Files can be added to a project by selecting the upload button from the Documents page of the project or the Files page. The Opus 2 platform can accept files in batches. The maximum number of files in a batch is browser-dependent but is normally at least 5000. The maximum upload size is 2GB.
There may be options given to upload either documents or transcripts, depending upon the projects configuration. Either option will present a drag and drop window where source files can be placed for ingestion into the project.
Users may see other parameters that can vary depending upon their actual project configuration. The table below details these.
Table 1. Upload parameters
Batch Name | A text/numeric identifier for the current upload batch to help to locate processing issues in error tracking. |
Publish | A toggle to allow the uploaded files to be published immediately in the documents view. This toggle option is available only if the user has access to the Files page. Otherwise, the files are published automatically. |
Folder | If a document folder is selected before starting the upload process then the selected folder will be the default location for the documents. The destination can be changed by selecting the |
OCR | The dropdown list will present 3 options
|
| Actions | If a document is selected via the tick box then the 'Actions' dropdown menu will become operable. There are three options in this dropdown menu:
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Unpack zip archives | If the source file is a zip file then the system will extract the zipped content automatically and each file is ingested separately. If not checked then the file is loaded as a zip file and a slip note is provided. Note: Password protected zip files cannot be automatically extracted and a slipsheet will be generated instead. |
Further information | A free text tab where any notes can be made regarding the upload batch. |
| Only show duplicates | If the upload batch contains any duplicates, this option will appear to display only the duplicate files. |
| Remove duplicates | If the upload batch contains any duplicates, this button will appear to remove all the duplicate files. |
icon and selecting a different destination folder. If no folder is specified then a folder will be created under the "Uploads" folder with the date and time of the upload as its title and the documents will be published there.Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
This process that adds an invisible text layer on top of the pdf document that is created for publishing within the Opus2 platform. This makes the text searchable and allows text-based annotation to be created.
In addition to individual files, Opus 2 platform accepts two types of compound files:
If zip files are uploaded then their contents are unpacked and each file is ingested separately.
Email files (.eml) are unpacked to extract any attachments. These are then associated with the body of the email as part of a document family.
For large volumes a local desktop uploader can be installed. The maximum number of files that can be uploaded at any specific time and the rate at which they are ingested depends on the hardware configurations. For cloud clients this forms part of the contractual arrangement with Opus 2 Ltd.
All uploaded files are scanned for viruses. If a virus is detected then the file is deleted from the system and the presence of a virus is reported to the user.
For display and annotation, Opus 2 platform uses PDF as its standard file type. The following file types are converted to PDF as part of the ingestion process:
"eml", "msg", "docx", "doc", "dot", "wbk", "docm", "dotx", "dotm", "docb", "pptx", "ppt", "ppts", "ppa", "ppam", "pps", "ppsm", "ppsx", "pptm", "png", "jpeg", "jpg", "bmp", "tiff", "tif", "gif", "txt", "rtf", "odt", "ods", "odp", "odg", "html", "htm", "xlsm", "xls", "xltm", "xlsb", "xlsx", "xlt", "xla", "xlam", "mpp", "one", "vsd", "dxf"
Transcript files
The transcript will be of either TXT, PTF, PCF, MDB, XMEF or LEF format. If the court reporter provides a .LEF file, exhibits will be automatically uploaded and linked. If you want to upload a transcript with synchronized media file(s) then the transcript needs to be of MDB format and the media file of either MPG or MP4 (preferred) format.
Media files
Opus 2 Platform can play or stream audio and media files of certain types. The following files are supported: .mp3, .ogg, .wav, .mp4, .mpg, .mpeg, .webm
Table 2. Upload related performance information
Feature | Component | Upper limits | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Documents | Documents in workspace | 20,000 | Recommended limit for optimal performance. Load times will begin to increase beyond this number. |
Pages per document | 15,000 | ||
Documents per folder | 3000 | ||
Transcripts | Transcripts in workspace | 20,000 |
|
Original (native) files
The Original (or native version) of the file refers to the source file that was initially uploaded into the project. This native file is then processed and an attempt will be made to create a pdf version of the file for publishing within the project.
