How to Migrate Data from Summation AD to GoldFynch

12 August 2026 by Anith eDiscovery case-migration
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Takeaway: Migrating a Summation AD case involves more than transferring documents. Legal teams must also preserve metadata, native files, searchable text, email attachments, review coding, redactions, and PST relationships. A complete inventory and test migration can help prevent missing files, duplicates, and broken document links.

Many legal teams have used Summation AD, aka AccessData Summation, for years for their eDiscovery process. But as eDiscovery workflows move to the cloud, firms may want a platform that is easier to access, maintain, and scale. That often leads to an important question: How do you migrate data from Summation AD without losing valuable case information?

Moving a Summation case to GoldFynch is possible, but it requires some planning. The documents are only one part of the database. Metadata, file paths, attachments, review decisions, images, and extracted text may all need to remain connected.

Here is what to consider before beginning an AccessData Summation migration.

What is Summation AD?

Summation AD is a longstanding litigation review and case management platform used by law firms, government agencies, and litigation support teams. Earlier versions were associated with CT Summation and products such as iBlaze and CaseVault. CT Summation later merged with AccessData, which Exterro subsequently acquired.

A quick timeline, if you’re trying to place the product:

  • 1988–2010: CT Summation operates independently under Wolters Kluwer, building out iBlaze, WebBlaze, Enterprise, CaseVault, CaseVantage, and Discovery Cracker.
  • 2010: CT Summation and AccessData merge to form AccessData Group, LLC, combining AccessData’s collection and processing tools with Summation’s review software.
  • 2020: Exterro acquires AccessData, folding Summation into Exterro’s broader Legal GRC platform.

Because some Summation matters have remained active for many years, moving them to a new platform may involve both legacy and modern data structures.

What data might an AccessData Summation case contain?

A Summation database is rarely limited to a single folder of documents. Depending on how the matter was processed and reviewed, it may contain:

  • Native Word, Excel, PDF, and other electronic files
  • TIFF or JPEG document images
  • Extracted text and OCR files
  • Emails and attachments
  • Original PST files or references to source PSTs
  • DII or eDII load files
  • Document metadata and Bates information
  • Review tags, issue codes, notes, and annotations
  • Redacted document images
  • Transcripts and transcript annotations

Some of these files may be stored outside the main database and connected through paths in a load file. That is why migrating data from Summation AD requires more than copying the visible documents.

Start with a complete Summation case inventory.

Before exporting anything, determine exactly what the case contains. Record the total document count, page count, file types, custodians, email volume, Bates ranges, production sets, review fields, and important saved searches.

Pay particular attention to whether the case contains both native files and rendered images. Reviewers may have worked primarily from TIFF images while the associated native files were stored elsewhere.

You should also identify where searchable text is stored. It may be embedded in a load file, saved in separate text files, or generated through OCR. This inventory establishes a baseline to validate the GoldFynch case after migration.

Preserve important review work product

The documents are only part of the case. Review decisions and annotations may also need to move. Before exporting, identify the work product that must be preserved, including:

  • Responsiveness, privilege, and confidentiality tags
  • Issue codes and witness designations
  • Document notes and reviewer comments
  • Deposition or exhibit designations
  • Highlights, annotations, and links
  • Redactions applied to document images

Export tags and coding decisions as metadata fields so they can be mapped in the new platform. Proprietary annotations may not transfer automatically. While redactions must remain exactly as reviewed, consider exporting final images with the redactions burned in. Retain unredacted versions where appropriate.

Confirm how each type of work product will be preserved before access to the original Summation case is discontinued.

PST emails can create additional migration issues

Email is often one of the more complicated parts of migrating data from Summation AD to GoldFynch. A Summation case may contain an original PST file, individual messages extracted from the PST, rendered email images, or a combination of all three.

The original PST may be missing

Sometimes a PST may have been processed outside Summation, and only the extracted messages, metadata, text, and images were loaded into the database. A load file may reference the name or location of a source PST without actually including it.

Before migration, confirm whether the original mailbox file is still available. When an intact PST can be located, uploading it to GoldFynch may provide a more complete source for processing the messages and attachments.

Duplicate emails may be created

Uploading the original PST while also importing individually extracted versions of the same messages can create duplicates.

Decide whether the PST or the exported messages will serve as the primary source. If both must be retained, document the reason and use message IDs, hashes, subjects, senders, and dates to identify overlap.

Attachment relationships may not be consistent.

Summation may store an email and its attachments as separate records. If the parent-child fields are missing or inconsistent, attachments may appear as unrelated documents after migration.

Test several email families, including messages with multiple attachments, embedded files, and emails attached to other emails.

Older PST files may contain errors

Legacy PST files can be damaged, incomplete, or difficult to process. Problems may result from interrupted transfers, storage failures, previous corruption, or missing data blocks.

Validate important PSTs before uploading them. After processing, compare the number of messages and attachments against the expected totals from the original case.

Watch out for proprietary export options

Summation, like many legacy eDiscovery platforms, typically offers multiple export options, but not all are portable. A “database backup” or other proprietary export format is often built to be restored only into another instance of the same platform. These exports may look complete, but they generally cannot be opened, parsed, or imported into GoldFynch or any other outside system.

