Workbooks: working with the data

What a workbook is

A workbook is a working copy of your data for analysis. Add a sheet from the verified data, start a blank sheet, or import a CSV or TSV file.

Rows copied from the verified data keep a link to their paper and to the place in the document the value came from. Select a cell to see it, with an "Open evidence" link.

Editing never changes the dataset

Editing a copied value changes only the workbook. The panel shows the value as it was copied, with a button to reset it. To correct the verified dataset itself, use the review pages.

"Refresh from verified data" makes a new sheet. It never overwrites your edits.

Columns, checks and units

Each column has a type and optional rules. Cells that do not fit are flagged with a reason and are never corrected for you. An empty cell stays empty; it is never treated as zero.

For a numeric column with a unit, "Convert to" offers only conversions that are scientifically valid for that kind of quantity, and writes the result to a new column. A mass is never offered as a force, and a concentration is never changed between weight and volume bases without the information needed.

Formulas

A formula starts with = and can refer to cells (A1, A1:A20) or, in a computed column, to a column by name ([Reported value]). The usual functions are available: SUM, AVERAGE, MEDIAN, MIN, MAX, COUNT, STDEV, ROUND, IF and others.

Formulas in an imported file are not run. A cell starting with = arrives as text.

Views, saving and versions

Sorting, filtering and search change only what you see. "Apply sort to sheet" is the one action that reorders the stored rows.

Changes save automatically a few seconds after you stop typing. If someone else saved first, you choose whether to reload their version or keep yours as a new sheet. Save a named version before a big change and restore it at any time.

Exporting

A sheet exports as XLSX, CSV, TSV or JSON. Exports contain values, a provenance list for rows that came from the literature, and a statement that the file is an analysis copy rather than the verified dataset. Who may export is the same as for the dataset.