# Prepare a source-linked factual chronology Canonical page: https://agents.paretoid.com/workflows/prepare-a-source-linked-factual-chronology/ Category: Operations & Reporting Practice relevance: cross-practice. Useful supporting administrative method; no claim of practice-specific legal instructions. Jurisdiction/provider scope: Excel sort and staff-approved source documents; jurisdiction-neutral factual chronology, not evidence assessment. Order supported events while keeping ambiguous dates and source conflicts visible. Status: Proposed / not tested. The public source describes the problem. Documentation supports only the stated method components; no result from this recipe has been verified. Verification: Source methods and reported problems have been reviewed. We have not run the adapted workflow. The sample below describes expected behavior on synthetic data, not a customer result. ## The problem Order supported events while keeping ambiguous dates and source conflicts visible. Why it matters: A screenshot date, a message date and the time of an event may differ. Preserving the original timestamp, timezone and source locator prevents a neat timeline from hiding uncertainty or implying unsupported causation. ## Sources and evidence - pain: [Pain evidence: Organization help](https://www.reddit.com/r/paralegal/comments/1eyuo9s) Organization help, 2024-08-22, older: a family-law paralegal describes organizing many texts, emails and photos, putting them in order and separating issues. This is a distinct output from S02's broken-link report even though the same firsthand account supports both. - method: [Method: Sort data in Excel](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/sort-data-in-a-range-or-table-in-excel) Sort data in Excel documents multi-column sorting and warns that dates stored as text do not sort like real dates. Source checked: October 15, 2026. Pain accounts are self-reported. Documentation supports components; this adapted recipe and prompt have not been tested. ## Suggested approach Start when: Attorney requests a factual chronology 1. normalize supplied date metadata without overwriting originals and sort source-linked rows 2. Keep source references and report unknowns instead of filling gaps. 3. The responsible reviewer checks the report before any separately approved action. ## What you need - Bounded source set, reviewer-approved neutral descriptions/topic tags and the meaning of each timestamp; Excel available for deterministic sorting. - Existing firm-approved Acrobat Studio, AI Assistant add-on, or another plan including Acrobat AI; online services/cloud storage, language and region must be permitted. No purchase, login or connection is part of this verification. The manual route works without AI. - Preserve original evidence unchanged in restricted storage. Use synthetic material first. Prepare a separate, explicitly approved minimized AI input; aliases alone do not anonymize narrative or attachments. Do not upload raw originals or an alias key merely because another tab/file is sanitized. - Use synthetic inputs first. Keep real data in firm-approved accounts and processing, with appropriate access, confidentiality and retention controls. Aliases alone do not anonymize records. Never paste credentials, API keys or unnecessary client details. ## How to use Documentation-verified component path; proposed adaptation, not tested - File creation/modification/capture time is not necessarily event time. No universal forensic metadata export or causation determination is claimed. Access and setup: - Actual account access, source versions/completeness, privacy approval and reviewer sign-off were not observed. ### 1. Capture factual date evidence from originals Tool: Acrobat/Word/Outlook and local ledger Location: Open each source; PDF Select text; Outlook selected message Save as For each included item, manually record source_id,version,exact timestamp string,stated timezone or offset,date_kind,document/page/message locator and owner-approved neutral description. Keep message dates, file timestamps and screenshot capture dates distinct. Leave missing or ambiguous dates unresolved. Expected output: events working ledger with source references and date semantics; not an advertised product export. Next step: Create a separate minimized TXT with one labelled row per event and the approved scope/policy. Check before continuing: Do not infer a date from a filename or interpret ambiguous numeric dates. Capture all inclusion/exclusion decisions. Execution status: Official public documentation checked 2026-10-15; no account, source-data acquisition, prompt run or end-to-end workflow was tested. Step documentation: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/reusing-pdf-content.html https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/outlook/mail/save-an-outlook-message-as-a-eml-file-a-pdf-file-or-as-a-draft