Create boxes and containers

In this article, you will learn how to create new boxes and containers within your Inventory product application on Benchling. Please note that you must first configure your box and container schemas and at least one location before creating boxes or containers for the first time.

Creating a single box

1. Click the freezer icon to open the Inventory application.

2. Click + and under Box, select Create Box.

3. Specify the box schema and location and then click Create. You may also specify a box name and an associated project, if desired.

Importing boxes in bulk from a spreadsheet

1. Click the freezer icon to open the Inventory application.
2. Click + and under Box, select Import Boxes.
3. Specify the box schema and a project, if desired, and click Next.
4. Upload a spreadsheet or copy and paste raw text from a spreadsheet and click Next.
5. Make sure that the column headers are included and that the box names, locations, and any box fields that you would like incorporated in the import are present
6. Check to see that the column headers from your upload match with the column types in Benchling and select “Next” Benchling will automatically match column headers to column types if the text matches, however if different wording is used then you will need to update these to match using the dropdown options under column types.
7. If Benchling does not find any errors with the import, select “Import” to finish the box creation
8.  

Creating new containers from the box page

1. Navigate to the box that you wish to use

2. In the Actions drop-down menu, select Create Containers.

3. Select the container schema to create.

4. Select an available position within the Box to place the container. You can select multiple positions if you wish to create multiple containers using the same schema.

5. Add a container name, project, and contents to the container(s) as desired.

6. Select “Create” to generate the containers.

Note: Filled containers will appear as green circles on the box page, whereas empty containers will appear white.

Filling containers from the box page

1. Select the containers in your box by interacting with the diagram on the left or the container list on the right and select "Fill Containers". You can select one container or many containers to fill through this action.

2. Specify if you will be filling the container with an entity that is not already in a container or if you will be transferring an entity from an existing container

3. If filling from an entity outside of a container, choose the existing entity that you would like to fill the container with or register.

4. If transferring from a container, choose the container from which you are transferring the entity and specify the quantities and units as prompted.