Common Nuix Discover tasks

Claira runs inside Nuix Discover (NeoDiscover) as a UI Extension. A lot of what users ask Claira to "do" is actually a Nuix capability — things like changing what panes you see, adding a coding field, applying a redaction, or producing documents. Claira can't do those for you, but this article covers the most common Nuix tasks with step-by-step instructions and links to the official Nuix help.

If you can't find what you need below, the full Nuix help is at ca.legal.nuix.com/RingtailHelp.

---

Workspace and panes

I can't see my list of documents, browse pane, conditional coding pane, or document pane — how do I find it?

Each pane in Nuix Discover (Browse pane, List pane, Document pane, Conditional Coding pane, Related pane, Map pane) is part of your workspace view. If a pane is missing it has been hidden in your current workspace, or your workspace template doesn't include it.

To bring a pane back:

1. Open the Documents page.
2. Use the pane toggles in the top toolbar of each region to show or hide a pane. Most panes have a header menu with options for what they display.
3. If the pane is still missing, your case administrator may have applied a workspace template that excludes it. Ask them to add it for your group (see How do I change what my team sees in their workspace?).

For column choices in the List pane specifically, click the List menu and choose Select Columns to add or remove columns, or pick a saved column template from the toolbar drop-down. Choose Custom (no template) to revert to defaults.

To create a custom workspace from scratch, click the arrow below the workspace buttons in the Documents page toolbar and select Add new workspace. Name it, choose the panes you want (up to 5 per workspace), pick a layout, and save. You can pin up to three workspaces — labelled A, B, and C — to the toolbar for one-click switching. Custom workspaces are saved automatically.

Reference: View a document · Work with the List pane · Customizing the workspace (Noticia).

---

How do I open a document in its own window?

From the List pane, open a document, then use the Options menu in the document toolbar:

• Open as linked workspace — opens the document in a separate browser window that stays in sync with the List pane (next/previous works across windows).
• Open as standalone — opens the document in an independent window that does not follow the List pane.

For dual-monitor review, choose the Second Monitor layout when opening as a linked workspace — it gives you two View panes synced to the List pane in your main window.

Reference: View a document · How to open a linked workspace (Noticia).

---

How do I reset my workspace to defaults?

If you've customized panes, columns, or layouts and want to start fresh:

1. Click your name in the top-right corner.
2. Open User Settings.
3. Choose Reset to Group Defaults (uses the workspace your administrator has configured for your group) or Reset to Ringtail Default (the out-of-the-box layout).

This resets the Browse pane, list columns, workspace layouts, and other customizations in one go.

Reference: How to reset your workspace configuration (Noticia).

---

Searching and browsing

How do I use the Browse pane and save a search?

The Browse pane lets you walk through documents by binders, issues, levels, saved searches, and other groupings without typing a query.

Open the Browse pane:

• From Case Home, click Browse on the toolbar.
• From the Documents page (after returning a result set), click Browse in the toolbar. Your workspace switches to a layout that includes the Browse pane.

Browse and filter:

1. Click a section heading (Binders, Issues, Levels, Saved Searches, etc.).
2. Expand a hierarchy with the + sign or click an item name to run a new search for that group.
3. Use the Filter to button on the Browse pane toolbar to combine browse selections with your current search.
4. Use the Working list button in the List pane to view your selections without losing context.

Find by content or coding values:

• Click the Find section heading, enable Content or Coding via the gear button, type your terms, and click Find. Hits show up in the List pane and highlight in the Document pane.

Saved searches show up under Saved Searches in the Browse pane — run one by clicking it, or filter to it.

Reference: Browse and filter documents.

---

What's the Nuix Discover search syntax (basic + advanced)?

Nuix Discover splits searching into two engines: content searches (full-text via dtSearch, run against document text) and fielded searches (SQL, run against metadata and coding fields). Most queries combine the two.

Useful patterns:

• AND / OR / NOT — combine clauses, e.g. contract AND vendor, responsive OR hot, email NOT internal.
• Exact phrase — wrap in double quotes: "acquisition agreement".
• Field clauses in advanced search — pick a field, an operator, a value: e.g. Custodian is "John Smith".
• Date ranges — use the calendar control to set From/To, e.g. Created date between 2023-01-01 and 2023-12-31.
• Pick list values — select from the dropdown of defined values: e.g. Issue equals Privilege.
• All metadata — search across title, description, ID, notes, pick lists, text, memo, people, and organizations at once.
• Boolean grouping — use the bracket-grouping control (red = AND, green = OR, blue = NOT) to build nested expressions.

