SmartDepo builds your summary by reading the page and line numbers printed in your transcript. When a file comes back “incompatible” or won't run, it almost always means the system couldn't reliably find those numbers — not that anything is wrong with your case or your account. Most of these issues can be fixed in a couple of minutes before you upload. Use this guide to check for the most common causes.
Before You Upload: Quick Checklist
- The file is a real digital transcript (exported as PDF or .txt) — not a scanned image.
- It's the certified or final transcript, not a rough draft.
- Page and line numbers appear once, consistently, on every page (no duplicate or condensed numbering).
- Timestamps, if present, aren't printed directly alongside the line numbers.
- The file opens normally on your own computer and isn't password-protected.
- The transcript includes the question-and-answer examination portion (not just a cover page or index).
Common Issues and How to Fix Them Yourself
1. Your file has timestamps printed near the line numbers.
Timestamps can prevent SmartDepo from reading the line numbers correctly. If your court reporter can provide a version without timestamps, use that. If you can't remove them yourself, try uploading the .txt version of the transcript instead of the PDF — it's less likely to have this problem.
2. Your file is a scanned image (not a digital export).
Scanned PDFs can't be read reliably because the text isn't machine-readable. Run the file through OCR software (for example, Adobe Acrobat's “Recognize Text” feature) before uploading to make the text machine-readable; this may still result in odd formatting or inaccurate alignment. If possible, it is preferred to ask your court reporter for the original digital export instead of a scan.
3. A PDF keeps failing.
Try the .txt version of the same transcript instead — plain text files fail less often than PDFs because there's less formatting for the system to misread. If you only have a PDF, exporting or re-saving it as .txt from your word processor can help.
4. The file has no page numbers, or you're not sure why it's failing.
Rough drafts often don't include page numbers. Confirm you're uploading the certified or final version of the transcript, which should have page numbers on every page.
5. The file has two sets of numbers on each page (for example, a condensed or multi-page-per-sheet layout).
Use the standard, one-transcript-page-per-document-page version rather than a condensed layout. If your reporting service only provides condensed transcripts, ask them for the standard format.
6. The transcript includes pages after the deposition record ends (exhibits, certificate pages, index, etc.).
Trim the file down to just the question-and-answer testimony. Extra pages after the record closes can confuse the page-counting logic.
7. The transcript is very short or doesn't include a question-and-answer examination.
SmartDepo needs an actual examination (questions and answers) to summarize, and very short transcripts (under roughly 20 pages) don't reliably complete. This is a limitation of the current system rather than something you can fix in the file — if this applies to your transcript, reach out to support rather than retrying.
8. The file won't open, looks garbled, or is encrypted.
Confirm the file opens correctly and displays normally on your own computer first. If it's password-protected or encrypted, remove the protection before uploading, or re-export/re-download a clean copy from your reporting service.
9. Your upload looks “stuck” at a low percentage.
Longer transcripts simply take longer to process — this usually isn't an error. Give it some time relative to the file's length before assuming something went wrong.
If None of This Resolves It
Some failures need a closer look at the specific file. If you've checked everything above and the file still won't process, contact SmartDepo support and include:
- Your order/job number
- The file name and format (PDF or .txt)
- The exact error message or where it got stuck
- Whether you've already tried an alternate format (.txt vs. PDF)
- Having these details ready helps support diagnose and fix the file faster, without back-and-forth.