Skip to content

Load File Field Definitions#

This document provides detailed definitions for all fields in the eDiscovery load files generated by Piler.

Field Overview#

Field Name Description Example Value
DOCID Bates number (primary identifier) ACME_000001
BEGBATES Beginning Bates number ACME_000001
ENDBATES Ending Bates number ACME_000001
BEGATTACH First Bates of attachment range ACME_000001
ENDATTACH Last Bates of attachment range ACME_000001_003
PARENTID Parent document Bates (for attachments) ACME_000001
ATTACHNUM Attachment sequence number 001
FROM Sender email address john.smith@company.com
TO Recipient email addresses jane.doe@company.com; bob@ext.com
CC CC recipient addresses legal@company.com
BCC BCC recipient addresses archive@company.com
SUBJECT Email subject line RE: Contract Review
DATESENT Date and time sent 2024-03-15T10:30:00Z
DATERECEIVED Date and time received 2024-03-15T10:30:05Z
HASATTACH Whether email has attachments TRUE or FALSE
ATTACHCOUNT Number of attachments 3
ATTACHNAMES Semicolon-separated attachment names contract.pdf; terms.docx
ATTACHPATH Path to extracted attachments ATTACHMENTS/ACME_000001_001.pdf
NATIVEPATH Path to native EML file NATIVES/ACME_000001.eml
TEXTPATH Path to extracted text file TEXT/ACME_000001.txt
CUSTODIAN Primary custodian (sender) john.smith@company.com
FILETYPE Document type Email or Attachment
FILEEXT File extension .eml, .pdf, .docx
FILESIZE File size in bytes 45678
MD5HASH MD5 hash of native file d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e
SHA256HASH SHA-256 hash of native file e3b0c44298fc1c149afb...
MESSAGEID Email Message-ID header <abc123@mail.company.com>
INREPLYTO In-Reply-To header <def456@mail.company.com>
REFERENCES References header <ref1@company.com>; <ref2@company.com>
CONVERSATIONID Thread/conversation identifier thread_abc123
IMPORTANCE Email importance/priority Normal, High, Low
SENSITIVITY Sensitivity classification Normal, Personal, Confidential
DIRECTION Email direction Inbound, Outbound, Internal
VERIFIED Archive integrity verified TRUE or FALSE

Detailed Field Definitions#

Document Identification#

DOCID#

Type: String Format: {PREFIX}_{NUMBER} or {PREFIX}_{NUMBER}_{ATTACH}

The primary unique identifier for each document in the production. For parent emails, this is the Bates number. For attachments, this includes the attachment sequence.

Examples: - Email: ACME_000001 - Attachment: ACME_000001_001

BEGBATES / ENDBATES#

Type: String Format: Same as DOCID

For single-page documents (emails), BEGBATES equals ENDBATES. These fields support multi-page document productions where page ranges are needed.

BEGATTACH / ENDATTACH#

Type: String Format: Bates number

Defines the range of attachments for a parent email. BEGATTACH is the parent Bates number; ENDATTACH is the last attachment Bates number.

Example: - Email with 3 attachments: BEGATTACH=ACME_000001, ENDATTACH=ACME_000001_003 - Email with no attachments: Both fields equal ACME_000001

PARENTID#

Type: String Format: Bates number or empty

For attachments, contains the parent email's Bates number. Empty for parent emails.

Examples: - Parent email: (empty) - Attachment: ACME_000001

ATTACHNUM#

Type: String Format: Zero-padded number or empty

Sequential number for attachments within a parent email.

Examples: - Parent email: (empty) - First attachment: 001 - Second attachment: 002

Addressing Fields#

FROM#

Type: String Format: Email address

The sender's email address, extracted from the From header.

Example: "John Smith" <john.smith@company.com> or john.smith@company.com

TO#

Type: String Format: Semicolon-separated email addresses

All recipients from the To header.

Example: jane.doe@company.com; bob.jones@external.com

CC#

Type: String Format: Semicolon-separated email addresses

All CC recipients.

BCC#

Type: String Format: Semicolon-separated email addresses

BCC recipients (when available from journal/envelope data).

Date Fields#

DATESENT#

Type: String Format: Configured date format

The date and time the email was sent, from the Date header.

Formats: - ISO 8601: 2024-03-15T10:30:00Z - US: 03/15/2024 10:30:00 AM - EU: 15/03/2024 10:30:00

DATERECEIVED#

Type: String Format: Configured date format

The date and time the email was received/archived.

Attachment Information#

HASATTACH#

Type: String Values: TRUE or FALSE

Indicates whether the email has attachments.

ATTACHCOUNT#

Type: Integer Format: Numeric

Number of attachments on the email. 0 for emails without attachments.

ATTACHNAMES#

Type: String Format: Semicolon-separated filenames

List of attachment filenames.

Example: Q1_Report.pdf; Financial_Summary.xlsx; Notes.docx

File Paths#

NATIVEPATH#

Type: String Format: Relative path

Path to the native file within the export package.

Examples: - Email: NATIVES/ACME_000001.eml - With custodian folders: john.smith@company.com/NATIVES/ACME_000001.eml

TEXTPATH#

Type: String Format: Relative path

Path to the extracted text file. Empty if text extraction was not enabled.

Example: TEXT/ACME_000001.txt

ATTACHPATH#

Type: String Format: Relative path

For attachments, path to the extracted attachment file. Empty for parent emails or if attachment extraction was not enabled.

Example: ATTACHMENTS/ACME_000001_001.pdf

Document Properties#

CUSTODIAN#

Type: String Format: Email address

The primary custodian for the document. For emails, this is typically the sender's address.

FILETYPE#

Type: String Values: Email or Attachment

Indicates whether the record is for a parent email or an attachment.