The full operator and wildcard reference is the Nuix Discover Search Query Syntax appendix.

Reference: Perform an advanced search.

---

Why am I getting more documents back than my search terms returned? (Sources & attachments)

In eDiscovery, "sources and attachments" refers to the family of an email together with its attachment(s). They're treated as a unit for disclosure: under Canadian disclosure rules, if any document in a family is relevant and not privileged, the whole family is generally produced.

By default a search returns only the documents that match your terms. Turning on the Sources & Attachments filter (the filled blue paperclip icon in the toolbar) expands the result set to also include the parents and children of any matching document — so a search that returns 178 hits without it might return 276 with it, because the parent emails of coded attachments are pulled in.

If you're seeing unexpected document counts, check whether the Sources & Attachments filter is on.

---

How does Nuix Discover handle duplicates and near-duplicates?

Nuix recognizes four kinds of repetition:

• Exact duplicates — identical content and metadata; matching hash values.
• Family duplicates — entire email families (message + attachments) that are 100% identical.
• Thread duplicates — emails whose content is fully contained in a later message in the thread.
• Near-duplicates — conceptually similar documents without exact hash matches (small edits, format variations).

Family-level dedupe runs automatically during ingestion. Thread duplicates are surfaced through email threading (see How do I review email threads and document families?). Near-duplicates are surfaced via the Compare-Related dashboard with similarity scoring.

For first-pass review, looking only at the pivot or final email in a thread is often sufficient — but for privilege, redaction, or factual nuance you usually need to walk the family.

Reference: Handling duplicate and near-duplicate records (Noticia).

---

Coding, highlights, and redactions

How do I highlight relevant content or apply a redaction?

Highlights and redactions are applied in the Document pane while viewing the image or PDF rendition of the document.

1. Open a document so it appears in the Document pane.
2. Switch to the image or PDF rendition (not the formatted text view) — redactions and highlights apply to the imaged page.
3. In the Document pane toolbar, choose the Highlight or Redaction tool.
4. Click and drag on the page to draw the highlight or redaction box.
5. For redactions, select a redaction reason if your case uses them (e.g. Privileged, PII).
6. Save — the annotation is stored against the document.

To remove a redaction or highlight, select it on the page and press Delete (or use the right-click menu).

Reference: Code documents · Productions.

---

How do I code a document?

You can code documents (mark them with review decisions like Responsive, Privileged, Issue tags) in several ways:

• Code pane — the standard coding panel; pick or type values for each field.
• Conditional Coding pane — a guided template that highlights which fields still need coding based on the values you've already chosen. Field colors change as required fields are filled.
• Quick codes — color-coded one-click values for common decisions; faster than picking from a list. See the next FAQ.
• List pane inline — for fields whose column header has the edit icon, double-click the cell to edit the value directly.
• Hint-based coding — apply a suggested value from the Code pane.

Reference: Code documents.

---

How do I quick-code a document (one-click coding)?

Quick codes are color-coded one-click values associated with a coding field — useful for fast first-pass tagging like Responsive / Not Responsive / Privileged.

As a reviewer:

1. Open a document on the Documents page.
2. Make sure the right quick code list is selected — your administrator can set a default per case, group, or review phase. To switch lists yourself, open Tools → Quick code.
3. Click the colored quick code button (or use the keyboard shortcut shown in the tooltip) to apply it to the current document.

As an administrator, to set up a quick code list:

1. Build a pick list with family rank and color coding.
2. Set security so the right groups can use it.
3. Set it as the default for a case (Case Setup → Case Defaults), group (Security → Groups → Properties), or review phase (Review Setup → workflow → phase → Properties).
4. To restrict a group to a single quick code list, deny the Change quick code feature for that group under Security → Features.

Reference: Quick codes.

---

How do I set up custom redaction reasons (redaction labels)?

Redaction reasons let reviewers tag a redaction with a category (Privileged, PII, Trade Secret, etc.) so the production export can group, count, or label them on the page.

