Sort hundreds of PDFs into folders by what they say
Idea + starter prompt, not run by us yet
For: Office staff with a pile of PDFs that need filing by content
A user placed about 400 PDFs in one local folder, picked it in Cowork and gave plain instructions: how many files there were, which words to search for, and where files that matched should be moved. It sorted them without trouble and can also make a spreadsheet index of where each file went. It worked on text based PDFs, not on scanned images.
Steps
- Put all the PDFs in one folder and keep a backup copy.
- Write clear instructions: how many files, what text to look for, and where each match goes.
- Ask for a spreadsheet index of what went where.
- Check scanned or image only PDFs separately, since it read text, not pictures.
- Turn it into a skill only if you will repeat the job.
Starter prompt
The folder [folder] has [number] PDF files. Read the text of each one. Files that mention [text or rule] go into [subfolder A]. Files that mention [text or rule] go into [subfolder B]. Anything that fits neither stays where it is. Before moving anything, show me a list of what will go where. After I approve, move them and save a spreadsheet index. Tell me which files you could not read.
Original post: Reddit · found via agentusecases.ai. Written up in our own words. We haven't run it, so test it on made-up data first.