# Files

Upload readable PDF, Markdown, and text documents for your chatbot to search.

Use **Files** when your business information already exists in a document. Orkata extracts the document text and prepares it for retrieval.

## Supported files

You can upload:

- Text: `.txt`
- Markdown: `.md` and `.markdown`
- PDF: `.pdf`

The maximum size is **10 MB per file**. Word, Excel, CSV, and image files are not supported as direct uploads.

> If you are uploading a PDF, make sure you can select or highlight its text. Scanned or image-only PDFs do not contain readable text unless they have been processed with OCR.

## Upload a file

1. Open **Knowledge Base → Files**.
2. Drag files into the upload area or select the area to browse your device.
3. Review any validation message.
4. Select **Retrain agent** after the files appear in the source list.
5. Wait until each source shows **Trained**.
> Screenshot: Files upload area showing supported formats and the selectable-text PDF warning — Upload documents, then retrain the agent so their content becomes searchable.
## Prepare useful documents

A document works best when it has:

- Descriptive headings
- Short sections about one subject
- Direct statements instead of references such as “the option above”
- Text explanations for important images, charts, and diagrams
- Current information without conflicting old versions

Remove repeated headers, footers, legal boilerplate, or navigation text when they overwhelm the useful content.

## Replace an existing file

Uploaded file content cannot be edited inside Orkata. To publish a new version:

1. Upload the replacement file with a clear name.
2. Retrain and wait for **Trained**.
3. Test important questions in Playground.
4. Delete the old file after confirming the replacement works.

Keeping both versions can cause the chatbot to retrieve outdated information.

## Manage uploaded files

The title shows the number of file sources. Use the checkbox or click a source's details to select it. **Select all** selects the items on the current page only. When at least one item is selected, use **Delete** to remove the selection.

Open an item's three-dot menu to view available details or delete that file. Choose 10, 25, or 50 items per page and use pagination for the rest.

## Troubleshooting

### The upload is rejected

Confirm that the file is not empty, uses a supported extension and matching content type, is no larger than 10 MB, and fits within the account's remaining knowledge storage.

### A PDF has no readable text

Try selecting a sentence in a PDF viewer. If it behaves like one large image, run OCR with a trusted document tool and review the extracted text before uploading again.

### The chatbot cannot find a fact in a large document

State the fact directly under a descriptive heading. For a critical answer, add a focused Q&A or Text source instead of depending on a small sentence buried in a long PDF.

### An old answer still appears

Check whether the old file or another trained source contains the outdated text. Delete or update the duplicate, retrain, and test again.

## Next step

Use [Q&A](/docs/chatbot-management/knowledge-base/q-and-a) when one approved answer should match several ways a customer may ask the same question.