Documents
Upload shared reference files, check whether they can be searched, and keep imports and approved revisions current.
11 min read
Use Knowledge > Documents for files that belong in the shared library: policies, guides, reports, and supporting evidence. Members read documents within their access; Editors and higher roles can upload and manage them. For material that belongs to one project, use that project's Knowledge tab.
Upload from your device
- Open Knowledge > Documents and the folder where the files should go. Use New folder if you need one.
- Choose Upload documents > From your device and select the files.
- Wait for the upload to finish, then find each row in the table.
- Open a document to check its preview and details. Check the RAG status before asking the assistant about its content.
Use a descriptive filename and include a date or revision when it helps distinguish sources. Uploading another file with the same name creates a separate document; it does not replace the existing one.
Understand upload and search support
A stored file and a searchable file are different states. Tale needs to extract text before it can index a document for knowledge search.
| Format | What to expect |
|---|---|
PDF with embedded text, .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt, CSV, plain text | Supported for text extraction and indexing. Check the result for the particular file. |
Legacy Office .doc, .xls, .ppt | Can be stored and downloaded; convert to a modern format for indexing. |
| Images such as JPG, PNG, GIF, WEBP | Can be stored and downloaded; the knowledge index does not extract text from them. |
Microsoft Loop files (.loop) imported from Microsoft 365 | Can be imported and downloaded; Tale cannot extract their text, so their status is Not supported. |
| Scanned PDF without readable text | Supply an OCR-processed or text version if search needs its content. |
Unsupported formats are not made searchable by repeatedly reindexing. For a question about an image, see Chat attachments, where an available vision model may read it directly.
Read the indexing status
| Status | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| Queued | Waiting for an indexing slot. A busy library processes files in batches. |
| Indexing | Text is being prepared for search. Wait before testing the source. |
| Indexed | Indexing completed. Test a specific question and open its citation. |
| Needs reindex | The index is stale. Use Retry indexing beside the status. |
| Failed | Inspect the error, resolve its cause, then retry. |
| Not supported | These file contents cannot be indexed: the format may be unsupported, the text empty or unreadable, or the PDF damaged. Open the badge for the cause. |
| Not indexed | No completed index is available. Check the file and start indexing where offered. |
Interrupted jobs recover in the background or report a failure with a retry option. If a status does not progress, give an administrator the document name and error. They can check indexing services and the embedding configuration. Failed and unsupported files still use storage until removed.
Recover from an indexing problem
Click Failed or Not supported to read the explanation. The next action depends on the cause, not just the filename extension.
| Cause | Next action |
|---|---|
| Unsupported format or image | Convert to a supported document with readable text. Uploading an image alone does not run OCR for knowledge search. |
| Empty text or scanned PDF without a text layer | Add the missing content or supply an OCR-processed version. Whitespace alone is also empty. |
| Binary contents behind a text extension | Export readable text, preferably UTF-8. Renaming a binary file to .txt does not convert it. |
| PDF cannot be parsed | Check that the original opens, remove password protection where permitted, or export a new PDF. A corrupt Office file may instead report a general indexing failure; check the original before repeatedly retrying. |
| A secret or personal-data policy blocks indexing | Remove the credential from the source, or ask an administrator to review the reported policy restriction. Then upload the corrected material or retry after the configuration is repaired. |
| Embedding model missing or provider account refused | An administrator must configure the model under Settings > Data residency, or repair the provider key, model access, plan, or balance. Then retry. |
| Embedding credential missing or unusable | The credential the embedding model uses was deleted or disabled, its provider has no default credential left (Settings > Data residency shows Credential missing), or its secret cannot be read: it was stored under an earlier encryption key, or it names an environment variable the server does not set. An administrator adds or repairs the credential under Settings > AI providers, or chooses another one for the embedding model. Either save puts the affected documents back in the queue. After a fix on the server itself, such as setting the environment variable, use Retry indexing. |
| Temporary provider or indexing-service failure | Background jobs retry transient failures. If the error persists, give an administrator the document name and error; after repair, use Retry indexing. |
| Search index rebuilding or repair failed | Rebuilding can recover automatically. A failed repair needs the operator to repair or restore the knowledge database before retrying. |
Not supported has no retry action: another attempt with the same bytes cannot fix the cause. Failed files can also require a source or configuration change before a retry helps. Applications can distinguish these cases using indexing.errorCode; the API reference lists the stable codes.
Choose who can read it
Library documents default to Organization-wide. Use Assign team in the row menu to restrict a document to the chosen teams: members of any of those teams can read it, and Owners and Admins always can. Unless you are an Owner or Admin, you can only choose teams you belong to. A document inside a team folder takes the folder's teams and cannot name a team outside them, and moving a document into such a folder applies the folder's teams. These restrictions also apply to knowledge retrieval; an agent cannot make an inaccessible document visible through search.
