// how to
How to use Claude
Pick what you want to do. Each guide gives the steps, prompts you can copy into Claude, an example of a good result, and the mistakes that waste your time.
Claude how-tos
- 01
How to Use Claude: A Beginner's Guide to Anthropic's AI Assistant
How to use Claude for the first time: sign up at claude.ai, ask a clear question, upload a file, use Projects and Artifacts, and check what matters. With prompts to copy.
- 02
How to Write Better Prompts for Claude (Anthropic's Own Advice, Explained)
How to prompt Claude well: be clear and direct, give examples, separate your material with tags, let it think step by step, and give it a role. Before-and-after prompts to copy.
- 03
How to Use Claude for Free: What the Free Plan Includes
What you get on Claude's Free plan: chat, web search, Artifacts, memory and up to five Projects, and what needs a paid plan, like Claude Code. Plus how to get the most from the free limits.
- 04
How to Use Claude Projects: Knowledge, Instructions and Ideas
How to use Projects in Claude: create a workspace, add project knowledge (your files) and project instructions, and keep each client, course or task separate. Free plans get up to five.
- 05
How to Use Claude Artifacts: Documents, Charts and Small Tools
How to use Artifacts in Claude: ask for a document, chart, flowchart, web page or small interactive tool, edit it beside the chat, and share or export it. What the Free plan includes.
- 06
How to Summarize a PDF with Claude (Contracts, Reports and Long Documents)
How to summarize a PDF with Claude: attach the file, say who the summary is for, ask for key points with page numbers, and check them. File types, size limits and how Claude reads charts.
- 07
How to Analyze a Spreadsheet with Claude (CSV and Excel)
How to analyze a spreadsheet with Claude: upload a CSV or Excel file, ask business questions in plain English, get charts and summaries, and check the numbers it reports.
- 08
How to Edit and Improve Your Writing with Claude (Without Losing Your Voice)
How to use Claude as an editor: ask for feedback before rewrites, fix clarity and structure, cut length, and keep your own voice. Prompts for edits from a light proofread to a full restructure.
- 09
How to Write Emails with Claude That Sound Like You
How to use Claude to draft emails in your own voice: set up a Project with examples of your past emails, give the situation and the outcome, and edit the draft. Prompts for common business emails.
- 10
How to Research a Topic with Claude and Web Search (with Citations)
How to research with Claude: turn on web search, ask a focused question, get answers with citations, open the sources, and compare viewpoints. Prompts for market, product and competitor research.
- 11
How to Keep Your Data Private in Claude: Model Improvement and Incognito Chats
How to keep your data private in Claude: check the Model Improvement setting in Privacy Settings, use Incognito chats for sensitive questions, manage memory, and know what never to paste.
- 12
How to Use Claude for Your Small Business: A Practical Setup
How to set Claude up for a small business: one Project per area (customers, marketing, admin), your policies and voice as project knowledge, and the jobs to hand over first. What to keep for yourself.
- 13
How to Build a Simple App or Tool with Claude (No Coding Needed)
How to build a small interactive tool with Claude Artifacts without coding: describe it, try it beside the chat, improve it in plain English. Ideas, prompts, and when you need a real developer.
- 14
How to Make a Presentation with Claude, from Notes to Slides
How to make a presentation with Claude: turn your notes into an outline, write one message per slide, create the slides as an Artifact, and export them. Prompts for pitches, training and updates.
- 15
How to Make a Flowchart or Diagram with Claude
How to make a flowchart or process diagram with Claude: describe the steps in plain English, get a diagram as an Artifact, then fix the decisions and dead ends. Prompts for business processes.
- 16
How to Write a Blog Post with Claude That's Worth Reading
How to write a blog post with Claude that people and Google value: start from your own experience, let Claude interview you, outline, draft section by section, and add what only you know.
- 17
How to Learn Something New with Claude (as a Patient Tutor)
How to learn with Claude: set up a study Project with your materials, ask for explanations at your level, have Claude quiz you, and build interactive practice with Artifacts. Prompts for students and adults.
- 18
How to Turn Meeting Notes into Action Items with Claude
How to use Claude to turn messy meeting notes or a transcript into decisions, action items with owners and dates, open questions, and a follow-up email. Prompts to copy.
- 19
How to Use Claude Code: Anthropic's AI Coding Agent, Explained Simply
What Claude Code is and how to start: install it in the terminal or use the desktop app, VS Code or the web, give it a project, describe the task, and review every change. Plan needed and first steps.
- 20
How to Fact-Check Claude's Answers and Avoid Made-Up Details
How to fact-check Claude: ask it to flag uncertain claims, use web search for citations, give it your own documents to answer from, and verify names, numbers and quotes at the source.
Using AI to write code? See the AI coding guides and the AI glossary.