Redaction Administration, Review Summaries (if they exist on the site), Non-Indexed Documents links, the Indexing Information link, and Highlight Administration. Special permissions may be given to Administrators for: Managing Lookup Tables, Managing Notifications, Catalyst Support Tickets, Forms Administration and User Administration.

2. How do I change a Password for a user?

You must have access to User Administration in order to change a password for a user on your site. In order to have permissions to User Administration, you should watch the training video so you understand the different permissions and how to assign them to users. Once in User Administration, click the user name of the person whose password you want to change. That will bring up the user information card. Click Change Password and you can enter the new password into the system. Let the user know what you changed it to.

3. How do I know who tagged a specific record?

All records in CR have a Document History associated with them. The Document History will show you all of the changes that have been made to the document, who made the changes and when. The Document History is a hyperlink at the bottom of the form of the record. If the document record has never been updated, the Document History will not be a hyperlink.

4. How can I tell who logged into the site and when?

All Administrative users have access to the Audit Trails for their site. Audit Trails are located under the Admin tab, Other Administration, Administrative Tools. When you first open the link, you will see aggregate audit trail results displayed. They default to the current date. You can change the date range, select a specific user from the list and select a specific action, like Login. The aggregate results may be all you need, but for specific results, like what time users logged in or how long they were actively using the site, you can open the full Audit Report at the bottom of the screen. Select the format you want to use and when you click the Audit Report, it will open in that application.

5. How do I get a list of all of my users?

You can get a report of all of your users from the User Administration module. From the menu, select User Detail Report. It will list the user name, email, login name, the date they were added to the site, the organization, the user type, the specific permissions they have, and the sub-collections that they have access to. You can export the list.

6. Can I move documents from one sub-collection to another?

If the sub-collection field is editable, you can change the sub-collection that a document belongs to just as you would change any value of any field. In most cases, the sub-collection field is not editable, but if you need it to be, it can be displayed on a form and made editable. Another option is to make it a field available for Bulk Updating. Usually when you want to move documents from one sub-collection to another, you will want to do it in bulk. Ask Catalyst to make the field available in Bulk Updating and then update the documents all at once to the other sub-collection. Only users with rights to Bulk Updating will be able to do this.

7. What do I do about non-indexed documents?

There are often documents that are uploaded to CR that are not appropriate for indexing. Maybe they are too large or they have no text, like photographs, or are tif files that were never OCRed. You are notified at upload time that not all documents are indexed, and a link is provided to you so that you can see exactly which documents are not indexed. That link can also be found under Links, Non-Indexed Documents. Remember that the record will still get indexed, just the text of the document is not, so it is not full-text searchable.

If you have a CR site and you are reviewing all documents uploaded to it, you do not have to worry about non-indexed documents because you will most likely be searching for the tags that the reviewers coded when they reviewed the record. If you are relying on full-text searching for your review, for culling, or for any reason, you may decide the documents that are not full-text searchable need to be reviewed separately.

8. What is a Load Report and why don't I have one?

Load Reports were added to all sites as a standard report starting July 2009. The Load Report shows you the date documents were loaded, the Catalyst ticket number of the upload request, the data volume, sub-collection, custodian, control number range and the number of documents uploaded. This report is key to tracking when your uploads take place.

9. Why do I have to have specific training for User Administration and Forms Administration?

We require training for these two modules because of the powerful features they provide. With User Administration, you are controlling the permissions of the users and granting users rights to your site, your sub-collections and perhaps private fields. You must know what you are doing in User Administration because providing a user with access to a sub-collection they should not see or permissions to features (like bulk updating or managing users) they should not have, could be very dangerous.

With Forms Administration, you can create forms on your site that do not function correctly. This can be dangerous because if for example, you set up a form to display as a radio button, but it is a multivalue field, the values will not be entered correctly when a reviewer tags the document, and you will not be able to search those values. In Forms Administration you can also set up Rules and Macros on forms. If you are not certain you are doing these things correctly, you may inadvertently alter data and not even realize it.

10. Why do users have to have me delete redacted documents? Can't they do it through the Redaction module?

Regular users can delete redactions through the Redaction Module, but they cannot delete ALL redactions. You have to do it through the Redaction Administration module. It is designed this way because if a redacted document contains no redactions at all, then the entire record needs to be removed from the system. That, we feel, is a decision that needs to be made by an Administrator.

