Every vial. Every position. Every change.

Setup guide · About 10–15 minutes

Start from an existing spreadsheet.

CryoIndex proposes what it can understand, then asks the lab to confirm the physical storage, current users, cell lines, skipped rows, and unused columns. Nothing is imported until the final review.

Video walkthrough being refreshed

Start from a spreadsheet: review the source and storage

We are replacing this recording with a continuous walkthrough that matches the current app. The complete written steps and annotated screenshots below remain available.

Video walkthrough being refreshed

Start from a spreadsheet: approve the import

We are replacing this recording with a continuous walkthrough that matches the current app. The complete written steps and annotated screenshots below remain available.

Before the first import

Keep the original spreadsheet unchanged.

Work from a copy. CryoIndex does not change the CSV, but the untouched source is the lab’s reference while it reviews what was accepted, skipped, or left out.

Before opening CryoIndex

Prepare a CSV copy of the current inventory.

  1. Open the existing inventory in Excel or another spreadsheet program.
  2. Make a copy, then save that copy as CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited). CryoIndex does not import an .xlsx workbook directly.
  3. Use one row per vial. Column headings are strongly recommended because they make the mapping easier to verify.
  4. Include the current stock—not a report containing already thawed, discarded, or otherwise removed vials.
Needed to place a vial

Cell line, cane, box, and position.

Useful when available

Dewar, barcode, passage, date frozen, lot, source, notes, and other biological details.

A heading does not need to use CryoIndex wording. The mapping screen can connect headings such as Cell Line, Rack, Pos, Dewar, Vial ID, and P to their CryoIndex fields.

Step 1 of 5

Name the lab and choose the spreadsheet.

  1. Enter the lab name. Add a department, building, or other second line only if it will be useful on screens and reports.
  2. Select I have a spreadsheet and open the CSV copy. After a file is selected, that control becomes Choose a different spreadsheet.
  3. Read the number of nonblank rows found. If it is clearly wrong, remove the spreadsheet and check the file before continuing.
  4. Select Review column mapping whenever a heading is uncertain—or simply to verify every proposed match.
CryoIndex setup step one with a lab name, chosen CSV file, and controls to review or remove the spreadsheet.

The selected file remains a proposal. No vial has been written yet.

  1. Use Review column mapping to verify what every heading means.
  2. Use Remove spreadsheet if the row count or chosen file is wrong.
  3. Continue only after the displayed nonblank-row count is plausible.

Step 2 of 5

Confirm the physical dewar—not just the occupied cells.

The spreadsheet can reveal the highest occupied cane, box, row, and column. It cannot reveal empty storage beyond those locations.

  1. Read the Minimum occupied locations found panel.
  2. Count or verify the actual canes and boxes in the dewar, including empty ones.
  3. Confirm the actual rows and columns in every box and whether row labels use letters or numbers.
  4. If the CSV names one dewar, verify the proposed name. CryoIndex can adopt that name when the import is approved.
CryoIndex storage setup showing minimum occupied coordinates detected from the CSV and controls for the actual dewar dimensions.

A sparse inventory proves only what is occupied. The lab must confirm what physically exists.

  1. Treat these coordinates as a minimum, not as the dewar capacity.
  2. Set the real number of canes and boxes, including empty storage.
  3. Confirm both box dimensions and the row-label convention.

Step 3 of 5

Keep only the people who should use this tablet now.

CryoIndex may suggest names from an operator-like column. These become selectable current users; they are not credited as the original authors of historical spreadsheet rows.

  1. Remove an individual suggestion with the × beside the name.
  2. If the wrong column produced many names, choose Remove all detected instead of deleting them one by one.
  3. Add anyone who will record work at the dewar but was not present in the spreadsheet.
CryoIndex user review showing detected names, an individual removal, and the Remove all detected control.

Detected people are suggestions for today’s user list, not reconstructed historical attribution.

  1. Use Remove all detected when the suggestions came from the wrong column.
  2. Remove one proposed user with the × beside that name.
  3. Add a missing current user here.

