---
title: "Work with files in a chat"
description: "Attach files, follow upload progress, preview results, and download files from a Bearly conversation."
canonical: "https://bearly.ai/docs/chats/files/"
markdown: "https://bearly.ai/docs/chats/files.md"
---

# Work with files in a chat

HTML: [https://bearly.ai/docs/chats/files/](https://bearly.ai/docs/chats/files/)

> Attach files, follow upload progress, preview results, and download files from a Bearly conversation.

Attach source material to a request, or open and download files that Bearly creates while you work.

## Attach a file

Each attachment must be 300 MB or smaller. Whether Bearly can read and preview a file depends on its format; common documents, text and data files, images, audio, and video are supported.



1. Open a chat or select **New Chat**.
2. Select the **+** button in the composer, then choose **Attach files**.
3. Choose one or more files. You can also drag files onto the chat. On a phone or tablet, **Take photo** appears in the **+** menu when the camera is available.
4. Wait while the attachment shows **Uploading** and, when needed, **Analyzing**. The file is ready when those indicators disappear.
5. Add a request that says what Bearly should do with the material, then select **Send message**.



For example: `Read the attached report. Give me the three decisions it supports, the evidence for each, and any unanswered questions.`

To remove an attachment before sending, select **Remove file** on its preview. If it shows **An error occurred**, remove it and attach it again after checking your connection and the 300 MB limit.

> **Note — Files belong to a particular context**
> A file attached in the composer is an **Uploaded** file in that chat. A document added to a project is a **Project** file and is available to chats in that project. A file Bearly creates is a **Generated** file. These labels help you tell the sources apart; they are not interchangeable copies.


## Preview a file

Select a file in the conversation to open its preview. Bearly chooses a view suited to the format:

- Images, PDFs, audio, video, Markdown, text, CSV, JSON, and many code files can be viewed directly.
- Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and similar documents can open as a PDF preview when conversion is available.
- An unfamiliar file type opens a simple file card instead. You can still open it externally or download the original.

The preview opens beside the chat on larger screens and takes over the workspace on smaller ones. Select **Close** to return to the conversation. On iPhone or iPad, PDFs open outside the in-app preview.

## Find every file in the current chat

When the current chat has files, its header shows the **Browse files** button with a file count.

1. Select **Browse files**.
2. Choose **All**, **Project**, **Uploaded**, or **Generated** to narrow the list. **Project** appears only when the chat belongs to a project.
3. Select a filename to open it, or select **Download** on its row to save it directly.

An empty filter shows **No files in this category**. If the **Browse files** button is absent, the chat does not yet have any available files.

## Download or copy a result

Open a file and use the controls in its header:

- **Download** saves the file in its original format.
- When an Office document has a PDF preview, the download menu offers **PDF** and **Original**.
- **Copy** is available for text, code, data, and images that Bearly can copy directly.
- **Open externally** hands the file to the appropriate browser or app.

If a preview cannot load, download the original and open it in its usual application. A failed conversion does not replace or alter the original file.

For long-lived reference material shared by several conversations, [add documents to a project](https://bearly.ai/docs/projects/documents.md) instead of attaching the same file repeatedly.

## Continue through the documentation

- [Documentation index](https://bearly.ai/docs.md): Browse every Bearly guide.
- [Previous: Organize your chats](https://bearly.ai/docs/chats/organize.md)
- [Next: Add workflows with Skills](https://bearly.ai/docs/features/skills.md)
- [Related: Add files to a project](https://bearly.ai/docs/projects/documents.md)