Uploading and Managing Documents

Retrieval quality starts with disciplined uploads. This tutorial explains where documents belong, how processing works, and how to keep the knowledge base understandable as it expands.

Understanding Workspaces

Simple Chat organizes documents into different workspace types:

Your Workspace (Personal)

• Private to you: Only you can see and use these documents
• Perfect for: Personal notes, drafts, confidential documents
• Access: Always available to you in chat

Group Workspaces (Shared)

• Shared with team members: Multiple users can access
• Perfect for: Team documentation, shared knowledge bases, collaborative projects
• Access: Available to group members in chat

Ephemeral Documents (Session-only)

• Temporary: Available only during current chat session
• Perfect for: One-time analysis, temporary files, quick questions
• Access: Disappears when session ends

Step 1: Prepare Your Documents

Supported File Types

Text Documents:

• .txt - Plain text files
• .md - Markdown files
• .html - Web pages
• .json - Structured data files

Office Documents:

• .pdf - PDF documents
• .docx - Word documents
• .pptx - PowerPoint presentations
• .xlsx, .xlsm, .xls - Excel spreadsheets
• .csv - Comma-separated values

Images (with OCR):

• .jpg, .jpeg - JPEG images
• .png - PNG images
• .bmp, .tiff, .tif - Other image formats
• .heif - High efficiency image format

Multimedia (requires additional configuration):

• .mp4, .mov, .avi, .wmv, .mkv, .webm - Video files
• .mp3, .wav, .ogg, .aac, .flac, .m4a - Audio files

Document Preparation Tips

For best results:

• Use clear, descriptive filenames
• Ensure text is readable (not blurry scans)
• Organize related documents logically
• Keep file sizes reasonable (check admin settings for limits)

Step 2: Upload to Your Workspace

Let’s start with personal document uploads:

Access Your Workspace

1. Navigate to “Your Workspace” from the main menu
2. Click “Add Documents” or the upload button
3. Select files using the file picker or drag-and-drop

Upload Process

1. Choose your files: Select one or multiple files
2. Start upload: Click “Upload” or confirm selection
3. Monitor progress: Watch the upload progress indicators
4. Wait for processing: Documents need to be processed before use

Processing Status Indicators

You’ll see different status indicators during processing:

• 📤 Uploading: File transfer in progress
• ⚙️ Processing: Document being analyzed and chunked
• ✅ Ready: Available for chat and search
• ❌ Error: Processing failed (see error message)
• ⏳ Queued: Waiting for processing resources

Step 3: Upload to Group Workspaces

Group workspaces require additional setup:

Create or Join a Group

1. Navigate to “My Groups”
2. Create new group (if you have permissions) or join existing
3. Access group workspace once membership is confirmed

Group Upload Process

1. Select the group workspace you want to add documents to
2. Follow same upload process as personal workspace
3. Consider team needs: Upload documents relevant to group members

Group Management Considerations

• Permissions: Ensure you have upload rights
• Relevance: Only upload documents useful to the group
• Organization: Use consistent naming and organization
• Updates: Coordinate with team members about document changes

Step 4: Document Classification (Optional)

If document classification is enabled, you can organize uploads:

Classification Benefits

• Organization: Group related documents
• Discovery: Help others find relevant content
• Workflow: Support business processes
• Compliance: Track document sensitivity levels

How to Classify

1. Select classification type during or after upload
2. Choose appropriate category from predefined list
3. Add classification colors for visual organization

Example classifications:

• 📊 Financial Reports (Blue)
• 📋 Technical Documentation (Green)
• 🏢 HR Policies (Purple)
• 📈 Marketing Materials (Orange)

Step 5: Manage Your Documents

View and Organize

• Document list: See all uploaded documents
• Search functionality: Find documents by name or content
• Filters: Filter by classification, date, or status
• Sorting: Order by name, date, or relevance

Document Actions

• View details: See processing information and metadata
• Download: Get original file back
• Delete: Remove from workspace (careful - this affects chat!)
• Re-process: Retry failed processing

Version Management

When uploading a document with the same name:

• New version: Replaces old content
• Keep both: Rename one to keep separate versions
• Overwrite: Replace completely (recommended for updates)

Step 6: Using Documents in Chat

Select Workspace in Chat

1. Go to Chat interface
2. Choose workspace from dropdown
3. Verify document availability in workspace selector

Document Context in Conversations

• Simple Chat automatically searches relevant documents
• Citations show which documents provided information
• You can ask about specific documents by name

Example Chat Interactions

General questions:

• “What are the main topics covered in my documents?”
• “Summarize the key findings from the financial reports”

Document-specific questions:

• “What does the Q3 report say about revenue growth?”
• “Find information about security policies in the HR documents”

Cross-document analysis:

• “Compare the budget projections across all quarterly reports”
• “What trends do you see across all marketing documents?”

Best Practices

Organization

• ✅ Use descriptive filenames
• ✅ Group related documents in appropriate workspaces
• ✅ Apply consistent classification schemes
• ✅ Remove outdated documents regularly

File Management

• ✅ Check file quality before upload
• ✅ Keep reasonable file sizes
• ✅ Upload updated versions when content changes
• ✅ Test document searchability after upload

Collaboration

• ✅ Coordinate with team members on group uploads
• ✅ Use consistent naming conventions
• ✅ Document any special handling requirements
• ✅ Share knowledge about document organization

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Upload Failures

Large file size:

• Check admin settings for file size limits
• Compress large files or split into smaller pieces
• Contact admin to increase limits if needed

Unsupported file type:

• Convert to supported format
• Check if additional features need to be enabled
• Use alternative file format

Processing errors:

• Verify file isn’t corrupted
• Check if file requires specific software to open
• Try re-uploading or use different format

Content Not Found in Chat

Document not processed:

• Wait for processing to complete
• Check for error status and resolve issues
• Re-upload if processing failed

Content not matching queries:

• Try different search terms or phrases
• Verify document content is searchable text (not just images)
• Check if document needs OCR processing

Performance Issues

Slow uploads:

• Check internet connection
• Try uploading smaller batches
• Upload during off-peak times

Slow processing:

• Large documents take time to process
• Multiple simultaneous uploads can cause delays
• Check system resource availability

What You’ve Accomplished

Congratulations! You’ve successfully: ✅ Uploaded documents to different workspace types
✅ Understood document processing workflow
✅ Organized documents with classifications
✅ Learned document management best practices
✅ Troubleshot common upload issues

Next Steps

Now that you’re comfortable with document management:

• Classify your documents for better organization
• Create agents that work with specific document sets
• Explore advanced document management techniques
• Learn about enhanced citations for better document linking

Next: Classifying Documents →