Easel works with your own material alongside Portrait's data. You can bring a file into a conversation, point the agent at it, and have the agent save new work back for you.
Upload and mention a file
- In Ask Easel, open + (Add content) beside the message box, then choose Add files.
- Select the file and wait for the upload to finish. Check that the intended file is attached to your message.
- Tell Easel what you want it to do with the file, then send the message.
If Add files is unavailable with the message Uploading Documents is Disabled for Your Account, uploads are turned off for your account. Type @ to use an item already in My Library, or ask your account team about uploads. You can also drag files onto the Ask Easel page, or paste a file into the message box.
For example, attach a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) and ask: "Summarize these slides and highlight the main conclusions."
If the file is already in My Library, type @ in the Easel message box and select it instead of uploading it again.
Files you add land in My Library for reuse in supported workflows. Screening and Mosaic do not treat library files as implicit context; attach or reference a file explicitly when the workflow supports it.
Have Easel save its work
Easel can save supported deliverables and notes to My Library, including a write-up, comparison table, or running notes.
Name the intended folder and whether you want a new item or an update to an existing file. For an update, explicitly reference the existing item and ask Easel to preserve its structure and save a new version. Easel is instructed to edit the original file and preserve its version chain, rather than reconstructing it from extracted text. Verify that the resulting version belongs to the intended item and retains the content or formatting you needed.
Extracted text is useful for analysis; the original is the uploaded source file. Ask for the original when exact wording, workbook formulas, or file structure matter. The CLI has a narrower reading contract: files read and ask --document require completed extracted LLM text. See the CLI reference.
Verify the file or output
Open My Library and locate the item. Check its title, content, and applicable company associations. For an update, confirm that it belongs to the intended item's Version history, then inspect or download that version. Restoring an earlier version creates a new current version and preserves history. Do not treat a successful chat response as confirmation that a file was saved.
For precise changes, open the file and choose Request changes where available. Select the passage or area, add your instruction, and send it through Ask Easel. The selection refers to that saved version; verify the resulting file separately. Workbook dropdowns and column widths can also be adjusted directly; see Excel adjustments and saving. Pending browser-local adjustments reach Easel only after the file snapshot is saved; background or scheduled work cannot read an unsaved local draft.
If Easel cannot read an attached file
Check that the upload finished and that the intended file is attached to the request. Easel can read supported original files without waiting for the separate text preparation used by other workflows. Scanned or image-only documents may need processing to finish before Easel can read their contents. If Easel reports a reading error, use that error to choose the next step; do not assume every uploaded file needs an extra wait.
Easel cannot reliably read legacy PowerPoint files (.ppt). Open the file in PowerPoint, save a copy as .pptx, and attach that copy; keep the original if you need it.
Deep Research and the CLI have different requirements for reading files. Check their processing requirements when using those workflows; they are not an extra step for every Easel upload.
If an item is missing
- Confirm that the upload or save action completed in the conversation.
- Search My Library by name and check the relevant tab.
- Reattach or reference the item explicitly if Easel did not include it in the request context.
- Use Troubleshoot access and missing options if My Library itself is absent.
Up next
Create a reusable procedure and verify it on a sample request.
Memory and scheduled-task files
Saved analyst memory appears in the Memory tab, with Profile and company notes. Scheduled Research has a protected task area and separate continuity. These are different from ordinary conversation history. Scheduled runs read analyst memory and can save limited changes to it, dated and tagged (scheduled).