ContextCleaner: see every entry in the Windows 11 right-click menu, and which app added it — on the Microsoft Store.

Last updated:

Guided workflow variation

CONFIDENTIAL on every page,in the same pass as the number.

Confidentiality designations are often printed on each produced sheet, apart from the Bates label. BatesBind applies that legend and the sequence together, in separate corners you choose, across the whole production in one pass.

Type the legend once, choose its corner, and BatesBind stamps it on every numbered page together with the Bates number in a single export.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Full BatesBind overview
One-time purchase No telemetry Local-first

windows · originals never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

If this sounds like your week

The designation is usually a second job.

Many PDF tools treat a confidentiality designation as a watermark or as header and footer text, which is a separate command from Bates numbering. So the set gets stamped twice: numbers in one pass, then the designation in another, document after document. The person doing it has to track which documents have had which pass, and check that the two markings did not end up in the same corner.

Where tooling usually breaks

A designation that covers text or misses pages means rework.

Wording placed in the corner already occupied by the number, or over a document's printed footer, can make one of them unreadable. Wording missing from a handful of pages, because one document was skipped during the second pass, is easy to overlook across hundreds of sheets and awkward to explain once the set has been served. Fixing either problem usually means starting over from clean copies.

Where BatesBind lands

Number and legend on every page, in one export.

In BatesBind the legend is a field beside the numbering settings. Type the wording, such as CONFIDENTIAL or a longer designation, and pick where it sits. It defaults to bottom left while the number sits bottom right, and the app refuses a layout that puts both in one spot. Size, margin, and ink color apply to every label, and the preview shows both on the opening page before export.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Learn more about BatesBind

windows · originals never changed · nothing uploads · 15-day free trial

What you get

Feature highlights

One continuous range

every PDF in a folder is numbered in the order you set, with a prefix, a suffix, 1 to 15 zero-padded digits, and a start number, or restarted for each file.

Legend and exhibit labels in one pass

a confidentiality legend on every page in its own corner, and an exhibit label on each file’s first page, counted 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C.

An index as PDF and CSV

every file with its exhibit label, page count, and first and last Bates number, plus output names and a SHA-256 hash per file in the CSV for a production log.

Copies or one bound PDF

export numbered copies, named by Bates range if you like, or one bound PDF with the index first and a bookmark for every file.

No silent gaps

a file that cannot be read is listed with the reason, and an optional slip sheet holds its place and one number so the range has no hole.

Originals never changed, nothing uploaded

BatesBind writes new files only, makes no network connections, and saved schemes pick up at the next number for the next production.

Especially when

  • Bates-number every PDF in a folder in one continuous range instead of stamping file by file and carrying the last number forward by hand
  • Add a confidentiality legend and exhibit labels in the same pass as the Bates numbers, without a second stamping pass
  • Get an index of first and last Bates numbers for every file as a PDF and a CSV that opens in Excel, instead of typing the production log
  • Keep the original PDFs untouched and the documents on the PC, with no upload and no account

Who benefits

Real-world scenarios

A designated production

The parties agreed that documents designated confidential carry the word CONFIDENTIAL on each produced page, kept apart from the Bates number.

The paralegal types CONFIDENTIAL in Legend on every page, keeps it bottom left with the number bottom right, checks the preview, and exports copies. Every page of every file carries both, and the legend is saved with the scheme for the next production.

Two designations in one production

Most documents in the set are designated confidential, but a group of them carries no designation at all, and the two groups must not share a legend.

BatesBind applies one legend per export, so the set goes out in two runs: the confidential folder first, then the other folder with the legend cleared, using Continue to start at the next number. The two CSV indexes together cover the whole range.

Scans with busy footers

Scanned invoices carry printed totals and page numbers near the bottom edge, and labels at the default half-inch margin would sit on top of them.

Raise the margin, which moves every label inward, or move the legend to a top corner, and check the preview. Size and color can change too, for example a red legend at 8 points that stands apart from black text.

Deep dive

Choosing the wording, corner, and look of a confidentiality legend

What the legend is. In BatesBind, the legend is text stamped on every numbered page in the same pass as the Bates number. It can be up to 64 characters on one line, without line breaks or tabs. That covers a single word such as CONFIDENTIAL and longer designations such as HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL - ATTORNEYS' EYES ONLY. The exact wording comes from the protective order or the agreement between the parties, so copy it from there.

Pick a corner apart from the number. Labels can sit in six positions: the three bottom positions and the three top positions, each left, center, or right. BatesBind refuses a layout that puts the legend in the same position as the Bates number, and refuses an exhibit label that shares a position with either. Several ESI protocols put the number in the lower right and the designation in the lower left, which is also the default layout here, but the order in your matter decides.

Size, margin, and color. The size setting, from 6 to 24 points, applies to the number and the legend together. The margin, from 0 to 4 inches, sets how far every label sits from the edge of the page as displayed. Ink comes in black, gray, red, or blue. Every label uses one embedded monospaced typeface, so the output looks the same on every PC. The preview draws the labels at the chosen size, margin, and color on the first page of the selected file.

Every page, with one exception. The legend goes on every numbered page of every file, including the one-page slip sheet that stands in for a file that cannot be read. The exception is Leave the first page of each file unstamped, which keeps both the number and the legend off each file's first page, for example a cover sheet.

One legend per export. The legend applies to the whole run. When some documents need a designation and others do not, or two levels of designation are in play, sort them into separate folders and export each one. Continue sets the start number to the one after the last export, so the second run picks up the range without overlap. A saved scheme keeps the prefix, suffix, digits, start number, and legend for the next production.

