By default Edna answers questions but does not touch anything. This article covers turning on the ability to propose changes, and using a document as the starting point for one. Nothing is created without you approving it first, which is how the assistant is meant to work.
Read Edna, the AI assistant: what it can do first if you have not.
The "Edna can make changes" switch
This is a lab-wide setting, and only a PI can change it.
- Go to Settings in the sidebar.
- Open the Lab tab.
- Scroll to the Edna section.
- Turn on Edna can make changes.
You get a confirmation that Edna can now make changes. Turning it off gives the matching confirmation.
If you are not a PI, the setting is visible but not editable, and it says only a PI can change it.
What the switch does and does not do
The app is precise about this, and it is worth quoting the shape of it:
- Asking questions is always available on eligible plans, switch or no switch.
- Changes additionally require this switch.
- Every change still needs your confirmation in chat.
So the switch is not "let Edna act on its own". There is no setting anywhere that does that. The switch decides whether Edna may offer to change something. Whether it happens is still your call, one card at a time.
Turning it on is a low-risk decision for that reason. The thing it unlocks is Edna preparing a filled-in form for you to check, which is faster and less error-prone than typing the same thing yourself.
Attaching a PDF or photo in chat
You can attach a document to a chat message and have Edna read it into a proposal. This is the quick path for a single arriving delivery, as opposed to loading a whole existing inventory.
Chat attachments require a Team or Lab plan, the lab-wide change switch, and the PI or Researcher role. If the paperclip is missing, check those requirements. A Junior Researcher cannot use this creation flow.
- Open Edna.
- Use Attach a PDF or photo to import.
- Pick your file.
- Wait while it uploads and reads the PDF or photo.
- Complete the review, skip any items you do not want, and approve the included items.
Supported files
The file picker accepts PDF, JPEG, PNG, HEIC, HEIF, and WebP, up to 20 MB per file. An unsupported or oversized file is refused before upload.
What you will see
Edna extracts the inventory items it can find and presents them for review before anything is created. The card asks for missing details rather than offering every field for editing:
- Choose a real location for each item with the searchable picker. A location read from the document can preselect a match; check that it is correct.
- Fill in the missing name, quantity, unit, quantity type, or hazard level when requested. Use the document or your own verified information; do not invent missing values.
- The Supply (not a reagent) option appears when it can resolve a missing hazard level. The CAS field is optional for reagents and is hidden for supplies.
- Enter a missing lot number, or explicitly choose No lot yet (add later). If a date could not be read, check it against the document. See Lot numbers, CAS, hazard and expiry.
Use Skip for an item you do not want to add. Included items with unresolved required fields keep the add button disabled. Nothing is created until you approve.
When it does not work
The message identifies whether reading, saving the review, or adding items failed:
- If Edna could not read the PDF or photo, check the file and try again.
- If no inventory items were found in the PDF or photo, try a clearer document or use the guided import.
- If the review choices could not all be saved, nothing is added. Your edits remain on the card; correct the marked rows and retry.
- If adding reports partial success, the successful items are already in inventory. Only the failed rows remain on the card for correction and retry.
- If nothing could be added, the message says so and you can retry. Check the result message before starting another import.
Chat attachment or the guided import?
Both read documents, and they are for different jobs. The guided import is the one you will reach for most.
| Use | When |
|---|---|
| Guided import | The normal case. A delivery being unpacked, a stack of packing slips, a spreadsheet, a shelf you are finally recording. Many files at once, with location matching and bulk editing. |
| Attach in chat | The exception. A single document with a handful of items, when you are already in a conversation and it is quicker to ask. |
The guided import handles CSV spreadsheets, deduplicates locations across files, and lets you edit in bulk, none of which the chat path does. Reach for it for anything sizeable. Open Add Inventory in the top bar and choose Import inventory. See Import files: CSV, supplier PDFs and shelf photos.
It is not only for new labs. Its name comes from the Dashboard card new labs see, but the same flow is how inventory arrives from then on: every order, every delivery, every batch you never got round to entering. Edna's welcome message points new labs at it, which is why it can read as a one-time setup step. It is not.