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New Users

1. Can I change my password?

Yes, you can change your password whenever you like. Click the Admin tab in the left frame. Next, click Other Administration in the left frame and over in the right frame, click the Lock to enter your old and new passwords.

2. The fields on my Results page are not the fields I’m interested in seeing. Can I control what appears on my Results page?

Yes, change the fields you see by clicking Menu in the top right corner and selecting Change View. That will bring you to the My Display page. You can also get there from the Admin tab in the left frame, and then click My Display.

Once in My Display, select the fields you want to display from the drop-down menu. You can stack the fields three deep per column. Add as many columns as you like. When you are satisfied, click Save and another column will appear. From this screen you can also change your Sort option and the number of records you display on your Results page.

After you select what you want, click Save and then Return to Results to return to the Results page.

3. Where do I start my review?

This depends on the way your site administrator has set up your site workflow. Usually reviewers review using either the Dynamic Folders or the Review Module. If your review will use the Dynamic Folders, click the Folders tab in the left frame, then expand the Dynamic Folders. Expand further to find the folder you are supposed to be reviewing. Again, depending on how your site is set up, as you go through your review, you will see documents move from the “Not Reviewed” folder to “Reviewed,” “ForFurtherReview” or “Technical” folders.

If your review will use the Review Module, click the Review tab in the left frame. You will see a Review In and a Review Out folder under your project. You should review what is in the Review In folder.

Talk with your site administrator to make sure you are reviewing in the proper project and/or folders. See the CR Quick Guide for Reviewers.

4. What form do I use?

This is another question for your site administrator. Sites are usually set up with a Detail form and a Review form. Most reviewers use the Detail form for reference and do all their tagging in the Review form. Many sites have special forms set up for different levels of review.

5. What if I cannot open a document?

Try to open the document in the different document formats. Most sites open to the PDF version of the document, if one exists. If not, then use the HTML preview. If that does not open, you may or may not be able to open the document natively. Try using the Download Native link in the upper left corner. Sometimes documents will open in Notepad or some sort of text viewer. Some documents are system files or files not appropriate for reviewing. Usually there is an option to mark a document as “technical” if you cannot open it; therefore, if available mark the document as technical if you cannot open it and move on.

6. When I try to open a document natively, I get a message about pop-up blockers. What is this and how do I get around it?

When you click the Native link at the top of the screen, hold down the Ctrl key and the document should open. You can also click the Download Native link and select the Open option rather than Save. You can also turn your popup blockers off.

7. How do I know if my changes are being saved?

After a user makes a change to a document, the document has a Document History. That history will show any and all changes that have ever been made to the record. Usually it is displayed as a link from your Detail and Review forms. You can click the link to open the report. If there is no link available, this means that the document has never been modified. Changes you have made and saved to the record will be noted in the Document History. If you have any reason to think a record is not being updated and it should be, contact Catalyst Support or your Site Administrator. The Audit Reports can also be examined.

8. Where are the User Guides?

You can access the main CR User Guide and the Search Guide from the Search Helper page in CR. The links are at the bottom of the screen. You can also find all of the manuals here on the Catalyst Support Site. You will also find training videos, Best Practices and other helpful information there.

9. How do I reach Support?

You can contact support in several different ways. Email support at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Call the Support Hotline at (303) 824-0911 or (877) 557-4273 (Toll Free).  Read more about Catalyst Support on the Support Site and print out this handy reference.

10. How do I know if I’m an Administrator?

If you are an Administrator, you will see some additional options located under the Admin tab in the left frame. Administrators see the links called Default Fields, Default Display and Field Names. Administrators will also have some additional links under the Other Administration link, such as Audit Trail Reports, Redaction Administration, and Highlight Administration. They may also see some Custom Reports. Under Links, Administrators will see a link to Indexing Information. Administrators may also see some additional links depending on individual permissions assigned to them.

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Productions

For additional information on Productions, please see the Processing and Productions section of the Support Site.

1. What are my options for producing documents from my Catalyst site?

When you have identified documents that you are ready to produce, we can get them ready for you to produce. Productions can be in different formats: native, PDF, multi-page TIF or single page TIF. We can also do productions that are a hybrid of these options. Working with our Processing and Production department, you will provide us with information like endorsements, formats, etc.

