How can you Bates number native files like spreadsheets and videos that have no pages?

Why some files should not be converted to PDF

The instinct is to print everything to PDF so it can be stamped like any other page, and for most email and correspondence that is fine. For spreadsheets it is often a mistake. A workbook with hidden columns, formulas, multiple tabs, and thousands of rows loses meaning when flattened: formulas disappear, wide sheets wrap unpredictably, and a single tab can become hundreds of pages of unreadable cells. Opposing counsel will frequently demand the native file anyway, and many ESI protocols require spreadsheets, presentations, and audio or video to be produced natively. Related: How can a small legal team batch-stamp thousands of pages without losing a whole day?

Audio, video, CAD files, databases, and some proprietary formats have no meaningful page representation at all. A deposition video cannot be stamped page by page, and a database export loses its structure when rendered. The practical consequence is that any real production will contain a mix of imaged documents that can be stamped and native files that cannot, and the numbering scheme has to account for both without creating gaps or ambiguity.

Keep reading: What exactly is Bates numbering and why do law firms rely on it for documents?, How do you keep Bates numbering consistent across multiple separate document productions?, When should you apply confidential or privileged watermarks to a batch of documents?. See how PdfStampr helps you bulk pdf stamping and bates numbering.

The slip sheet convention

The standard approach is to assign each native file a single Bates number and produce a one-page placeholder, commonly called a slip sheet, that carries that number. The slip sheet typically states that the document was produced in native format, gives the Bates number, and may list the original file name, the file type, and any confidentiality designation. The native file itself is renamed to match the Bates number, so a spreadsheet becomes something like ABC0001234.xlsx, and it is delivered alongside the slip sheet in the production volume. Related: Why is it critical to preserve original files when stamping PDFs for a case?

This convention keeps the Bates sequence unbroken. Reviewers paging through the production see a placeholder at ABC0001234 instead of a gap, the load file points to the native, and anyone citing the spreadsheet in a brief cites its single Bates number. Because a native file gets one number regardless of its internal size, a 40-tab workbook and a two-row CSV occupy the same amount of numbering space. Some protocols also require the number to be embedded in the file's metadata or on a cover tab, so read the agreement before deciding the slip sheet is sufficient. Related: How do you keep Bates numbering consistent across multiple separate document productions?

Handling video, audio, and very large files

Video and audio follow the same slip sheet model, but there are practical wrinkles. File sizes can exceed what a standard production volume comfortably carries, so large media are often delivered on a separate drive or through a secure transfer with a manifest that maps each file to its Bates number. If a video has been excerpted or clipped for production, the clip should get its own number and the slip sheet should note that it is an excerpt with the time range, so nobody later claims a complete recording was produced when it was not.

For recordings that will be referenced by timestamp in depositions or at trial, consider producing a transcript as an imaged, stamped document with its own Bates range in addition to the native media. That gives everyone a page-based way to cite the content while preserving the recording itself. The transcript and the media are separate documents with separate numbers, and the production log should tie them together so the relationship is not lost. Related: What exactly is Bates numbering and why do law firms rely on it for documents?

Keeping the log and the load file honest

The weakest point in native productions is bookkeeping. The Bates number lives on the slip sheet and in the file name, but the relationship between the two is only as reliable as the load file and the production log. Every native file should appear in the log with its Bates number, original file name, hash value, file type, and the volume in which it was delivered. Hash values matter because they let either side confirm that the file received is the file produced, which is the native-file equivalent of checking that a page was not altered.

Before the production leaves, reconcile three things: the count of slip sheets in the image set, the count of native files in the natives folder, and the count of native entries in the load file. They should match exactly. A mismatch usually means a file was renamed incorrectly, a slip sheet was generated twice, or a native was dropped during export. Catching that in-house takes minutes; catching it after opposing counsel does can mean a deficiency letter and a supplemental production.