Understanding Referencing and Bates Numbering

Introduction

Referencing in Sky adds a sequential reference number to document pages so that each page can be identified consistently during review, discussion, and export. This type of page numbering is commonly known as Bates numbering and is widely used in legal, insurance, claims, medical-review, and other document-heavy workflows.

Instead of referring to “page 3 of the report” or relying on a filename that may change, reviewers can point to a stable reference such as SK-000001-OCF-18-5-735-64-Dr-Alan-Whitfiel . This is especially useful when a case contains many documents, multiple reviewers are involved, or an exported document set needs to preserve a clear page-by-page reference sequence.

Sky lets administrators define the organization’s default referencing format, lets users enable or disable referencing when creating a case, and provides document-level controls for applying or skipping reference numbers after files are uploaded.

Who This Guide Is For: Organization administrators, case managers, legal and claims professionals, and anyone who prepares or reviews document sets where stable page references are important.

What You’ll Learn:

What Referencing/Bates numbering does in Sky
How to configure organization-wide defaults
How to enable or disable Referencing for a new case
How to apply or skip reference numbers for uploaded documents
How numbering continues across multiple documents
What the stamped pages look like in Sky and after export
How to remove and re-apply Referencing
Common mistakes and practical recommendations

Understanding Referencing in Sky

What Bates Numbering Solves

Bates numbering gives every referenced page a sequential identifier. This helps teams:

Cite a specific page unambiguously during review
Keep references stable when working across several documents
Share a document set with legal counsel, adjusters, assessors, or other reviewers
Preserve traceability when documents are exported from Sky
Reduce confusion caused by duplicate filenames, page numbers that restart inside each source document, or files being reviewed in a different order

In Sky, the reference stamp can contain three parts:

Prefix — identifies the case, document, or other context
Sequential number — the unique number assigned to the page
Suffix — optional additional context, such as the document filename

For example:

SK-000001-OCF-18-5-735-64-Dr-Alan-Whitfiel

In this example, SK is the prefix, 000001 is the sequential page number, and the remaining text comes from the document filename. When the filename is used as part of the stamp, Sky removes the file extension, replaces special characters with hyphens, and truncates the result to 32 characters — which is why the example above ends mid-word (...Whitfiel ).

Continuous Numbering Across Documents

Referencing in Sky is case-based rather than restarting at 1 for every document. Numbers are allocated in the order Referencing is applied to documents, and each document consumes numbers according to its page count.

For example, in the Max Bates Numbers 2 case, Referencing is first applied to OCF-18 - $5,735.64, Dr. Alan Whitfield, Ph.D., C.Psych., 2024-06-10.pdf . The document contains 5 pages, and its first page receives:

SK-000001-OCF-18-5-735-64-Dr-Alan-Whitfiel

Because this document uses 000001 through 000005 , the next referenced document, CNRs Dr. Nathan Frost, MD, FRCPC Horizon Health & Rehab Centre 2024-01 to 2024-06.pdf , begins with:

SK-000006-CNRs-Dr-Nathan-Frost-MD-FRCPC-Ho

That document contains 7 pages, so the following document starts at 000013 . The sequence continues in the same way across the case.

Configuring Referencing Defaults for Your Organization

Organization-level Referencing settings define the default format used when reference numbers are applied in new cases.

Step 1: Open Referencing Settings

Open Settings, then select Referencing from the left-hand navigation.

The Referencing page contains the organization defaults and a live Preview showing how the configured stamp will appear on a page.

Step 2: Choose Whether New Cases Start with Referencing Enabled

Use Referencing for New Cases to control the default state for newly created cases.

When enabled, Referencing is turned on by default in the Create Case dialog. When disabled, Referencing is turned off by default. Users can still change the setting for an individual case during case creation.

This organization setting controls the default state shown during case creation; it does not force every case to use Referencing.

Step 3: Configure the Default Prefix

Use Default Prefix to define what appears before the sequential number.

