diff --git a/studio/backend/core/rag/parsers.py b/studio/backend/core/rag/parsers.py
index ba248cf9a6..9afddf1d9e 100644
--- a/studio/backend/core/rag/parsers.py
+++ b/studio/backend/core/rag/parsers.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import logging
 import os
+import re
 from dataclasses import dataclass
 from html.parser import HTMLParser
 
@@ -69,6 +70,39 @@ def _html(raw: str) -> list[Page]:
     return [_page("\n".join(parser.out), 1)]
 
 
+# pymupdf4llm rebuilds text from positioned glyphs, which mangles complex-shaping
+# scripts (RTL Arabic/Hebrew emerge as shaped Presentation Forms, Indic matras drop to
+# U+FFFD) and can silently drop most of a heavy-RTL page. When Markdown trips these
+# signals we fall back to PyMuPDF's logical-order get_text(). Thresholds mirror the chat
+# extractor guard (unslothai/unsloth#5351 review).
+_SHAPED_PRESENTATION_FORMS = re.compile("[\ufb1d-\ufdff\ufe70-\ufefc]")
+_PDF_FALLBACK_MIN_BAD_GLYPHS = 5
+_PDF_FALLBACK_BAD_GLYPH_RATIO = 0.0005
+_PDF_INCOMPLETE_RATIO = 0.75
+_PDF_INCOMPLETE_MIN_LETTERS = 200
+
+
+def _markdown_corrupted(text: str) -> bool:
+    """True when pymupdf4llm's glyph reconstruction mangled the text: shaped RTL
+    Presentation Forms or U+FFFD replacements above a small floor/ratio (so a lone
+    legitimate shaped glyph does not force the fallback)."""
+    if not text:
+        return False
+    threshold = max(_PDF_FALLBACK_MIN_BAD_GLYPHS, _PDF_FALLBACK_BAD_GLYPH_RATIO * len(text))
+    shaped = len(_SHAPED_PRESENTATION_FORMS.findall(text))
+    return shaped > threshold or text.count("\ufffd") > threshold
+
+
+def _markdown_incomplete(markdown: str, plain: str) -> bool:
+    """True when ``markdown`` holds far fewer letters than the raw ``get_text`` layer -- a
+    coarse guard for heavy-RTL pages pymupdf4llm silently drops without shaped glyphs."""
+    plain_letters = sum(1 for c in plain if c.isalnum())
+    if plain_letters < _PDF_INCOMPLETE_MIN_LETTERS:
+        return False
+    markdown_letters = sum(1 for c in markdown if c.isalnum())
+    return markdown_letters < _PDF_INCOMPLETE_RATIO * plain_letters
+
+
 def _pdf_markdown(doc) -> list[str] | None:
     """Per-page layout-aware Markdown (tables, headings, lists) via pymupdf4llm; index
     i maps to page i+1. Returns None when the lib is missing, extraction fails, or the
@@ -100,9 +134,19 @@ def _pdf(path: str, want_images: bool) -> tuple[list[Page], list[ParsedImage]]:
     try:
         md = _pdf_markdown(doc) if config.PDF_MARKDOWN else None
         for i, page in enumerate(doc):
-            # Prefer layout-aware Markdown (keeps tables/headings legible for retrieval);
-            # fall back to plain text when Markdown is off, unavailable, or empty here.
-            text = (md[i] if md else "") or page.get_text("text") or ""
+            plain = page.get_text("text") or ""
+            candidate = md[i] if md else ""
+            # Prefer layout-aware Markdown (keeps tables/headings legible for retrieval),
+            # but drop to PyMuPDF's logical-order text when Markdown is off/empty or when
+            # pymupdf4llm mangled it (RTL/Indic) or dropped most of the page.
+            if (
+                candidate
+                and not _markdown_corrupted(candidate)
+                and not _markdown_incomplete(candidate, plain)
+            ):
+                text = candidate
+            else:
+                text = plain
             pages.append(_page(text, i + 1))
             if want_images:
                 for img in page.get_images(full = True):
@@ -308,12 +352,61 @@ def render_pdf_pages(
         doc.close()
 
