The Notebook is a digital workspace for documenting experiments, tracking data, and collaborating with your team. It centralizes research activities so you can organize, link, and share scientific information efficiently.

This article focuses on how the Notebook works for Academic users, if you are looking for information on the enterprise Notebook, see the linked article. 

Create a Notebook entry

To get started, you’ll need to create a Notebook entry. Entries can be created blank or with pre-built templates. 

To get started, you'll need to create a Notebook entry. Entries can be created blank or with pre-built templates, depending on your team's workflow.

1. Click on Global Create in the navigation bar and elect Entry from the menu
2. From the menu choose how you’d like to create your entry
   • Blank entry allows you to create an entry with a blank workspace
   • Entry from template allows you to create an entry with content pre-configured by an admin
3. Fill out attributes for the entry by entering a descriptive title for your entry and assigning your entry to a project and folder
4. Click Create to begin editing your new entry

Edit and format entries 

Once your entry is created, you can begin writing and organizing your content using built-in rich text editing features. Click directly in the notebook body to begin typing. 

You can then use the top toolbar to apply formatting like:

• Typographical emphasis: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough 
• Additional text elements: superscripts, subscripts, symbols, colored text, highlighting
• Content organization: headers, bulleted lists, numbered lists, check boxes 
• Insert: insert tables, attachments, code blocks 

These elements can also be inserted by using the /-keyboard shortcut. A list of other shortcuts can be found below. The other sections in this article cover how to add these elements to your entry.

Keyboard shortcuts

Benchling supports a number of keyboard shortcuts to make editing faster and more efficient:

Notebook Shortcuts

Table Shortcuts

Insert dates, references to people, objects, and attachments

Use date inserts to timestamp actions and provide a clear historical context for experimental work. @-mentions notify collaborators directly within the entry, making it easier to assign tasks or request input. Date inserts can be done directly in the body of the entry. 

Insert dates

1. Type /New day and press Enter
2. Click on the date and a calendar pops up allowing you to adjust the date

Note: if you want to change the date, you may do so as long as the date follows the entry’s previous date.  

Insert @-mentions and attachments

You can enrich your entries by embedding file attachments, linking Sequences, or referencing other Entries.

1. Click into the Notebook entry body and type @ symbol
2. Start typing the name of the person object you’d like to link (e.g. Sequence, Entry, file)
3. Click the item you want to insert

Inserting attachments

1. Click Insert in the toolbar at the top of the entry
2. Choose Attachment
3. Drag and drop a file or click to browse and upload

Add authors to an entry  

Author tags record contributors for each entry, supporting transparent collaboration. These edits can be made in the Metadata tab of your entry. 

In this tab you can: 

1. Add an author by clicking click on the edit icon to the right of the Authors section, searching for a name, and selecting it from the dropdown
2. Save the selection by clicking the check mark
3. Alternatively, in the edit menu, remove an author by clicking the X next to their name
   
   

Tables 

Notebook tables support spreadsheet-style features. You can use flexible column types, data validations, and formulas to structure experimental records. This improves consistency and helps automate data tracking. To insert a table:

1. Click Insert in the toolbar at the top of the entry
2. Select Table from the menu
3. Select the table size you’d like to insert
4. Click into any cell to enter data

Note: You can rename the table by right clicking on the header, then selecting Rename Table

Table formulas 

Tables support spreadsheet functions such as SUM, AVERAGE, IF, and XLOOKUP. Use lookup columns to link other Benchling entities and formulas to calculate values across rows. Formulas are powerful tools that support data consistency, reduce manual errors, and automate calculations across experimental records. 

1. Click into the cell you want to modify
   • If you want to apply a formula to the whole column, click on the column header to highlight the whole column
2. Click into the text box next to the fx symbol to enter in the desired formula
   • Click on the fx symbol to see a list of the available formulas
   • Use the suggestions in the text bar to format the formula correctly

For a list of common table formulas that you can use in Benchling, see this article on common table formulas.

Manage table visibility

If you have long tables that you don’t want to scroll through in order to get to the next part of your Notebook entry, you can collapse tables for a more streamlined experience. 

1. Navigate to the top of the table
2. Click the arrow icon in the top-left corner of the table to collapse or expand

Manage and share entries

In collaborative environments, tracking the history of changes to Notebook entries is critical. Benchling automatically timestamps all entry updates, ensuring every action—whether editing, commenting, or syncing—is recorded. These timestamps help maintain data integrity and trace contributions over time.

Version history

Version history allows you to audit changes made to a notebook entry over time and recover earlier versions if content is accidentally modified or deleted. 

1. Open the entry you want to view
2. Click on the history icon in the top right of the entry
3. Click on any version to preview it

Restore or clone versions

Once in the version history panel

1. Select the version of the document of interest
2. Click on the button with the 3 dots in the upper right hand corner
3. Click either:
   1. Restore to Version you’d like to restore the entry to
   2. Duplicate from Version to create a new entry from a version

Export and share entries

You can share your entries with collaborators in read-only format or export data to share outside Benchling. The read-only link allows others to view an entry without editing permissions, preserving the original content for audit or review. To share or export an entry:

1. Click the Share button in the upper-right corner
2. Toggle link sharing on/off or generate a read-only link
3. To export, click the Information icon and select Export entry

You can export entries as a PDF by clicking the print icon in the toolbar and saving the printable file as a PDF. 

Protocols 

Benchling allows for the creation of commonly used protocols, which can be attached to your Notebook entries.  

Note: Protocols are only available to Academic customers. If you are an Enterprise customer, use templates. 

Create protocols

1. To create a new protocol, navigate to a project and click on the local create button 
2. From the menu, select protocol 
3. Use the templated structure to give your protocol a name and optionally add an introduction
4. Fill out the information for materials and the procedure 

Attach protocols to entries

Attach protocols to entries to easily reference the steps of your experiment.

1. In an open Notebook entry, go to the Add Protocol tab 
2. Use the search bar to search for your protocol or click to import a PDF from a file 
3. Click on the protocol to add it to your entry 

Linked protocols can be edited, but the original protocol will remain unchanged. To view your protocol alongside your notes, click Split Workspace at the bottom right of the screen.