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Omnifact offers two primary ways to work with documents and files: Chat Attachments and Space Uploaded Files. Both allow your to analyze document content, but they serve fundamentally different needs. Understanding when to use each approach helps you work faster, manage document storage efficiently, and collaborate better with your team.

Quick Decision Rule

Use Chat Attachments for quick, one-off questions about a single file in your current conversation. Use Space Uploaded Files when you want a collection of documents to serve as permanent reference material for yourself or your team across multiple chats.

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Comparison at a Glance

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Understanding Chat Attachments

Chat Attachments allow you to upload files directly into the chat input bar. The content of attached files is included as immediate context for your specific conversation.

Immediate Context

No pre-indexing required. Attach a document and ask a question right away.

Multi-Format Flexibility

Supports documents (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint), text files (TXT, JSON, CSV), images, and audio files.

Thread Isolation

Attached files remain private to that specific conversation thread unless you explicitly share the chat.

Flexible Exploration

Great for quick draft revisions, one-time summaries, or ad-hoc data analysis.

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When to Use Chat Attachments

  • One-time Document Review: You received a PDF report or contract draft and need an immediate summary or risk evaluation.
  • Visual Chart or Diagram Analysis: You want to attach a screenshot or diagram to ask specific visual questions.
  • Audio Transcription & Summarization: You have a recorded meeting file (up to 25 MB) and need quick action items.
  • Ad-hoc Comparison: You want to compare two spreadsheet exports side by side in a single message (up to 5 attachments).

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Understanding Space Uploaded Files

Space Uploaded Files is a dedicated knowledge repository attached to a specific Space. When documents are uploaded to a Space, Omnifact processes, chunks, and indexes them for vector-based semantic search.

Persistent Knowledge

Files stay available indefinitely in the Space. Every new chat in that Space can tap into the full document set.

Semantic Retrieval

When you ask a question, Omnifact retrieves only the relevant chunks from large document sets, saving prompt context.

Team Alignment

All Space members benefit from the same authoritative source documents, ensuring consistent answers across the team.

Source Citations

Responses automatically include clear references showing which documents from the Uploaded Files were consulted.

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When to Use Space Uploaded Files

  • Departmental Knowledge Bases: Storing HR policies, onboarding guides, brand guidelines, or standard operating procedures.
  • Project Repositories: Keeping technical specifications, project requirements, and meeting notes together for an ongoing initiative.
  • Research & Strategy Libraries: Aggregating industry market reports, competitor analyses, and quarterly financial reviews.
  • Strict Compliance Queries: Using Simple Lookup response mode to force answers strictly from verified company documents.

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Decision Matrix: Which Should You Use?

To choose the right approach for your task, follow this decision matrix:
1

Will you need to reference this file in future chats or share it with team members?

  • Yes: Upload it to a Space Uploaded Files so it remains indexed and available to all Space members.
  • No: Proceed to step 2.
2

Is the file large (e.g. hundreds of pages across multiple documents)?

  • Yes: Use a Space Uploaded Files, which leverages vector indexing to search large document collections efficiently.
  • No: Proceed to step 3.
3

Do you need immediate feedback on a temporary file or single message draft?

  • Yes: Use Chat Attachments for quick, one-off analysis.

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Transitioning from Attachments to Uploaded Files

A common workflow is to start by attaching a file to a chat for initial testing. If you find yourself repeatedly attaching the same document or if colleagues ask for access to that information, convert it into permanent knowledge:
  1. Go to Spaces in the main navigation and select or create the relevant Space.
  2. Open Space Settings (requires Space Admin role or Uploaded Files Manager permission).
  3. Select the Knowledge tab and upload your verified document.
  4. From then on, any team member in that Space can ask questions about that document without re-attaching it.

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Next Steps