Redaction reasons are managed by case administrators alongside other coding values. Once configured, reviewers pick them when drawing a redaction in the Document pane.

The label that appears burned onto the produced page (the word "REDACTED", the reason text, the creator name, the date, or the description) is selected when you set up the Production or Batch Print job — not when the reason itself is configured.

Reference: Productions for production-level redaction settings · Code documents for applying redactions during review.

---

How do I redact a native Excel file (Xcelerator)?

Standard redactions in Nuix are applied on the imaged page. For Excel files where you need redactions to live in the native .xlsx (so the file stays sortable and formula-driven for the receiving party), Nuix offers an add-on plugin called Xcelerator (sometimes labelled XLerator).

• Your Nuix administrator must enable Xcelerator for your case before reviewers can use it.
• There is a per-document fee when Xcelerator is used — confirm pricing with your administrator before turning it on.

Once enabled, redactions on Excel files are drawn directly in the native preview rather than the image rendition.

Reference: Native Excel redaction with Xcelerator (Noticia).

---

How do I split a long PDF into separate documents (unitization)?

Unitization lets you divide a single long PDF into multiple separate documents. It's useful when a memo and its attachments were scanned as one PDF, or when a long document is easier to review and produce in parts.

Unitization is configured per case and the exact UI depends on your Nuix version. Talk to your case administrator or contact Noticia support for the current step-by-step.

Reference: Splitting PDFs in Nuix with unitization (Noticia).

---

Email threading and review assignments

How do I review email threads and document families?

Email threading groups related emails together and identifies the unique content in each thread. Nuix Discover classifies each email as a:

• Pivot — contains unique body content, attachments, or recipients not found elsewhere in the thread.
• Duplicate — content fully contained in another document.
• Duplicate previous pivot — a former pivot now superseded by a newer pivot.

To use threading:

1. Run a search for the documents you want to review.
2. In your search preferences, enable the Threading option (or open a threading-specific assignment if your administrator has set one up).
3. In the List pane, use the threading icons to Expand all threads (full hierarchies) or Collapse all threads (roots and pivots only).

Threading is permission-controlled by your administrator — if you don't see it, ask them to grant access.

Reference: Email threading.

---

What email formats does Nuix process (PST, MSG, MHT, EML, MBOX)?

Nuix Discover ingests several email formats and processes them into a common viewable rendition. Quick reference:

• PST — full Outlook mailbox export (folders, messages, calendars, attachments). Processed into MHT during ingestion.
• MSG — single Outlook message. Caution: embedded attachments are not always retained in the native view, and metadata like Date Modified can change when the file is opened — chain-of-custody risk.
• MHT (preferred) — web-archive format. Static, tamper-resistant once generated, captures full layout with attachments, viewable in any browser. Nuix processes ingested emails into MHT by default.
• EML — generic single-email format used by Gmail, Apple Mail, Thunderbird. Behavior varies by export method.
• MBOX — Gmail Takeout / Apple Mail mailbox bundle. Usually needs to be converted to PST or EML before review and lacks Outlook-specific metadata.

If a producing party hands you MSG instead of PST or MHT, raise it before review starts — the missing-attachment and metadata-shift issues are easier to fix in negotiation than in production.

Reference: About email formats (Noticia).

---

How do I get and complete a review assignment?

1. From Case Home, open My Assignments in the navigation pane.
2. Click Get next assignments in the toolbar, enter the number you want, and confirm.
3. Open an assignment by clicking the Total column number (to see all docs) or Get in the Remaining column (to open only uncoded docs).
4. Code the documents on the Documents page that opens.
5. The assignment auto-clears when its coding requirements are met. To track team progress, your case administrator can use the Review Dashboard.

Your administrator caps the number of assignments you can hold at once.

Reference: Get your assignments.

---

Fields, templates, and binders

How do I add a field?

Adding a field (a coding field, custom field, or document property) is a Case Administrator task.

1. From Case Home, open Case Setup → Fields.
2. Click Add.
3. Pick a Type from the drop-down:
   • Date — mm/dd/yyyy only.
   • Memo — long alphanumeric text.
   • Number — integers and decimals.
   • Pick List — predefined selectable values (you'll add the items after creating the field).
   • Text — up to 255 characters.
   • Yes/No — boolean.
4. Enter a unique field name.
5. For multi-value fields, uncheck One-to-one (required for Yes/No fields).
6. Click Save.
7. Open Security for the new field and set group access (Deny / Allow / Write) so the right teams can see and code it.
8. Add the field to a coding template (so it appears in the Conditional Coding pane) and/or a column template (so it appears in the List pane) — see below.