 
+def _docx_table_rows(table) -> list[str]:
+    """Each row as pipe-joined cell text (the locator splits anchors on pipes).
+    Columns stay aligned to the layout grid (merged cells fill their spanned slots,
+    skipped leading/trailing grid columns become empty fields). Cells are walked in
+    document order so a nested table, and any text after it, flattens in place."""
+    from docx.table import Table
+    from docx.text.paragraph import Paragraph
+
+    rows: list[str] = []
+    seen: set = set()  # <w:tc> already emitted; dedups merges spanning columns or rows
+    for row in table.rows:
+        cells: list[str] = [""] * getattr(row, "grid_cols_before", 0)
+        trailing: list[str] = []  # nested rows + any post-nested text, kept in order
+        for cell in row.cells:
+            # A merged cell shares one <w:tc> across the columns and rows it spans:
+            # emit its text once, then placeholders, so columns and rows stay aligned.
+            if cell._tc in seen:
+                cells.append("")
+                continue
+            seen.add(cell._tc)
+            # Paragraph text before the first nested table is the aligned field; the
+            # nested table and anything after it flatten below the row, in order.
+            field: list[str] = []
+            after_table = False
+            for item in cell.iter_inner_content():
+                if isinstance(item, Table):
+                    after_table = True
+                    trailing.extend(_docx_table_rows(item))
+                elif isinstance(item, Paragraph):
+                    text = " ".join(item.text.split())  # collapse in-cell newlines
+                    if text:
+                        (trailing if after_table else field).append(text)
+            cells.append(" ".join(field))  # empty cells kept so columns line up
+        cells.extend([""] * getattr(row, "grid_cols_after", 0))
+        if any(c.strip() for c in cells):
+            rows.append(" | ".join(cells))
+        rows.extend(trailing)
+    return rows
+
+
 def _docx(path: str) -> list[Page]:
     import docx
+    from docx.table import Table
+    from docx.text.paragraph import Paragraph
 
     document = docx.Document(path)
-    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in document.paragraphs)
-    return [_page(text, None)]
+    lines: list[str] = []
+    # Walk body content in document order: paragraphs alone drop tables entirely.
+    for block in document.iter_inner_content():
+        if isinstance(block, Paragraph):
+            if block.text.strip():
+                lines.append(block.text)
+        elif isinstance(block, Table):
+            lines.extend(_docx_table_rows(block))
+    return [_page("\n".join(lines), None)]
 
