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You can turn PDF, Markdown and text files into training cards for a Mind. Each file becomes a new card, disabled until you review it and switch it on. This page covers the upload flow, the PDF conversion that follows it, and how to stop a batch.
The dialog explains what happens next: "PDF, Markdown or text. Each file becomes a new training card (disabled until you review it)." The size limits sit under the dropzone: "PDF 30 MB · text 5 MB max per file".
Closing the dialog before you click Upload asks first. Discard selected files? reads "3 files haven't been uploaded yet. Closing now discards them.", or "1 file hasn't been uploaded yet. Closing now discards it." for a single file. Choose Discard to close the dialog, or Keep files to go back to your selection. Every way of closing the dialog asks the same question: Cancel, Escape, the close button and a click outside it.
"Up to 50 files per upload. Uploads run one file at a time in the background - keep this browser tab open until they finish."
While the queue runs, a toast tells you the files upload in the background and asks you to keep this browser tab open until they finish. You can keep working elsewhere in DataMind while they run. When the files finish, a summary toast reads 3 files uploaded, or, when some fail, 2 uploaded, 1 failed with the file names and the first failure reason.
The status bar under the Explorer tracks the batch:
Each card shows where its file is: Queued ("Waiting in conversion queue"), Converting ("Sending to server…", then page progress such as "Page 2 of 12" and "Extracting text from pages…" under a "Converting to markdown" bar), In editor ("Markdown applied to this card"), Attached ("Click thumbnail for cover · Preview for full PDF"), or Failed.
When a conversion finishes, a toast reads PDF converted and names the card whose markdown is ready. When the whole batch is done, Upload batch finished reports the result, for example "3 cards ready." or "3 ready, 1 failed."
New cards arrive Disabled, so the Mind ignores them until someone reviews the converted text. Open a card, check it, then switch it to Enabled and save. See Write and edit a training card for the editor, and Train a Mind with training cards for folders, batches and history.
A card that is still converting cannot be enabled. Point at its Enabled switch to read why: "Wait for PDF conversion to finish before enabling." A failed conversion gives "Conversion failed - fix or remove the PDF first.", and an empty card gives "This card has no content to enable."
A card you own has a PDF action in its editor header. Its tooltip reads "Upload a PDF to convert into markdown. Pick several to create one new card per file."
The PDF stays on the card. Use the panel under the card header:
While a batch runs, you can stop what is left:
To stop just one card's conversion instead, click Cancel on its PDF panel on a card you can edit. The toast reads Conversion cancelled and the card stays in the Explorer so you can upload another file for it.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| File types | PDF, Markdown (.md or .markdown) and text (.txt). |
| PDF size | Up to 30 MB per file. |
| Markdown and text size | Up to 5 MB per file. |
| Files per upload | Up to 50. |
| One upload at a time | Starting another while one runs shows Upload blocked with "An upload is already running". A batch that is still converting holds that slot too, and files you add join it: if together they would pass 50, the upload is refused with "The upload still converting holds n files, and a batch holds at most 50. Wait for it to finish, or upload fewer files." |
| Pace | One file at a time, in the background. Keep this browser tab open until the upload finishes. |
| New cards | Arrive Disabled until someone reviews and enables them. |
Files that break the rules are refused when you pick them: Only PDF, Markdown (.md) and text (.txt) files are allowed, PDF must be 30 MB or smaller, Markdown and text files must be 5 MB or smaller, or At most 50 files per upload. Upload stays inactive until you pick at least one file.
A running batch is remembered for its Mind: if you reload the page while files convert, the Training Hub keeps tracking the batch, and files you upload then join that same batch. The files whose upload had not been sent yet are not remembered, because the queue lives in memory. While an upload runs, a reload or a tab close makes the browser ask first, and a reload that cuts the upload short warns you on the next page load with Upload interrupted: "The page reloaded while uploading. n of m files may not have been uploaded: names. Check the Training Hub and upload any missing files again."
Message wording for uploads and conversions is collected in Minds troubleshooting.
PDF, Markdown (.md and .markdown) and text (.txt). Anything else is refused with Only PDF, Markdown (.md) and text (.txt) files are allowed.
A PDF can be up to 30 MB, and a Markdown or text file up to 5 MB. A larger file is refused with PDF must be 30 MB or smaller or Markdown and text files must be 5 MB or smaller.
Up to 50 files in one upload. The toolbar tooltip reads Upload files (up to 50), and a larger selection is refused with At most 50 files per upload.
Either another upload is already running, a batch that is still converting cannot take your files, or a file failed a check. A second upload shows Upload blocked with "An upload is already running"; wait for the current batch to finish. A batch that is still converting keeps its slot and takes new files as one batch, so files that would push it past 50 are refused with "The upload still converting holds n files, and a batch holds at most 50. Wait for it to finish, or upload fewer files." Wait for that batch to finish, then upload. When a file breaks a rule, the reason is shown under the same title, so fix the file and upload it again.
Keep this browser tab open until the upload finishes; the dialog and the toast both say so. Uploads run in the background, so you can keep working elsewhere in DataMind while they run. While an upload runs, closing the tab or reloading the page makes the browser ask you to confirm first. If a reload does cut the upload short, the files whose upload had not been sent are lost, because the queue lives in memory, and the next page load warns Upload interrupted: "The page reloaded while uploading. n of m files may not have been uploaded: names. Check the Training Hub and upload any missing files again." The batch itself is remembered for its Mind, so the Training Hub still tracks its conversions, and files you upload after the reload join that batch.
Yes. The converted Markdown lands in the card's text ("Markdown applied to this card"), and the PDF stays attached. From the card's PDF panel you can Preview or Download it, Replace it, or Remove it.
Open the card and read the failure panel: Conversion failed, usually with "Try another file or upload again. Only text-based PDFs are supported." The failure also appears as the toast PDF conversion failed. Click Try a different PDF to replace the file, or remove it and upload another one.
Yes, if you hold Delete Training Cards. Click Cancel on the status bar and confirm with Cancel conversions: cards that have not finished are deleted and already converted cards stay. To stop a single card's conversion instead, use Cancel on its PDF panel; the card stays so you can try another file.
Yes, on a card your Mind owns and with Edit Training Cards. Use Replace to swap the file or Remove to detach it. A card another Mind shared into yours is read-only; see Share and copy training cards.
Upload files turns many files into many new cards at once. The PDF action adds a file to one card; picking several files there also creates a new card per file, and the open card keeps what it already has.