How to add a late document to a numbered case folder, and renumber the rest

The short answer

Lawyers number the files in a case folder in bundle order, so that the folder and the index read the same: 1 Claim Form, 2 Witness Statement, and so on. When a document arrives late, or one comes out, every file after it has to be renamed by hand, one at a time. An exhibit that belongs with an earlier document has to be combined with it first.

Folder Manager, part of the LHT DMS desktop program for Windows and macOS, shows every file in the folder in one grid. Name an exhibit 2+A and it is merged into item 2. Name a new document 3A and it takes its place after item 3. Renumber with Merge Groups then does the merging and renames the files so that they run 1, 2, 3 with no gaps. It shows you every change and asks you to confirm before it makes it.

Doing it by hand

Take a folder numbered 1 to 7. An exhibit arrives that belongs with item 2, a new witness statement has to go in after item 3, and items 5 and 6 are to come out. By hand, that means:

• Combining item 2 and its exhibit into one PDF in a PDF editor, and saving it under item 2's name.
• Renaming every file after the new statement, working backwards from the last, so that two files never share a number.
• Moving items 5 and 6 out of the folder, then renaming item 7 as 6 to close the gap.
• Checking the whole folder for gaps and duplicates, because one slip puts a document in the wrong place in the bundle.
• Rebuilding the index, because every item number after 2 has changed.

Doing it with LHT DMS

1. Open the folder in Folder ManagerOn the Draft Index tab, drag the case folder into the Folder box under Folder and File Management, and click MANAGE FOLDER. Every file in the folder is listed in one grid, with its current name, its new name and a View button to open it.
2. Bring in the late documentsDrag them onto the grid. They are copied in, and the originals stay where they are. If a file of the same name is already there, the app asks first, and the existing file goes to DMS Backup before it is replaced.
3. Give each one its place in the numberingDouble-click the New Name and type. A document that belongs inside an existing item takes a plus sign: "2+A Exhibit A1" will be merged into item 2. A new item of its own takes a letter: "3A Witness Statement of C 05-02-2026" sits between 3 and 4. Click Commit Files. PDF, Word and image files are all accepted.
4. Take out what is no longer neededTick items 5 and 6 and click Remove Selected. They are moved into the DMS Backup sub-folder with the date and time added to the name. Nothing is deleted.
5. Click Renumber with Merge GroupsThe app says what it is about to do and asks you to confirm. It then shows the merge order, item 2 followed by 2+A, and asks again. Last, it lists every rename and asks once more: 3A becomes 4, 4 becomes 5, and 7 becomes 6. Only the number at the front changes. The description and the date stay as they are.
6. Rebuild the indexIf the folder had a "0 COVER-INDEX.docx", it is moved to DMS Backup, because its item numbers no longer match. The app asks how many columns the index should have and offers to create the Draft Index at once, or you can create it later from the Draft Index tab. Descriptions you edited in the old index can be copied from the copy in DMS Backup.

▶ Watch the demonstration

What you get

• One file for each item, numbered 1, 2, 3 with no gaps and no duplicates.
• Each exhibit merged into the document it belongs to, as one PDF, with a bookmark for each original file and that file's own bookmarks beneath it.
• Word documents converted with their headings as bookmarks, and images converted to PDF pages, as part of the merge.
• The descriptions and dates in your file names unchanged.
• Every file that was merged, removed or replaced kept in DMS Backup, with the date and time in its name.
• A folder ready for Create Draft Index and for the Compile tab.

Other ways to use the grid

To rename a single file, double-click its New Name, type, and click Commit Files. Nothing on disk changes until you do, and the file extension cannot be changed by mistake.

To number a folder whose files have no numbers yet, such as documents named by date, put them in order with Sort by Name or the arrows on each row, tick them and click Number as Sorted. Check the New Name column, then click Commit Files.

To merge exhibits without renumbering, click Merge Groups. Every 2+A and 2+B is combined into item 2, and the numbering is left as it is.

Naming rules

A plus sign, and nothing else, marks a document that belongs inside another: 2+A, then 2+B, or 3A+A for one that belongs inside item 3A. Write it without spaces. "2 + A" reads as a second item 2.

Brackets are not read as a marker. A file downloaded twice is usually saved with "(1)" added to its name, and a duplicate should never be merged into a bundle without your knowing.

A letter after the number makes a new item: 3A, then 3B, sit between 3 and 4. Renumber with Merge Groups turns them into whole numbers.

Where your files go

Nowhere. Folder Manager works on the files in your own folder, on your own computer. It lists only the files in that folder: sub-folders are never shown or touched, and "0 COVER-INDEX.docx" is shown but locked, so that it cannot be renamed or removed by mistake. Nothing is uploaded to Legal Hi Tech or to any third party, and the software uses no generative AI.

Questions

Related guides

The index: how to create a court bundle index in Word from your file names. Once the bundle is built: how to write bundle page references into your Word documents. Signed pages: how to replace signed pages without rebuilding the bundle. The full list of what the desktop app does is on the features page, and more answers are in the FAQ.

Word and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. LHT DMS is independent software from Legal Hi Tech Limited.