Reference: Fields.

---

How do I add or edit values in a Pick List field?

Pick List fields let reviewers choose from a defined set of values (Issue tags, Custodian, etc.).

1. Go to Case Home → Case Setup → Fields.
2. Open the Pick List field you want to edit.
3. Click Add (top-right) to enter a new value, or open an existing item to rename it, reorder it, or assign a color.
4. Save.

Reference: Fields · Adding entries to a picklist (Noticia).

---

How do I add a field to the Conditional Coding pane (or change which fields reviewers see when coding)?

The Conditional Coding pane is driven by a coding template.

1. Open Case Setup → Coding Templates.
2. Open an existing template or click Add to create a new one.
3. Add fields, ordering them as you want reviewers to see them. For a conditional template, configure rules so a field only appears when an upstream value is coded a certain way.
4. Save.
5. Set the template as the default for one or more groups so reviewers in those groups see it automatically (see How do I change what my team sees in their workspace?).

To switch which template a reviewer is using (without editing it), use the dropdown at the top of the Conditional Coding pane — the default is All Values, and any admin-built templates appear in the same list.

Reference: Coding templates · How to change your conditional coding template (Noticia) · How to add new fields for your users (Noticia).

---

How do I create or edit a column template (saved List view)?

Column templates are saved sets of List pane columns — useful for giving each review team a focused view.

1. Click Add, name the template, choose Search results or Migration, and Save.
2. Open the template, add fields with the Select a field box, and configure attributes / sort order (up to 5 sort columns).
3. Drag rows to reorder.
4. Open Security to allow specific groups to use the template.

Reviewers select the template from the column template drop-down in the List pane toolbar. To make it the default for a group, see the next FAQ.

Reference: Column templates.

---

How do I create a binder?

Binders group related documents — useful for organizing review around themes, witnesses, or hot docs.

Binders live in the Browse pane under the Binders section.

1. Open the Browse pane on the Documents page.
2. In the Binders section, click + or Add and name the new binder.
3. Add documents from a search result by selecting them in the List pane and choosing Code → Code to binder, or drag them onto the binder in the Browse pane.

Adding or removing documents during review (via the Conditional Coding pane):

If your administrator has added the binder list to the Conditional Coding pane (see next FAQ), reviewers can manage binder membership via checkboxes:

1. Select the document(s) in the List pane (turn on bulk-coding mode for multiple).
2. In the binder section of the Conditional Coding pane, check a binder to add the selection or uncheck to remove.

A checkmark indicates the document is currently in that binder.

Reference: Code documents to binders · Adding to or removing documents from a binder (Noticia).

---

How do I add a binder to the Conditional Coding pane (so reviewers can tag docs to it via checkbox)?

Showing a binder in the Conditional Coding pane is a different setup than adding a regular field — a Case Administrator does it once on the coding template:

1. Go to Case Home → Case Setup → Coding Templates.
2. Open the conditional coding template your reviewers use.
3. Add the binder to the template (binders are a separate selectable type, not a "field").
4. Save.

After this, reviewers see the binder as a checkbox in the Conditional Coding pane and can tag documents to it without leaving review.

Reference: How to add a binder to conditional coding (Noticia).

---

How do I change what my team sees in their workspace (List columns, Conditional Coding pane, default workspace)?

User-facing defaults are set per group by a Case Administrator. The pattern is the same for column templates, coding templates, and quick codes:

1. As an administrator, build the template (column template in Case Setup, coding template in Case Setup, quick code list, etc.).
2. Open the template and use Set as default or Set for groups.
3. Choose the groups that should get this template as their default.

Members of those groups see the new default the next time they open the case. Individuals can still switch to a different template via the toolbar drop-down.

Reference: Coding templates · Column templates.

---

Loading and exporting documents

How do I add documents to the case?

Document loading (importing) is a Case Administrator task.

