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Produce emails as exhibits, with their list

Messages received in a heap become numbered exhibits, in order, each as a PDF, with the list that enumerates them. This guide covers the practical work; what to produce, and how, is for you or your lawyer to decide.

Step by step

  1. Gather the originals

    Collect the files themselves (.msg, .eml, a PST, a WhatsApp export) rather than printouts or screenshots: see Save an email as a file. Keep them untouched.

  2. Drop them

    Drop them on Produce exhibits and their list. A message from a mailbox is added to the file from the mailbox's list.

  3. Check order and numbers

    Messages are sorted by date and numbered from the number you choose; order, numbers and descriptions can be changed before producing.

  4. Produce

    One PDF per exhibit, "Exhibit N" at the top of every page, with the production record as an appendix: source file, size, SHA-256 fingerprint, headers, attachments. The list comes out in Word, to adjust it, and in PDF.

  5. Mask what needs masking

    If third parties' data should not be shared, redact the PDFs before sending them: the “Redact in Klarmask” button opens the PDF in Klarmask, in a new tab, without sending it over a network.

Good to know

  • The PDF lays out the message; it does not replace the original. Keep the original file, which the record identifies by its fingerprint.
  • The SHA-256 fingerprint shows that a file is identical, byte for byte, to the file described. It says nothing about what may have happened to the message before it was saved.
  • Klarinbox does not say that a message is authentic, nor what a court will make of it. When the authenticity of an exchange may be disputed, other steps exist, such as a report drawn up by a bailiff or notary; Klarinbox does not replace them.
  • The form of the exhibit list and the rules for disclosing exhibits depend on the procedure: the list produced is a starting point, to adjust in Word.
  • It is up to you to make sure you may produce the messages, especially those of third parties or those someone marked as personal.

Then, in Klarinbox

Produce exhibits and their list does all the practical work in the tab; WhatsApp chat to PDF produces a chat, with its exhibit number, for the chosen period. To assemble or number PDFs from other sources afterwards, Klarfile.

Frequently asked questions

Is a PDF produced by Klarinbox evidence?
Klarinbox lays out what the file contains and states which file it came from. What will be made of it does not depend on the layout tool, and it is not for the tool to say.