Click ➕ Add Step and choose the Convert File to Text action. Specify the URL for the source file. Finish the automation or add more steps for further processing. 💡 You can reference the URL from previous actions/triggers by typing the @ symbol in the file URL field.

Convert File to Text

Updated 2026-04-07·3 min read

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Overview

Convert File to Text allows you to transform various file formats into plain text as part of your automation workflow. This is useful whenever you need to read, analyze, or process the contents of a document without opening it manually. The extracted text can then be passed to subsequent actions such as Categorize with AI or the Agent action for further processing.

Supported file types include PDF, CSV, TXT, and MD (Markdown). Convert File to Text is the bridge between unstructured files and AI — chain it with Ask Agent for summarization, Categorize with AI for classification, or Add Knowledge to Agent to permanently teach an agent.

How to Use It

Click ➕ Add Step and choose the Convert File to Text action.
Specify the URL for the source file.
Finish the automation or add more steps for further processing.

💡 You can reference the URL from previous actions/triggers by typing the @ symbol in the file URL field.

Convert File to Text (Settings)

Connector options give you full control over the Convert File to Text automation:

🏷️ Field	🔤 Description
URL	Enter the URL of a PDF, CSV, TXT, or MD file to extract the content of the file.

Convert File to Text Use Cases

Not sure how to use the Convert File to Text action? Here are a few ideas:

🪄 Use Case	🔤 Description
Document analysis	Extract text from scanned documents or PDFs for analysis or data extraction.
Content aggregation	Convert multiple file types into text for compiling reports or summaries.
Email parsing	Extract text from email attachments to process or store information.
Legal document review	Convert legal documents into text for easier review, search, and indexing.
Data entry automation	Automatically convert files into text for input into databases or spreadsheets.

Tips

Chain with AI — After converting a file to text, pass the output to the Agent action to summarize, translate, or extract key data points.
Batch processing — Use an Interval trigger to periodically convert and process files from a shared folder or URL.
Dynamic URLs — Insert the file URL from a previous step using the @ reference so your automation can handle different files each time it runs.