https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/edit-documents/edit-pdf-properties/view-metadata.html ### 2. Load only the approved AI input Tool: Acrobat PDF Spaces Location: Acrobat homepage > PDF Spaces > Create a PDF Space > upload files or Paste copied text > Add to PDF Space Add the minimized factual event ledger and approved scope/date policy. Use clear source/version labels and verify the Files panel. Do not add originals that have not separately been cleared for Adobe processing. Expected output: Visible approved source set in the PDF Space; no account integration is implied. Next step: Use the AI Assistant message field in this same space for the next prompt. Check before continuing: Confirm every named source is actually loaded and readable. PDF Spaces supports up to 100 files, 100 MB and 600 pages per file; unsupported/password-protected/handwritten material blocks affected extraction. Execution status: Official public documentation checked 2026-10-15; no account, source-data acquisition, prompt run or end-to-end workflow was tested. Step documentation: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/explore-pdf-spaces/create-pdf-spaces.html https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/explore-pdf-spaces/supported-formats-limitations.html https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/explore-pdf-spaces/pdf-spaces-faq.html ### 3. Run the bounded prompt and inspect citations Tool: Acrobat AI Assistant Location: The PDF Space AI Assistant message field Paste the prompt below. Open each source-number citation, check it, and use Copy to transfer the answer into a new local Word document or text file. Correct errors using the originals before reliance. Prompt: ```text Review only these approved factual metadata rows. Preserve original timestamp strings, date_kind and source locators. Propose a chronology using only unambiguous explicitly supplied dates and offsets; flag unknown timezone, daylight-saving ambiguity, conflicting dates or unclear date_kind separately. Use supplied neutral descriptions/topic tags only. Keep same-time entries distinct. Return source_id,original_timestamp,approved_sort_timestamp if supplied,description,source_locator,issue. Do not infer event dates, causation, credibility, legal relevance, missing events or deadlines. ``` Expected output: Draft chronology and date-ambiguity list retaining every included source row. Next step: Save the checked draft as chronology-review.txt; carry source IDs, versions and reviewer corrections into the next review step. Check before continuing: Human must approve any normalized sort timestamp; the AI proposal is not a forensic timestamp determination. Execution status: Official public documentation checked 2026-10-15; no account, source-data acquisition, prompt run or end-to-end workflow was tested. Step documentation: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/use-acrobat-ai/generative-ai-features/ai-get-answers.html ### 4. Sort the reviewed ledger Tool: Excel Location: Data > Sort > Sort by approved_sort_timestamp > Oldest to Newest; Add Level for source_id Copy the reviewed rows into Excel; retain original text dates separately. Use only reviewer-approved, consistently normalized timestamps for sorting. Keep unknown dates on an explicitly unresolved sheet; sort the entire row range, not one isolated column. Expected output: Source-linked chronological index plus unresolved-date sheet. Next step: Save the local workbook with the frozen input list and source map. Check before continuing: Verify numeric/date cell types; same timestamps remain separate, and row count is conserved. Execution status: Official public documentation checked 2026-10-15; no account, source-data acquisition, prompt run or end-to-end workflow was tested. Step documentation: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/sort-data-in-a-range-or-table-in-excel ### 5. Human review and final handoff Tool: Responsible staff reviewer and lawyer/process owner Location: Local reviewed report beside the frozen source set Lawyer/paralegal verifies the source references and date semantics before using the index. Expected output: Reviewed factual chronology with uncertainty and coverage statement. Next step: An index aids navigation; it makes no evidentiary or legal finding. Check before continuing: All unresolved or unreadable evidence stays open. No inferred approval or external action follows from AI output. Execution status: Official public documentation checked 2026-10-15; no account, source-data acquisition, prompt run or end-to-end workflow was tested. Step documentation: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/use-acrobat-ai/generative-ai-features/ai-get-answers.html ## What you will get chronology.csv: source_id, original_timestamp, stated_timezone, normalized_time_if_supported, source_locator, neutral_description, approved_topic_tags, uncertainty, reviewer_question. Unknown dates remain unresolved. ## Human review and limits Attorney/paralegal