> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://elephas.app/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ask About Specific Documents Only

> Narrow an Elephas question to the documents you pick instead of a whole Brain, so the answer comes only from those files. Start from a file or from the Ask box.

You can point a question at one file, or a handful of files, instead of a whole Brain. Elephas then searches and cites only the documents you picked. Use **Ask This Document** on a file, or pick files from **Choose Brains & files** in the Ask box.

## Before you start

* The documents must be in a Brain and finished getting ready. A file that is still being prepared shows **(not ready)** and can't be picked yet.
* Works the same on every plan and with every AI option.

## Steps

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="From a file">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Open the Brain">
        Click **Brains** in the sidebar, or press ⌘3 on Mac or Ctrl+3 on Windows, and open the Brain that holds the file.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose Ask This Document">
        Click the **⋯** button on the file's row, or right-click the row, and choose **Ask This Document**.

        Elephas opens a new chat in Ask with only that document chosen. Its name appears as the only chip in the question box.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Ask your question">
        Type your question and press Return (Enter on Windows).
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="From the Ask box">
    <Steps>
      <Step title="Choose the Brain first">
        In Ask, click **Choose Brains & files** and tick the Brain that holds the files. Its documents are listed in the same menu, under **All sources in the selected Brains**.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Pick the documents">
        Click each document you want. A tick marks the ones you picked. As soon as you pick one, the chips in the question box change from Brain names to document names.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Ask your question">
        Type your question and press Return (Enter on Windows).
      </Step>
    </Steps>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

The steps are the same on Mac and Windows.

### Go back to the whole Brain

* Click the **×** on a document chip to remove it. When you remove the last document, the question goes back to covering every ready document in the chosen Brains.
* Or open **Choose Brains & files** and choose **All sources in the selected Brains**.

## How it works

* **Documents narrow Brains, they don't replace them.** You pick documents from Brains you have chosen. If you untick a Brain, the documents you picked from it are dropped too.
* **No documents picked means all of them.** With no documents picked, Ask uses every ready document in the chosen Brains. It never means "none".
* **The answer can't reach outside your pick.** Elephas searches, reads and cites only the documents you picked. The Sources panel and the coverage line count only those documents. See [Check every answer with citations](/docs/ask/citations-and-sources).
* **Each chat remembers its own choice.** The Brains and documents you pick are saved with the chat. A change you make while an answer is being prepared applies to your next question.
* **Very large Brains.** One question can search a large but limited number of documents. If a Brain holds more, Ask tells you how many it holds and how many can be searched at once, and asks you to pick specific documents.

## Troubleshooting

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="I can't pick a document">
    It shows **(not ready)** because Elephas is still reading it, or because it couldn't be read. Wait for it to finish, or check the file in its Brain. See [File import errors](/docs/troubleshooting/file-import-errors).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The document I want isn't in the menu">
    The menu lists documents from the Brains you have ticked. Tick the Brain that holds the file first. To add a file that isn't in Elephas yet, see [Add files and folders](/docs/brains-and-documents/add-files-and-folders).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Ask says the scope holds too many documents">
    Pick the documents you need from **Choose Brains & files**, or ask across fewer Brains. See [Performance and large libraries](/docs/brains-and-documents/performance-and-large-libraries).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Ask questions about your documents" href="/docs/ask/ask-questions-about-your-documents" />

  <Card title="Tips for better answers" href="/docs/ask/tips-for-better-answers" />

  <Card title="Create and manage Brains" href="/docs/brains-and-documents/create-and-manage-brains" />

  <Card title="Check every answer with citations" href="/docs/ask/citations-and-sources" />
</CardGroup>


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