Email Thread Panel

Applies to: eDiscovery Rooms (Email Thread Analysis enabled)     Access Level: Reviewer and Administrator

Overview

The Email Thread panel is a section within the File Information panel that displays all emails belonging to the same thread as the currently selected document. It presents them in a tree view that reflects the reply and forward structure of the conversation.

Reviewers use the Email Thread panel to understand the full context of an email before applying codes, to identify which emails in a thread are inclusive, and to navigate directly to related documents without returning to the Documents grid.

The Email Thread panel is available on eDiscovery rooms only when the Perform Email Thread Analysis room setting is enabled. Emails must be uploaded to Data Source folders for thread analysis to run. This feature supports English and Spanish. Asian character sets are not currently supported.

Note: A green envelope icon in the Documents grid indicates that an email has been processed through Email Thread Analysis and has been assigned a Thread ID.

Getting There

The Email Thread panel is displayed automatically in the File Information panel when a processed email is selected. It is visible when reviewing documents from Work Folders, Saved Search folders, All Search Hits, Data Source folders, Review Sets, and Production folders.

1. Select an email document from the Documents grid.
2. In the File Information panel on the right, scroll to the Email Thread section.
3. The thread tree displays all related emails grouped together.

1. Understanding the Thread View

The Email Thread panel displays the full conversation tree for the selected email. Each item in the tree represents a document in the thread. The tree structure reflects how emails were sent, replied to, and forwarded.

Each document in the thread is identified by a document ID and subject line. The following document types may appear in the thread:
 

Icon / Type	Description
Root Email	The original email that started the thread. It has no parent message.
Reply Email	A direct reply to another email in the thread.
Forwarded Email	An email that was forwarded from another message in the thread.
Missing Email	An email that is referenced by the thread structure but is not present in the room — for example, because it was not collected or was excluded during processing. Displayed with a visual indicator.
Email Attachment	A non-archive file attached to an email in the thread. Archive attachments are not displayed.

Clicking any document in the thread tree loads that document in the Document Viewer, allowing the Reviewer to read it without returning to the Documents grid.

2. Inclusive and Non-Inclusive Emails

One of the primary purposes of the Email Thread panel is to help Reviewers identify inclusive emails and apply review decisions efficiently across a thread.
 

What Is an Inclusive Email?

An inclusive email is the last email in a thread branch — the one that contains the complete conversation history up to that point. Because it includes all prior messages in the chain, reviewing and coding the inclusive email gives the Reviewer full context for that branch of the thread without needing to review each earlier message individually.
 

In practical terms, if a thread has a root email, a reply, and a final reply, the final reply is the inclusive email. It contains the text of all earlier messages within it.
 

What Is a Non-Inclusive Email?

A non-inclusive email is any email in the thread whose full content is already contained within a later, inclusive email. Because the inclusive email supersedes it, the non-inclusive email does not need to be independently reviewed to capture the full conversation — its content has already been captured.
 

Non-inclusive emails may still require individual review depending on the review protocol. Reviewers should follow the instructions provided by the Administrator or supervising attorney for how to handle non-inclusive emails in a given matter.
 

Why This Matters for Review Efficiency

Identifying inclusive emails allows review teams to prioritize which documents need full individual attention. By focusing on inclusive emails first, Reviewers can understand the complete thread context efficiently and make more consistent coding decisions across related documents.

Note: The inclusive or non-inclusive status of an email is determined by the Email Thread Analysis process, which runs automatically on emails uploaded to Data Source folders. This designation is informational and does not automatically apply codes.
 

3. Navigating the Thread

The Email Thread panel is interactive. Reviewers can use it to move through related documents without leaving the current document view.

• Click any document in the thread tree to load it in the Document Viewer.
• Expand or collapse branches of the thread tree by clicking the expand arrow next to a parent email.
• The currently selected document is highlighted in the thread tree, providing orientation within the conversation.

Note: Navigating to a document via the Email Thread panel updates the Document Viewer and File Information panel for that document. The Documents grid selection also updates to reflect the newly focused document.

Notes

• The Email Thread panel is shown only when the Perform Email Thread Analysis room setting is enabled. If the panel is not visible, contact the Room Administrator.
• Email Thread Analysis runs on emails uploaded to Data Source folders only. Emails uploaded directly to Work Folders are not processed.
• Missing emails appear in the thread tree to preserve the structural integrity of the conversation but cannot be opened or reviewed.
• Email attachments that are archive files (zip, pst, etc.) are not displayed in the thread panel.
• This feature supports English and Spanish. Asian character sets are not currently supported.

Related Articles

• Using the File Information Panel During Review
• Reviewing Documents in a Review Set
• Tagging and Coding Documents