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Uploading Documents

This guide walks you through uploading documents to your Voxum knowledge base. Documents teach your chatbot about your business so it can answer visitor questions.

Before You Upload

Make sure your document:

  • Is in a supported format (PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, ODT, XLSX, or PPTX)
  • Contains accurate, up-to-date information
  • Is readable (not scanned images without text)
  • Doesn't contain sensitive information you don't want shared

How to Upload a Document

Step 1: Go to Documents

Click Documents in the left menu of your admin panel.

Documents menu

Step 2: Click Upload

Click the Upload button at the top of the page.

Upload button

Step 3: Select Your File

You have two options:

Option A: Click to browse

  1. Click the upload area
  2. Navigate to your file
  3. Select it and click Open

Option B: Drag and drop

  1. Open your file folder
  2. Drag the file onto the upload area
  3. Drop it when you see the highlight

Drag and drop upload

Step 4: Wait for Processing

After selecting your file:

  1. The file uploads to Voxum
  2. Processing begins automatically
  3. A progress indicator shows the status
  4. When complete, the document appears in your list

Processing time

Most documents process in under a minute. Larger files (50+ pages) may take a bit longer.

Uploading Multiple Documents

You can upload multiple documents at once:

  1. Click Upload
  2. Select multiple files by holding Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) while clicking
  3. Or drag and drop multiple files at once
  4. All files will process simultaneously

After Uploading

Once your document is processed:

  • It appears in your document list
  • Your chatbot can immediately use this information
  • Test it by asking the widget a question about the content

Test your upload

After uploading, open the chat widget and ask a question that your document should answer. This confirms the upload worked correctly.

Replacing a Document

To update a document with new information:

  1. Delete the old version (click the trash icon)
  2. Upload the new version
  3. Wait for processing to complete

Warning

Currently, there's no automatic version control. Make sure to keep backup copies of your documents outside of Voxum.

Troubleshooting

"File type not supported"

Your file must be one of these formats:

  • PDF (.pdf)
  • Word (.docx)
  • Text (.txt)
  • Markdown (.md)
  • OpenDocument (.odt)
  • Excel (.xlsx)
  • PowerPoint (.pptx)

If your file is a different format, convert it first using your word processor or an online converter.

"File too large"

If your file is very large:

  • Consider splitting it into smaller documents by topic
  • Remove any unnecessary images or graphics
  • Check your plan's storage limits

Upload seems stuck

If the progress bar doesn't move:

  1. Wait a few minutes (large files take longer)
  2. Refresh the page and check if the document appears in the list
  3. If not, try uploading again
  4. Contact support if the problem persists

Document uploaded but chatbot doesn't know the content

This can happen if:

  • The document is an image-based PDF (scanned without OCR)
  • The content is in a language Voxum doesn't support
  • The file is corrupted

Try opening the document on your computer to verify it contains readable text.

Best Practices

  1. Use descriptive file names - return-policy-2024.pdf is better than document1.pdf
  2. Keep documents focused - One topic per document works better than one massive file
  3. Update regularly - Remove outdated documents and upload current versions
  4. Test after uploading - Always verify your chatbot can answer questions about new content

Next Steps