Create boxes and plates

Before creating boxes or plates, you must configure a Box schema or Plate schema, respectively. We recommend configuring your location hierarchy before creating containers. 

Create a box

To create an individual box:

1. Click the freezer icon to open the Inventory application.
2. Click + and select Create Box.
3. Select the box type and location to store the box.
4. Enter the box name. If no name is specified, the barcode will be used as the name.
5. [Optional] Select the project to assign the box to.
6. Click Create.

Note: If a project isn't selected when the box is created, access controls can be changed later.

You can bulk import boxes by uploading them via spreadsheet.

To import boxes:

1. Click the freezer icon to open the Inventory application.
2. Click + and under Box, select Import Boxes.

• The spreadsheet only requires one column to list the barcode of the parent location where the boxes should be created and stored. 

Note: If this is the only field that is specified, Benchling will auto-generate a new Box (and assign that Box a barcode) for each row in the spreadsheet.

• If you would like to use your own barcodes, include a second Box Barcode column in your spreadsheet (make sure to map the "box barcode" column in the spreadsheet to the "barcode" field in Benchling).

• You can also specify a "box name" or additional metadata fields in your spreadsheet.

Plate Creation

You can create plates in a similar way to creating boxes.  

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

2. Click + and select Create Plate.

3. Select the Plate schema you would like to create and then search for the location to store the plate in.

4. Enter a name for your plate and select a project.

5. Click Create.

You can create plates in bulk just like you can boxes, using a spreadsheet.