> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.parlehub.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# File Tools: Work Directly with Your Project Documents

> ParleHub's AI can read, search, and query files in your project — PDFs, Word docs, spreadsheets, and PowerPoint — as grounded tool calls.

Rather than asking you to paste excerpts into a chat window, ParleHub gives the AI direct access to the documents stored in your project. When you ask the AI a question that requires reading a contract, scanning a balance sheet, or summarizing a presentation, it reaches into the project's file store, runs the appropriate tool call, and grounds its answer in the actual source material. You get a traceable, auditable response — not a hallucination built from text you copied in manually.

## Supported file types

Upload any of the following file types to a project and the AI can work with them immediately. Conversion to searchable markdown happens automatically in the background — you do not need to pre-process or reformat anything.

| File type     | Extensions      | What the AI can do                             |
| ------------- | --------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| PDF           | `.pdf`          | Search content, read sections, extract clauses |
| Word document | `.docx`         | Read and summarize, compare drafts             |
| Spreadsheet   | `.xlsx`, `.csv` | Query rows and columns, compute summaries      |
| Presentation  | `.pptx`         | Convert slides to text, summarize decks        |

<Note>
  Scanned PDFs that contain only images are not yet supported for text extraction. Use a PDF that has a text layer, or run the document through OCR before uploading.
</Note>

## What the AI can do with files

The AI interacts with your project's files through four discrete tool capabilities, each of which runs as a real, auditable tool call — not a background prompt injection.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Search Documents" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/projects/file-tools">
    Ask the AI to find every clause, paragraph, or data point in a file that is relevant to your question. The search runs against the converted markdown, so it covers the full document even if it spans hundreds of pages.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Read & Summarize" icon="file-lines" href="/projects/conversations">
    Direct the AI to read a specific section — a contract clause, an exhibit, a cover memo — and summarize or analyze it. Responses include the source file name and section so you can verify the reference.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Query Spreadsheets" icon="table" href="/projects/file-tools">
    Ask questions against rows and columns in natural language: *"What is the total revenue for Q3?"* or *"Which line items exceed the contingency budget?"* The AI translates your question into a structured query against the spreadsheet data.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Convert to Markdown" icon="file-code" href="/projects/file-tools">
    PowerPoint decks and formatted Word documents are converted to clean, searchable markdown automatically on upload. You can also ask the AI to surface the converted text of a specific file so you can copy and reuse it downstream.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## How to add files to a project

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the project's Files tab">
    Navigate to your project in the sidebar and click the **Files** tab at the top of the project view.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Upload your documents">
    Drag files into the upload area or click **Upload Files** to browse. You can upload multiple files at once. Supported formats are processed automatically — a status indicator shows when conversion is complete.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Confirm the AI can see the files">
    Once a file shows a green **Ready** badge, it is available for the AI to use in any conversation in the project. Start a conversation and ask the AI a question that references the document to confirm.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enterprise: connect cloud storage">
    On Enterprise plans, files can be sourced directly from your organization's **SharePoint** or **Google Drive** site. Connect your cloud storage in **Project Settings → Integrations**, and the AI can query those files without requiring a manual upload step.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Grounded answers

Because the AI works by calling file tools — not by consuming a blob of pasted text — every answer it gives is traceable back to a specific source document. Each response that draws from a file includes a citation block showing the file name, the page or section referenced, and the tool call that retrieved it.

This traceability matters in professional services contexts where the answer is only as good as the source. When you take an AI-assisted conclusion into a client deliverable or a legal brief, you need to be able to point to exactly where it came from.

<Warning>
  No code execution runs near your client data. File tools are read-only operations — the AI can search, read, and query your documents, but it cannot modify, delete, or export them.
</Warning>

<Tip>
  After the AI gives you an answer based on a file, ask it to quote the exact text it drew from. For example: *"Show me the verbatim language from the contract that supports that conclusion."* This gives you a defensible reference you can drop directly into a memo or client communication.
</Tip>