Category Archives: Review

2025 Update: dtSearch Desktop Demonstration video (originally published in 2014)

Posted on by

By Alex Roberts

Note: Here is a quickstart video that demonstrates how to set up a new dtSearch index and search it. Index set up is also described in the dtSearch Guide parts III and IV. Searching an index will be detailed in future posts.

Here is a brief 12-minute video that demonstrates how to set up a new dtSearch index and how to run searches within an index.

Licenses for dtSearch are available for CJA panel attorneys with current, active cases at no cost.  If you are interested in obtaining a license, please fill out a dtSearch request form, at: http://nlsblog.org/2014/03/25/dtsearch-desktop/.  

Note: like most litigation software programs, this program was developed for Windows-based operating systems and does not work with Macintosh operating systems.

dtSearch Guide – Part IV: Updating an Index

Posted on by

By Tisha Davis, Derek Ametam and Joe Wanzala 

This is part of a series of posts focusing on dtSearch software. In this installment we cover how to update an index.

When you receive more productions, you can choose between two approaches. One option is to update the existing index but adding the new productions into the existing index. The other option is to create a new, separate index.

Continue reading →

dtSearch Guide – Part III: Creating an Index

Posted on by

This is the third post in a multi-part blog series on the dtSearch software. In this installment we cover how to create an index.

By Tisha Davis, Derek Ametam and Joe Wanzala 

The first step in creating a dtSearch index begins in Windows Explorer. Pick a location for your index where it won’t need to be moved later, and where the documents you plan to index can also be stored. It is important these things 1) stay together and 2) don’t move so that a search will produce results. A good location is on a flash drive.

Continue reading →

dtSearch Guide – Part II: User Preferences

Posted on by

By Tisha Davis, Derek Ametam and Joe Wanzala 

This is the second post in a multi-part blog series on using the dtSearch software. It guides you through configuring user preferences.

Setup/Preferences

After you install dtSearch, there are a few settings we recommend changing.[1] These changes will stay in place on that computer going forward. If you installed dtSearch on additional computers using the same license key, the settings on each computer will need to be changed in the same way.

Continue reading →

dtSearch Guide – Part I: Introduction to dtSearch

Posted on by

By Tisha Davis, Derek Ametam and Joe Wanzala 

This is the first post in a multi-part blog series on using the dtSearch software. It provides an introduction to dtSearch.

What is dtSearch?

dtSearch is a software program that allows you to search large amounts of text quickly. It does this by building indexes based on the words it finds in each file you point it to, creating a word index that it continues to refer to with each search. It can be used to search entire folders of data that contain different file types. There are two steps to using dtSearch. Step 1 is building an index. Step 2 is searching it. It is a simple and effective tool for searching discovery, creating brief banks, and viewing different file types even if the associated program is not installed on your computer.

Continue reading →