# How do I make NotebookLM answer from only some sources?

Source: https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-select-only-some-sources-in-notebooklm  
Section: Questions  
Last verified: November 2026  
Plan: Free + Pro

Untick the sources you want to exclude in the Sources panel; NotebookLM answers only from ticked sources. To avoid re-ticking, NotebookLM Ultra Exporter saves a selection as a view you can restore in one click. Free saves 2 views per notebook and 5 overall.

## What to know

- Use views for contexts such as "primary sources", "this week" or "one author".
- Search and filter in the Sources panel help build a selection.
- Studio items are generated from the selection that is active when you click generate.

> Google changes these menus often. The item's own menu in your notebook shows what is built in today.

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does an answer ignore a source?

Check that the source is ticked and finished processing. A source that failed to import has no text to answer from.

## Related guides

- [Source tools: search, filter, bulk download and delete](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/features/source-tools)
- [How do I organize NotebookLM notebooks into folders?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-organize-notebooklm-notebooks-into-folders)
- [How do I find a notebook quickly in NotebookLM?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-find-a-notebook-in-notebooklm)
- [How do I delete multiple sources in NotebookLM?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-delete-multiple-sources-in-notebooklm)
- [How do I save prompts in NotebookLM?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/how-to-save-prompts-in-notebooklm)
- [What is the NotebookLM source limit?](https://nlmexporter.com/guides/questions/what-is-the-notebooklm-source-limit)