# Uploading documents

> Upload project files or folders, follow their processing status, and choose whether detected drawing sheets and specification sections publish automatically.

Source: https://docs.specset.com/docs/documents · Section: Documents · Last updated: 2026-10-08

1. Open **Documents** in the project sidebar and click **Upload**.
2. Choose files or folders and review the upload options.
3. Set **Auto-publish** to choose whether detected drawing sheets and specification sections should publish automatically.
4. Click **Process N Documents** to submit the selected files. The button shows the number of documents.
5. Follow each document's processing status in the list. Larger files and drawing sets take longer to process.

With **Auto-publish** on, detected sheets and sections go into the latest corresponding plan or spec set, or a new **Default** set if none exists. With it off, review and publish the detected files from **Drawings → Plan Sets** or **Specifications → Spec Sets**.

![Documents list with uploaded specification and drawing files and their processing status](https://docs.specset.com/images/docs/documents/docs-documents-tab.png)

## What happens during processing

Specset reads and classifies the uploaded content, identifies drawing sheets and specification sections, and makes the extracted material available for search and review. A combined drawing package becomes individual sheets with sheet numbers and titles; a specification book becomes sections you can browse by division and section number. The original uploaded document remains available alongside those records.

With **Auto-publish** off, check the detected files and their processing status before publishing. If a document contains several kinds of content, review where each part belongs instead of assuming the whole upload is one drawing or specification file.

After processing, use [Specifications & spec sets](https://docs.specset.com/docs/source-of-truth) and [Drawings & plan sets](https://docs.specset.com/docs/plan-sets) to review the published content and its priority.

## Organize and share source files

Use folders to group documents by package or purpose, such as Issued Drawings, Addenda, or Reference Material. Create a folder from the folders area, then drag documents into it or select them and choose **Move**. Use a document's menu to edit its details or download the original file.

Select the documents or folders you need to download them together as a ZIP. This shares the source files. To share reviewed sheets with issue captions, use the [issue drawing PDF export](https://docs.specset.com/docs/issues#export-marked-drawings) instead.

Moving or renaming a source document helps organize the library; it does not change which drawing revision or specification takes precedence. Manage that in Plan Sets or Spec Sets.

## Check a missing or outdated result

| What you see | What to check |
| --- | --- |
| An upload is still processing | Check its status in Documents. A large package may take longer than a single file. |
| The file is in Documents but its sheets or sections are missing | Check processing, then look under **Pending** in Plan Sets or Spec Sets. Detected content may still need publishing. |
| The current sheet or section comes from an older package | Check the published sets, file precedence, and area assignment before reprocessing the source. |
| A changed set order shows **Reprocess Required** | Reprocess from the corresponding sets page to apply that order. |
| Search results do not reflect the source content | Check that the source finished processing and that the expected sheets or sections are published. See [Search & references](https://docs.specset.com/docs/search-and-references). |

## Reprocess a document

If a document needs processing again, open its menu and choose **Reprocess**. The options control different parts of the work:

- **Force reprocess outline** rebuilds the document's extracted structure.
- **Force reprocess content** extracts the page content again.
- **Force reindex content** refreshes the search index.
- **Create spec and drawing files** creates detected specification and drawing files for import; it does not update files you have already imported.

Choose the options that match the problem. Reprocessing a source document is different from publishing a pending file or applying a new set order. Start with those checks when the content exists but the wrong revision is showing.