Work with files in a chat

Bearly on the web and desktopDo it in your own chat →

To do it in your own chat, use the sample file:Employee handbook.pdf ↓

Work with files in a chat

1. 1Open the add menuSelect + in the message box.
2. 2Attach the handbookSelect Attach files and choose Employee handbook.pdf. You can also drag the file onto the chat.
3. 3Ask about itWhen the file is ready, ask How many vacation days do I get? and select Send.
4. 4Check the sourceSelect the 1 after the answer. The handbook opens at the page the answer came from.

These instructions cover Bearly on the web and desktop, including the web app in a phone browser.

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

Attach a file

Your organization must allow File uploads.

Each attachment must be 1000 MB or smaller, or 100 MB or smaller in an end-to-end encrypted chat. 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, the separate Take photo camera button opens the camera.
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.

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, remove it with the × on its preview. If it shows Unable to upload and process., remove it and attach it again after checking your connection and the 1000 MB limit.

A photo or screenshot with a generic name, such as image.jpg or image.png, is saved under the time you added it, for example “Photo Nov 2, 3:13 PM.jpg”.

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 download the original.

The preview opens beside the chat on larger screens and takes over the workspace on smaller ones. On a computer, select Close panel or press Esc to return to the conversation. In a phone browser, select Chat. An image that can’t be loaded shows “Couldn’t load this image” instead of loading forever.

Find every file in the current chat

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

1. Select Files — the side panel opens on its Files tab, newest first, with the files grouped by day: Today, Yesterday, then the date.
2. Type in Search files, or choose All, Uploaded, Generated, or Project to narrow the list. Each filter shows its count; Project appears only when the chat belongs to a project.
3. Select a file to open it, or its Jump to message button to scroll the chat to the message it came with. Opening a photo lets you step through every photo in the chat.

Canvas documents are listed under Generated. A search with no results says “No files match” and your search, with Clear search. If Files is absent from the header, the chat doesn’t have any files yet.

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.
• Share file turns the file into a Page you review before publishing.
• Version switches between versions of a file Bearly revised.

On a phone, Copy, Share file, and Version are under More.

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 instead of attaching the same file repeatedly.

To send a file to someone outside the conversation, share it as a Page with a download link and your chosen audience.