My document didn't process
Diagnose stalled or failed uploads: format support, size limits, password-protected files, and what each stage means.
When an upload stalls or shows an error, the cause is almost always one of a small set. This article goes through them in order of "check first".
Open the info panel
Click the document. The info panel on the right shows the processing stages: Source, Conversion, Analysis, Index. Whichever stage shows red (or never finishes) is where the issue lives.
Format isn't supported
The Add Documents modal lists supported formats: PDF, Office (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX), OpenDocument (ODT, ODP), EPUB, HTML, Markdown, RTF, plain text, CSV, JSON, XML.
Not supported today:
- Standalone image files (JPEG/PNG/etc.). Images inside a document are read automatically; see Automatic OCR.
- Audio files (MP3/WAV/etc.). Not yet available.
- Video files (MP4/MOV/WebM). Not yet available.
- Pages (Apple). Export to PDF or DOCX first.
- Keynote. Export to PDF or PPTX first.
- Old
.doc(pre-2007 binary Word). Save-as DOCX, or open in a converter.
If the file isn't on the supported list and you don't want to convert, paste the content as a note instead.
File exceeds your plan's size limit
The Add Documents modal shows your current per-file size limit before you upload. If a file is too big:
- Check your plan settings for the current cap.
- Compress the PDF if it's mostly images (most viewers and command-line tools can do this).
- Upgrade your plan if larger files are routine.
- For PDFs with many low-resolution images, the file is often 5–10× larger than needed.
Network or server interruption
Upload progress bar stalls or jumps to an error icon. Retry from the same modal; partial uploads aren't charged to your quota.
If retries keep failing:
- Try a different network (Wi-Fi vs. mobile data) to rule out a flaky connection.
- Try a smaller file to confirm the upload path itself works.
- If everything fails, see Common error messages.
Password-protected PDF
Password-protected PDFs prompt you for the password during processing. Keep the upload tab open until the prompt appears (typically within 10–30 seconds). If you close the tab, you'll need to re-upload.
Once you enter the password, the document processes normally.
Stuck at Conversion or Analysis
The Conversion stage runs Pandoc / LibreOffice / Calibre depending on the format. The Analysis stage parses structure. If either stays "in progress" longer than a minute or two:
- Refresh the page. Sometimes the UI state lags behind the actual processing.
- Try a smaller subset of the document to confirm the format works in general.
- For very large documents, processing can take several minutes; wait it out before assuming it's stuck.
Scanned pages and OCR
If the document uploaded fine but answers come back empty or nonsense, the underlying scan probably OCR'd poorly. Run Enhanced OCR on the document for a higher-accuracy pass.
Still stuck?
If none of the above applies and the document still won't process:
- Open the document's info panel and copy any error message.
- Note the file format and approximate size.
- Contact support with both pieces of information.