1. Open Manage Documents → Imports and click Add.
2. Import details — pick the job type (e.g. Ringtail – MDB), name the import, set the date format.
3. Load file — choose .mdb or SQL, point to the file and source repository.
4. Source files — decide whether to copy native and image files to the server.
5. Existing documents — set the de-dupe behavior (abort on duplicate, import new only, update existing, or both).
6. Fields — choose ignore-all, auto-match, or custom mapping. If custom, complete the Field Map and Field Trumping Order pages.
7. Annotation map — decide how incoming annotations are loaded.
8. Schedule — start now or save as draft.

Noticia-recommended pattern (load files):

• Files must be in a ZIP with two folder levels: a top-level Collection ID folder (often the date, e.g. 2024-10-10A) and one or more Custodian folders inside.
• The hierarchy you set during import has a maximum of 10,000 documents per level — split deeper if you exceed that.
• For .dat files, configure delimiters as ¶ <DC4> (20) column delimiter and þ (254) text qualifier. For CSV, use comma (44), double quote (34), and <CR><LF> (13,10).
• Date format must match the load file (typically MM/DD/YYYY).
• Strongly recommended: schedule a test run first with indexing/enrichment unchecked, review errors, then clone the test import, enable indexing/enrichment, and submit the real job.

Keep the upload pop-up open while files transfer — closing it cancels the operation.

If the import fails or rows are rejected, see What's the most common cause of import errors? below.

Reference: Import documents · How to import documents (Noticia).

---

How do I ingest documents (and how is that different from import)?

Ingestion is the upstream step: uploading and processing raw native files (with limited or no load file metadata). Import is the structured load — bringing in documents that already have load files describing fields, families, and image references.

Ingest when you have a raw collection. Import when the producing party (or your processing vendor) has already prepared a load file.

1. Open Manage Documents → Ingestions and click Upload.
2. Configure:
   • Disable Aspera unless your environment uses it.
   • Enter a password if the archive is encrypted.
   • Select Use structure inside the archive file.
   • Choose whether ingestion starts automatically or waits for review.
3. Save.
4. After upload completes, click Add in the Ingestions list, name the batch, select the uploaded material, and submit.

Required folder structure inside the archive:

• Top folder: Collection ID (often the date, e.g. 2024-10-10A).
• Inside it: one folder per Custodian (must remain unzipped at this level).
• Inside each custodian folder: documents — loose, zipped, or in further nested folders.

Reference: How to ingest documents (Noticia).

---

What's the most common cause of import errors?

Most import errors fall into a small set of buckets — check these first:

• "Duplicate document was found" — your load file contains an ID already in the case. Export existing IDs from the Documents page (Tools → Export) and reconcile with the producing party.
• File could not be found / file copy error — the folder structure inside your ZIP doesn't match the relative paths in the load file. Confirm paths line up with what was uploaded.
• Invalid date format — Nuix expects MM/DD/YYYY. Convert before re-importing.
• Text too long — text fields cap at 255 characters. Move long titles into a memo field like Description.
• Unsupported characters — \\ / : * ? " < > | in field values will fail. Strip them.
• Delimiter / field-count mismatch — CSV vs .dat use different delimiters; the count of headers must match the count of values per row. Open the load file in Notepad++ to spot blanks or stray delimiters.
• Missing Document IDs — empty ID rows in the load file will block the whole batch. Search for empty Document ID cells before re-running.

For the fuller list and resolutions, see Noticia's Import errors FAQ. For fatal errors, contact support@noticiasolutions.com.

---

How do I get my documents out of the case (export, production, batch print)?

Three main options, depending on what you need.

Export (load file, native, image, or text):

1. From Manage Documents → Exports, or from search results via Tools → Export on the Documents page.
2. Pick an export type:
   • Custom export — full control over metadata and load file format. Requires a load file template (see next FAQ).
   • Native files only — no load file.
   • MDB Classic — legacy load file format.
3. Configure metadata, naming, and output options, then submit.

Group leaders and members with access to the Exports feature (rather than full case admin) can only export native files, not custom exports.

The receiving party usually expects a Concordance .dat load file — that's the universal format. As an alternative for outside-counsel review or external sharing, you can produce a hyperlinked Excel with sortable metadata that links back to the underlying documents.

Reference: Export documents · Producing documents from start to finish (Noticia).

