Managing Document Parts

Organize large documents into smaller, manageable sections for better performance and easier navigation. This is especially useful for lengthy PDFs, books, and long articles.

What Are Parts?

Parts are sections or chapters within your document. Each part can be:

  • Played independently
  • Queued for audio generation separately
  • Exported individually
  • Navigated to directly in the reader

Why Use Parts?

Benefits

  • Faster Loading: Smaller parts load much quicker
  • Better Navigation: Jump directly to specific chapters
  • Efficient Audio: Generate audio for specific sections only
  • Flexible Listening: Queue only the parts you want

Optimal Part Sizes

  • Preferred: 25,000 characters (~5,000 words)
  • Maximum: 50,000 characters (~10,000 words)
  • Minimum: 5,000 characters (~1,000 words)

Automatic Partitioning

On Import

WithAudio automatically analyzes and splits documents if needed:

  1. By Headings: Creates parts at chapter/section boundaries (H1, H2)
  2. By Content Length: Splits at reasonable sizes if no headings exist
  3. Preserving Structure: Maintains document hierarchy and flow

You’ll see a message showing the partitioning result:

Partitioning complete: 1 part(s) → 5 part(s)

Manual Part Management

Opening the Part Manager

  1. Find your document in the library
  2. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) on the document card
  3. Select “Manage Parts”

Part Manager Interface

The dialog displays:

  • Summary: Total parts, parts that can be split, and total content size
  • Parts List: Each part shows number, title, size, and split recommendations
  • Actions: Auto-partition, merge, or close

Auto-Partition Large Parts

When to use: Parts marked with yellow “Can Split” badges

Steps:

  1. Open the Part Manager
  2. Click “Auto-Partition Large Parts”
  3. Wait for completion

Large parts are automatically split at logical boundaries with appropriate titles.

Merge Parts Manually

When to use: Combining multiple small parts into larger sections

Steps:

  1. Open the Part Manager
  2. Select checkboxes next to parts you want to merge (minimum 2)
  3. Click “Merge Selected”

All content from selected parts combines in order, preserving block order and existing audio.

Understanding Part Information

Size Indicators

  • 1.2K chars = 1,200 characters (small, ~240 words)
  • 25.5K chars = 25,500 characters (optimal, ~5,000 words)
  • 75.0K chars = 75,000 characters (large, should be split)

Split Recommendations

When you see Can Split (3 parts), the part is large and could be divided into 3 more manageable sections.

Best Practices

Do’s ✅

  1. Auto-partition after importing large documents
  2. Check Part Manager if your document loads slowly
  3. Split parts before generating audio for better queue management
  4. Keep parts between 5K-50K characters
  5. Use meaningful headings in documents (helps auto-partitioning)

Don’ts ❌

  1. Don’t create parts under 5K characters
  2. Don’t merge unrelated sections
  3. Don’t manually split if auto-partition works well
  4. Don’t over-optimize already optimal documents

Common Scenarios

Large PDF as Single Part

Problem: 500-page PDF loads slowly

Solution:

  1. Open “Manage Parts”
  2. Click “Auto-Partition Large Parts”
  3. Result: Document split into manageable parts at chapter boundaries

Many Small Parts

Problem: Document has 50 tiny parts from over-splitting

Solution:

  1. Select consecutive parts to combine (check boxes)
  2. Click “Merge Selected”
  3. Repeat for other groups
  4. Result: More manageable number of parts

Important Notes

Active Exports

Cannot modify parts during exports

You cannot reorganize parts while the document has active exports in progress. Wait for exports to complete or cancel them from the Exports page. If you deleted an export, you may need to restart the app before reorganizing parts.

Technical Considerations

  • No Undo: Part operations cannot be reversed
  • Existing Audio: Audio files for individual blocks are preserved
  • Queue Management: Parts being processed may be removed during reorganization
  • Part Order: Parts maintain sequential order (manual reordering not yet available)

Troubleshooting

“Cannot modify parts - active exports”

Solution: Wait for exports to complete or cancel them from the Exports page.

Part Won’t Split

Reason: Part is already under maximum size (50K chars) or has no logical split points.

Merge Fails

Solution: Ensure you’ve selected 2+ parts from the same document.

Document Preparation Tips

For best auto-partitioning results:

  • PDFs: Use text-based PDFs with proper heading structure
  • Markdown: Use proper heading syntax (#, ##, ###)
  • Web Articles: Usually work well as they have good heading structure

Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

  1. Check Console Logs (View → Toggle Developer Tools → Console)
  2. Try restarting the app
  3. Report issues using the feedback option or file a GitHub issue