Understanding Detailed vs Concise Chronology Formats
Last updated: February 23, 2026
Understanding Detailed vs Concise Chronology Formats
Quick answer: Concise mode splits each event into its own chronology entry, making it ideal for initial review and communicating facts quickly. Detailed mode keeps more verbatim content from each document, treating the document itself as the event. Choose the right mode when creating your matter — this setting cannot be changed after creation.
Tip: If you need a focused summary of specific facts rather than a full chronology, try Fact Explorer. Ask Mary a direct question and she will find the answer with source references -- no need to re-process your entire chronology. Look for the Fact Explorer tab on your matter.
Concise Format
Concise mode extracts individual events and creates a separate chronology entry for each one. If a letter discusses three distinct events, you will see three separate entries, each with its own date and description.
Best for:
Getting across facts quickly during initial review
Sharing timelines with colleagues or clients who need a clear summary
Large document sets where you want to filter and sort individual events
Matters with high volumes of correspondence, such as employment disputes or insurance claims
Detailed Format
Detailed mode keeps more of the original document content together. It treats each document as an event in itself. If a letter sent on a specific date discusses multiple topics, Detailed mode will typically create one entry capturing all the topics together.
Best for:
Deep-dive review of complex documents where context between topics matters
Matters where you need to understand the full scope of each individual document
Preparing for cross-examination or witness statements where document-level detail is important
Practical Example
A family law practitioner reviewing medical records might choose Concise mode to build a clear initial timeline of appointments, diagnoses, and treatments across hundreds of pages. If they needed a deeper dive for a specific matter, they would create a separate matter using Detailed mode to see the full context of specific clinical notes.
Choosing Your Mode
You choose between Detailed and Concise when creating your matter. This setting cannot be changed after matter creation. If you want to see your documents in the other format, you will need to create a new matter and re-upload your documents (which will use additional credits).
For most use cases, we recommend starting with Concise. It is better suited to initial review, large document sets, and sharing timelines with colleagues.
Known Limitations
Neither format is fully verbatim. Both Detailed and Concise modes process and summarise content from your documents. Detailed mode is closer to the original text, but it is not a word-for-word reproduction. If you need exact language from a document, use the source viewer to read the original.
If This Doesn't Resolve Your Issue
If you are unsure which format suits your matter, start with Concise. It covers the most common use cases.
If neither format is capturing the information you need, try using Fact Explorer to ask specific questions about your documents instead.
If you continue to see unexpected results, email support@marytechnology.com with a screenshot and the name of your matter.