After the production files have been created, we can load the production numbers and/or documents to the site. You may also want to load data, such as the production date or the production name. Loading this data will help you keep track of which documents have been previously produced as you proceed through your review.

In addition, we can load the branded images to the site. This is often helpful if you plan to print documents from the site, as you will be able to print the documents with their control numbers. We can associate these branded images with existing records or we can create new records for the production documents and create a relationship between the new production records and the old review records.

Contact your Catalyst Project Manager for more information about the document production process and upload options.

2. When you convert native Excel files to PDF/TIFF, does your software take all hidden data and convert it to images?

Our conversion process unhides the rows, columns and sheets, and prints/converts them to PDF with headers and footers. The automatic dates are removed and replaced with a text marked AutoText to denote that there was date information. Note that the conversion does not always display exactly as the actual Excel file since page widths and lengths may require the conversion to traverse multiple pages to display all the information in the Excel file, but you will still get all the data in the conversion.

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Production Module

1. When the system converts the files after you copy them to the production folder, how does it convert and how long does it take?

We use our normalization processes to convert files to PDF and use the same services for document conversion in this module as we do for our Convert to PDF action in the document window.

All documents go into the conversion queue, so how long the process takes will depend on the amount of documents in the queue ahead of you. You can start the conversion process before you finalize the production specifications by copying the documents you want to produce to the production folder. Starting the process right away can save you a good deal of time. Any files that already have a PDF, either as a native file or as another format of the original, will not have to be converted, but you don’t have to do anything differently.

2. Doing productions with Catalyst, I’ve always copied documents to a static folder and then they (the Catalyst team) have worked on the production. With the Production Module, how do I get my documents into the production?

You will still need to identify your production documents. Once you do, just use the Copy to Folder action and select your production folder from the list of folders. You have to create the production project first in the Production Module or else you will not see your production folder.

3. How do I produce both in native and image format?

To produce all files in both native and image, select the Produce file types as Native option in the Production Module file format section. Go into the Configuring Native File Options screen and select the file types that you want produced as native.

4. Does the Production Module do my productions faster than if I have Catalyst do them?

Documents that are put into the Production Module are put into the same queue for converting as productions outside of the module. You can save time by putting the documents in the folder right away, even before you finish your production specifications. Production time depends on the number of productions being run consecutively. You will likely save time on the error handling part of the production process because you handle the errors yourself, rather than Catalyst. The time saved is in the communication between the parties involved on how to handle the error documents and in the conversion process.

5. Does the cost of the Production Module differ than if I have Catalyst do the production?

No.

6. Do I have the ability to load my production documents after the production is complete and will they link to the original?

Yes, one of the options in the Post Production Options section of the module is to Link Produced Document Back to Original Document. If you select this option, it will link the produced documents back to the original via a hyperlink in the produced version of the document. You will be able to click to the production version of the document and you will see the production form with the document. You can place the production numbers on the production form, but they are not searchable.

7. Will my storage increase due to creating productions in the Production Module?

Your storage will increase due to the conversion to PDF and due to the production files themselves. Talk to your Catalyst Project Consultant if you would like to have the production documents and PDFs deleted. Be aware, however that if you delete the PDF files and you need the PDF format of the documents for anything in the future, you will have to pay to have the PDFs converted again.

8. Why can’t I see the production folders on my site? Is there a special setup involved when my site is created?

Catalyst will turn on the Production Module on your site when you are ready to use it. Then, you simply have to be given permissions to see the production folders in User Administration. The permission is ManageProductions.

9. What are Production Forms and why do I have to create them for my production documents?

The production forms are used for the production version of the document. They are special forms that show the metadata of your choosing in a label (non-editable) display. After the production is complete, the folders that hold your productions will display the production form when you open the document. If you choose to link the produced version of the document with the original, the window will open with the production version(s) of the document and the production form. The data that appears in the form is the data that was associated with the record when you ran the production. It may not be the same data that appears with the current (original) record if the data was changed since the production was run.

