DeepSeek / Practical PDF guide
How to read PDFs in DeepSeek Chat
To read a PDF in DeepSeek, open the official web chat, attach the file with the paperclip button and ask a specific question. Request page numbers so you can check the answer against the original. For tables, ask it to copy the rows before calculating a total.
Follow the steps below, then try the downloadable examples or adapt the prompts to your own document. Our three small PDF tests cover fact extraction, clean page images and a simple order calculation; they do not establish accuracy for long reports or difficult scans.
By China AI Chat Team · Tested September 22, 2026 (UTC) · Guide edited September 27, 2026 · How we research and test
Upload a PDF and ask a source-based question
This is the official consumer web assistant, not an API integration or a third-party PDF service. We used an existing signed-in account and needed no API key. ChinaAI is an independent guide; your file and question go to DeepSeek when you use its chat.
- Start a new chat. Open chat.deepseek.com and select the new-chat icon. A separate conversation helps keep another document out of the task.
- Choose the paperclip beside the message box. Select your PDF. In our session, the attachment first showed Uploading…, then its filename and PDF size. Wait for that transition and confirm the filename before sending.
- Ask for specific information. Name the fields or sections you need, request page numbers, and tell the assistant what to do when information is missing. An attached filename alone is not proof that the contents were read correctly.
- Open the original beside the answer. Check facts and page locations separately. For calculations, check the copied rows and inclusion rules before checking the arithmetic.
For a question about the document alone, ask DeepSeek to use only the attached file and to mark missing information as “Not stated”. Check any answer that introduces a fact you cannot find in the PDF.
A prompt you can reproduce
We sent this exact prompt with both versions of the fictional event brief:
Use only the attached PDF. Return a table with Field, Answer, and PDF page for: event date, session start/end, venue, capacity, ticket price, refund deadline, access instruction, contact telephone. If a fact is absent, write "Not stated" and use "-" for its page. Then add one sentence describing what visitors should bring. Do not browse the web or infer missing details.Try it with the two-page text PDF or the same brief as an image-only PDF. For your own file, change the field list to match your question.
If you want a summary instead
Specify the summary’s purpose and the details that must survive. This is an adaptable template, not one of our tested prompts:
Use only the attached PDF. Summarize its main points in five bullets for [audience/purpose]. Preserve important dates, amounts, conditions and uncertainties. Add the PDF page for each point. If you cannot read a section or locate a source, say so; do not fill the gap from the web.Before using the summary, check its dates, amounts and conditions against the cited pages. A readable summary can still omit an exception or change a deadline.
Before sharing a document
Use material you are authorised to upload. DeepSeek’s privacy policy includes uploaded files among user inputs, describes use of personal data to train and improve its technology, and states that personal data is processed and stored in China. Review the policy and your organisation’s rules before uploading sensitive material. Our sample files are fictional. If you are deciding whether to submit a real document, use our DeepSeek safety and privacy guide to check the service, data controls and approval route first.
What happened in our three PDF tests
All three first answers met the checks set before testing. Each file received one request in a fresh conversation, with Search and DeepThink off; we kept the first answer without corrections or regeneration. These settings describe this trial, not requirements for uploading a PDF.
| Sample PDF | Facts or calculation | Page references and format |
|---|---|---|
| Two-page selectable-text brief | All nine factual checks passed, including identifying the absent telephone number as “Not stated”. | All seven requested page references were correct. Returned the requested table and bring-water sentence. |
| Same two pages as clean images | All nine factual checks passed; no telephone number was invented. | All seven requested page references were correct, with the requested table and final sentence. |
| One-page supply-order table | All four rows were copied correctly. The cancelled row was excluded and the final amount was GBP 65.00. | Returned the requested rows, included line totals and exclusion explanation. Page references were not requested for this task. |
The nine brief checks covered the date, start/end time, venue, capacity, ticket price, refund deadline, access instruction, absent telephone and bring-water instruction. Seven fields had a source-page requirement; the absent telephone used “-”, and the final sentence did not require a page number.