checks originals and timezones. Test day/month ambiguity, a daylight-saving transition and a screenshot whose capture date differs from the message date. The result is an index, not an evidentiary or legal conclusion. The assistant drafts or reports only. Check source records and review the output before a human performs any separately approved send or change. No automatic legal decision, money movement, account connection or publication is included. What to measure: In a synthetic pilot, count correctly found exceptions, false alarms, and unresolved inputs. No time or cost saving is assumed. ## Original prepared-input schema events.csv: source_id, original_timestamp, stated_timezone, source_locator, neutral_description, approved_topic_tags, date_conflict_note scope.txt: approved timestamp formats, source coverage and reviewer Synthetic example input: ```text Synthetic inputs are included in the starter kit. events.example.csv scope.example.txt ``` Expected synthetic output: ```text Known chronology: E1 and E4 both normalize to 2026-10-01T09:00:00Z, remain separate and retain source locators. E2: day/month ambiguity stays unresolved. E3: repeated DST local time lacks offset; do not guess a UTC instant. E5: capture/message-date conflict stays in review despite parseable capture time. Do not treat screenshot capture as event time. No invented events, chronology gaps, causation, credibility, or legal relevance. ``` Failure check: Attorney/paralegal checks originals and timezones. Test day/month ambiguity, a daylight-saving transition and a screenshot whose capture date differs from the message date. The result is an index, not an evidentiary or legal conclusion. ## Starter files Native blank scaffolds and original synthetic examples may use different schemas. Follow NATIVE-INPUT-MAPPING where supplied. These files do not connect accounts or install automation. - [Download starter kit](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15-starter-kit.zip) — All inputs, synthetic examples and review notes in one ZIP. No automation is installed. - [Start here: get the sources and prepare the review](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/START-HERE.txt) — Documentation-checked acquisition, explicit manual mapping, exact prompts and human review limits - [events.csv](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/events.csv) — Blank input template with exact recipe headers. - [events.example.csv](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/events.example.csv) — Separate synthetic fixture input. Do not mix these rows into real exports. - [scope.txt](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/scope.txt) — Blank text input worksheet. Fill its fields with approved evidence; no default assumptions are supplied. - [scope.example.txt](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/scope.example.txt) — Separate synthetic text input fixture; use with the example CSV files only. - [Expected fixture findings](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/expected-fixture-result.txt) — Read-only expected output and failure conditions for the included synthetic input files. - [Setup and review checklist](https://agents.paretoid.com/assets/starter-kits/s15/README.txt) — Recipe-specific prerequisites, file mapping, prompt, setup steps, checklist and limits. ## Optional original prepared-input prompt Destination: Your firm-approved AI assistant · prepared files This original prompt uses its own prepared-input schema. Do not mix it with native-step tables without the supplied mapping. ```text Create a factual chronology from these approved metadata rows. Preserve original date strings and source locators. Normalize only unambiguous dates with supplied timezones; put ambiguous or conflicting dates in a separate review list. Sort known timestamps and keep same-time entries distinct. Use the supplied neutral descriptions and topic tags only. Do not infer causation, credibility, legal relevance, missing events or deadlines. Every row must retain a source citation. INPUTS events.csv: source_id, original_timestamp, stated_timezone, source_locator, neutral_description, approved_topic_tags, date_conflict_note scope.txt: approved timestamp formats, source coverage and reviewer OUTPUT chronology.csv: source_id, original_timestamp, stated_timezone, normalized_time_if_supported, source_locator, neutral_description, approved_topic_tags, uncertainty, reviewer_question. Unknown dates remain unresolved. Use only these synthetic or firm-approved inputs and preserve source row/page IDs. Keep missing or conflicting evidence unresolved. Return a draft for the named reviewer. Do not send messages, connect accounts, change records or permissions, move money, or make legal decisions. Keep source files unchanged. List missing prerequisites before continuing. ``` Proposed / not tested · editorial prompt Published by Law Firm Agents. Proposed adaptation; not tested. Not legal advice.