Downloading documents in pdf and original formats
Either version of the original document can be downloaded from the platform. The pdf version can include any annotations created against the document. The original format will be a copy of the file that was uploaded. Downloading a document version does not remove or delete that version from the project.
File processing status and processing result
The process of uploading files and ingesting them to create published documents can take some time to complete depending upon the the number and size of files being upload. This can also be affected by the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) set during the initiation of the upload process.
The document upload and ingestion process utilises a 'round-robin' approach where the files that are queued are allocated resources on a 'fair' basis, rather than simply one after the other. For example; if one user is in the process of uploading a very large batch of files and another users uploads just one, this single file will be slotted into the processing queue in a way that avoids the latter user having to wait for a long time before their file/document is ready.
The status of the file during the ingestion process can be seen in the system metadata field named 'Status'.
If the status field can be located by scrolling through the document metadata fields. If it cannot be located then check that the column is set to visible. To do so, click on the iconand ensure that the Status field is selected.
The status of the field will indicated by the following icons (hovering the mouse pointer over the icon will reveal the meaning):
Table 3. Upload Status
Icon | Meaning | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
 | Available | Processing completed and document is ready. |
 | Slipsheet (unsupported format) | Processing complete but the file type received was not recognised. |
| Slipsheet (password protected) | Processing complete - the source file could not be opened. |
 | Queued | File received and awaiting processing. |
 | In progress | File processing started. |
 | Not received | File was notified in Upload process but the specified file was not located. |
 | Upload error | Upload file process interrupted |
 | Processing error | Document not processed due to an internal error |
 | Unreadable file / corrupted | File could not be read |
| Virus | Document not processed because a virus was detected |
Further information of the upload status can be found in the Files and the Upload history menu options if a user has the appropriate project access levels. 
Files
Uploaded files can be located by their batch name by selecting the Files option (found under the Project button) and selecting the batch name folder on the left hand panel of the files view. (If no batch name was specified at the time of upload then it will default to the date and time that the upload process was started.)
There are 4 metadata fields found on the Files page that show processing related data
Use ‘ + Add filter ’ option to filter for particular metadata fields and values. Additionally the column selectorcan be used remove unnecessary columns as well.
Table 4. Files Processing Data
Field Name | Status | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Processing status | Not Received | File not located |
Ready | Processing completed | |
Queued | Awaiting start of processing | |
In progress | Processing started | |
Processing error | Processing was interrupted | |
Processing result | Available | a PDF was successfully generated from the source file |
Slipsheet (unsupported format) | Slipsheet generated due to unrecognised file format | |
Slipsheet (password protected) | Slipsheet generated due to password preventing access to file content | |
Virus scan failed | Virus scanner failed to run and causes a processing error | |
Potential virus detected | Virus detection: this will cause a processing error | |
Unreadable file / Corrupted | Specified file recognised but unable to be open | |
Processing finished at | 'Since last login' or date selection provisioned | Process of the file terminated at the indicated date/time |
Published | True | PDF generated in a documents folder |
False | File processing complete with PDF output not shown |
If files fail to upload, or to be published, then there is a 'Reprocess' option that will restart the process again. This is initiated by selecting the affected files and then selecting Actions>Reprocess files
Files that have failed due to 'Not received' cannot be reprocessed. The upload process will need to be restarted from the beginning for any files that affected.
File upload history
Previous upload batches can be viewed via the Upload history option under the Project button.
The +Add filter option will allow the history to show only results by:
Name | Batch name specified at time of upload |
Description | Text inserted into 'Further information' tab at time of upload |
Date Uploaded | Upload initiation date |
Uploaded by | User that performed the upload |
Files | Number of files uploaded in a batch |
Processed | Number of files processed in a batch |
Errors | Number of files with errors in a batch |
Finished | True/False representing completion of the batch upload |
Time Finished | Specific dates that batches were uploaded upon |
An overview of the batch upload status can be seen in the right hand panel by selecting the row of a particular batch. Additionally the 'File details' tab will a further breakdown of the batch by showing the contents of the batch by file name and the destination folder specified at the time of upload.