We reused the same three fictional sample PDFs from our earlier Qwen PDF guide and collected new first answers in DeepSeek. Different test dates and app settings mean this is not a matched comparison between the apps.
What the image-only result establishes
The image-only brief contained pictures of the two original pages with no selectable text. DeepSeek still returned the requested information and correct page references in this attempt. It placed the refund deadline and South Entrance instruction on page 2, matching the source.
This trial used clean page images; it did not cover handwriting, blurred photos or skewed scans. The result also does not identify which OCR or document-processing system DeepSeek used. For a separate test of the named downloadable checkpoint, see our DeepSeek-OCR 2 image-to-Markdown guide.
Check the answer in two passes
First check the information, then its location
For the event brief, the first page contains the event date and ticket price; the second contains access, water and refund instructions. Both DeepSeek answers correctly reported 7 October 2026 as the refund deadline and assigned it to page 2. The source accepts requests through that date. A rewrite saying “before 7 October” would change the deadline even if its page number were correct.
The returned page numbers were ordinary table values, not native clickable PDF citations in these answers. They matched both the PDF page positions and the printed page labels in our samples. For a report with a cover or Roman-numbered introduction, specify whether you mean the file’s page position or its printed page label, then verify it yourself.
For tables, separate transcription from calculation
Our fictional supply order contains three confirmed items and one cancelled item. The prompt required all four rows to be reproduced before calculating the amount due, so an omitted or misread row would remain visible.
| Step | Source-based check |
|---|---|
| Pencil sets | 8 × GBP 3.25 = GBP 26.00 |
| Notebooks | 12 × GBP 2.40 = GBP 28.80 |
| Folders | 5 × GBP 1.80 = GBP 9.00 |
| Excluded row | Posters: 10 × GBP 5.00; status Cancelled, so its GBP 50.00 does not enter the subtotal. |
| Amount due | GBP 63.80 confirmed subtotal + GBP 4.50 delivery − GBP 3.30 discount = GBP 65.00. |
DeepSeek reproduced the four rows, applied the cancellation rule, showed the three included line totals and reached GBP 65.00. It added no tax or other charges. That checks this simple order; multi-page tables, merged cells and complex accounting rules were outside the test.
Read or copy the exact table-test prompt
Use only the attached PDF. First reproduce all four item rows with Item, Quantity, Unit price (GBP), and Status. Then calculate the amount due: show each included line total, the confirmed-items subtotal, delivery, discount, and final GBP total. Identify any excluded row and explain why it is excluded. Do not add taxes or other charges, and do not browse the web.If a PDF will not upload or the answer looks wrong
If an attachment fails, start with the file-upload checks in our troubleshooting guide to distinguish a service problem from a file-specific error.
Use the symptom below to choose your next check. All three uploads in our trial succeeded, so the upload checks are diagnostic guidance rather than fixes verified in that trial.
| What you see | What to check next |
|---|---|
| The attachment still says Uploading… | Wait for the attachment state to change. If the app displays an error or limit, use that specific message. Before trying again, check whether the first attachment is already present. |
| A file-size, page or allowance error | Read the error message and follow the limit shown in your account. This trial did not establish the chat service’s maximum file size or upload allowance; API storage limits describe a different service. |
| The answer says information is missing | Open the original and locate the requested detail. Check whether text can be selected and copied. A filename in the conversation does not establish successful reading of every page. |
| The facts look right but a page does not match | Check file-page positions versus printed labels. Visit the claimed page rather than treating a generated number as verified evidence. |
| A total is wrong | Check quantities, unit prices, status and exclusions first. Then calculate the subtotal, charges and discounts independently. Do not accept a plausible final amount with incorrect source rows. |
Does this also prove PDF support in the DeepSeek API?
No. The consumer chat and developer API are different workflows. The current official create-file documentation describes image uploads and lists JPEG, PNG, GIF and WebP. It does not list PDF. Do not treat our consumer upload test as a working PDF API example. Developers should start with our DeepSeek API guide and check the endpoint’s current supported inputs.