FILEEXT#

Type: String Format: Extension with dot

The file extension of the native document.

Examples: .eml, .pdf, .docx, .xlsx

FILESIZE#

Type: Integer Format: Bytes

Size of the native file in bytes.

Hash Values#

MD5HASH#

Type: String Format: 32-character hexadecimal

MD5 hash of the native file for deduplication and integrity verification.

Example: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e

SHA256HASH#

Type: String Format: 64-character hexadecimal

SHA-256 hash of the native file for cryptographic integrity verification.

Example: e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb92427ae41e4649b934ca495991b7852b855

Email Threading#

MESSAGEID#

Type: String Format: RFC 2822 Message-ID

The unique Message-ID header from the email.

Example: <CABx+4AH2M7dKKO-ABC123@mail.gmail.com>

INREPLYTO#

Type: String Format: RFC 2822 Message-ID

The Message-ID this email is replying to.

REFERENCES#

Type: String Format: Semicolon-separated Message-IDs

Chain of Message-IDs representing the conversation thread.

CONVERSATIONID#

Type: String Format: Thread identifier

Internal conversation/thread identifier for grouping related emails.

Email Metadata#

IMPORTANCE#

Type: String Values: Normal, High, Low

Email priority/importance level from headers.

SENSITIVITY#

Type: String Values: Normal, Personal, Private, Confidential

Email sensitivity classification from headers.

DIRECTION#

Type: String Values: Inbound, Outbound, Internal

Direction of email relative to the organization: - Inbound: External sender to internal recipient - Outbound: Internal sender to external recipient - Internal: Internal sender to internal recipient

VERIFIED#

Type: String Values: TRUE or FALSE

Whether the archived email passed integrity verification (hash check).

CSV Format Example#

DOCID,BEGBATES,ENDBATES,BEGATTACH,ENDATTACH,PARENTID,ATTACHNUM,FROM,TO,CC,BCC,SUBJECT,DATESENT,DATERECEIVED,HASATTACH,ATTACHCOUNT,ATTACHNAMES,ATTACHPATH,NATIVEPATH,TEXTPATH,CUSTODIAN,FILETYPE,FILEEXT,FILESIZE,MD5HASH,SHA256HASH,MESSAGEID,INREPLYTO,REFERENCES,CONVERSATIONID,IMPORTANCE,SENSITIVITY,DIRECTION,VERIFIED
ACME_000001,ACME_000001,ACME_000001,ACME_000001,ACME_000001_002,,,"john@company.com","jane@company.com; bob@external.com","legal@company.com","","RE: Contract Review","2024-03-15T10:30:00Z","2024-03-15T10:30:05Z",TRUE,2,"contract.pdf; terms.docx","","NATIVES/ACME_000001.eml","TEXT/ACME_000001.txt","john@company.com",Email,.eml,45678,d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e,e3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb924,"<abc123@mail.company.com>","<def456@mail.company.com>","<ref1@company.com>","thread_123",Normal,Normal,Outbound,TRUE
ACME_000001_001,ACME_000001_001,ACME_000001_001,,,ACME_000001,001,,,,,"contract.pdf",,,,,,,"ATTACHMENTS/ACME_000001_001.pdf",,"john@company.com",Attachment,.pdf,125000,a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4e5f6a1b2c3d4,f1e2d3c4b5a6f1e2d3c4b5a6f1e2d3c4b5a6f1e2d3c4b5a6f1e2d3c4b5a6f1e2,,,,,,,,

DAT Format Example#

þDOCIDþþBEGBATESþþENDBATESþþBEGATTACHþþENDATTACHþþPARENTIDþþATTACHNUMþþFROMþþTOþþCCþþBCCþþSUBJECTþþDATESENTþþDATERECEIVEDþþHASATTACHþþATTACHCOUNTþþATTACHNAMESþþATTACHPATHþþNATIVEPATHþþTEXTPATHþþCUSTODIANþþFILETYPEþþFILEEXTþþFILESIZEþþMD5HASHþþSHA256HASHþþMESSAGEIDþþINREPLYTOþþREFERENCESþþCONVERSATIONIDþþIMPORTANCEþþSENSITIVITYþþDIRECTIONþþVERIFIEDþ
þACME_000001þþACME_000001þþACME_000001þþACME_000001þþACME_000001_002þþþþþþjohn@company.comþþjane@company.com; bob@external.comþþlegal@company.comþþþþRE: Contract Reviewþþ2024-03-15T10:30:00Zþþ2024-03-15T10:30:05ZþþTRUEþþ2þþcontract.pdf; terms.docxþþþþNATIVES/ACME_000001.emlþþTEXT/ACME_000001.txtþþjohn@company.comþþEmailþþ.emlþþ45678þþd41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427eþþe3b0c44298fc1c149afbf4c8996fb924þþ<abc123@mail.company.com>þþ<def456@mail.company.com>þþ<ref1@company.com>þþthread_123þþNormalþþNormalþþOutboundþþTRUEþ

Import Compatibility#

Relativity#

Map fields as follows: - DOCID → Control Number - BEGBATES → Beg Bates - ENDBATES → End Bates - FROM → From - TO → To - SUBJECT → Subject - DATESENT → Date Sent - NATIVEPATH → Native File Path

Concordance#

The DAT format is directly compatible with Concordance. Use the standard field mapping.

NUIX#

Map fields using NUIX's load file import wizard. SHA256HASH can be used for deduplication.

Logikcull#

Use CSV format with automatic field detection or manual mapping.

Special Characters#

CSV Handling#

  • Commas in values are enclosed in double quotes
  • Double quotes in values are escaped as ""
  • Newlines in values are preserved within quotes

DAT Handling#

  • The delimiter þ (thorn) rarely appears in email content
  • Newlines in values are replaced with ®
  • The text qualifier wraps multiline fields