When requesting or generating the export, confirm you’re getting an open, cross-platform format, such as a Concordance-style DAT/OPT load file production, rather than a native database backup. This is worth double-checking before the original Summation environment becomes unavailable, since a proprietary backup discovered too late may mean re-exporting from scratch.

Export the Summation case in a portable structure

Summation commonly uses DII or eDII files to connect database records with images, text, native files, email attachments, and other case information. However, DII and eDII are Summation-specific formats, so it is recommended to export the data as a Concordance-style load file production. Moving the load file alone may not recreate the complete case in another eDiscovery platform.

The export should contain the following components

Metadata

Export all metadata into a structured file such as DAT or CSV.

Useful fields may include:

  • Document ID
  • Bates numbers
  • Custodian
  • File name and file path
  • File type
  • Created and modified dates
  • Email sender and recipients
  • Email subject
  • Sent date
  • Hash values
  • Parent ID or family ID
  • Review coding

Field names may vary between cases, so document the purpose of each field before migration.

Native files

Include the original Word documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, emails, and other electronic files when available. Native files can contain formulas, comments, metadata, tracked changes, embedded content, and other information that may not appear in a TIFF image or extracted text file.

Images and searchable text

Include any TIFF, JPEG, or PDF renderings used during review or production, especially when they contain Bates numbers or burned-in redactions.

Since GoldFynch automatically processes files at no additional cost, you do not need to worry about OCR’d text files separately — GoldFynch will generate searchable text from native files or image renderings as part of standard processing.

Parent-child relationships

Email messages and their attachments should remain connected. Include fields such as Parent ID, Family ID, Begin Attachment, and End Attachment when available. These relationships help reviewers understand which documents were sent together.

Maintain redactions

If the matter contains previously produced or redacted documents, please include the corresponding rendered versions to retain existing Bates stamps, redactions, and other production markings.

Export the Summation matter as a Concordance-style load file production rather than a Summation backup, as this will help preserve the metadata and other review components of the case you are migrating.

GoldFynch extracts and processes most document types and emails automatically at no extra cost. So, native files and PSTs can be uploaded to GoldFynch if needed.

When importing a production package, metadata from DAT or CSV files can be mapped to fields in GoldFynch. You get to decide whether to use existing document renderings or generate new versions from the native files. Existing renderings may preserve previous Bates stamps and redactions, while newly generated versions may offer better readability.

Run a pilot migration first

Do not make the full AccessData Summation database your first test.

Select a representative sample containing:

  • Native documents
  • Spreadsheets
  • Scanned files
  • Emails and attachments
  • Review tags
  • Redacted images
  • Less common file types

After importing the sample into GoldFynch, compare document counts, Bates numbers, native files, text, metadata, email families, tags, and redactions. A pilot migration makes it easier to identify field-mapping problems, missing folders, broken paths, or duplicate email data before the entire case is moved.

After validating the pilot migration, you can migrate all required data and validate it as you did during the pilot migration. Keep the original Summation case available until the GoldFynch case has been reviewed and validated.

Make your move from Summation AD easier

Migrating from AccessData Summation does not have to mean rebuilding a case from the beginning. With the right export structure, legal teams can preserve native documents, metadata, email families, PST data, searchable text, review coding, and production information.

GoldFynch provides a browser-based environment for processing, searching, reviewing, tagging, collaborating, and producing case data. Documents, emails, attachments, metadata, and load-file productions can be managed together without installing or maintaining legacy review software.

Planning a Summation AD migration? Try GoldFynch

GoldFynch is a modern cloud-based platform that is easy to use and lets you get started with your case immediately. Schedule a demo to discuss your case needs.

  • It costs just $27 a month for a 3 GB case: That’s significantly less than most comparable software. With GoldFynch, you know exactly what you’re paying for: its pricing is simple and readily available on the website.
  • It’s easy to budget for. GoldFynch charges only for storage (processing files is free). So, choose from a range of plans (3 GB to 150+ GB) and know up-front how much you’ll be paying. You can upload and cull as much data as you want as long as you stay below your storage limit. And even if you do cross the limit, you can upgrade your plan with just a few clicks. Also, billing is prorated – so you’ll pay only for the time you spend on any given plan. With legacy software, pricing is much less predictable.
  • It takes just minutes to get going. GoldFynch runs in the Cloud, so you use it through your web browser (Google Chrome recommended). No installation. No sales calls or emails. Plus, you get a free trial case (0.5 GB of data and a processing cap of 1 GB) without adding a credit card.
  • It’s simple to use. Many eDiscovery applications take hours to master. GoldFynch takes minutes. It handles a lot of complex processing in the background, but what you see is minimal and intuitive. Just drag-and-drop your files into GoldFynch, and you’re good to go. Plus, you get prompt and reliable tech support (our average response time is 30 minutes).
  • Access it from anywhere, and 24/7. All your files are backed up and secure in the Cloud.

Want to find out more about GoldFynch?

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