Download the files and inspect the full answers
Download the original samples: text brief (2 pages), image-only brief (2 pages), and supply-order table (1 page). They were created on September 21, 2026; the new DeepSeek tests took place on September 22 (UTC).
Text PDF: complete first answer
| Field | Answer | PDF page |
|---|---|---|
| Event date | 14 October 2026 | 1 |
| Session start/end | 18:30–20:00 | 1 |
| Venue | Maple Room, Westbridge Library | 1 |
| Capacity | 36 people | 1 |
| Ticket price | GBP 7.50 | 1 |
| Refund deadline | 7 October 2026 | 2 |
| Access instruction | Visitors needing step-free access should use the South Entrance (main entrance ramp is under repair) | 2 |
| Contact telephone | Not stated | - |
Visitors should bring water, as no drinking water is provided.Order PDF: complete first answer
# Cedar Supplies Order — CED-042
## All four item rows
| Item | Quantity | Unit price (GBP) | Status |
|---|---:|---:|---|
| Pencil sets | 8 | 3.25 | Confirmed |
| Notebooks | 12 | 2.40 | Confirmed |
| Folders | 5 | 1.80 | Confirmed |
| Posters | 10 | 5.00 | Cancelled |
## Amount due calculation
Only **Confirmed** rows are included in the amount due.
| Included item | Calculation | Line total (GBP) |
|---|---|---:|
| Pencil sets | 8 × 3.25 | 26.00 |
| Notebooks | 12 × 2.40 | 28.80 |
| Folders | 5 × 1.80 | 9.00 |
**Confirmed-items subtotal:**
26.00 + 28.80 + 9.00 = **GBP 63.80**
**Add delivery charge:** GBP 4.50
**Subtract order discount:** GBP 3.30
**Final total:**
63.80 + 4.50 − 3.30 = **GBP 65.00**
## Excluded row
- **Posters** — Quantity 10, Unit price GBP 5.00, Status **Cancelled**.
It is excluded because the order instructions state: “Include only Confirmed rows in the amount due.”
No tax or other charges are applied.Image-only PDF: complete first answer
| Field | Answer | PDF page |
|---|---|---|
| Event date | 14 October 2026 | 1 |
| Session start/end | 18:30–20:00 | 1 |
| Venue | Maple Room, Westbridge Library | 1 |
| Capacity | 36 people | 1 |
| Ticket price | GBP 7.50 | 1 |
| Refund deadline | 7 October 2026 | 2 |
| Access instruction | Visitors needing step-free access should use the South Entrance. | 2 |
| Contact telephone | Not stated | - |
Visitors should bring water.Download the DeepSeek PDF test records (.zip) for the original PDFs, exact prompts, first answers, predeclared checks, settings, file hashes and evaluations. The answers above preserve the text supplied by DeepSeek’s Copy control, including its Markdown formatting.
Test conditions and limits
- Session: September 22, 2026 (UTC), in the official DeepSeek web chat using an existing signed-in account. Search and DeepThink were off. The interface did not identify the serving-model version or account plan.
- Method: One first answer per file, using prompts and checks fixed before testing. No corrections, regeneration or API requests. Response speed and repeated-run reliability were not measured.
- Samples: A two-page text brief (3,148 bytes), the same two pages as clean 150 DPI images (147,765 bytes), and a one-page order table (2,563 bytes). These are sample sizes, not upload limits.
- Coverage: Targeted fact extraction, page references and a simple table calculation. General summary quality, long or encrypted documents, multiple simultaneous files and the mobile app were outside this trial.
Evidence checks and article editing were AI-assisted. See our research and review policy for how we distinguish testing from editorial review.
The linked official chat is the primary source for the observed controls; the downloadable records support the results. We will revisit this guide if the upload workflow, documented limits or reproducible findings change. Send a correction with the affected passage and supporting evidence.
For the wider product, continue to our DeepSeek AI overview. To distinguish consumer tools from named releases and downloadable weights, see the DeepSeek models guide.