Documents and reports in chat
How to attach a PDF, Word or Excel file to a question, ask the assistant to prepare a report and where to find the files it creates.
You can attach documents to a question and ask for the result as a finished document. This article describes how it works and what the limits are.
Message attachments
- In the conversation, click the paperclip "Attach a file" button, or drag a file into the window until the "Drop files to add them" area appears.
- Select one or more files and check the name and size on each card that appears.
- Wait for the "Uploading and processing…" state to finish. Until then, the send button is unavailable.
- In the text of your question, say explicitly what to do with the file: "check the details in the invoice against the contract", "find the payments for September in the statement".
- Send the message and wait for the "Reading attached document…" state or for the answer.
A file selected by mistake is removed with the cross on its card.
Formats and limits
| Group | Extensions |
|---|---|
| Documents | .pdf, .doc, .docx, .txt, .md, .rtf |
| Spreadsheets | .csv, .xls, .xlsx |
| Presentations | .ppt, .pptx |
| Markup text and data | .html, .htm, .json, .xml, .yml, .eml |
| Images | .png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp, .svg |
| Audio and video | .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .mp4, .mov |
A single message accepts at most five files, each no larger than 5 MB. An extension being in the list does not guarantee useful processing: the selected assistant or model may not support audio or images. The limits in the "File Management" section and in knowledge bases differ from the attachment limits and are set by the administrator.
Note
An attachment belongs only to the current conversation. It does not go into the knowledge base and will not be visible to other users and assistants. If you need a document permanently, it is uploaded to a knowledge base according to the procedure adopted in your organization.
If a file is larger than 5 MB, reduce it or ask the knowledge base owner to upload the document there. If the format is not supported, convert the file without losing significant data.
How the assistant works with a document
The assistant reads the text of the attachment, finds the relevant places in it and quotes them the same way as fragments from a knowledge base. It reads long documents in parts and by topic, so it helps to say in your question what exactly to look for. The assistant parses Excel and CSV tables row by row: you can ask it to filter rows, calculate totals for a column or match the table against data from another source.
If there are several documents, name them: "compare the terms in the 2025 contract and the 2026 contract for the payment section".
A report as a Word document
The assistant can prepare the result as a Word file. Ask for it directly: "prepare a Word report with sections: summary, deviations table, action list". The assistant creates the document and shows it in the conversation as an attachment with a preview, and you can download it. The document is built on the same sources as the answer, and the references to sources are preserved in the text.
The ability to create files depends on the settings of the specific assistant: if the document tool is turned off, the assistant gives the answer as text in the conversation.
You can also save any finished answer without asking for a document: hover over the assistant's message and click the copy button or "Export to Word". The export contains the text of the answer, but not the source documents that support the conclusion.
Reports with tables and calculations
For a tabular result, ask for a table in the answer with the columns you need. Such tables are carried over into the Word document on export. If a calculation requires going through hundreds of records from several sources, use Research mode: there, aggregates are computed by code, not by the model from memory, and the report arrives with a source legend.
Warning
An automatically prepared document is not an approved one. Check the numbers, dates and references to sources, and if needed add a note that the document was prepared by an assistant, as your organization's rules require.
Common errors
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| File too large | Reduce the file or upload it to a knowledge base |
| Format not supported | Convert it to a supported format |
| Please wait, file is uploading | Do not close the page; wait for it to finish or remove the card |
| Upload failed | Check the network and the availability of the file, retry once |
More about working with answers and sources: Chat with sources.
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