 
 def parse(path: str, *, want_images: bool = False):
diff --git a/studio/backend/tests/test_rag_parsing.py b/studio/backend/tests/test_rag_parsing.py
index 4c46f49495..14ab0efe2e 100644
--- a/studio/backend/tests/test_rag_parsing.py
+++ b/studio/backend/tests/test_rag_parsing.py
@@ -86,3 +86,212 @@ def test_pdf_markdown_falls_back_when_lib_missing(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     _table_pdf(pdf)
     pages = parsers.parse(str(pdf))
     assert pages and "Quarter" in pages[0].text
+
+
+def _long_text_pdf(path):
+    import pymupdf
+
+    doc = pymupdf.open()
+    page = doc.new_page()
+    body = "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. " * 12  # >200 letters
+    page.insert_textbox(pymupdf.Rect(40, 40, 550, 750), body, fontsize = 11)
+    doc.save(str(path))
+    doc.close()
+
+
+def test_pdf_markdown_corruption_falls_back_to_plain(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    # pymupdf4llm can emit shaped RTL Presentation Forms for Arabic/Hebrew; the parser
+    # detects that and uses PyMuPDF's logical-order text instead of the mangled Markdown.
+    from core.rag import config, parsers
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "PDF_MARKDOWN", True)
+    shaped = "".join(chr(c) for c in range(0xFE8D, 0xFEA0)) * 20  # heavy shaped forms
+    monkeypatch.setattr(parsers, "_pdf_markdown", lambda doc: [shaped] * doc.page_count)
+    pdf = tmp_path / "table.pdf"
+    _table_pdf(pdf)
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(pdf)))
+    assert "Quarter" in text  # real logical-order text recovered
+    assert not parsers._markdown_corrupted(text)  # shaped garbage not carried through
+
+
+def test_pdf_markdown_incomplete_falls_back_to_plain(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
+    # If pymupdf4llm silently drops most of a page, the parser prefers the fuller raw layer.
+    from core.rag import config, parsers
+
+    monkeypatch.setattr(config, "PDF_MARKDOWN", True)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(parsers, "_pdf_markdown", lambda doc: ["x"] * doc.page_count)
+    pdf = tmp_path / "long.pdf"
+    _long_text_pdf(pdf)
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(pdf)))
+    assert "quick brown fox" in text  # fuller raw layer used, not the near-empty Markdown
+
+
+def _docx_with_table(path):
+    import docx
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    document.add_paragraph("Intro before table.")
+    table = document.add_table(rows = 2, cols = 2)
+    table.cell(0, 0).text = "NAME"
+    table.cell(0, 1).text = "SCORE"
+    table.cell(1, 0).text = "Alice"
+    table.cell(1, 1).text = "97pts"
+    document.add_paragraph("Outro after table.")
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+
+def test_docx_extracts_table_cells(tmp_path):
+    # document.paragraphs alone drops tables; the parser walks body content in order so
+    # table cells survive (pipe-joined, which the preview locator anchors on).
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    docx_path = tmp_path / "t.docx"
+    _docx_with_table(docx_path)
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(docx_path)))
+    assert all(v in text for v in ("NAME", "SCORE", "Alice", "97pts"))  # cells kept
+    assert "Alice | 97pts" in text  # row cells joined
+    assert text.index("Intro") < text.index("NAME") < text.index("Outro")  # order kept
+
+
+def test_docx_table_keeps_columns_and_collapses_cell_newlines(tmp_path):
+    # Empty cells are kept (so columns stay aligned across rows) and a cell's internal
+    # newlines are collapsed to spaces (so a multi-paragraph cell can't break the row).
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    table = document.add_table(rows = 2, cols = 3)
+    table.cell(0, 0).text = "A"
+    table.cell(0, 1).text = ""  # empty middle cell
+    table.cell(0, 2).text = "C"
+    multiline = table.cell(1, 0)
+    multiline.text = "line1"
+    multiline.add_paragraph("line2")  # cell now holds an internal newline
+    table.cell(1, 1).text = "mid"
+    table.cell(1, 2).text = "end"
+    path = tmp_path / "aligned.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert "A |  | C" in text  # empty cell preserved -> columns line up
+    assert "line1 line2 | mid | end" in text  # internal newline collapsed to a space
+
+
+def test_docx_table_merged_cell_keeps_grid_alignment(tmp_path):
+    # A horizontally merged cell repeats across the spanned columns: emit its text once
+    # then a placeholder, so the row keeps as many fields as its siblings (columns stay
+    # aligned) without duplicating the merged text.
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    table = document.add_table(rows = 2, cols = 3)
+    table.cell(0, 0).text = "WIDE"
+    table.cell(0, 2).text = "END"
+    table.cell(0, 0).merge(table.cell(0, 1))  # span the first two columns
+    table.cell(1, 0).text = "a"
+    table.cell(1, 1).text = "b"
+    table.cell(1, 2).text = "c"
+    path = tmp_path / "merged.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert text.count("WIDE") == 1  # merged cell not duplicated across spanned columns
+    assert "WIDE |  | END" in text  # placeholder keeps 3 fields, aligned with "a | b | c"
+    assert "a | b | c" in text
+
+
+def test_docx_table_pads_omitted_grid_columns(tmp_path):
+    # A row that skips leading grid columns exposes the gap via grid_cols_before; pad it
+    # with empty fields so the value stays under the right header instead of shifting left.
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+    from docx.oxml.ns import qn
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    table = document.add_table(rows = 2, cols = 3)
+    table.cell(0, 0).text = "H1"
+    table.cell(0, 1).text = "H2"
+    table.cell(0, 2).text = "H3"
+    tr = table.rows[1]._tr  # drop the first cell and mark it skipped via <w:gridBefore>
+    tr.remove(tr.tc_lst[0])
+    trPr = tr.get_or_add_trPr()
+    trPr.insert(0, trPr.makeelement(qn("w:gridBefore"), {qn("w:val"): "1"}))
+    table.rows[1].cells[0].text = "X"  # sits in column 2
+    path = tmp_path / "gap.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert " | X | " in text  # leading gap padded so X lines up under H2, not H1
+
+
+def test_docx_flattens_nested_table(tmp_path):
+    # cell.text ignores tables nested inside a cell; walk cell.tables so nested rows are
+    # not silently dropped from the indexed text.
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    outer = document.add_table(rows = 1, cols = 1).cell(0, 0)
+    outer.text = "outer"
+    nested = outer.add_table(rows = 1, cols = 2)
+    nested.cell(0, 0).text = "NESTED-A"
+    nested.cell(0, 1).text = "NESTED-B"
+    path = tmp_path / "nested.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert "NESTED-A | NESTED-B" in text  # nested table flattened, not dropped
+
+
+def test_docx_nested_table_keeps_in_cell_order(tmp_path):
+    # A cell holding paragraph, nested table, paragraph must serialize in that order
+    # (cell.text alone would emit both paragraphs before the nested rows).
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    cell = document.add_table(rows = 1, cols = 1).cell(0, 0)
+    cell.text = "before"
+    nested = cell.add_table(rows = 1, cols = 2)
+    nested.cell(0, 0).text = "NESTED-A"
+    nested.cell(0, 1).text = "NESTED-B"
+    cell.add_paragraph("after")
+    path = tmp_path / "nested_order.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert text.index("before") < text.index("NESTED-A") < text.index("after")
+
+
+def test_docx_table_vertical_merge_emitted_once(tmp_path):
+    # A vertically merged cell maps every continuation row back to the origin <w:tc>;
+    # emit it once and leave placeholders below so a row-spanning label isn't repeated.
+    pytest.importorskip("docx")
+    import docx
+
+    from core.rag import parsers
+
+    document = docx.Document()
+    table = document.add_table(rows = 3, cols = 2)
+    table.cell(0, 0).merge(table.cell(1, 0)).merge(table.cell(2, 0)).text = "SECTION"
+    table.cell(0, 1).text = "r0"
+    table.cell(1, 1).text = "r1"
+    table.cell(2, 1).text = "r2"
+    path = tmp_path / "vmerge.docx"
+    document.save(str(path))
+
+    text = "\n".join(p.text for p in parsers.parse(str(path)))
+    assert text.count("SECTION") == 1  # not repeated on each spanned row
+    assert "SECTION | r0" in text and " | r1" in text and " | r2" in text