Production (numbered, branded, redacted output for opposing counsel or court):

1. Add documents to an unlocked production.
2. Configure the production's six setup pages — Attributes, Production Rules, Redactions, Endorsements, Security, and Quality Control.
3. Run quality control checks.
4. Lock the production to apply numbering, footers, and burn-in of redactions.
5. Print or export the locked production.

Reference: Productions.

Batch print (PDFs of selected documents, with highlights/redactions burned in):

1. Search for the documents you want.
2. Select them with the row checkboxes in the List pane.
3. Open Tools → Batch Print.
4. Configure:
   • Footer — page label and/or custom field data, or free text.
   • Print items — include highlights, redactions (with optional transparency), and footers. Choose the redaction label (the word "REDACTED", creator, date, or description).
   • Output format — one PDF per document or a single combined PDF (auto-split at 500 pages).
   • Page orientation — original or auto-rotate to fit.
   • Separator pages — optional slip sheets with document IDs.
5. Submit and keep the dialog open while the job runs. The output downloads as files or a .zip.

Reference: Print documents (Batch Print).

---

What are orphan files and what should I do about them?

Orphan files are files left in the case's _images_ folder after their parent document has been removed or never properly linked — they consume storage but aren't reachable from the case.

Common causes:

• Documents deleted from the case without cleanup of associated files.
• Overlay-generated files with naming that prevents document linkage.
• Document ID mismatches between the load file and stored renditions.
• Processing or ingestion errors that leave half-loaded files behind.

Managing them is a Portal Administrator task (not a case-admin task):

• Periodically check the Export, Import, Ingest, Ingest_temp, Suppressed, and Upload directories for stranded files.
• Hard-delete unlinked files in the _images_ repository rather than leaving them suppressed.
• Use consistent file-naming conventions on overlays so renditions link correctly the first time.

Reference: Orphan files (Noticia).

---

How do I create a load file template for export?

A load file template controls which fields and which format are written when you do a Custom Export.

1. Open Manage Documents → Load File Templates.
2. Start from a system template (Concordance, IPRO, Ringtail database, Spreadsheet, Summation) — recommended — or create one manually.
3. Choose the template type:
   • Document template — one row per document.
   • Page template — one row per page (used for some image-numbering exports).
4. Choose the export job type the template will be used for: production rendition, base document, or production using base document numbering.
5. Configure fields and format, then save.
6. The template is now selectable in Manage Documents → Exports when you create a Custom Export.

Only case administrators can create or modify load file templates.

Reference: Load file templates.

---

Users, groups, and permissions

How do I add users to my case?

Users must exist at the portal level before they can be added to a case. Inside the case, you assign them to groups.

1. From Case Home → Security → Groups, open (or create) the group you want the user in.
2. In the group's navigation pane, select Members and click Add.
3. Check the boxes next to the users to add and Save.

If the user doesn't appear in the list, they haven't been created at the portal level yet — your portal administrator does that under portal User Administration.

Reference: Groups · Users.

---

How do I create a group?

1. Go to Case Home → Security → Groups and click Add.
2. Enter a group name.
3. Pick a start page — the page members land on after login. Default is Case Home; other options include Documents, Search, Transcripts, Productions, Security, Case Setup, Manage Documents, Review Setup, and Analysis.
4. Click Save.
5. Add members and grant the group access to the features it needs (next FAQ).

Reference: Groups.

---

How do I give different user groups access to a feature (including Claira)?

Feature-level permissions (including Claira, which appears as a UI Extension) live under Security → Features.

1. Go to Case Home → Security → Features.
2. Click Select groups and pick up to five groups to display as columns.
3. Find the feature row you want — features are organized into eight categories: Activity, Analysis, Coding, Document, List, Processing, Search, and UI Extension. Claira lives under UI Extension.
4. Click Allow in the appropriate group's column for that feature row, then confirm.
5. To grant a feature to all displayed groups at once, click Allow at the top of any group column.

By default every feature is set to Deny for every group, so you must explicitly turn on access.

Reference: Features.

---

Where to go next

• Full Nuix Discover help: Discover Introduction
• User guides (reviewers): User Help
• Case administrator guides: Case Administrator Help
• Search query syntax: Nuix Discover Search Query Syntax

---

Need help with Claira itself? Contact us at support@claira.to.