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PDF workflow

Turn a PDF into a mind map

Drop a paper, let Claude structure it, then refine the result by hand.

6 min read 6 steps
PDF Studio is the heart of Marvex Studio's research workflow. You hand it any research paper, textbook chapter, or document up to 25 MB, and an AI pass extracts every concept, theme, and relationship into a structured map you can edit. This tutorial covers the full pipeline — upload, pick a mode, review, refine, and merge with an existing map.
  1. 01

    Step 1 — Open PDF Studio

    Click the purple PDF Studio button in the sidebar. You land on the Intake queue — a dashboard that tracks every document you've processed. Drag-drop a PDF onto the upload zone or click to browse.

  2. 02

    Step 2 — Choose a conversion mode

    Quick Outline parses headings and structure heuristically — fast and free. AI Analysis (default) sends the full text to Claude Sonnet 4.5, which produces a semantic map rich with relationships and annotations. Pro users get unlimited AI runs; free users get three per month.

  3. 03

    Step 3 — Review the draft

    Within 30-60 seconds the draft appears in the preview pane. Scroll through the map element tree — every branch maps to a concept cluster from the paper, and every leaf carries a short summary. If a branch looks off, click it to flag it.

  4. 04

    Step 4 — Fix & enrich

    Use the inline edit tools to rename, merge, split, or delete map elements. Right-click any map element and pick 'Enrich with AI' to ask Claude for a deeper gloss, an example, or a contrary perspective. The original PDF stays pinned alongside the map so you can cross-reference quickly.

  5. 05

    Step 5 — Commit to a map

    Once the draft looks right, click Save as New Map or Merge Into Existing. Merging respects your existing structure and inserts the new concepts as a fresh sub-tree you can reorganise later.

  6. 06

    Step 6 — Skim with the Reader

    Open the Reader from the sidebar to read the PDF side-by-side with its map. Highlight any phrase in the PDF and Marvex Studio will automatically add it to the map as a citation map element — perfect for building up evidence trails across papers.

Pro tip: batch-upload up to ten PDFs at once and the queue will process them in parallel.
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