10. Do I have to assign the Production Form to users?

If a user does not have rights to a production form, he will not be able to see the production document or the form. The form has to be part of each security group in User or Forms Administration if you want the users to be able to see the produced version of the document. If you want to hide the produced documents from a group, just remove the production form from the security group that the users belong to.

11. Is there an expedite option in the Production Module? Are there extra charges?

There is not a way to expedite your production through the module interface. You should speak to your Catalyst Project Consultant about expediting a project. The usual rush charges will apply. Note that smaller productions will be in one queue, while larger production will be in another. This is done so that smaller productions don’t get pushed behind larger ones causing you to have to wait for smaller productions.

12. The projects I do are usually very custom and unique. Will I be able to do these through the module?

It depends on whether the project falls outside of the scope of what the Production Module can do. Speak with your Catalyst Project Consultant about custom production jobs. They will likely have to be done outside of the Production Module and you will likely incur additional cost for custom productions.

13. Do I still have to fill out a Production Specification Workbook?

You do not have to fill it out if you are using the Production Module. If you have a custom project or want Catalyst to do the production for you, then you will need to fill it out. With your first production through the module, request training from the Catalyst Training Department and they will walk you through the process. ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

14. Why are there limited fields available in the Sort by options under the Production numbering Options section of the module?

The fields that are available for sorting in the Production Module are the same fields that were set as sortable when the site was created. If you need other fields to be sortable, contact your Project Consultant.

15. Where do I create or edit the Placeholders and ILBs?

Because Placeholders and ILBs are global settings and available to all productions on your site, they are located under Production Folders in the folder structure. Click the heading in the left frame to see the Global Options at the bottom-right side of the screen. With respect to placeholders, you must create at least one before starting your production. If your site does not have a placeholder defined, you will not be able to click the other tabs in the Production Module and anything that is entered into the Pre-production tab will not be saved.

16. When picking fields for the metadata load files, how do I make the production specific fields sort on top of the standard fields so that I don't have to move all the production specific fields up from the bottom one at a time? 

Pick the production specific fields first and click Save. Next, choose the standard fields. This will make the production specific fields appear at the top.

17. I have documents to produce that have text going to the borders of the document. Does Catalyst put the endorsements on top of the image? Will images or text get covered up?

Our default when preparing image productions which have endorsements (branding) is to reduce the image by 3% in an effort to avoid the branding covering the text of the image. This applies to productions run through the production module and custom/manual productions.


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Project Consultants

For more information on Project Consultants, click here.

1. How long will it take to set up my site?

If you are participating in the FAST Track Site Setup program using a Catalyst template site, then your site will be ready 24 hours after we receive a completed site request form. If you want to create a template specific to a partner or client, then it will take approximately three days to create the template site. In the future, all sites that are created using this template will take 24 hours. If you are participating in the FAST Track program and have a new site and first data load, your site and first load will be set up in 72 hours. If your site is a custom site, depending on the complexity of the customization (e.g., private fields site) it will take approximately three days from the date we receive the site request form. Data loading takes additional time.

For more information on FAST Track and custom site set-up, click here.

2. How long will it take to load data to my site?

If you are participating in the FAST Track Data Load program, then your data (up to 25 GBs) will be loaded, indexed and available within 24 hours after we receive the data via FTP. Data loads must meet the specifications in order to be within this timeframe. If you are submitting a data load outside of the FAST Track program, and if there are no problems with the data load, documents, transfer file, and load file, it will be loaded within three business days from the date of receipt. Upload timeframes depend not only on the verification of the data, but also on the size of the data load.

If additional work needs to be performed on the upload, such as searching, updating or foldering documents, this work is outside of the timeframe. You may perform interactive culling and bulk tag and re-index large sets of data; this work also falls outside the data loading timeframe. For more information on this additional work, consult with your Catalyst Project Consultant.

At Catalyst, we work on requests on a first come, first served basis. This is the only way to ensure that client requests are treated fairly. We try to complete all requests within 3 business days of receipt. You may have your request expedited and moved ahead in the queue. There is a 50% premium for expedited requests with a $500 minimum charge.

For more information on data loading and expedited requests, click here.

3. What are the acceptable file types for display on Catalyst CR and what happens to files that can’t be indexed?

What can be displayed on Catalyst is partially up to the machine that you are using to view the documents. We can display many file types, but if the user does not have the native application on their computer then they will not be able to view the document natively. We can present many file types in our HTML preview, but some file types are not appropriate for HTML preview (e.g., .pst, .zip).