Step 4 of 5

Review every detected cell line.

The app proposes each distinct cell-line name from the mapped column. This is the point to catch a wrong mapping or values that are not actually cell lines.

  1. Keep the proposed cell lines that belong in the new inventory.
  2. Remove an individual value with ×, or choose Remove all detected if the entire set is wrong.
  3. Understand the consequence before removing one: every row using that value will be excluded and explained on the final review.
  4. Use Review column mapping if the proposed set suggests the wrong spreadsheet column was selected.
CryoIndex cell-line review with controls to remove all detected names, keep them, or review the column mapping.

Bulk removal prevents a bad mapping from creating hundreds of unwanted cell-line records.

  1. Remove every proposed value in one action if the detection is broadly wrong.
  2. Reopen the mapping if the displayed names are not cell lines.
  3. Removing one value also excludes all spreadsheet rows that use it.

Step 5 of 5

Approve what will be imported—and what will not.

Nothing has been imported when this screen first appears. Take the counts literally and review every exclusion before selecting Import and finish.

  1. Compare vials ready, rows skipped, and new cell lines with what you expect.
  2. Choose the person who reviewed and approved this migration. This records the importer; it does not claim that person created every historical row.
  3. Read each skipped-row reason. Save the skipped-row CSV if those rows need correction and a later import.
  4. Read the list of columns not imported. Go back and correct the mapping if any contains information the lab needs CryoIndex to retain.
  5. Check the acknowledgement beside every skipped-row or ignored-column section. The app will not silently proceed past those losses.
CryoIndex final spreadsheet review showing accepted and skipped counts, importing user, skipped-row explanation, ignored columns, and acknowledgement boxes.

The acknowledgements make exclusions explicit. If one is missed, selecting Import and finish shows “Confirm the skipped rows before importing” or the corresponding ignored-column message.

  1. Verify the ready, skipped, and new-cell-line counts.
  2. Select the person approving this import.
  3. Read and acknowledge every skipped row.
  4. Review ignored columns and their acknowledgement before importing.

After import

Verify the counts before relying on the inventory.

  1. On the Ready screen, check the imported vial, box, position, user, and cell-line counts.
  2. Select Done to open the dashboard.
  3. Search for several known records: a common cell line, a barcode, a vial near the highest occupied coordinate, and a vial with an unusual passage or blank date.
  4. Open the matching box and confirm that the displayed position agrees with the physical record.
  5. Record the latest known liquid-nitrogen fill and create an external backup after the lab has finished verifying the migration.
CryoIndex Ready screen showing the numbers of imported vials, boxes, positions, users, and cell lines.

Treat the Ready screen as the first reconciliation checkpoint, not merely a success message.

  1. Compare every displayed count with the approved final review.
  2. Select Done only after the counts are plausible.
CryoIndex dashboard after spreadsheet-assisted setup, showing the imported inventory count and reminders to record a liquid-nitrogen fill and create an external backup.

A successful import starts the inventory; it does not replace the lab’s post-migration reconciliation.

  1. Use Search inventory to spot-check known vials and their exact positions.
  2. Confirm the inventory strip reports the expected vial, cell-line, and box counts.
  3. Record the latest known fill so the dewar’s schedule starts from real information.
  4. Save an external backup after verification; an on-tablet copy alone does not protect against tablet loss.

What spreadsheet assistance can—and cannot—know

CryoIndex can propose

  • Column meanings from recognized headings and aliases
  • The minimum coordinates occupied by the file
  • One dewar name used consistently in the file
  • Distinct cell-line names
  • Possible current tablet users from a selected people column

The lab must confirm

  • The full physical capacity, including empty storage
  • Ambiguous or unfamiliar column meanings
  • Who should be a current user
  • Whether every proposed cell-line value is legitimate
  • Every skipped row and every column that will not be retained
Convert an .xlsx workbook to CSV UTF-8Map spreadsheet column namesCorrect and re-import skipped rowsOpen the complete troubleshooting library