The current interface provides these options:

Auto-Generated from Case Name — Sky derives the prefix from the case name
Document File Name — uses the document filename as the prefix
Custom Text — lets you define your own prefix text

For most workflows, a short case-specific prefix is easier to cite than a long filename.

Step 4: Configure the Default Suffix

Use Default Suffix to control what appears after the sequential number.

Available options are:

None
Document File Name
Custom Text

Including the document filename can make exported references more descriptive, while choosing None produces a shorter stamp.

Note that Document File Name cannot be selected for both the prefix and the suffix at the same time — choosing it in one dropdown automatically switches the other to a different option. Filename-based values are also sanitized and truncated to 32 characters.

Step 5: Set the Starting Number

Use Start Numbering With to define the first number in the sequence.

For example, entering 1 starts the sequence at 000001 when six digits are configured.

A different starting value can be useful when Sky is continuing a numbering sequence that began outside the platform or when a project requires a specific numbering range.

Step 6: Set the Number of Digits

Use Number of Digits to control the zero-padded length of the sequential number.

For example, with six digits:

1 becomes 000001
25 becomes 000025
874 becomes 000874

Choose enough digits for the expected size of your cases so the reference format remains consistent as the page count grows.

Step 7: Choose the Stamp Font

Use Stamp Font to select the typeface used for the reference stamp.

The current interface provides:

Arial (Sans Serif)
Times New Roman (Serif)
Courier (Monospace)

Courier is useful when you want fixed-width reference numbers, while Arial and Times New Roman provide more conventional document styles.

Step 8: Choose Stamp Position and Color

Use Stamp Position and Color to control where the reference number appears on each page and the color used for the stamp.

The page diagram lets you choose a placement around the page edges. The selected position is reflected immediately in the Preview panel on the right.

Use the preview to make sure the stamp does not overlap headers, footers, signatures, page numbers, or other important source content.

Step 9: Save the Organization Defaults

Review the generated example in Preview, then click Save.

These settings become the defaults used by new cases. They do not automatically rewrite reference numbers that have already been applied to existing documents.

Enabling Referencing When Creating a Case

Even when your organization has a default Referencing configuration, the feature can be controlled for an individual case during case creation.

Step 1: Create a New Case

From the Cases page, start creating a new case and complete the required case information.

Step 2: Review the Referencing Setting

In the Create Case dialog, locate Referencing.

The description explains that Sky can stamp every document and page in the case with a sequential reference number using your organization’s format.

Use the toggle to enable or disable Referencing for this case.

Step 3: Review the Reference Preview

The Preview displays the format that will be used based on your organization settings.

For example:

SK-000001-FileName

This makes it possible to confirm the format before creating the case.

Step 4: Override the Case Prefix if Needed

Use Reference Prefix (Optional) when the case requires a more specific prefix than the organization default.

This field appears only when the organization's default prefix is set to Auto-Generated from Case Name or Custom Text. When the organization uses Document File Name as the prefix, there is no case-level prefix to override, so the field is not shown.

If the field is left blank, Sky auto-generates the prefix from the case name when that organization-level option is configured.

A custom prefix is useful when your team uses an established matter number, claim number, client code, or other external identifier.

Step 5: Continue Creating the Case

Click Continue and complete the case creation process.

Enabling Referencing prepares the case to use the configured numbering scheme, but uploaded documents still require a Referencing decision before their pages are stamped.

Changing Referencing After Case Creation

Referencing can also be enabled or disabled later from the Edit Case dialog.

Open the case menu, choose Edit Case, and use the Referencing toggle to change whether the case uses the Referencing workflow.

The Edit Case dialog provides the Referencing toggle, but it does not provide the Reference Prefix (Optional) field available during case creation.

Applying Reference Numbers to Documents

When Referencing is enabled for a case, Sky tracks which uploaded files still require a Referencing decision. A notification banner on the case page shows how many files still need to be either referenced or skipped.