We try to index all documents on your site, but some files are not appropriate for indexing. If we are unable to index the documents, we will still load them but the text will not be indexed. You can find your non-indexed documents by going to CR Links and selecting non-indexed documents. The different reasons that files cannot be indexed are listed in that window. Click one of the reasons to see the documents on your site that are not indexed due to that reason.

For more information on files appropriate for indexing, click here.

4. How do I send Data/Documents to Catalyst? If I use FTP then how big can the data load be?

Data can be sent to Catalyst via FTP or you can send media to Catalyst. If you are participating in the FAST Track program then you must use FTP. The maximum GB size for each FTP upload is 3.99 GB. If you send media then you must include a data transfer file and include a data load file with the delivery. You must adhere to the Catalyst Load File Specifications and notify Catalyst that the delivery has been sent.

5. How does Catalyst handle requests (including everything from uploads to user support) and how do I work with Catalyst on requests?

We offer several ways for you to contact our team. We have a support email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , a hotline number (303) 824-0911 or toll free at (877) 557-4273, online chat, and a web-based utility called Catalyst ST. Catalyst ST allows you to submit and track support requests. Use ST to check the status of pending requests.

6. What are your business hours? Are those the hours that your technicians and client support people work too?

Catalyst business hours are from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mountain Time Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For support emergencies after hours, an answering service will page an on-call technician. Processing, productions and uploads continue to be worked on after business hours. Please note that requests received after 5 p.m. MT are treated as being received at 6 a.m. MT the next business day. We are closed for federally recognized U.S. holidays.

7. How quickly can I get a production done and what are Catalyst’s production options?

Standard production requests of up to 25 GBs are usually done within two business days of receiving the request. We require the completion of a production workbook which provides us with the specifications of the production. Please refer to our Production Policies and Procedures for full details on production options.

8. What is a Quick Hit?

A Catalyst “Quick Hit” is a request that can be done very quickly by Catalyst with no rush fee required. These are requests such as adding users, adding existing fields to forms, modifying forms, adding fields to folder focus, and many more. We will get these requests done within 24 hours from the time of receipt, but often times, they get done much faster. These requests are not put into the first come, first served queue with all requests but are in a special queue just for Quick Hits.

9. What kind of training does Catalyst provide for partners and clients?

When a site is first setup, we provide a training session for the end users at no additional cost. Training for Administrators is usually done in a separate session. We do customized trainings to fit the needs of you and your team. We offer Partner trainings once a week, certified programs and videos on special features of CR.

For more information on our training programs, click here.

10. What is my role in relation to the role of the Catalyst Project Consultant?

Partner Project Consultants and Catalyst Project Consultants work very closely together. The goal is to keep clients happy and keep requests on track. Catalyst Project Consultants will provide consultation regarding how to set-up and configure a Catalyst site to meet your clients needs, discuss options regarding how your client can structure their review, arrange training for your client, and they will oversee the post-setup requests that come in. You should always include your Project Consultant in any requests or questions directed to Catalyst.

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Redaction

For additional information on Redaction, please consult the CR User Guide. For more on Redaction Administration, see the CR Admin Guide.

1. Why does Catalyst convert to PDF for redaction?

CR requires all documents to start the redaction process from a PDF format. Our Redaction Module takes that PDF, converts it into an image file and then presents the redactor with the image to redact. When the redaction is complete, the module takes that redacted image file and converts it back to a PDF for production. The redactions can never be removed from that final PDF because it was created from redacted image files.

2. Can I edit a redacted document?

Yes, you can make changes to a redacted document. The system will present you with the image files that you redacted, and you can remove or redraw redactions and save the new version.

3. When I click on a document to Redact, I see an option to select to start with the original or start with an “In Process” redaction. What is an “In Process” redaction?

As a person is redacting a document and clicking from page to page drawing their redactions, the paging mechanism is saving the redactions on the page as they move through the document. If they close the redaction without clicking Cancel or click Save & Return when they are done with it, the redaction saves it as “in process” automatically by our system. This is designed in this way so that if you are working on a very large document and you lose your Internet connection, Catalyst keeps your in-process redaction. You should start with this version, complete it and then click Save & Return. If you do not want this “in process” version, open it and click Cancel and the “in process” redaction will be deleted from the system.

