> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://learn.withessential.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://learn.withessential.com/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/attaching-files-to-the-assistant.md).

# Attaching files to the Assistant

You can hand the Essential Assistant a file and ask about it: a photo of a panel, an inspection report PDF, a spreadsheet of devices exported from another system. The assistant reads what you attach and answers from it.

> **Where to find it:** Open the Assistant panel and use the paperclip in the message box, or drag files onto the chat panel.

## What you can attach

| Type         | Formats                   | Size limit |
| ------------ | ------------------------- | ---------- |
| Images       | PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF, HEIC | 20 MB each |
| PDFs         | PDF                       | 20 MB each |
| Spreadsheets | CSV, XLS, XLSX            | 5 MB each  |

You can attach up to ten files to a single message, and mix types in the same message.

Anything else is turned away with a message telling you which formats are supported. Spreadsheets have a smaller limit than the others because the assistant reads their contents as text rather than looking at them as a document.

## Attach a file

1. Open the Assistant panel.
2. Click the paperclip in the message box and pick your files — or drag them from your desktop straight onto the chat panel.
3. Each file appears above the message box while it uploads. Remove one with the X on its chip if you picked the wrong file.
4. Type your question and send.

The assistant reads the attachment as part of that message, so ask your question in the same message you attach the file to.

## What to expect from each type

**Images.** The assistant looks at the picture. Ask it what it sees, or to read a label or gauge. It can also put the photo onto an inspection report — on a photo question or on a deficiency — as an action you confirm; see [Editing an inspection report through the Assistant](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/editing-an-inspection-report-through-the-assistant.md).

**PDFs.** The whole document goes to the assistant, so it can answer about any page — a flow test record, a manufacturer data sheet, a report from another vendor. Scanned PDFs with no selectable text are still shown to the assistant as a document, so it can usually read them, but it won't be able to quote text from them as reliably.

PDFs that open normally but restrict copying or editing can be attached; Essential prepares them automatically. If a PDF requires a password to open, the upload is rejected with instructions to save an unprotected copy. Open the file with its password, then use Print to PDF or re-export it without a password before attaching the new copy.

**Spreadsheets.** The assistant reads the rows as text, including the sheet names and column headers of every sheet in a workbook. Ask it to summarize, count, or pull out the rows you care about.

## Large spreadsheets

A big spreadsheet won't fit into a single message, so the assistant is given the column headers and the first several hundred rows, and told plainly that the rest were not included.

This matters when you ask a question that spans the whole file — "how many devices failed?" across a 4,000-row register. The assistant will either fetch the remaining rows before answering, or tell you it has only seen part of the file. It is built not to quote you a total it hasn't actually counted. If you get an answer scoped to "the rows I can see", ask it to keep reading, or split the file and attach it in pieces.

## Attachments stay with the conversation

Attachments belong to the conversation you sent them in. Later in that same chat you can refer back to a file you shared earlier without attaching it again — ask "what did that report say about the pump?" and the assistant can go back and re-read it.

Files shared in one conversation are never visible from another conversation, and never from another business.

Files go the other way too: the Assistant can build a CSV of your own records and attach it to its reply for you to download. See [Ask the Assistant for a CSV export](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/ask-the-assistant-for-a-csv-export.md).

## Related guides

* [Using the Essential Assistant](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant.md)
* [What the Essential Assistant can and can't do](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/what-the-essential-assistant-can-and-cant-do.md)
* [Ask the Assistant for a CSV export](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/ask-the-assistant-for-a-csv-export.md)
* [Editing a quote or invoice through the Assistant](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/editing-a-quote-or-invoice-through-the-assistant.md)
* [Editing an inspection report through the Assistant](/administration/using-the-essential-assistant/editing-an-inspection-report-through-the-assistant.md)


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