INPUT GUIDE

Prepare a trace file

Each row is one sample. Give the workbench a time for that sample and at least one numeric measurement. Use real dates when you have them; otherwise use elapsed hours.

If your columns have different names or formats, choose Choose columns manually beside the file picker. Select the worksheet, header and separator, then say which column holds time and which holds your main trace. Check the interpreted sample rows before importing.

Tell the workbench what your columns mean

Use Choose columns manually when your export has an introductory row, unusual column names, a different separator, or data on another Excel worksheet.

Pick the row containing column names, or turn off the header option if the file has none. Refresh the preview to see the columns the workbench found.
Choose one date-and-time column, separate date and clock columns, elapsed time, or equally spaced samples with no time column. Set the date format or elapsed-time unit explicitly if the preview is ambiguous.
Choose the main trace, any light column, and any other numeric measurements. Set the decimal mark and choose Sum or Mean for each additional measurement independently; use Sum for event counts such as correct and incorrect runs.
Click Check mapped data and inspect the first interpreted times and measurements. The original file is stored only when you click Import this recording.

If your file has only elapsed time or sample numbers, you may leave the recorded start blank. The workbench will use a display-only date; analyses requiring real calendar dates will remain unavailable.

Dates and times recorded with the trace

Use a column called timestamp, or separate date and time columns. The example uses year-month-day and a 24-hour clock.

One timestamp column

timestamp,activity,light_lux
2026-05-01 08:00,12,100
2026-05-01 08:15,18,120
2026-05-01 08:30,,115
2026-05-01 08:45,9,80

Separate date and time

date,time,counts
2026-05-01,08:00,12
2026-05-01,08:15,18
2026-05-01,08:30,14
2026-05-01,08:45,9

Name the main measurement activity, counts, motion, intensity or value. Other numeric columns, such as light, temperature or water, come in as additional channels. A blank measurement stays missing; it is not treated as zero.

Only elapsed time recorded

Put increasing time in hours in the first column. Name it Time [h], Time (h) or time_h. Put one trace in each remaining column.

Time [h],WT_1,Cry1_3
0,120,95
0.25,126,97
0.5,119,101
0.75,113,104

Here 0.25 means 15 minutes after the first sample. The column names become trace labels. The workbench uses an invented calendar origin for display, so date-based lighting or shift analysis needs a file with real timestamps.

Save and check the file

Choose the format that matches your export. File names alone do not tell the workbench which time layout you used.

CSV, TSV or TXTText tables with a header row; commas, tabs, semicolons and pipes are detected. MotionWatch text exports and BioDare2 tables can use this route.

ClockLab AWDOpen the original seven-line ClockLab activity export. Its date, start time and sample interval come from the header.

Excel XLSX or XLSMThe first sheet is tried automatically; the manual column picker can select another sheet. Excel support requires the optional openpyxl package; if unavailable, save the sheet as CSV.

Include a header and at least three samples. Keep one row per time point and make time move forward.
Keep the original sampling interval. The workbench infers it from the time column.
Leave missing measurements blank. The manual column picker rejects negative main activity values; remove or mark them missing before import.
If the import fails, check that a full date and time or increasing elapsed hours is present, and that the measurement columns contain numbers.