Audit Bates-number gaps and collisions
Get the source data and prepare the review

Advanced documentation-checked manual full-page Bates capture; no automatic Bates extraction is claimed

WHAT WAS CHECKED
Official documentation checked; all routes are proposed and have not been run in a product account. No client data, account access, installs or account writes used. Native column names are distinguished from editorial kit contracts. Missing source evidence blocks completeness claims.

BEFORE YOU START
- Acrobat/Reader for visual page inspection; Acrobat Pro for the documented Bates-series search aid.
- Actual production PDFs, attorney-approved namespace/range definition and approved-gap list. No Bates numbers may be assigned or repaired by this audit.
- Firm-approved Excel; optional Copilot entitlement and tenant approval for the exact minimized data. Native Excel analysis can be done manually if Copilot is absent.
- Keep raw exports and identifying source pointers in a separate restricted location. The AI workbook contains only approved alias-based tables and visible policy/scope text, never raw client records on another tab.

DATA ACQUISITION LIMITS
- No universal native page/Bates CSV extraction is verified. This route is explicit visual capture of every page in a bounded production set.
- Search/OCR can miss image-only labels, corrupt digits or return text mentions instead of the actual footer. PDF navigation labels, printed page numbers and Bates stamps are distinct.

DECLARED INPUT CONTRACT
bates_audit.json

STEP 1: Enumerate actual production pages and literal Bates labels
Tool: Adobe Acrobat and records staff
Open: Open each PDF > Page Thumbnails; Menu > View > Page navigation on Windows (View > Page navigation on macOS)
Access needed: See prerequisites; actual subscription, tenant configuration and permissions are untested.

For each actual PDF, enumerate every physical page in order and visually read the Bates stamp. Record a document alias, physical page index plus any displayed page label, production ID and literal Bates string. Record missing, illegible or multiple labels explicitly. Do not infer middle pages from the first/last stamp, change page labels or add Bates numbers.

Expected output: One observed page record per physical page, plus a per-document page-count/coverage note.
Use it next: Use a stable page_id crosswalk and preserve the unmodified original PDFs.
Check: Every page must be inspected for a full audit. A sampled capture is labeled partial and cannot yield an all-clear.
Documentation limit: Official sources support named product features. Workflow-specific prompts, alias fields, mappings and reviewer rules are editorial adaptations, not native export promises.
Source documentation:
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/get-started/learn-the-basics/navigation.html
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/page-thumbnails-bookmarks-pdfs.html

STEP 2: Use native Bates search only as a navigation aid
Tool: Adobe Acrobat Pro, optional
Open: Windows Menu > Search > Advanced search; macOS File > Advanced Search
Access needed: See prerequisites; actual subscription, tenant configuration and permissions are untested.

Enter a full Bates number or distinctive prefix/suffix. Under Where would you like to search choose All PDF Documents in > Browse for Location and select the approved production folder, then Search. Open each result and confirm it is the visible page stamp, not a cited number in body text. Without Pro, continue the visual page-by-page pass.

Expected output: Located candidate pages for checking suspected duplicate/missing labels, not an exhaustive inventory.
Use it next: Correct transcription errors only in the audit log after visual checking.
Check: No search hit does not prove a missing page; image-only labels and extraction failures require visual inspection.
Documentation limit: Official sources support named product features. Workflow-specific prompts, alias fields, mappings and reviewer rules are editorial adaptations, not native export promises.
Source documentation:
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/edit-documents/apply-bates-numbering/search-bates-pdfs.html

STEP 3: Map the observed records to the starter input
Tool: Excel and authorized staff
Open: Separate analysis workbook > Home > Format as Table
Access needed: See prerequisites; actual subscription, tenant configuration and permissions are untested.

Populate bates_audit.template.json: namespaces with namespace_id,prefix,suffix,digits,expected_start,expected_end from the attorney-approved production specification; pages with page_id,production_id,namespace_id,document_alias,page_locator,bates_label from visual capture; approved_gaps with namespace_id,number,approval_id from actual approval. Copy the same data into visible Namespaces, Pages and ApprovedGaps tables. Keep full Bates strings as Text, preserving zeros, case and suffix. Add page-count coverage and unresolved/illegible labels to Scope. Create named tables for Namespaces, Pages and ApprovedGaps. Put the policy and review scope in visible worksheets or paste them into the next prompt.

Expected output: Editorial Bates JSON and equivalent tables; no inferred expected range.
Use it next: Check the mapping against each original source before using AI.
Check: Aliases and missing policy fields are staff-created; do not relabel a native export as the kit schema. Unknown stays blank/unknown, not false or zero.
Documentation limit: Official sources support named product features. Workflow-specific prompts, alias fields, mappings and reviewer rules are editorial adaptations, not native export promises.
Source documentation:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/tutorial-import-data-into-excel-and-create-a-data-model

STEP 4: Review the bounded evidence with Copilot
Tool: Excel Copilot, optional
Open: Approved analysis workbook > Copilot icon at lower right > Chat only
Access needed: See prerequisites; actual subscription, tenant configuration and permissions are untested.

Use Chat only and submit the prompt. Without Copilot: compare exact namespace-format labels, count duplicates and check the approved sequence, leaving unreadable labels unresolved.

PASTE THIS PROMPT
Validate the supplied Namespaces, Pages, ApprovedGaps and Scope. Parse only labels exactly matching approved prefix/digit-count/suffix rules. Within each namespace, list duplicate numbers, gaps inside the approved expected range, malformed labels, wrong namespace, out-of-range labels and unresolved/illegible pages. Distinguish authorized gaps with approval refs. Preserve full strings/leading zeros and page locators. If any pages or expected ranges are unverified, label the audit partial and do not give an all-clear. Do not infer a missing expected range, renumber, alter PDFs or decide production sufficiency.

Expected output: Page-linked Bates exceptions with namespace and coverage controls.
Use it next: Copy the draft exception list to the reviewer; retain row references.
Check: Check every flagged row and the scope. A fluent answer is not evidence of completeness; no automatic workbook or source-system edits.
Documentation limit: Official sources support named product features. Workflow-specific prompts, alias fields, mappings and reviewer rules are editorial adaptations, not native export promises.
Source documentation:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/copilot/get-started-with-copilot-in-excel
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/copilot/frequently-asked-questions-about-copilot-in-excel

STEP 5: Approve the review result
Tool: Responsible staff reviewer
Open: Reviewed local worksheet
Access needed: See prerequisites; actual subscription, tenant configuration and permissions are untested.

Records staff visually recheck every exception and all capture gaps; the responsible lawyer confirms expected ranges and approved omissions.

Expected output: Reviewed Bates audit with page-level evidence and uncertainty.
Use it next: Any external message, source change, payment or deletion requires its own authorized process.
Check: An arithmetically continuous sequence does not prove complete production, correct page content or legal compliance.
Documentation limit: Editorial human-review gate; linked Excel documentation supports the worksheet used, not legal or accounting conclusions.
Source documentation:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/tutorial-import-data-into-excel-and-create-a-data-model

ACCOUNT AND SOURCE CHECKS STILL NEEDED
- Actual account access, plan and source-data completeness have not been tested.

USING THE FILES IN THIS KIT
Use the exact files or source text named in the steps above. Native exports keep their own headers. The kit tables are editorial review worksheets; they are not a claim that a product exports those fields. Some routes use reviewed text directly or require additional original files. Never rename an unreviewed raw export to make it appear mapped. Keep expected-result files separate from inputs.

The source account, actual data, prompts and end-to-end workflow were not tested. Any final communication, filing, permission change, payment or publication needs its own authorized human action. This guide performs none.