File limits reference

Reference for the file types a chat experience room accepts, the size and text limits on an attachment, and what each chip and side-panel note means.

A chat experience room accepts a short list of file formats and limits how much of a file it shares with the characters. This page lists the formats, the limits, and what the room does when a file passes one.

Accepted file types

Kind	Extensions	What reaches the characters
Documents	.pdf, .docx	The document's text; for a PDF whose pages carry almost no text, a description of those pages instead
Plain text	.txt, .md, .csv, .json	The file's own text
Pictures	.png, .jpg, .jpeg	A description of the picture, written in words

Whatever the kind, a file goes to the characters that turn is addressed to, and a character the message did not address is not given it. See Share files with the room for how to address everyone.

The room states the list itself, on a line under the message box: "Accepted: PDF, DOCX, TXT, MD, CSV, JSON, PNG, JPG · up to 25 MB each".

That line appears only after you have attached at least one file, so it is not on screen to read before you choose one. A file with a .jpeg extension is accepted alongside .jpg, although the line names JPG alone.

Anything not in the table is refused when you pick it, and nothing about it is sent.

Size and text limits

Limit	Value
Size of one file	25 MB
Text shared from one file	30,000 characters
Text shared across one message	60,000 characters
Pages described from a PDF carrying little text	4

The two character limits count what is shared, not what the file holds. A description written for a picture counts against them the same way a document's own text does.

What happens at each limit

What you did	What the room does
Picked a file whose format is not accepted	The file is not attached. A message reads "⟨name⟩ is not a supported file type."
Picked a file over 25 MB	The file is not attached. A message reads "⟨name⟩ is larger than 25 MB."
Attached a file holding more than 30,000 characters	The file is attached and sent. The text is cut at the limit, the rest is not shared, and truncated is added to the chip
Attached files that together pass 60,000 characters	The file that passed the limit is taken off the message. A message reads "⟨name⟩ would put this message over the 60,000-character limit for shared text. Send it on its own or remove another file."
Attached a PDF of more than four pages that carries little text	The first four pages are described. The characters are told which pages were not described
Attached a file the room could not read	The file is sent by name alone. The chip reads could not read after the size

Picking several files at once checks each one on its own. A file refused for its format or its size does not stop the rest from being attached.

What the chip's second line reports

Every file you attach carries a chip above where you type, and its second line opens with the file's size: bytes below 1 KB, whole kilobytes below 1 MB, and one decimal place above that. What follows the size depends on the file:

Second line	What it means
1.2 MB · reading…	The file is being read. The send control is waiting
1.1 MB · describing…	The file is being described. The send control is waiting
4 KB	A text file, read
12 KB · 240 rows	A CSV file, read. The count includes the header row
8 KB · 8 keys	A JSON file holding a set of fields, read
8 KB · 12 items	A JSON file holding a list, read
1.2 MB · document	A Word file, read
1.2 MB · 14 pages	A PDF, read for its own text
1.2 MB · 14 pages · 4 pages described	A PDF whose pages were described instead
1.1 MB · described	A picture, described
1.2 MB · could not read	A file shared by its name
1.1 MB · could not describe	A picture shared by its name
… · truncated	Added to any outcome that shared text, when that text was cut at 30,000 characters

The send control is unavailable while any chip still reads reading… or describing…, and returns when every chip has settled. A send control that stays unavailable when no chip is waiting is locked for another reason: see You cannot send a message.

What the side panel reports

The Shared in room section of the side panel lists the files you have sent in this conversation. A file waiting as a chip above the message box is not in it yet, and a file you take off the message never reaches it. Until you send the first file, one line stands in place of the list: "Files you attach show up here for every character."

Each file in the list carries at most one note:

Note beside the file	What the characters were given
No note	The file's own text
described	A description written in words
name only	The file name alone

Clear conversation, in the three-dots menu in the room's top bar, empties the list. See Room controls reference.

Related pages

Share a documentShare an imageShare files with the room