Combining Exhibits and Adding a Table of Contents

Combine exhibits when you need one PDF containing the set. If the receiving court or recipient asks for separate files, use separate PDF downloads instead.

Create a combined PDF

1. Put the documents in the order you want and check their exhibit labels.
2. On Review your exhibit set, choose Combined PDF.
3. The table of contents is included by default as page 1, with links to each exhibit and a PDF bookmark list. To leave it out, untick Include table of contents with clickable links. Before you download, the export review also offers Leave out the contents page.
4. Open Formatting options to check the title, font and style. The default is Standard. With automatic letter labels, Formatting options suggests Trial Binder (page labels such as A1, A2); choose it only if your matter calls for that format.
5. Check Match contents and bookmarks to stamp identifiers when your contents should include the selected stamp's identifier, such as a prefix. Compare the names with the actual stamps.
6. Prepare the exhibits, review the finished combined PDF, then save it. Open the downloaded file before sending or filing it.

A Separate Files (ZIP) download never has a table of contents: each exhibit is its own PDF. A single document downloads on its own, without one.

Understand the page references

Standard contents entries point to page positions in the combined PDF. Contents pages and category dividers count toward those positions. A reference to page 7 means the seventh page of that PDF; it does not mean Bates number 7.

Trial Binder can print labels such as A1 and A2 on exhibit pages. Its contents show those ranges only when both Show page ranges and Stamp page labels on each page are enabled. Otherwise, the contents use combined-PDF page positions. See Trial Binder numbering.

Choosing a contents style does not by itself add consecutive page numbers to every page of the combined PDF. Bates numbering is a separate marking feature.

Check the finished result

Open the Contents list in the finished preview, or the bookmarks panel in your PDF reader. Follow an entry near the beginning, middle, and end. Each should reach the correct exhibit's first page. Check the printed contents references, document order, complete last pages, and any divider pages.

In Trial Binder mode, add descriptive exhibit titles in the document list. On a compact screen, open Document actions for the file to reach the available title and category controls.

Fix a common problem

• Contents are missing: choose Combined PDF on the review screen and make sure Include table of contents with clickable links is ticked; a ZIP never has one. If you already downloaded, use Revise this bundle to make a combined version.
• A title cannot be printed: the contents page uses fonts that cannot print emoji or some non-Latin scripts. Edit that exhibit's title, or untick the contents option to download without a contents page.
• The page reference seems too high: count the contents and divider pages before the exhibit. Use the PDF's page position, not the number printed inside a source document.
• The wrong exhibit opens: correct the document order or label, prepare again, and recheck the link before using the file.
• The file is too large for the recipient: check that recipient's limit and whether separate exhibits are permitted. ExhibitPrep's processing limits are not filing-system limits.
• You already downloaded an earlier version: use Make a change to revise the set. The earlier saved PDF stays unchanged.