Find the right version before acting on a document

Choose your starting point

ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini

The guide is free; the tool feature you use may depend on your account. Open a tool’s introduction for the relevant capabilities and source documentation.

From idea to a useful result

1. Gather copies of the relevant files. Give each a unique label and remove unnecessary personal information.
2. Ask for an index that separates the document date, version label and explicit approval status. A later date alone does not prove a version was approved.
3. Open the originals to check the index, then resolve contradictory instructions with the person responsible before acting.

Try this

Create a document index from these fictional notes only. A: supplier quote dated 4 September, total $500, marked approved by owner. B: supplier quote dated 8 September, total $550, marked draft, no approval recorded. C: message dated 9 September says “please use the final quote” but has no attachment or version reference. Show date, amount, status and source label. Identify what needs clarification. Do not choose a final quote, invent approval or send a reply.

What a useful result looks like

A: 4 September, $500, explicitly marked approved. B: 8 September, $550, draft with no approval recorded. C: 9 September, no amount, references an unidentified final quote. Ask the owner which file C refers to and whether B supersedes A. Keep both quotes until that is resolved. The evidence supports describing the conflict, not deciding that the newest file wins.

Check the result

The index must preserve the $50 difference and the draft/approved distinction. “Final” in a message is not enough to identify an attachment that is missing. For a professional review, include the original documents with the index.

Original illustrative records; this is document organization, not a determination of legal rights.