What a legend is not. A legend is visible text printed on the page. It does not encrypt the file, add a password, restrict printing or copying, or remove anything from the document. BatesBind does not redact. Whether a document deserves a designation, and which one, is a legal decision for the people handling the matter, and this page is not legal advice.

How it is built

Built to leave the originals exactly as they were.

Originals never changed

Source PDFs are opened for reading only. BatesBind writes new files to a file or folder you pick, refuses to save over an original, and a copies export never replaces an existing file.

Nothing uploads

It runs in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities, makes no network connections, and has no account and no telemetry. Settings and schemes stay on this PC.

Labels stay upright

Labels are placed on the page as it is displayed, so they stay upright on rotated and cropped scans. The typeface is embedded, and existing page content is never moved.

Head-to-head

How BatesBind compares

Feature BatesBind Second pass in a PDF editor Typing it onto each page
Legend and number in one export Yes No, a separate header, footer, or watermark pass —
Every file in the folder Yes, every numbered page of every file Depends on the editor's batch options One page at a time
Same-corner clash prevented Yes, the legend and the number cannot share a position Checked by eye Checked by eye
Upright on rotated scans Yes, placed on the page as it is displayed Depends on the editor Placed by hand
Original files Never changed; new files are written Changed unless saved as copies Changed unless saved as copies

FAQ

Straight answers—no glossary dump

How do I add a confidential stamp to every page of a PDF production?

Open the production folder in BatesBind, type the designation in Legend on every page, and choose its position, which must differ from the Bates number's. Check the preview, then export copies or one bound PDF. Every numbered page of every file gets the legend and the Bates number in the same pass, and the originals stay as they were.

Can different files get different legends?

Not in one export. The legend applies to every numbered page in the run. Put the documents for each designation in their own folder and export them one after the other. After the first export, Continue sets the start number to the next one, so the ranges do not overlap, and each export writes its own index and CSV.

Does the legend protect or redact the document?

No. The legend is visible text printed on each page. It does not encrypt the PDF, add a password, restrict printing or copying, or remove any content, and BatesBind has no redaction feature. If a document needs redaction, do it before numbering with a tool built for that, then number the redacted files.

Will a court or opposing counsel accept the numbered set?

BatesBind makes no claim about what a court, an ESI order, a protective order, or opposing counsel will accept. Those documents, and any agreement between the parties, set the label format, the corner for the number and any designation, and what a production log must contain. BatesBind gives you the controls they often mention: prefix, zero padding, position, a separate legend, and an index of ranges. Check the order that governs your matter. This page is general information and not legal advice.

Will BatesBind change my original PDFs?

No. Source PDFs are opened for reading only and are never changed. BatesBind writes new files: one bound PDF under a name you choose, or numbered copies in a folder you pick. It refuses to save over an original, a copies export refuses the source folder and any file name that already exists there, and a canceled export keeps nothing. To renumber, change the settings and export again from the same untouched originals.

Does anything leave my PC, and how do I get BatesBind?

Nothing uploads. BatesBind makes no network connections, has no account, and collects no telemetry. It runs in the Windows app sandbox with no declared capabilities and reads only the folder you open or drop on the window. If you export to a folder that a sync app such as OneDrive manages, that app may copy the files under its own settings. BatesBind is a one-time purchase in the Microsoft Store, and the Store runs a 15-day free trial with every feature.

Related pages

Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2, Exhibit 3, stamped on every first page. The production log, written in the same export. Bates numbering software, not a whole PDF suite.

A folder of PDFs in.
A numbered production and its index out.

BatesBind numbers every page in one continuous range, adds the legend and exhibit labels in the same pass, and writes the index as PDF and CSV with a SHA-256 hash for each file. Originals are never changed, nothing uploads, and the Microsoft Store runs a 15-day free trial.

Pay once. Own it forever.

One-time purchase on the Microsoft Store · No subscription · Instant install

Get it from Microsoft

Buy through the Microsoft Store—instant install, automatic updates, and a Microsoft receipt for easy expensing. No account needed on our site, and no subscription on Store purchases.

Open full product page

Technical specifications

Technical specifications for procurement

Spec Implementation
Data Sovereignty Reads only the folder you open or drop on the window; writes new PDFs and the CSV index only to the file or folder you pick, refusing to save over an original; settings and saved schemes stay in the app’s own local storage
Telemetry Status None; no account, no telemetry, and the app makes no network connections
Core Runtime .NET 10 and WinUI 3 (Windows App SDK), packaged as MSIX; runs in an AppContainer with no declared capabilities; PDF engine is pure managed code
Network Requirements Fully functional offline; the app makes no network connections
Deployment Compatibility Windows 10 version 2004 or later and Windows 11, x64 or ARM64; one-time purchase on the Microsoft Store with a 15-day free trial
Inputs PDF files in a folder you open or drop on the window, with subfolders optional; password-protected and damaged files are listed with the reason
Numbering Prefix and suffix of letters, digits, hyphen, underscore, or period (no spaces); 1 to 15 zero-padded digits; start number up to 15 digits; continuous across the folder or restarted for each file
Labels Bates number, a legend on every page (up to 64 characters), and an exhibit label on each first page (1, 2, 3 or A, B, C); six positions, 6 to 24 pt, 0 to 4 in margin, black, gray, red, or blue
Outputs Numbered copies named by original name, Bates range, or both, with the index as PDF and CSV; or one bound PDF with the index first and a bookmark per file; slip sheets optional
Index CSV UTF-8 with byte-order mark for Excel; number, exhibit, file, output file, pages, first and last Bates, start page (bound PDF), SHA-256, and a note for slip sheets
Not included No OCR, no redaction, no removal of existing stamps, and no TIFF images or load files