Ask Vista document generation

Ask Vista can read files you attach to a chat and turn any answer into a document you can download or share. This article covers both directions:

• Import: attach a spreadsheet, export, or text file and ask questions about it, or have Ask Vista act on it.
• Export: turn an answer into a PDF, web page, Word file, Excel workbook, PowerPoint deck, Markdown file, or CSV.

Part 1: Attach files to Ask Vista

Supported files

Limits

• Up to 10 MB per file.
• Up to 50,000 rows and 200 columns per sheet. Rows past the limit are not read, and Ask Vista tells you the file was cut off.
• Up to 10 attachments per message.

How to attach a file

1. Open Ask Vista, either the full Ask Vista page, the Ask Vista drawer, or the Ask Vista card on your dashboard.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Drag the file from your computer onto the chat box. You will see Drag files here to add to chat.
   • Click Add attachment in the chat box and choose Upload from computer.
   • For a PDF, Word, or PowerPoint file, click Add attachment and choose Choose from library.
3. Wait for the file to finish uploading. It shows above the chat box.
4. Type your request and send it. You can also send the file on its own, and Ask Vista will describe what is in it.

What you can ask

You do not need to map columns or pick an import type. Ask Vista works out what the file contains and uses the same tools it uses for your Vista Social data. Examples:

• "What's in this file?"
• "Which 10 posts in this export had the most engagement?"
• "Total impressions by network for last quarter."
• "Compare these numbers from our old tool with the last 90 days in Vista Social."
• "Schedule the posts in this spreadsheet for the Acme profile group."
• "Draft a week of LinkedIn posts from this campaign brief."

Good to know

• Totals are calculated, not estimated. Sums, averages, counts, and groupings over your file are calculated by Vista Social, so they stay accurate on large files.
• The file stays in the conversation. You can keep asking follow-up questions about it for the rest of the chat.
• Files are private to your workspace. Attached data files are not added to your media library. Click a file in the chat to download the original.
• Headers and formats are detected for you. Ask Vista detects the header row, the delimiter (comma, tab, semicolon, or pipe), and values like $1,200, 12%, and dates. Long ID numbers stay as text so post IDs are not changed.

Part 2: Create documents from Ask Vista

Available formats

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."

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.

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.

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.

Tips: 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