Azure Ai Content Understanding pro mode and supported file types

Question

Hi, I’m trying to create a project using the Azure AI Content Understanding service, but I can’t seem to use these two features: Pro mode and processing of DOCX/EML files. I created a HUB project in the swedencentral location, but I can only use the other document types in standard mode (I don’t see anywhere to configure Pro). What am I doing wrong? I noticed that the code example provided by the portal uses the “2024-12-01-preview” API version, not “2025-05-01-preview.” Could that be the cause? Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Stephen,

You’re very close—Pro mode just hides behind one extra choice in the Azure AI Foundry wizard.

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How to turn on Pro mode in the Foundry UX

1. In your hub‑based project, choose Content Understanding → + Create.

On the very first page of the task‑creation wizard, change the Task type from Single‑file (default / Standard) to Multi‑file.

Selecting Multi‑file automatically puts the task in Pro mode and unlocks reference‑data support, multi‑step reasoning, etc. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/quickstart/use-ai-foundry-pro-mode"Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi-file task in the Azure AI Foundry portal - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

Continue to add your sample files, define fields, and build the analyzer as usual.

Tip: The quick‑start “Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi‑file task in Foundry” walks through the exact screens you’ll see. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/quickstart/use-ai-foundry-pro-mode"Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi-file task in the Azure AI Foundry portal - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

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Regions where the Pro‑mode toggle appears

Pro mode (and therefore the Multi‑file option) is only enabled in these preview regions:

Identifier	Region	Notes
westus	West US	data‑zone & global processing supported
westus	West US	data‑zone & global processing supported
swedencentral	Sweden Central	data‑zone & global processing supported
australiaeast	Australia East	global only (no data‑zone option)

If you open the wizard in any other region (East US, East US 2, West Europe, etc.), the Multi‑file option is intentionally absent. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/language-region-support"Content Understanding region and language support - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

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File‑type preview limitations

While Standard mode supports DOCX/EML and many other formats, Pro mode currently accepts only PDF, TIFF, and common image types (JPG/PNG/BMP/HEIF), with a combined size ≤ 100 MB and ≤ 150 pages. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/service-limits"Service quotas and limits - Content Understanding - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

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API version clarification

The Foundry code sample you saw that calls 2024‑12‑01-preview still works, but all new Pro‑mode features are surfaced in 2025‑05‑01-preview.

When you generate a code snippet from a Pro‑mode analyzer, Foundry now emits the 2025‑05‑01-preview version automatically. If you’re writing by hand, just ensure the api-version query string is set to that value. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/content-understanding/"Content Understanding REST API reference - Azure AI Services | Microsoft Learn"))

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TL;DR

Switch Single‑file → Multi‑file in the wizard to use Pro mode.

Make sure your hub is in westus, swedencentral, or australiaeast.

Upload only PDF/TIFF/images for now.

Use API version 2025‑05‑01-preview when calling the REST APIs.

Hope that clears things up! Let me know if anything’s still blocking you.Hi Stephen,

You’re very close—Pro mode just hides behind one extra choice in the Azure AI Foundry wizard.

---

How to turn on Pro mode in the Foundry UX

In your hub‑based project, choose Content Understanding → + Create.

On the very first page of the task‑creation wizard, change the Task type from Single‑file (default / Standard) to Multi‑file.

Selecting Multi‑file automatically puts the task in Pro mode and unlocks reference‑data support, multi‑step reasoning, etc. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/quickstart/use-ai-foundry-pro-mode"Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi-file task in the Azure AI Foundry portal - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

Continue to add your sample files, define fields, and build the analyzer as usual.

Tip: The quick‑start “Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi‑file task in Foundry” walks through the exact screens you’ll see. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/quickstart/use-ai-foundry-pro-mode"Create an Azure AI Content Understanding multi-file task in the Azure AI Foundry portal - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

---

Regions where the Pro‑mode toggle appears

Pro mode (and therefore the Multi‑file option) is only enabled in these preview regions:

Identifier	Region	Notes
westus	West US	data‑zone & global processing supported
swedencentral	Sweden Central	data‑zone & global processing supported
australiaeast	Australia East	global only (no data‑zone option)

If you open the wizard in any other region (East US, East US 2, West Europe, etc.), the Multi‑file option is intentionally absent. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/language-region-support"Content Understanding region and language support - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

---

File‑type preview limitations

While Standard mode supports DOCX/EML and many other formats, Pro mode currently accepts only PDF, TIFF, and common image types (JPG/PNG/BMP/HEIF), with a combined size ≤ 100 MB and ≤ 150 pages. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/content-understanding/service-limits"Service quotas and limits - Content Understanding - Azure AI services | Microsoft Learn"))

---

API version clarification

The Foundry code sample you saw that calls 2024‑12‑01-preview still works, but all new Pro‑mode features are surfaced in 2025‑05‑01-preview.

