Document Preparation Checklist

Last updated: February 23, 2026

Preparing Your Documents for Upload: A Quick Checklist

Quick answer: A few minutes of preparation before uploading will save you time and credits. Check your file formats, remove password protection from PDFs, rename any duplicate filenames, and have your key document and matter summary ready before you start.

Before you start: Several settings are locked after matter creation and cannot be changed: your key document, your choice of Detailed or Concise, and the initial matter summary (though the summary can be edited later). Make these decisions before you begin uploading.

Pre-Upload Checklist

1. Check Your File Formats

Mary supports the following formats:

  • PDF

  • DOCX (Microsoft Word)

  • EML (email files)

  • MSG (Outlook email files)

If you have other file types:

  • Images (JPEG, PNG, TIFF): Convert to PDF before uploading. Most scanning software and image viewers have a "Save as PDF" or "Print to PDF" option.

  • .nrl files (iManage linked references): These are not actual documents — they are shortcut files. Export the actual documents from iManage instead.

  • Other formats (XLS, PPT, TXT, etc.): Convert to PDF or DOCX before uploading.

2. Remove Password Protection from PDFs

Password-protected PDFs will fail and throw an error. This is one of the most common reasons files cannot be validated.

Before uploading, remove the password protection from any protected PDFs. This can typically be done by duplicating the file on your computer, or by using a PDF editor (Adobe Acrobat, Foxit, or free online tools) to remove the restrictions.

3. Check for Duplicate Filenames

If two or more files in your upload batch have the same filename, the upload will stall. This is common when exporting emails from iManage or Outlook, where multiple emails may have the same subject line as the filename.

What to do: Sort your files by name in your file explorer and rename any duplicates. For example, rename "RE Client Instructions.pdf" to "RE Client Instructions (2).pdf."

4. Check Your Upload Limits

Each upload session supports:

  • Maximum 500 files per upload session

  • Maximum 10,000 pages per upload session

If your document set exceeds these limits, upload the first batch and process it, then use "Add More Documents" to upload the next batch. This is common for large personal injury matters with extensive medical records.

5. Identify Your Key Document

Before creating your matter, decide which document will be your key document. This is the document that best outlines the issues in your case. Good choices include:

  • Statement of claim or defence

  • Instructions letter or brief to counsel

  • Expert report summarising the key issues

  • Letter of demand or response

Important: The key document cannot be changed after matter creation. If you select the wrong document, the workaround is to manually edit the matter summary to include the context from the correct key document.

6. Write a Focused Matter Summary

The matter summary drives how Mary scores the relevance of chronology entries. A good summary describes the specific legal issues you are investigating, not a general description of the case.

Effective summary: "Motor vehicle accident on 12 June 2023 at intersection of King and George Streets. Claimant sustained cervical spine injury. Issues: liability (failure to give way), causation (pre-existing degenerative condition), quantum (ongoing treatment costs and loss of earning capacity)."

Less effective summary: "Personal injury matter involving a car accident. Client was injured and is claiming damages."

A broad summary will cause Mary to flag more entries as relevant, making it harder to find the facts that matter most. You can edit the summary at any time after matter creation.

7. Choose Detailed vs Concise Mode

You will be asked to choose between Detailed and Concise when creating your matter. This cannot be changed after creation.

  • Choose Concise if you want to review the key facts quickly, have a large document set, or are doing an initial assessment of the matter. This is the recommended default for most use cases.

  • Choose Detailed if you need comprehensive coverage of every event and are prepared to work through a larger number of entries.

Credit cost: Processing costs approximately 1 credit per page regardless of mode. A 500-page upload will use approximately 500 credits. If you later want to switch modes, you will need to create a new matter and re-upload, which will use additional credits.

Quick Reference Summary

  • Supported formats: PDF, DOCX, EML, MSG

  • Remove password protection from all PDFs

  • Rename any files with identical filenames

  • Maximum 500 files and 10,000 pages per upload session

  • Have your key document identified before starting

  • Write a focused matter summary about specific legal issues

  • Choose Concise mode unless you need deep-dive detail

Known limitations: Key document, Detailed vs Concise setting, and initial matter summary are set during matter creation and cannot be changed afterward. If you need to change any of these, you will need to create a new matter.

If Your Upload Still Fails

  1. Hard refresh your browser (Ctrl+Shift+R / Cmd+Shift+R) and try again

  2. Try uploading a smaller batch (10-20 files) to isolate the problem

  3. Check whether a specific file is causing the failure by uploading files in smaller groups

  4. If the issue persists, contact support@marytechnology.com with:

  • The number and types of files you are uploading

  • Any error messages you see (screenshots are helpful)

  • Your browser type (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari)