You can use computed fields to display a field from a parent entity onto the child entity, calculate the molecular weight of your protein entities, calculate the average of all results recorded against an entity, and much more.
What are computed fields?
A computed field is a schema field that automatically computes a value based on other values in your Benchling tenant. Computed fields live on schemas and automatically compute based on other values in the system. They are denoted on the schema by the fx symbol.
What are computed fields used for?
They may pull, or hoist, information directly from a specified field on an entity or indirectly from other linked entities within the Registry. Results can also be pulled onto an entity in a couple different formats.
Your Benchling admin must assign a formula configuration to the computed field, which informs Benchling of the data type you need pulled or calculated. For a comprehensive list of formulas offered in Benchling, visit Computed field types.
Computed fields are specifically used in the Registry to track live data across all registered entities. Say you have a computed field on a protein that displays the resistance gene linked to its parent plasmid. If that resistance gene were edited at a later time point, the computed field would recalculate its value and display the new resistance gene.
How do computed fields integrate with data?
The image below summarizes how these fields can integrate with Benchling data. To learn about all configurable computed fields on Benchling, visit Computed field types.