For example:

10 of 10 files still need a referencing decision

Option 1: Apply Referencing to All Pending Files

Click Apply All in the Referencing banner to apply reference numbers to all files that still require a decision.

Review the confirmation before continuing.

Option 2: Skip Referencing for All Pending Files

Click Skip All if none of the pending files should receive Sky reference numbers.

Skipping can be useful for documents that already contain an accepted reference system or files that should remain unstamped.

Option 3: Apply Referencing to Selected Documents

To control the process document by document:

Select one or more files using the checkboxes in the document list.
Click Apply Referencing in the action bar.
Review the reference preview in the confirmation dialog.
Click Apply Referencing to confirm.

Sky then processes the selected documents and assigns sequential reference numbers to their pages.

Option 4: Skip Selected Documents

Select one or more files and click Skip Referencing when those documents should not receive a Sky reference stamp.

This gives you control over mixed cases where some files need Bates numbers and others do not.

Example: Referencing the Max Bates Numbers 2 Case

The Max Bates Numbers 2 case shows how continuous numbering progresses across documents with different page counts.

For example:

OCF-18 - $5,735.64, Dr. Alan Whitfield, Ph.D., C.Psych., 2024-06-10.pdf — 5 pages — starts at SK-000001
CNRs Dr. Nathan Frost, MD, FRCPC Horizon Health & Rehab Centre 2024-01 to 2024-06.pdf — 7 pages — starts at SK-000006
Response to Medical Recommendation - Northgate Insurance Co. - 2024-06-20.pdf — 2 pages — starts at SK-000013
Hospital Records - Thornhill General Hospital, Records.pdf — 12 pages — starts at SK-000015
CNRs - Dr. Rachel Emery, MD - 20230410-20231115.pdf — 14 pages — starts at SK-000027

The sequence follows the page count of each document. The first document uses 000001–000005 , so the next document starts at 000006 . Its 7 pages use 000006–000012 , so the following document starts at 000013 .

Viewing Referenced Documents in Sky

Once Referencing has been applied, the reference stamp is visible on the document page in Sky.

The configured prefix, number, suffix, font, color, and position are reflected in the stamped page.

The document list also displays reference information so reviewers can see which files have already been processed and which still require a decision.

Exporting Documents with Reference Numbers

Reference numbers are retained when referenced documents are exported from Sky as PDF or DOCX.

Sky provides PDF and DOCX export options for the Full Doc List and Table of Contents. When referenced document pages are included in an export, their assigned reference stamps are preserved, so a reviewer can cite a reference number in Sky and another reviewer can locate the same page in the exported document set.

The stamp itself is part of the page image, so it is always present in exports of referenced documents. In addition, when Referencing is enabled for the organization, the exported Doc List uses the reference number as the page label in the footer instead of the usual page counter.

Example Export

In the Max Bates Numbers 2 case, an exported referenced page preserves the same reference identifier assigned in Sky. For example, the first referenced OCF-18 document begins with:

SK-000001-OCF-18-5-735-64-Dr-Alan-Whitfiel

The stamp appears in the configured location on the exported page alongside the original document content.

When multiple referenced documents are exported together, their already-assigned numbers remain part of the continuous case sequence rather than being renumbered from the beginning for the export.

Removing and Re-Applying Referencing

Sky provides a control for removing reference numbers from a document.

When you choose to remove Referencing, the confirmation dialog explains that the reference numbers will be removed from the document and its exports.

Referencing can be applied to the document again later. Sky does not reuse the document’s previous numbering range, so the document receives the next available numbers in the case sequence and its reference numbers may differ from the ones it had before.

This behavior is important when reference numbers have already been cited externally. Avoid removing and re-applying Referencing after a document set has been distributed unless the numbering change is intentional.

Pre-Numbered Documents

Sky automatically detects documents that already contain an existing reference number and marks them as Pre-numbered in the document list.

