> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://labs.laer.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Search protocols

Project Admins and Managers can add search protocols in Excel or CSV format, or create a new search protocol directly in Epiq AI. 

A search protocol contains a list of search terms that can be used to generate search term reports or create subsets of the documents for review.  

## Upload search protocols

In the project's menu, click the `Protocols` section and go to the `Search Protocols` page. Click on the `Create New Protocol` button. You will be prompted to upload protocol files from your system or create a protocol from a template.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/epiqai/PTrKqfq7PLU1AcXh/images/search_protocol_list.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=PTrKqfq7PLU1AcXh&q=85&s=56d365a1dfcdb373781cee8bc60ce437" alt="" width="2748" height="712" data-path="images/search_protocol_list.png" />
</Frame>

If you upload a protocol with the same filename as a protocol that already exists, it will be treated as the same protocol but a newer version.&#x20;

If you click `Create from template`, the system will automatically generate a search protocol and it will appear as a new entry in the search protocol list.

### Protocol template

You can create a search protocol directly from a system-generated template. After clicking `Create from template`, a new protocol will be generated with a default filename `search-protocol-<datetime>.xlsx` , and show up as the last entry in the protocol table.

The search protocol template contains the following columns:&#x20;

* **Search Terms**: boolean keyword queries in dtSearch format.
* **Start Time**: start date constraint, in the format of `2021-01-01`
* **End Time**: end date constraint, in the format of `2022-01-01`
* **Custodian(s)**: custodian constraint, in the format of a list of custodian names separated by `;`.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/epiqai/nS5UcVIcNVyp4Qxh/images/Screenshot-2024-10-18-at-2.12.09-PM.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=nS5UcVIcNVyp4Qxh&q=85&s=c76e93ed98db7e285b0bdc5d448597e2" alt="" width="375" data-path="images/Screenshot-2024-10-18-at-2.12.09-PM.png" />
</Frame>

### Protocol versions

You can select a protocol and view its versions. Click the three dots in the same row as the protocol of interest and then click `View`.

## Edit a search protocol

You can edit a protocol by clicking the `Edit` button on the Protocol View page or from the three-dot menu in the row of the selected protocol.

You can edit the protocol in a Spreadsheet editor and save your changes by clicking `Save`. Every time you save changes, it will create a new protocol version.

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/epiqai/PTrKqfq7PLU1AcXh/images/search_protocol_edit.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=PTrKqfq7PLU1AcXh&q=85&s=dd3724c842259064403d39a07cd4a8c4" alt="" width="2784" height="1468" data-path="images/search_protocol_edit.png" />
</Frame>

## Delete a search protocol

Only Project Admins and Managers can delete a search protocol. On the `Search protocols` page, select the protocol(s) you want to delete and click the Delete button.

<Danger>
  Deleting protocols is an irreversible and destructive action. Once a protocol has been deleted, it cannot be recovered.
</Danger>

## Download search protocols

On the `Search protocols` page, select the protocol(s) you want to download and then click `Download`. You can also export a protocol in Excel or CSV format by clicking the three-dot menu at the end of the row of the protocol.