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Review Module

For additional information on the Review Module, please consult the CR User Guide. For more on Review Module Administration, see the CR Review Module Admin Guide.

1. What triggers rules to take effect?

The stage rules are applied when a reviewer clicks Save or Save & Next from the document in the Review In or Review Out part of the stage. The rules will also be applied to the document if the reviewer uses the Apply Bulk Rules feature, but if the reviewer makes changes to the document coding in Review Out, even after the Bulk Rules have been applied, the rules will be applied again according to the new coding. When the documents are Released from the Review Out folder by the reviewer, they will move to the next stage according to the rules that get applied at the time of the last save.

2. Can I change rules in a stage after documents have been reviewed?

Yes, however, we do not recommend changing rules once review has begun.
Changing the rules of a stage will affect documents that are currently in the Review In and Review Out folders in the following way.

  • If a document is in the Review In folder and the rules are changed, the document will move through stages according to the revised rules.
  • If a document is in Review Out and the rules are changed, the document will move through stages according to the original rules, unless the reviewer opens the document from Review Out and clicks Save or Save & Next (this must be done on each document in Review Out), because you cannot use Apply Bulk Rules from the Review Out folder.

3. How does the Tag All feature (for related documents or other linked-to documents) work for documents in a Review Project?

When the Tag All checkbox is selected, the linked-to documents will be updated to reflect the changes the reviewer made to the document under review. For example, if a reviewer has a document with Near Duplicates identified, and he wants to code the whole set of Near Duplicates with the same coding, he will select the Tag All checkbox. He may have had one of the Near Duplicates in his Review In folder, but the others may exist in another reviewer’s folder.

The DocHistory of all of the records in that linked-to relationship will reflect the user who selected Tag All, because he was the one who reviewed them.

4. When should I use the Assign User option for a stage and when shouldn’t I?

Use the Assign User option when you want to assign batches to individual users in the stage. This is often useful for the first stage of a review project, because you can maintain control over what batches each reviewer gets and how many each gets. You may decide not to use it when you want the reviewers of the stage to be able to review any batch in the stage, such as when there are only a few reviewers in the stage with the same skill level.

5. When will Allow Bulk Save be useful to my review?

Allow Bulk Save is useful when you want to be able to send documents through a stage without having every document reviewed individually. It is most often used for Quality Control stages of the review. If the user has permissions to ApplyBulkReviewRules in User Administration and the stage is set up with Allow Bulk Save, the user can right-click the Review Out folder and click Apply Review Rules. This will send all of the documents to Review Out and the coding rules will be applied.

6. Can a project have more than one final stage?

Yes, but it isn’t necessary to create multiple final stages. You can do Folder Focus searching at the final stage of the review to identify documents for production, privilege logs, etc. It is best to have one final stage and identify documents based on the fields that have been coded.

Some documents may end up in a final stage but not truly be intended for production (for example, if the Tag All feature was used, an orphaned attachment may end up in the final stage, but be inappropriate for production).

7. Can I batch a document more than once during a review project?

No, you may only batch a document once per project.

8. Can I release more than one document at a time?

Yes, you can release from the Review Out level, meaning that all documents in the Review Out folder that are assigned to you will be released. You can also limit releases to a specific batch from the Review Out folder and that folder can contain any number of documents. Administrators can Release documents from any Review Out folder.

9. Why is it that when I inadvertently click Save or click Save & Next and don’t change any of the coding, the document gets moved to the Review Out folder?

The system is designed to move documents to Review Out when a reviewer clicks Save or Save & Next in the review project. One way to ensure the reviewers can’t accidentally save a document before it has been properly coded is to make the appropriate field in the Review Form a required field. Please note that this will only apply for the first pass that this document is reviewed (usually the Initial Review stage).

