Combine datasets and read PDFs with the AI Agent
Ask the AI Agent to bring data together, or give it a PDF or workbook to turn into datasets. When it needs you to choose data, it shows a card instead of asking you to type names. Open it from Agent in the left navigation (see What the AI Agent can do).
Combine datasets with the agent
Ask, for example, "Put the rows of January and February into one dataset" or "Add Customers' columns to Orders, matched on a shared column". When "combine" isn't clear, the agent asks How should these go together?:
| Option | Example |
|---|---|
| Stack files that look the same | Twelve monthly exports, identical columns, one long table |
| Stack files that don't match | Two systems, different column names, one master table |
| Add columns from another table | Put customer names onto an orders table, matched on ID |
| Merge two columns into one | First name and last name become full name |
| Not sure — look at what I have and suggest | The agent looks at your data and suggests one |
If the datasets look like they should stay apart, the agent checks first: Combine them or Keep them separate. To stack datasets, the combine card offers two ways:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Move them into one dataset | The others become part of the kept one, and stop refreshing on their own. |
| Send into a dataset | The originals stay, and keep sending rows as they refresh. The target can be a New dataset, which fills on every refresh. |
Click Combine to run it. Without the agent, see Combine datasets and Join two datasets on a shared column.
Pick your data or bring in new data
| Card | What you do |
|---|---|
| Use something I have or Bring in new data | Say whether to work with data already in Mammoth or add new data |
| Pick from your data | Select datasets, views or folders (the title says which, for example Select Datasets). Use Browse all… to see everything, or Upload a file. Click Confirm. For a folder: "Anything new that lands there gets picked up." |
| Adding several sources | Add each upload or source to one card, then click That's all of them |
| Select columns to import | Tick the columns to bring in, or Select all, then click Apply |
Read PDFs and workbooks with the agent
Give the agent a workbook with several sheets, or a PDF through its upload card or the data picker, and it reads the file with the interpreter and says what it found. A PDF, Word or PowerPoint file attached in the message box is different: the agent reads it as a document for that chat and doesn't import it (Add data to a message).
For a PDF it says "Reading the document… a long one can take a few minutes." and then, for example, "Found 3 tables. The main one, Table 1, has 240 rows".
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save all 3 (or Save it for one table) | Saves each table as a dataset |
| Review first | Opens the interpreter to check the tables before saving. Suggested when headers look merged, a table may be split across pages, or labels run onto a second row |
| Not now | Leaves the file as it is. Nothing is made |
For a workbook whose sheets share the same columns, the card says how many sheets match. Combine into one table stacks them, with a Source column naming each row's sheet. Review in the interpreter opens them there.
Once saved, the reading becomes the dataset's recipe: "the next file you add to it is read the same way, and if one doesn't fit, Mammoth pauses it and asks." Watch a folder asks the agent to watch a folder for new files and add them the same way. See Extract tables from PDFs.
Related
- What the AI Agent can do: every skill and who can use it.
- Add files and data to a chat: attach files in the message box.
- Plans and runs: approve the changes the agent proposes.
Something wrong? support@mammoth.io