Note: When I moved the content from my old website to this new one, the images in previous blog posts did not get moved over as well. I will reupload the images for those blog posts and repair the blog posts at a later date. Please bear with me as I complete this transition.
As promised (nearly two years ago), this post will be about auto-indexing in Stenovations’ DigitalCAT. This process is somewhat similar to that in Case CATalyst, but DigitalCAT is not as “fancy,” in that the only WYSIWYG capability this software package has is in the Print Preview option of the File menu.
That is not to say that auto-indexing cannot be done; it very much can. But checking your work and the viability of your indices once you’ve coded everything will just take another step or two.
Unlike in Case CATalyst, you do not need to add a code to your include files to show where an index should go. You tell the software where to put an index by simply clicking the appropriate page and line where you want to build your index after the rest of your editing and/or proofreading is complete.
Also unlike in Case CATalyst, you will not need to add codes to your include files, as there is no coding; auto-indexing is all done during the scoping phase of the process.
Inserting Examination Index Flags
The header here is a bit of a misnomer. DigitalCAT will automatically find all examination headers after a witness’s name as long as you format your examination headers a specific way. You first need to tell the program that there is a new witness whose examination(s) need to be indexed, however.
- Put your cursor anywhere on the appropriate line of the text.
- Click File –> Edit –> Index –> Witnesses –> New…
- This will bring up the following popup window.
4. Enter the witness’s/deponent’s name in the field below “Witness Name,” and click “OK.”
Notice on line 3 in the image that there is a “W” in the margin? That, as well as the greater-than sign before line 8, is called a “flag.” The one on line 8 is merely indicating the line my cursor is currently on, but the “W” on line 3 is indicating that a new witness should have his/her/their examinations on subsequent pages indexed.
DigitalCAT requires that examination headers be formatted with a colon after the BY line, or else the software will not recognize the change in examiner.
Flagging Marked Exhibits
While it is possible to include pretyped exhibit parentheticals during the scoping process, creating these parentheticals is not part of the auto-indexing process. Like examination indexing, exhibit indexing in DigitalCAT is strictly part of the scoping phase, whether the parentheticals themselves can be added during writing or not.
- Make sure that your cursor is on the same page and line as your exhibit marking parenthetical.
- Click Edit –> Index –> Exhibits –> New…, or Press Alt+Ctrl+E.
- Fill in the Insert Exhibit popup box with the appropriate information and click “OK.”
I did not fill in all of the fields, but note that you can choose a “name” for the exhibits. This is for cases where you need to number plaintiff and defendant exhibits separately, or if you need to add the deponent’s last name to the exhibit description, etc.
Note also that there are three radio buttons marked “Marked,” “Admitted,” and “Marked and Admitted.” These are for indexing proceedings in which you need to indicate not only when exhibits were marked/identified, but also when a judge, arbitrator, etc., admitted them into evidence.
You can also choose to auto-increment the exhibit numbers, but unless you are absolutely certain that the exhibit numbers were marked in numerical order, you may not want to use this option.
One change I would make to the image above is choosing the radio button marked “Number” in the “Start With Focus On” options. This will put the exhibit number into the first column of the index “table” that is created.
After you click “OK,’ there should be an “E” in the margin next to the appropriate line.
Building the Indices
To build the index, go to the end of the page directly before where you want your index and press CTRL+Enter to create a page break. The file should then look like this:
To insert the examination index, click Edit –> Index –> Insert Examination Index.
Notice that each line of this index goes onto the next line. If you click with your cursor before the B in “BY” on each of those lines and press Backspace, that will bring the index elements back to one line each, thus:
Note: There is a way to make these lines not go over too far which involves editing your paragraph and index styles. This tutorial is only meant to show you how to create everything, however, not how to “tweak” the settings for your particular style guide or to fix auto-formatting errors like this before they happen.
But where are the headers for the examination index? You have to type them in, unfortunately.
There’s your examination index. Now, for the exhibit index, first Enter down to the appropriate line and follow the same basic steps, but instead of choosing Insert Examination Index, we choose Insert Exhibit Index.
This is another place where you may need to fix the formatting, but it does not look like it in this case. You do, however, need to add headers to the “table” in this index, as you did for the examination index.
DigitalCAT also has the capability to create an index of objections, which may also be able to be used to index certified questions, but I am not certain how at this time. To use it for its intended purpose, simply click on a line with an objection in it, and then choose Edit –> Index –> Objections –> New…, and an “O” flag will show up in the margin before the line number.
Follow the same steps as before to insert your objection index on the index page(s) below your exhibit index, and then add the headers for each column of the index manually.
That’s pretty much all there is to auto-indexing in DigitalCAT. At a later date, I will see if and how it is possible to auto-index certified questions with page and line numbers. If not, that particular index will have to be created manually in the appropriate place on the index page(s).
Next time, I will delve into the wonderful world of Advantage’s Total Eclipse, and show you how to create your auto-indices in that software.