This guide is for attorneys and paralegals who will use TextExhibit to convert client text message backups into court-ready PDF documents.

Overview

TextExhibit supports two types of backups:

  • Android: XML files from the SMS Backup & Restore app
  • iPhone: .textexhibit files created by TextExhibit Extractor (preferred), or full iTunes/Finder backup directories

Getting Started

Installation

  1. Download TextExhibit from the download page
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts
  3. Accept the End User License Agreement
  4. Launch TextExhibit

Loading Backups

  1. In TextExhibit, select “Android (SMS Backup & Restore)” as the source type
  2. Click “Browse” and select the XML file from your client
    • Look for files named sms-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.xml
    • If MMS backup exists, you may also load mms-YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.xml
    • Want to test first? download Download Example XML
  3. TextExhibit will parse the file and display available conversations

Preferred Method: .textexhibit Files

The easiest way to load iPhone messages is using a .textexhibit file created by your client using TextExhibit Extractor. This packages only the selected conversations into a single file that’s easy to transfer.

  1. In TextExhibit, select “iPhone (.textexhibit)” as the source type
  2. Click “Browse” and select the .textexhibit file from your client.
  3. TextExhibit will load the conversations and display them for export

Alternative: Full iPhone Backup

If your client provides a full Apple Devices/Finder backup or brings you their phone for you to peform the backup instead instead:

  1. In TextExhibit, select “iPhone Backup” as the source type
  2. Click “Scan” if you backed up the iPhone yourself onto the computer. Otherwise, click “Browse” and navigate to where you saved the full client backup folder.
  3. Select the backup folder (long alphanumeric name)
  4. If the backup is encrypted, enter the backup password when prompted
  5. TextExhibit will extract messages and display available conversations

Managing Contacts

TextExhibit automatically associates names with phone numbers based on what data was provided in the backup from the client. However, you may need to manually enter names for phone numbers that did not have a contact name found in the backup file.

Verify Contact Information

  1. Upon first opening a client’s backup, you will be asked to verify the device owner’s name and phone number. Ensure this matches the information for your client including how you want their name displayed in exported PDFs.
  2. Verify that all contacts involved in conversations you wish to export have their names saved in the Contact Management section. You may edit names associated with phone numbers.
  3. Per-client contacts are saved automatically alongside each client’s backup and persist between sessions

Contact Storage

Contacts are stored locally in a contacts.json file. Each backup source maintains its own contact mappings. You can edit contact names so that they appear as you wish in exported PDFs in cases where the client did not have someone’s full legal name listed in their phone’s contacts.

Filtering by Date Range

You can filter messages to include only a specific time period:

  1. Click the “Date Range” section
  2. Set the Start Date and End Date using the calendar pickers
  3. The message count preview will update to show how many messages fall within the range

This is useful when you only need messages from a specific period relevant to your case.

Export Options

TextExhibit offers several options for generating PDFs:

Bates Numbering

Enable Bates numbering to add sequential identifiers to each page:

  1. Check “Enable Bates Numbering”
  2. Enter a Prefix (e.g., “DOC”, “EXHIBIT”, or a case number)
  3. Bates numbers will appear on each page (e.g., DOC-000001, DOC-000002)

Hash Verification Report

Generate a verification report containing file hashes for chain of custody documentation:

  1. Check “Generate Verification Report”
  2. The report includes:
    • SHA256 hash of the source file
    • MD5 hash of the source file
    • SHA256 and MD5 hashes of each output PDF
    • Timestamp of when the report was generated
    • Bates number ranges for each PDF

Media Extraction

Control how images, videos, and audio are handled:

  1. Check “Extract Media” to save attachments as separate files
  2. Media files are saved in an organized folder structure
  3. PDFs reference the extracted media with relative paths

Output Organization

TextExhibit organizes output for easy navigation:

For Large Conversations

Conversations with 100+ messages are automatically split into monthly PDFs:

  • Messages_2024_01_January.pdf
  • Messages_2024_02_February.pdf
  • etc.

For Smaller Conversations

Conversations with fewer messages are combined into a single PDF with the date range in the filename.

Output Folder Structure 

  TextExhibit_Output/
├── [Contact Name or Phone Number]/
│   ├── Messages_2024_01_January.pdf
│   ├── Messages_2024_02_February.pdf
│   ├── media/
│   │   ├── image_001.jpg
│   │   ├── video_002.mp4
│   │   └── ...
│   └── ...
├── Verification_Report.pdf
└── ...

PDF Styling

TextExhibit generates platform-appropriate styling:

Android Messages

  • Light blue bubbles for sent messages
  • Gray bubbles for received messages
  • Roboto font with Noto Color Emoji

iPhone Messages

  • Blue bubbles for iMessage (sent)
  • Green bubbles for SMS (sent)
  • Light gray bubbles for received messages
  • iOS-style bubble shapes with pointers

Generating PDFs

  1. Configure your export options
  2. Click “Generate PDFs”
  3. Monitor the progress indicator
  4. When complete, click “Open Folder” to view the output

Chain of Custody

Always generate a Verification Report to document:

  • Source file integrity (hash values)
  • Processing timestamp
  • Output file integrity

Client Confidentiality

TextExhibit processes all data locally on your computer. No data is transmitted to any server. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Large Cases

For cases with many conversations or long time periods, consider:

  • Processing each client’s backup separately
  • Using date filters to focus on relevant periods
  • Organizing output folders by client or matter number

Troubleshooting

“No messages found”

  • Verify the correct file type is selected (Android XML vs iPhone backup)
  • Check that the backup file is not corrupted
  • For iPhone, ensure you selected the correct backup folder

Slow performance with large backups

  • Close other applications to free up memory
  • Consider filtering by date range to reduce the number of messages

Missing images or media

  • Ensure “Extract Media” is enabled
  • Check that the source backup includes MMS/media data

Next Steps