Your uploads

Part ofTake part as a member of staff

Upload your own documents so Counsel can answer questions about them, for example your organisation's retention policy or a supplier contract. This page explains how to upload a document, what happens to it, and how to remove it.

Everyone who can sign in to Counsel can upload documents. Your uploads are private within your organisation: no other user can see them, and Counsel uses them only in your own chats.

Upload a document

Select Knowledge, then the My uploads tab.

Select Upload a document. Your computer's file picker opens.

Choose one file and confirm.

The My uploads tab with the upload box and a list of uploaded documents

While the file uploads, Counsel shows "Uploading" with the file name. When it is done, the document appears in the list with a green clean label, which means it passed the malware scan.

Upload one file at a time. To add several documents, repeat the steps for each one.

Which files work best

Counsel reads the text of a document so it can answer from it.

Good: PDF files with real text, Word documents (.docx) and plain text files.

Not useful for answers: pictures, scanned PDFs without a text layer, and older Word files (.doc). They upload, but Counsel cannot read what is in them. Save them as a text PDF or a .docx first.

Not accepted: files larger than 50 MB, and programs or scripts.

What happens to a file you upload

It is scanned for malware. A file that fails the scan is refused.

It is stored encrypted.

Counsel indexes its text so it can find the relevant passages when you ask a question.

It is listed under My uploads as one of your knowledge sources. You decide whether Counsel uses it (see below).

It stays private within your organisation. No other user can see your uploads, and they are never used in anyone else's chats.

The toolbar on the tab sums this up: "Private to you · encrypted at rest · malware-scanned."

Evidence files you add to an evidence request are kept separately. They do not appear under My uploads and are not used in your chats. See Evidence requests.

Use or ignore your uploads in chats

Each upload has a switch.

On: Counsel can use the document in new chats.

Off: Counsel ignores it in new chats.

Select Enable all or Disable all to change every upload at once. If you have more than three uploads, a Search documents… box helps you find one.

These switches set your default for new chats. To change the sources for a single chat, use Sources in that chat. See Choose the knowledge for one chat.

Select a document's name to open it in a new tab.

Remove an upload

On the My uploads tab, find the document.

Select Remove on its row.

Counsel asks you to confirm: "Delete" with the file name, and "It will also be removed from chat answers." Confirm.

Counsel shows "Deleted" with the file name. The document is gone from your uploads and Counsel no longer uses it in answers.

You can remove any document you uploaded yourself, however long ago. Policies your compliance team publishes to you are not uploads, and you cannot remove them.

Troubleshooting

Message	What it means	What to do
"No uploads yet. Use the box above to add your own documents."	You have not uploaded anything.	Select Upload a document.
"Upload failed: …" with a size limit	The file is larger than 50 MB.	Split the document or reduce its size, then upload it again.
"Upload failed: …" mentioning the malware scan	The file did not pass the malware scan and was refused.	Do not open the file. Contact your IT or security team.
"Upload failed: …" for another reason	The upload did not complete.	Try again. If it keeps failing, rename the file to a short, plain name and try once more.
"Delete failed: …"	The document was not removed.	Try again later. If it keeps failing, contact your administrator.
Counsel does not use a document you uploaded	The upload may be switched off, or Counsel may not be able to read its text.	Check its switch, and check the file type under Which files work best.

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