Understand validation, extraction, and context readiness

A source passes three gates before it can shape a recommendation: validation (is the file what it claims to be), extraction (can text be read from it), and analysis (what it says about offers, proof, audience, and positioning). Until a source reaches "Context ready", you cannot count on the plan, the advisor, or Create using its content; the advisor may only know the source exists. Plan around a source that stalled at extraction and you are planning around a document the system never read.

After every add, before you rely on a new source in a decision, and whenever an answer seems to ignore a document you know you added.

• At least one source in Research (see Add files, web pages, and pasted text).
• Owner or Manager access if you need to retry, reprocess, or replace a source.

1. 1Open Research and find the source under "All sources". Each row carries two badges: the file status and, once accepted, the context status.
2. 2Read the file status: "Waiting for upload" (a slot was created but the file has not arrived), "Validating" (type, size, and contents are being checked), "Ready" (accepted into the library), or "Failed" with the reason printed below.
3. 3Read the context status: "Context processing" while text is extracted and analyzed, then "Context ready", or "Context limited" when little or no readable text was found. The left rail counts sources still becoming context.
4. 4Read the line under the badges. It says whether text extraction is complete, queued, or found no readable text, and why (for example, a scanned PDF too long for automatic OCR).
5. 5For "Failed", fix the cause and click "Retry", or add a corrected file. Common causes: contents that do not match the extension, an empty file, or an unsupported type or archive.
6. 6For a file or web page showing "Context limited", click "Reprocess" once. If it stays limited, the file has no usable text: paste the text instead, export a text-based PDF, or split a long scanned document.
7. 7Wait for "Context ready" before judging whether a source improved the advice.

• "Ready" plus "Context ready" on the sources you rely on.
• "Context processing" on recent additions. A web page that stays in validation for several minutes offers "Retry".
• "Failed" and "Context limited" stay visible with a reason; they do not quietly disappear.