PDF Upload

Upload a PDF document and AI will summarize it, automatically converting it into a learning post. Turn lecture slides, papers, and textbooks into Skillnote learning content in seconds.

Plan Availability

PDF upload availability varies by plan.

Free Plan Users

If you attempt to upload a PDF on the Free plan, an upgrade prompt modal for PDF Upload will appear. The modal includes:

Three features available with PDF upload, listed with checkmarks.
Upgrade button: Click to go to /settings?tab=payment and upgrade your plan.
Skip button: Closes the modal and returns to the current page.

Page Limit Exceeded

If the uploaded PDF exceeds the page limit for your current plan, a Coming Soon modal will appear. Consider upgrading your plan if you need a higher page limit.

Non-PDF File Uploaded

If you upload a file that is not a PDF, the following modal will appear:

Only PDF files can be uploaded

Check the file format and try again with a .pdf file.

How to Use

Selecting a PDF

There are two ways to upload a PDF.

Drag and drop: Drag a PDF file onto the upload area on the home screen.
File picker: Click the PDF Upload button on the home screen and select a file.

You can select multiple files at once to upload them simultaneously.

Processing Steps

Once you select a PDF, the following steps run automatically.

Select PDF → Validation (file format, page count) → Parse text in browser → AI summary → Draft post created automatically

Validation: Checks that the file is a PDF and does not exceed the page limit for your plan.
Parsing: Extracts text from the PDF in the browser.
AI summary: AI analyzes the key content and summarizes it into a structured learning post.
Draft created: The summarized content is saved as a draft post. You can find it in the Drafts tab on the Manage Posts page.

Tracking Progress

When uploading multiple PDFs at the same time, a progress overlay appears at the bottom of the screen.

The list of files being uploaded and the current processing step for each are shown in real time.
A checkmark indicates files that have finished processing.
If an error occurs, an error message is displayed for that file.

Recovering an Interrupted Upload

If you refresh the page or close the browser during an upload, a recovery dialog will appear automatically on your next visit. You can choose whether to resume the interrupted upload.

Warning: Closing the recovery dialog deletes the progress information for that upload session. You will need to re-upload any important files.

Tips for Better Results

AI summary quality can vary depending on the nature of the PDF.

Use text-based PDFs. Scanned image PDFs are difficult to extract text from and may produce lower-quality summaries.
Well-structured documents work best. Documents with clear titles, subheadings, and paragraphs help AI identify key points more effectively.
Choose content-focused documents. PDFs centered on learning material work better than those with a lot of advertisements or filler content.
Review the generated draft. AI summaries are generated automatically, so we recommend reviewing the content before publishing and editing in the editor as needed.

Tip: Opening the draft post in the editor and refining the content helps AI generate more accurate and thorough review questions.