10. What do I do if the documents were moved to the wrong stage?

Only Catalyst can manually move documents to another stage in the review. This is because the system is designed to move the documents according to a rule. If the rule were set up incorrectly, you may find that the documents did not go to the intended destination. Contact Catalyst Support to have the documents moved back up in the review, so they can be properly coded and moved to the correct stage. When talking with Catalyst, you will need to provide a way of identifying the document set, so the following information will be needed:

  • The review project and stage, and
  • The batch name (if you want to move the entire batch), or
  • A list of docids (you can also group the documents to a public folder for identification purposes.), or
  • Specific search criteria such as Review Status = Not-Reviewed
  • After identifying the documents you need moved, you need to specify where they need to be moved to (the review project, the review stage, and, if applicable, the reviewer(s) to assign the documents to)

There may be billable time associated with Catalyst’s help in moving documents back in the review.

Alternatively, you can establish an automatic way to move the records by creating another stage (e.g., Second Review) in which a rule is established to send the documents back to an earlier stage. Then you will need to Bulk Save the documents to this new stage (Second Review). Contact your Catalyst Project Manager for help in setting this up.

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Searching Special Fields

1. What is an XML field and how do you search it?

Fields such as DocHistory or RedactionSearch are called XML fields. They contain data populated by the actions taken on the document record. For example, if you create a redaction on document x, your login name is associated with document x in the RedactionSearch field because you created the redaction. Other information, such as the date you created the redaction, the set you saved the redaction to, the wording contained on the redaction (if there was any), and other information is also captured in that field.

To search the RedactionSearch field, you need to search the data in the field. For example if you wanted to find all redacted documents that are in the redaction set “default”, you would need to search redactionsearch co default. To find redactions created by user “jdoe”, run the search redactionsearch co jdoe.

Note: You cannot use the “empty” or “is empty” syntax to find all redacted or non-redacted documents because the field is never entirely empty after a redaction has been saved.

2. What is a scope field and how do you search it?

Scope fields are used when no regular SQL fields are available on the site. These fields are multiple CR fields put into one SQL field using XML text.

There are a few limitations in searching these fields with Fast (in the Search Helper screen). You cannot use the “nc” (not contains) operator nor the “not empty” search syntax; you will get a syntax error. But, you can use NOT searching. In other words, this will work in Fast searching in the Search Helper: Not (ScopeField co yes).

You can perform normal “co” (contains) searches on scope fields and you can typically tell when a field is a scope field if the only operator in the operator drop-down menu on the Search Helper screen is the “co” operator. When in doubt, ask your Catalyst Project Consultant.

You can also perform SQL searches on a scope field – in other words, a scope field can be in Folder Focus search and you can use both the “co” and “nc” operators.

Finally, note that scope fields are never sortable.

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Static Folders

For additional information on Static Folders, please consult the CR User Guide.

1. What are "Static" Folders (Public, Private or Shared), how do they work and how do I create one?

Static Folders look like Dynamic Folders but they are different. Unlike Dynamic Folders, when a Public, Private or Shared folder is selected, a search is not performed. You are simply returning a group of documents that have been placed into a folder by someone.

Static Folders are also different in that you create them when you need them. Right-click the top level folder and choose Create Folder. The new folder you create will appear under the parent folder.

During your review, you can copy individual documents or groups of documents into a Static Folder. Click the Copy button and choose the folder. You can also select Show Checkbox to copy documents into a folder.

All users have the ability to create their own Private folders, which only they can view. Shared folders are folders you create and share with other selected users or user groups. Public folders can be created by all users and will be visible to all users.

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Sub-collections

For additional information on Sub-collections, please consult the CR User Guide and the CR Admin Guide.

1. What are sub-collections and how do I use them?

Sub-collections are used to secure collections of documents. Administrators with permissions to do so can give users access to specific sub-collections or all of them. They can also create new sub-collections. Users with rights to more than one sub-collection can search within specific sub-collections or across all of those they have access to. If you run a search or click a folder with only one sub-collection checked, then the site will only display results from that sub-collection. If you check all of the sub-collections and run your search or click a folder, then you will see all of the relevant documents.

2. What is the difference between private fields, sub-collections and private forms?

Sub-collections are used to secure groups of documents so that users who should not see certain documents will not have access to them. Private fields are fields that are private so that different parties to a litigation can have their own private work product information on the site. Private forms are forms that can be available to certain groups of users and not others. They are all completely different things but often times used in conjunction with one another.

For more information on forms, see the CR Admin Guide. For more information on private field sites, click here.

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For additional technical notes on Catalyst CR, click here.