Protect the source
Keep the original workbook unchanged and save a dated copy before cleaning or exporting anything.
Excel to CryoIndex
Move an LN2 cell inventory without retyping every vial.
A spreadsheet is often the lab's only existing record. Treat it as source data, not as something CryoIndex should guess at. This workflow preserves the original, exposes ambiguous fields, and makes the lab confirm what will be written.
Make one row mean one stored vial
Use current stock only. Do not mix removed, thawed, discarded, or historical vials into a file intended to create current inventory.
Preserve the physical address
Each row needs a cell type, cane, box, and position within the lab’s configured dewar.
Add lineage only when the parent is identifiable
Use the optional Parent barcode heading for same-line banking. Leave it blank when the exact parent record cannot be distinguished.
Export UTF-8 CSV
CryoIndex imports CSV, not an .xlsx workbook directly. In Excel, save the import sheet as CSV UTF-8 (comma delimited).
Let CryoIndex propose, then review
Confirm the header mapping, users, cell lines, storage labels, ignored columns, and every skipped row. A proposal is not a fact until the lab confirms it.
Verify before routine use
Compare totals and several known vials across different canes and boxes, then create a complete backup outside the working device.
The minimum safe address
Four columns are required.
Cell type, Cane, Box, and Position tell CryoIndex what the vial is and where it physically belongs. Barcode, passage, date frozen, donor code, Parent barcode, and other supported metadata are optional.
| Column | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Cell type | HUVEC | The lab's cell-line name |
| Cane | 2 | The cane label used physically |
| Box | 4 | The box label on that cane |
| Position | C3 | The vial's grid coordinate |
What CryoIndex reviews
A successful import should not conceal uncertainty.
Column meaning
Exact CryoIndex headings can map automatically. Aliases and ambiguous headings remain visible for review.
Cell lines and people
First setup can propose names found in the file. Remove individual suggestions or clear the detected list if the parser misunderstood the source.
Storage shape
Detected addresses can inform the minimum proposed layout, but the user confirms the real cane, box, and grid arrangement in the lab's dewar.
Parent relationships
A Parent barcode links only when exactly one non-struck record has ever worn that label and the same-line, passage, and freeze-date relationship is possible. Otherwise the origin remains Not recorded and the completion screen says so.
Ignored and skipped data
Unused columns and unsafe rows require acknowledgement. Skipped rows can be saved with line numbers and reasons for correction.
Common protection decisions
A refused row or unlinked parent is safer than plausible-looking wrong data.
- A row is refused for a duplicate barcode, occupied position, missing required location, impossible date, coordinate outside the box grid, or an unrecognized cane or box.
- A proposed parent remains Not recorded when its barcode identifies no record or more than one, or when the relationship contradicts the cell-line, passage, or freeze-date rules.
- A CryoIndex inventory report containing historical removals is refused as import input because it is not a current-stock import file.
Correct the source or the confirmed mapping; do not reshape the physical inventory merely to make a spreadsheet pass.
Ready to prepare the file?
Start from the exact headings CryoIndex understands.
The free templates include one instructional row. CryoIndex recognizes that marker and refuses to import it as a real vial if it was not deleted.