Resources and media

Skillsail handles two related kinds of content: resources, which are source files you upload, and media, which are images, video, and voiceover that appear on slides.

Attach a file when you start

On the Skillsail homepage, click Upload source files next to the prompt. You can attach one PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), PowerPoint (.pptx), JPEG, or PNG file, up to 20 MB. Video is not available on the homepage. After you sign in, Skillsail uses that file in your first chat.

In an open module chat, click Attach files. You can attach up to 25 files at a time. Chat attachments can include the same images and documents as workspace resources, plus video up to 100 MB.

A connected AI assistant or messaging app may have a lower limit of its own. If a file is within Skillsail's limit but cannot be sent from that app, upload it in the Skillsail web chat instead.

Resources

A resource is a file you upload to your workspace so Skillsail can use it as source material or place it in a module. Supported uploads are:

• Images: JPG or JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) and PNG (.png), up to 30 MB
• Documents, up to 30 MB:
  • PDF (.pdf)
  • Word (.docx)
  • Excel (.xlsx)
  • PowerPoint (.pptx)
• Videos: MP4 (.mp4), MOV (.mov), and WebM (.webm), up to 100 MB

An AI assistant or browser may have a lower attachment limit of its own. If a file is within Skillsail's limit but cannot be sent by your current client, upload it through the Skillsail web app or use another supported upload option.

When you upload a document, Skillsail extracts usable text so you can ask it to build a module from that material. For example, you can upload a policy PDF and ask Skillsail to turn it into a short training with a quiz.

Verified resources remain in your workspace until you delete them. When you request the original file, Skillsail creates a private download link that expires after two hours.

Learner downloads inside a module

PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX resources can also become managed learner downloads. Ask the assistant to add an attachment download activity, then attach the uploaded resource. Skillsail copies the document into the module and includes it in HTML5, SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI, and cmi5 exports, so the learner does not depend on a temporary workspace link. An attachment can instead use an external HTTPS address when the file should remain hosted elsewhere; that version requires network access.

You can also ask the assistant to remove a managed activity image, question image, or learner download. Skillsail clears the bounded media slot in every current language version and completes any unreferenced-file cleanup automatically. Removing managed media never changes a deliberately external HTTPS download.

Turn a PowerPoint into a module

Upload a PowerPoint .pptx file in a Skillsail chat and describe the course you want. You can ask the assistant to use the whole deck, a slide range, or specific slide numbers. Large presentations are inspected and imported in safe batches; there is no five-slide workflow limit.

By default, Skillsail treats the presentation as source material. It keeps important facts, numbers, quotations, and compliance terms while adapting dense presentation copy into concise, learner-focused slides. If exact wording matters, ask for a close transcription instead. Tell the assistant whether speaker notes should influence the course, and specify the audience, learning goal, desired length, and quiz requirements.

For .pptx files, Skillsail can inspect slide text and speaker notes and examine directly embedded raster images. When a suitable image is available, it can reuse the primary image on the imported course slide without stretching or cropping it. Interrupted imports can be retried safely without duplicating the same course slides or repeating the same visual-analysis charge.

This is a course-authoring workflow, not a pixel-perfect PowerPoint conversion. Skillsail does not reproduce the composed slide, animations, charts, SmartArt, vector artwork, master slides, or backgrounds. Selective slide import and embedded-image reuse require the supported .pptx format.

After the import, review the course in Skillsail. You can ask the assistant to add quiz questions or activities, edit the imported slides, translate the module, add narration, and export it for your LMS.

Upload checks and cleanup

Skillsail checks an upload before it can be used. The file must be present, stay within the size limit, match its declared file type, and, for supported Office documents, be readable. Empty, damaged, mismatched, or oversized files are rejected and removed.

Uploads that are started but never completed or confirmed are cleaned up automatically after they remain incomplete. You do not need to remove abandoned upload attempts yourself.

When you delete a resource, it disappears from your workspace immediately. Skillsail completes any remaining cleanup automatically, even if that takes a little longer.

Media on slides

A slide can contain several kinds of media:

• Images generated by Skillsail from prompts or uploaded by you
• A short video clip generated by Skillsail from a prompt or uploaded by you
• A voiceover generated from the slide's text or from a custom script you provide

You can combine media types. A slide can contain images and a voiceover, for example.

Image generation

Describe the image you want and Skillsail creates it for the slide. You can generate a new image or ask Skillsail to edit an existing one, such as changing the framing, contrast, or an element in the scene.

A slide can combine up to four ordered images in a responsive stacked, split-left, split-right, or gallery layout. Use several images when each one adds a distinct example, step, alternative, or recap item that learners benefit from seeing together; a single image or text-led slide is usually clearer otherwise.

Learners can select any slide image with a pointer or keyboard to open a larger view. This happens automatically for slide images and does not require a separate activity or lightbox setting.

Video generation

Describe a short, focused clip. Skillsail generates the video and adds it to the slide. For longer videos, uploading a prepared video file is usually more suitable.

You can add ordered, time-coded captions and a complete transcript to an uploaded or generated slide video. Caption text and the transcript follow the module's language variants. Learners can show or hide captions from the shared media controls and open the transcript in both full-screen and content video layouts. Both remain available in preview and packaged exports.

When replacing a slide video—whether with an upload or a newly generated clip—existing captions and transcript copy are preserved by default for compatibility. Ask the assistant to clear them when the replacement shows different material, so old accessibility text is not presented with the new video.

Voiceover

You can add narration to a slide. By default, the script is based on the slide's text. You can provide a custom script when the spoken narration should differ from the visible text. Where supported, the voiceover follows the learner's selected language.

If the module already contains a slide with voiceover, Skillsail automatically creates per-language narration and audio for each newly added slide after all of its translations finish. Translation or audio failures are reported so the source slide is not mistaken for a failed creation and source-language speech is not attached to another language.

Editing a slide's text does not re-record its narration. Skillsail records which version of the slide text each recording was made from, so when you later change that text it reports which languages have narration that predates the change. This tells you the text moved on, not that the narration became wrong: a typo or wording fix often leaves it perfectly usable, and you decide whether to re-record. Audio is never replaced or removed automatically, because regenerating narration re-records every configured language and consumes usage credits. Ask for a new voiceover on that slide when you want one. Images and video are not affected, since neither is generated from the slide's text.

Good practices

• For images, include the subject, context, mood, and layout needs in your prompt.
• For video, focus each clip on one clear idea.
• For voiceover, write for listening and use a custom script when the on-screen text is too brief.
• For documents, explain the desired result, such as the number of slides, audience, and quiz length.

Privacy

Resources and generated media are private to your workspace unless they become part of a module that you deliberately publish or share as a template. Download links are temporary; create a new one when an earlier link has expired.

Related

• Modules and components
• Sharing and templates