Skip to main content

Ask Vista document generation

Mike
Plan ✓ Professional    ✓ Advanced    ✓ Scale    ✓ Enterprise

Ask Vista can turn any answer into a document you can download or share as a link: a PDF, web page, Word file, Excel workbook, PowerPoint deck, Markdown file, or CSV.

 

How to create documents from Ask Vista

Available formats

Format Best for What you get
PDF Client and executive reports Paginated document with headings, KPI cards, charts, and tables in your brand color. Long tables continue across pages with the header row repeated.
Web page (HTML) Sharing a link instead of a file A page you can publish as a shared link. See "Share a document as a link" below.
Word Documents others will edit Editable .docx with headings, lists, tables, and charts. Opens in Word or Google Docs.
Excel Data you want to sort, filter, or sum Each table on its own sheet, with real number, percentage, currency, and date values and a frozen header row. Text, KPIs, and charts go on a Summary sheet at the front.
PowerPoint Meetings and QBRs 16:9 deck with a title slide and a slide per section. Charts are editable PowerPoint charts, and most slides include speaker notes.
Markdown Other AI tools, Notion, GitHub Plain-text .md with headings and tables. Charts become tables of their numbers.
CSV Spreadsheets, BI tools, data imports One table becomes a .csv. Two or more tables become a .zip with one CSV per table, named after the heading above each table.

 

How to create a document

  1. Ask Vista a question that produces an answer, such as "Show published posts by network for the last 30 days with a chart."
  2. Ask for the format you want. For example:
    • "Turn this into a PDF."
    • "Give me this as a Word doc."
    • "Export that table to Excel."
    • "Turn this into slides for my client meeting."
    • "Give me this as Markdown."
    • "Export that table to CSV."
    • "Share this as a web page."
  3. A document card appears in the chat with the title and the number of pages or slides.
  4. Click Download to save the file, or Preview to view it first.

You can also ask for a document in a single message, for example: "Build a monthly performance report for the Acme profile group as a PDF."

Document card in an Ask Vista chat with Preview and Download

 

Preview a document and download other formats

  1. On the document card, click Preview. The document opens in a panel next to the chat.
  2. Click the arrow next to Download to open Download options.
  3. Pick a format. The button shows a message like Preparing Excel file while the file is made, then the download starts.

Markdown, HTML, PDF, Word, and PowerPoint are always listed. Excel and CSV are listed only when the document contains a table.

Document preview with the Download menu listing CSV, Excel, HTML, Markdown, PDF, PowerPoint and Word

 

Change a document

Ask for changes in the chat. Ask Vista creates a new version and keeps everything else the same.

  • Style: "Make the headings blue," "Use a serif font."
  • Content: "Add a section on Instagram," "Remove the TikTok table."
  • Format: "Now give me that as a PowerPoint."

If the document is shared as a link, the link shows the new version automatically.

 

Share a document as a link

  1. Open the document's Preview.
  2. Click Share at the top of the panel.
  3. Under Who can open it, choose Anyone with the link or Only with a password. Passwords need at least 6 characters. Send the password separately from the link.
  4. Under Link stops working after, choose 7, 30, or 90 days.
  5. Click Create link, then Copy link.

People open the link in any browser without a Vista Social login. White-label accounts get links on their own domain.

Shared link panel with Copy link, who can open it, expiry options, Remove and Extend

 

Manage shared links

  1. In Ask Vista, open settings and select Shared links.
  2. Each link shows who can open it, its view count, and when it expires.
  3. Use Copy link, Extend, or Remove.

Remove turns the link off permanently. If you share the document again, it gets a new address.

Shared links panel in Ask Vista with Copy link and the Extend and Remove menu

 

How to pick the right format

  • Sending a report to a client? Use a PDF, or a shared link if you want to keep updating it after you send it.
  • Handing data to finance or an analyst? Use Excel. The values are real numbers, not images.
  • Presenting in a meeting? Use PowerPoint. You can edit the charts and read the speaker notes.
  • Someone needs to edit or review the text? Use Word.
  • Feeding the result into another AI tool, Notion, or a wiki? Use Markdown. It keeps the structure and tables in a form other tools read well.
  • Loading data into Google Sheets or a BI tool? Use CSV.

 

Limitations

  • Documents are created in Ask Vista chat. In Slack and Teams, Ask Vista replies with a download link, but Preview and Share are not available there yet.
  • A CSV contains only the tables. The text, KPIs, and charts are left out.
  • In Excel, charts are images. In PowerPoint, charts are editable.
  • Word and PowerPoint use Arial (or Times New Roman for serif documents) instead of your brand font, so they are easy to edit.
  • Markdown has no colors or fonts, so style changes do not affect it.
  • An image Ask Vista cannot download is left out of the document, and Ask Vista tells you which one.
  • Each workspace can create up to 50 new shared links per day.
  • Very long documents may be too large to create. If that happens, ask for a shorter document or fewer table rows.

 

Troubleshooting

Message What to do
Excel or CSV is missing from Download options The document has no table. Ask Vista to add the data as a table, then download again.
Couldn't make that file. Try again in a moment. Try the download again. If it keeps failing, contact support with the document title.

 

Need help?

Reach out to our support team, and we are happy to help.

 

Related Reading:

Sign up now and try Vista Social for 14 days, free!

Related articles