# Uploading Documents Your research library is the foundation of Alfred Scholar. Upload your PDF research papers here, and Alfred Scholar will automatically detect metadata, extract citations, and prepare the document for search and Ask Alfred. My documents in Alfred Scholar: the research library with uploaded PDFs showing type, size, page count, and Ready status ## Supported formats | Format | Extension | Maximum size | |--------|-----------|-------------| | PDF | `.pdf` | 50 MB | Alfred Scholar currently supports PDF files. This covers the vast majority of academic papers, preprints, reports, and theses. ## How to upload 1. Navigate to **My Documents** in the sidebar. 2. Click the **Upload** button in the top right. 3. In the upload dialog, drag and drop your PDF files into the drop zone, or click the zone to browse and select files. 4. Click **Upload** to start uploading. You can also use the **Upload Document** quick action button on the dashboard. > **Note:** You can upload up to 20 files at once. To upload more, repeat the process in batches. > **Note:** Each upload counts toward your plan's document limit. See [Plans & Billing](/docs/v1.x/plans-and-billing) for details. ## What happens after upload After you upload a PDF, Alfred Scholar automatically processes it in the background. You can track progress on the document card: ### Metadata detection Alfred Scholar automatically identifies key metadata from your paper: - **Title** - The paper's title. - **Document type** - The type of document (e.g. journal article, book, thesis). - **Authors** - The list of authors. - **Abstract** - The paper's abstract or summary. - **Journal** - The journal or conference where the paper was published. - **Publication date** - When the paper was published. - **DOI** - The Digital Object Identifier, if available. - **Volume, issue, and pages** - Specific publication details. - **Publisher** - The publishing organization. - **Language** - The language the paper is written in. - **URL** - A link to the online version. > **Tip:** If the automatic metadata detection misses something or gets it wrong, you can manually edit any field. See [Editing metadata](#editing-metadata) below. ### Citation extraction Alfred Scholar scans the references section of your paper and extracts individual citations. These are automatically added to your workspace's citation library, linked back to the source document. This means that every paper you upload contributes to building your reference library without any manual work. ### Bookmark import If your PDF already has a table of contents (bookmarks), Alfred Scholar imports them automatically. You will see the document outline in the viewer without having to re-add it. ### Ask Alfred preparation Once processing is complete, your document is fully ready for Ask Alfred. Alfred can answer questions about it, summarise sections, and help you understand the content. ## Processing statuses Each document goes through two stages: processing (text extraction and metadata detection) and indexing (preparing for Ask Alfred and search). The status badge on each document shows where it is: | Status | What it means | |--------|--------------| | **Processing** | Alfred Scholar is extracting text and metadata from your document. This usually takes a few seconds. | | **Processed** | Text extraction is complete. AI indexing has not started yet. | | **Indexing** | Alfred Scholar is preparing your document for Ask Alfred and search. A progress bar shows how far along it is. | | **Ready** | Your document is fully processed and indexed. It is ready for Ask Alfred and all other features. | | **Paused** | AI indexing has been paused. You can still view the document but it cannot be used in Ask Alfred. | | **Failed** | Something went wrong during text extraction. Try re-uploading the document. | | **Embed failed** | The document was processed but AI indexing failed. Try re-uploading the document. | ## Editing metadata If Alfred Scholar's automatic detection missed something or got a field wrong, you can edit any metadata field: 1. Open the document by clicking on it. 2. Click the **Metadata** tab at the top. 3. Update any fields: title, document type, authors, journal, DOI, abstract, publication date, volume, issue, pages, publisher, language, or URL. 4. Click **Save**. ## Downloading documents To download the original PDF file: 1. Find the document in your library. 2. Click the **...** menu on the document row or card. 3. Select **Download**. The original PDF is downloaded exactly as you uploaded it. ## Deleting documents To delete a document: 1. Find the document in your library. 2. Click the **...** menu on the document row or card. 3. Select **Delete** and confirm. To delete multiple documents at once, select them using the checkboxes and click **Delete** in the action bar that appears at the bottom of the screen. Deleted documents are moved to the **Trash** and can be recovered. See [Trash & Recovery](/docs/v1.x/trash-and-recovery) for details. ## View modes You can switch between two view modes for your document library: - **Table view** - A compact list showing document name, authors, date, and status. Best for quickly scanning a large library. - **Grid view** - Larger cards with thumbnail previews. Best for visual browsing. Your view preference is saved automatically and persists between sessions. ## Searching and sorting Use the **search bar** at the top of the documents page to find papers by name. In table view, click any column header to sort by that column. Available columns are **Name**, **Type**, **Size**, **Pages**, and **Added**. Click the same header again to reverse the sort order. ## Next steps - **[Organize your documents with folders](/docs/v1.x/organizing-with-folders)** to keep your library tidy. - **[Read and annotate your papers](/docs/v1.x/reading-and-annotating)** using the built-in PDF viewer. - **[Chat with your documents](/docs/v1.x/chat-with-documents)** using Alfred.