Detection is based on the page content, not the filename: after a document is processed, Sky looks for existing Bates-style numbers on its pages, and when enough pages contain them, the document is marked Pre-numbered. The prefix shown in the document list is extracted from the numbers found on the pages. For example, if the pages of WDT-2026-00144.pdf already carry numbers such as WDT-2026-00144 , the document list shows Detected prefix: WDT — the trailing numeric part is stripped from the detected number. The detected state is visible from the document list before you decide whether Sky should apply its own Referencing.

Review the existing numbering before choosing whether to apply Sky Referencing or skip the document.

Best Practices

Choose the Format Before Applying Numbers

Configure the prefix, suffix, starting number, digit count, font, position, and color before applying Referencing to production documents.

Once reference numbers have been used in correspondence, reports, or legal materials, changing the scheme can create unnecessary reconciliation work.

Keep Prefixes Short and Meaningful

A prefix such as a matter number or claim identifier is usually easier to work with than a long free-form case name.

For example:

SK-000001

is easier to cite than a very long prefix containing the entire case title.

Use Enough Digits for Large Cases

If your organization regularly handles cases with thousands of pages, configure enough digits from the beginning. Six digits provide a consistent format from 000001 through 999999 .

Check Stamp Placement Against Real Documents

The Preview is useful, but source documents vary. Review at least a few real pages before standardizing the position for your organization.

Headers, footers, signatures, handwritten notes, and existing page numbers can all compete for the same space.

Decide How to Handle Pre-Numbered Files

Do not automatically apply another reference system to documents that already contain accepted Bates numbers. Review the file first and decide whether Sky Referencing should replace, supplement, or be skipped for that document according to your organization’s workflow.

Avoid Removing Numbers After External Use

Because re-applied numbers may differ, removing Referencing after pages have already been cited can break references in reports, emails, or other deliverables.

Resolve Pending Referencing Decisions Before Final Export

Use the case banner to check whether files still need a Referencing decision. This helps prevent a final document set from unintentionally mixing referenced and undecided files.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Mistake 1: Assuming Referencing Automatically Applies to Every Upload

Problem: Referencing is enabled for the case, but newly uploaded files still show as needing a Referencing decision.

Solution: Use Apply All, Skip All, or the document-level Apply Referencing / Skip Referencing actions to resolve each pending file.

Mistake 2: Expecting Each Document to Restart at 000001

Problem: The second document starts at a higher number than expected.

Solution: This is intentional. Sky uses a continuous case-level sequence, and numbers are allocated in the order Referencing is applied to documents.

Mistake 3: Using a Long Prefix and Filename Suffix Together

Problem: The final stamp becomes unnecessarily long and may compete with page content.

Solution: Use a concise case identifier as the prefix and include the filename suffix only when it adds meaningful context.

Mistake 4: Removing Referencing and Expecting the Same Numbers Later

Problem: A re-referenced document receives a different numbering range.

Solution: Treat assigned numbers as references that should remain stable once they have been used externally. Re-applied numbering does not reuse the previous numbers.

Mistake 5: Ignoring Existing Numbers in a Pre-Numbered Document

Problem: A document ends up displaying two unrelated reference systems.

Solution: Review files marked Pre-numbered before applying Sky Referencing and skip them when the existing numbering should be preserved.

Summary

Referencing in Sky provides a structured way to assign unique sequential identifiers to pages across a case.

The organization-level Referencing settings control the default format, including prefix, suffix, starting number, digit count, font, and stamp position/color. Individual cases can enable or disable Referencing during creation and can override the reference prefix when needed.

After documents are uploaded, users decide whether to apply or skip Referencing for each file. Referenced pages use a continuous sequence across documents, and the assigned reference numbers remain visible when those documents are exported.

For reliable results, configure the numbering scheme before applying it, review the page placement on representative documents, resolve all pending referencing decisions before a final export, and avoid removing assigned numbers after they have already been cited or distributed.