DNM and EMP Intake are two separate products.
DNM gives anyone on Windows consistent file names, and it works on its own. It standardizes names as files come in, before they land in a shared drive or a case system. EMP Intake is separate software for investigations and security teams that build verifiable evidence packages after intake. Same founders, both local-first, but two different jobs. You do not need EMP Intake to get the full value of DNM.
Which one do you need?
If you want messy file names turned into clean, consistent ones, that is DNM, and you need nothing else. EMP Intake is for the narrower job of assembling evidence and case information into a verifiable case package. They do not depend on each other but they use the same naming standard.
Consistent file name standard, for anyone on Windows
A local Windows app that renames files to one clear pattern, with 12 built-in standards, local OCR, a Watch Folder, and a Recovery Vault. Files never leave your machine. This is the whole product, and the right pick for most people. You can use it for years without ever touching EMP Intake. Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit.
Start free trialEvidence intake and export, for teams
A separate product for investigators and security teams. It takes cleanly named files and assembles them into a defensible, verifiable case package with chain-of-custody, through Intake, Hash, Organize, Reconstruct, and Export. A different job, not a step up from DNM.
See EMP IntakeHow the two products relate
DNM grew out of EMP Intake's file-intake layer, and both are built by the same founders, Brendan Foote and Jason Chan, in Vancouver, BC. Both are local-first, so your files stay on your own machine. That shared history is why they fit together cleanly, but it does not mean you need both. DNM stands entirely on its own.
There is one concrete overlap. EMP Intake defines a naming standard called the EMP Export Package, and DNM ships that exact standard as one of its 12 built-in options. If you ever do work that touches both tools, the names line up end to end. If you only use DNM, that standard is simply one option you can ignore.
One note on licensing: if your team already runs EMP Intake Workstation Standard or Professional, DNM is included, with nothing extra to buy. That is a convenience for existing EMP customers, not a reason DNM users need EMP. If you only want consistent file names, DNM on its own is the whole answer.
Scans, exports, and downloads land with inconsistent names like IMG_4821 and final_v2_copy. This is the problem DNM fixes, on its own, for anyone.
DNM applies your naming standard on your Windows PC, with no cloud. For most people, the job ends right here, with clean, findable names.
If you run investigations or security cases, EMP Intake takes those named files and builds a verifiable evidence package.
Get clean file names today.
DNM stands on its own. Start the 14-day free trial, no card required, and rename your files to one consistent pattern that stays on your machine. If you also do investigations or case work, EMP Intake is there as a separate product.
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