The library root shows folders and documents that have not been filed in a folder. Open a folder to see its contents; a document inside it does not also appear as a file row at the root.
Folders organize the library; to rename one, use Rename in its row menu. A synced folder, the folders inside it and the folders that contain it keep their names, because each sync rebuilds that path. Check the Teams cell for access and the Source column for where a file came from. The Teams filter narrows the list to Organization-wide items, My teams (anything one of your teams can see), or a team by name; the selection is part of the page address, so a filtered list can be bookmarked. Project files are a separate scope and do not appear in this library. See Knowledge when deciding where to keep a source.
Import from Microsoft 365 or Google Drive
Choose From Microsoft 365 or From Google Drive under Upload documents. On first use, connect your account and authorize the import. If Tale reports that import is not configured, an administrator must set up the service under Connectors before you can continue.
Select files or folders, then choose the import mode:
| Mode | Result |
|---|---|
| One-time import | Copies the selection once and preserves its folder structure. Later source changes do not update the copy. |
| Sync import | Keeps the supported selection current. New files arrive on a later sync; changed files reindex; deleted source files are removed from the mirror. |
In the library, the Source column shows where each file came from. An imported file carries the OneDrive, SharePoint, or Google Drive logo. Circling arrows beside the logo mean a sync import keeps the file current, and they appear on the synced folder itself too; the same arrows struck through mean a one-time import. Uploads, files an agent or automation wrote, knowledge entries, and API imports each show their own icon. Point to an icon to read the source in words.
Starting a folder sync can also reorganize an earlier import. If the same source file is already in Tale, the sync adopts that document and moves it into the matching sync folder, even when its content has not changed. This is a match to the source file, not merely to its name. A sync without a destination folder keeps the existing placement.
For Microsoft 365, choose My OneDrive or SharePoint Sites. Sync is available for personal OneDrive folders; SharePoint selections import once. For Google Drive, select from My Drive. Native Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are skipped: export them to PDF or Office formats first.
If a folder is too large to list completely, Tale refuses that import. Select smaller subfolders or use sync where supported. If the selected source folder or file is deleted, its mirror is removed and the sync ends.
A sync runs about every 15 minutes, under the account of the member who set it up. A file added at the source shows up in its folder within that window and then indexes like an upload. When a run cannot reach the source, the folder row's Source cell replaces the circling arrows with a red warning sign whose tooltip reads Sync failed, or with a red unplugged plug reading Reconnect needed when that member's Microsoft 365 or Google Drive connection has expired. Select the icon to see the cause, when the failures began, and whose account the sync uses; the files synced so far stay in place. That member is also notified in the bell and by email: at once for an expired connection, otherwise once the sync has been failing for an hour. Reconnecting the account, which the dialog offers to that member, resumes the sync on its next run. Any member who can import documents can instead start a new sync import of the same item to run it under their own account. The notice clears with the next successful run.
To keep the imported files without further updates, use Stop syncing on the file or folder row. Deleting the imported item also stops its sync. These actions leave the originals in OneDrive or Google Drive untouched. Disconnect Google Drive in the import dialog revokes that connection; reconnect when you need to import again.
Revising a controlled document
Use a controlled document when approval must stay tied to the exact file that a reviewer saw. Replacing its draft updates the existing record; uploading another file with the same name still creates a separate document.
Choose the controlled record
For a regular upload, open the row menu and click Mark as controlled. It becomes
v1 · Draft. An approved record offers both Replace file and New revision: use New revision only when you need the next draft without replacing its file.Replace the current file
Open the draft or approved record's row menu and click Replace file, then choose one file in the same format. A draft keeps its current revision. For an approved record, the dialog preserves approved vN and opens draft vN+1 only after the replacement succeeds; cancelling or a failed upload leaves vN approved. A legal hold blocks either path.
The replacement dialog accepts one file in the record's existing format. Check and submit the revision
Open the document preview and confirm that it shows the replacement. Then open the row menu and click Submit for review. The picker offers only members who can actually open the document — a project file needs project edit access — and never yourself: only the reviewer you name can approve or request changes, so every review is a second pair of eyes.
The draft freezes while the reviewer decides on that exact file; the reviewer is notified in the bell and by email, and the decision comes back to you the same way — a request for changes carries the reviewer's feedback, which the submit dialog also shows before your next attempt.
If the reviewer can no longer decide — they left the organization, were disabled, or lost access to the document — open the row menu and click Change reviewer: the pending request moves to the member you name, and the record stays frozen on the same file.
Delete with the contents in mind
Delete removes the document and its indexed content. The confirmation explains the impact; keep a copy if you will need the file later. Re-uploading creates a new document.
A controlled document with an approved version is protected from deletion, including while a later draft is being prepared. Its menu shows Protected controlled record. A folder containing such a record cannot be deleted either. Legal holds can also block changes or deletion; ask an administrator to check the specific restriction rather than uploading duplicates to work around it.