You can edit multiple Inventory items either using Excel or directly in Quartzy. See the instructions below for how to edit items and item instances in bulk using Excel.
Important: If your lab does not have the Item Instances inventory structure, click here to learn how to edit inventory items using Excel.
1. From the Inventory module, click on Export Inventory.
2. Click Export File.
3. In the Excel file, rows in grey represent each item, while the white rows below each item are the item instances.
Ways you can edit your Inventory in Excel:
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On Instance rows, edit the data in the following fields: Location, Sub-location, Lot Number, and Expiration Date.
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On Item rows, edit the data in fields such as Item Name or Owner.
Note: Quartzy uses the Serial Number to find existing items and save the changes you made; therefore, that field cannot be edited.
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Edit the Amount in Stock for item instances (ie. white rows). When editing the Amount in Stock for an item instance, the total stock will be updated for that item when the saved file is imported.
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Add new inventory items by inserting data below the existing items on the appropriate Type worksheet. The Item Name column is a required field. For the Row Type column, choose Item. Leave the Serial Number and Instance ID fields blank. A unique Serial Number will be automatically assigned upon import.
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Add new item instances. Item instances can only be added to existing items that were already in the exported Excel file. For the Row Type column, choose Instance. Copy the Serial Number from the grey Item row above. Leave the Instance ID field blank.
- To add item instances to new items, you must first import the file with the new items so they are each automatically assigned a unique serial number, then export your inventory again to add item instances below those new items.
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Add new custom fields by inserting a column and pasting your data.
- Add new Types by adding and naming a new worksheet. Copy over the column headers from an existing worksheet that you want to include in the new Type. Note: There is a 31-character limit for worksheet (Type) names.
Important: Unless the field is greyed out, Unit Size is customizable, whereas the Amount in Stock Units field must be an accepted unit of measurement. The accepted units for the Amount in Stock Units field are: aliquots, ampules, bags, bottles, boxes, canisters, cases, drums, kits, packs, plates, rolls, samples, sleeves, tubes, units, vials, µg, mg, g, kg, pmol, nmol, µmol, mmol, mol, oz, lb, µL, mL, L, fl oz, gal, mm, m, in, ft, yd.
The Amount in Stock field can only contain numeric values.
4. Save the file. From the Inventory module, click Import Inventory.
5. Check the box that verifies that you used the Quartzy Excel template and upload your saved file.
All files that were attached to existing inventory items will remain attached to those items after your changes are uploaded. No need to reattach!
How to move an Instance from one Item to another
If your lab has duplicate items and you'd like to track all Instances under just one item, you can move Instances from one item to another. For example, move the single Instance of Item B to an Instance of Item A. Here's how:
- Export your inventory.
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In the Excel file, you'll see Item rows and Instance rows. Each Instance row represents an individual occurrence of the Item row above it. For example:
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To move an Instance from one Item to another, do the following in each worksheet of the Excel file:
- Create a new blank row beneath the item you're moving the Instance to.
- Cut and paste the Instance row you're moving into that blank row.
- Copy and paste the Serial Number of the Item row above the Instance into that new Instance row in the Serial Number field - this is important, as the unique Serial Number is used to identify items and link them together
- Delete the Instance ID field of that new Instance
- Finally, in the Item row of the old item that no longer has any Instances, change the Delete? (Y/N) field to Y. (Alternatively, you can archive instead of delete by placing a Y in the Archived column instead of the Delete? (Y/N) column — archived items can later be restored if needed, whereas deleted items cannot.)
Using the example from the above screenshot, your items in Excel will look like this:
- Save the file.
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Import the saved file into your Inventory module. The Instance(s) will now appear with Item A, and Item B will be deleted (or archived).
Troubleshooting
For common troubleshooting errors, check out this user guide: Fixing common errors when importing inventory from Excel
If you receive the error "Subitem [Instance] rows require an item serial number," be sure you are only adding item instances to existing items that were already in the exported Excel file. For the Row Type column, choose Instance. Copy the Serial Number from the grey Item row above. Leave the Instance ID field blank.
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