When you generate a code snippet from a Pro‑mode analyzer, Foundry now emits the 2025‑05‑01-preview version automatically. If you’re writing by hand, just ensure the api-version query string is set to that value. ([Microsoft Learn](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/content-understanding/"Content Understanding REST API reference - Azure AI Services | Microsoft Learn"))

---

TL;DR

Switch Single‑file → Multi‑file in the wizard to use Pro mode.

Make sure your hub is in westus, swedencentral, or australiaeast.

Upload only PDF/TIFF/images for now.

Use API version 2025‑05‑01-preview when calling the REST APIs.

Hope that clears things up! Let me know if anything’s still blocking you.

--

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Answer 2

Hi,

Maybe I’m doing something wrong in the procedure.
Here’s a summary of the steps I’ve taken:

1. I created a hub in AI Foundry.
2. Within AI Foundry, I selected the hub and went to the Content Understanding (preview) section.
3. I created a custom task using the available resources.
4. I added a document and selected Document Analysis.
5. I added the fields.
6. I ran the analyzer.

I’ve tried the following locations:

West US

East US

West Europe

East US 2

Sweden Central

I can’t figure out where to select Pro mode or choose the API version, since I haven’t found any videos or screenshots about it (not even in the documentation).

Thanks,
Stefano

Answer 3

Hi @Stefano

I understand that you're encountering an issue with create a project using the Azure AI Content Understanding ServicePro mode in Azure AI Content Understanding provides advanced capabilities such as multi-step reasoning and integration with reference data, but it is currently not available in all regions. It’s likely that the Sweden Central region does not yet support Pro mode, as Azure typically rolls out new features to a limited set of regions first—commonly East US or West Europe. If you're not seeing the Pro mode option, try deploying your project in one of these supported regions. Additionally, make sure your project is using the 2025-05-01-preview API version, which introduces support for Pro mode features. please refer these https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-services/document-intelligence/how-to-guides/use-sdk-rest-api?view=doc-intel-4.0.0&tabs=windows&pivots=programming-language-rest-api#document-intelligence-api-versions Earlier versions, like 2024-12-01-preview, may not fully expose these capabilities. It's also important to note that DOCX and EML file types are only supported in Pro mode; they cannot be processed in standard mode. If you're using standard mode, these file types will be rejected. If you're still encountering issues in the Azure portal, sometimes a hard refresh can resolve UI inconsistencies. Also, ensure that you’re working within the "Document Intelligence" section of the Azure portal, as Pro mode features are not exposed under generic Cognitive Services projects.Hope this helps. Do let us know if you any further queries.

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Answer 4

Hi Stefano,

Ugh, Azure AI can be sneaky like that sometimes )) But don’t sweat it, let’s fix this step by step!

Pro Mode isn’t available in all regions yet, and Sweden Central might not have it. Try switching to East US or West Europe—they usually get new features first. Azure AI Document Intelligence regions

(Yes, they rebranded "Content Understanding" to "Document Intelligence" classic Microsoft move ))

API Version Matters! You’re 100% right the 2024-12-01-preview API is outdated. Switch to 2025-05-01-preview for Pro Mode & DOCX/EML support. Full details Document Intelligence API versions

DOCX/EML Files = Pro Mode Only

Annoying, but true! Here’s the current list of supported formats (they update this often)Supported file types

Hard refresh (Ctrl+F5) the Azure portal sometimes the UI lags. Double-check you selected "Document Intelligence" (not just Cognitive Services). West US 2 is a good test region new features land there first!

Microsoft’s docs are actually solid once you know where to look )) Hit me up if you’re still stuck this stuff gets way easier once you’re past the setup headaches ;))))))))))))

Best regards,

Alex

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