# Simplifying Microsoft Purview eDiscovery: Turn Messy CSVs into Actionable Insights!

If you work with Microsoft Purview eDiscovery, you know the drill: you run a "Download" or "Add to review set" process, and you’re handed a massive Items\_...csv file.

While these reports contain all the data you need, they aren't exactly "human-readable." Trying to find out why 5% of your items failed or which custodian is driving the most volume involves a lot of Excel filtering, pivot tables, and wasted time.

That’s why I built the **Purview eDiscovery Items Report Aggregator**.

## The Problem: The "CSV Headache"

The standard Purview Items report is a goldmine of metadata, but it’s hard to digest quickly. When a legal team asks for a status update, they want to know:

* What percentage of the collection was successful?
    
* What are the specific reasons for the failures (exceptions)?
    
* What is the total data volume and which file types are the biggest?
    
* Is there searchable text for most of the items?
    

Answering these questions manually takes time you don't have.

## The Solution: A Privacy-First, Local Summary Tool

I created a lightweight, offline-friendly web app that processes these CSVs entirely in your browser.

[**🚀 Try the Purview eDiscovery Items Report Aggregator here!**](https://purview-ediscovery.github.io/Purview-Items-Report/)

### Why this tool is different:

1. **Zero Data Uploads (Privacy First):** In the legal world, data privacy is non-negotiable. This tool uses a Content Security Policy (CSP) to block all network requests. Your CSV never leaves your computer; it is processed locally in your browser's memory.
    
2. **Instant Summarization:** Drop your Items\_...csv file in, and within seconds, you get a beautiful dashboard of your data.
    
3. **Exception Deep-Dives:** It automatically groups errors—like "Operation timed out" or "Access denied"—so you can troubleshoot your collection immediately.
    
4. **Offline Capability:** You can download the tool as a single HTML file and run it locally too!
    

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## What Insights Can You Get?

Based on a typical report, here is the kind of data the tool extracts for you:

### 1\. High-Level Success Metrics

See your "Success vs. Non-Success" ratio instantly. If you have a 9.17% failure rate (as seen in our demo data), you can immediately identify if that’s a "Retrieval Error" or a "Throttling" issue.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1770760862870/a6a52bc4-8e30-46d9-8f04-111228ce7f77.png align="center")

### 2\. Workload & Scope Breakdown

The tool categorizes data by **Effective Workload**. Even if the CSV labels everything as "Exchange," the tool identifies Teams-specific rows, SharePoint sites, and OneDrive accounts so you know exactly where your data is coming from.

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1770760917315/e5b9d98e-e8ff-4697-8b03-1d7f3091b168.png align="center")

### 3\. Volume Drivers

Ever wondered what's eating up your storage? The tool breaks down:

* **Size Bands:** How many files are over 100MB?
    
* **Extensions:** Are .msg files or .zip files driving your volume?
    
* **Text Readiness:** What percentage of your items actually have searchable text?
    

### 4\. Errors, Failures & Processing Readiness

Quickly sanity check the export, the tool gives guidance on:

* **Errors:** Failures/Errors & How to Resolve!
    
* **Readiness:** What % Are Text Searchable?
    
* **Defensibility:** Are There Parent Items Missing From Child?
    

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1770761196251/fa7acc2b-1898-4d5b-bc78-594cb7a98648.png align="center")

![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1770761356010/c952cc1e-62b0-430e-bcc9-eadf89f45a4c.png align="center")

### 5\. Shareable HTML Reports

Once the analysis is done, you can download a **one-page HTML report**. This is a standalone snapshot you can email to stakeholders or save as part of your case documentation.

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## How to use it

1. **Export from Purview:** In your eDiscovery case, go to **Process manager**, select your process, and click **Download report**.
    
2. **Download Tool Locally**: Simply download the HTML file and open in the browser **OR**
    
3. **Process In Browser:** Open the aggregator tool and it processes locally in your browser (NO UPLOAD).
    
4. **Analyse & Save:** Review the dashboard and download your summary report.
    

## Open Source & Transparent

As an eDiscovery professional, I value transparency. The SHA-256 fingerprint is provided for every version, and the tool is designed to be as "no-footprint" as possible.

Check it out, and let me know how it changes your workflow!