How to use Extract Data

Extract Data reads a set of papers and fills a table: one row per paper, one column per question. Every value is linked back to the sentence in the paper it came from, so nothing in the table is a claim you can't check.

This page walks through the whole flow. For what to put in your columns, see Tips for creating better extraction fields and Example fields and use cases.

What you get

A table with your papers down the side and your questions across the top.

• Cells are condensed values, not paragraphs — written to be compared by scanning down a column.
• Each value carries quote links back to the exact sentences behind it.
• Answers that genuinely aren't in a paper come back marked Not reported, Not applicable, or Unclear — never invented.
• The whole table exports to CSV or Excel.

Creating a table

Adding columns

Open Manage Columns from the toolbar. It slides in beside the table, which stays visible and live — you'll see cells fill in as you work.

Columns come from four places.

Add New Column

The Add New Column button opens a form with three fields:

Suggested Columns

If you answered the research question at setup, Paperguide's proposals appear here. Toggle one on to add it, or use its Edit action to adjust the wording first — suggestions are a draft, not a verdict.

Saved Columns

Columns you've saved, available in every extraction table you create. To put one here, use Save in any column's ⋮ menu. A saved column keeps its output type, its choice list, and its settings, so re-adding it later restores the whole definition.

Default Columns

A curated catalogue you can add as-is, or open Edit to tweak the definition before adding it to your table.

How toggling works: the switch answers one question — is this column in the table right now? Toggling on a column that isn't in the table yet adds it and starts extracting. Toggling off a column that is in the table hides it.

Managing columns

Each row in the panel has a switch and a ⋮ menu.

Editing is how you iterate. Because an edit re-runs only that one column, the fast way to build a good table is: create it with 5–10 papers, get the column wording right, then add the rest of your papers — new papers extract only the cells they're missing.

Adding papers later: Add Papers in the toolbar opens the picker again and extracts the new rows against your existing columns.

Explanations

Explanations adds a short line to each cell explaining how the value was determined from the paper. Set it at two levels:

• Table level: in the setup dialog at creation, or later in Manage Columns → Settings.
• Per column: in the column form's Additional options. A toggle left matching the table keeps inheriting future table changes; changing it creates an override for that column only.

When to use it. Turn it on while you're tuning a column: the explanation tells you whether a wrong answer is a bad instruction or a hard paper. Turn it off for the final read if you want a tighter table.

Yes/Maybe/No and Specified columns always explain, whatever the setting — their value is a bare verdict or label, so the justification has to live somewhere.

Quote links and citation highlights

This is what makes the table checkable rather than merely fast.

The quote link in a cell

Values carry small quote icons inline, right after the claim they support. Click one and the Supporting quotes panel opens on the right, already showing that specific quote. Hovering over a cell loads its evidence in advance, so the panel opens instantly.

Yes/Maybe/No and Specified cells work slightly differently. Their value is a single word, so there's nowhere to put an inline icon — instead the whole cell is clickable. Hover it and it highlights; click anywhere on it to open the same panel.

Inside the Supporting quotes panel

The panel shows, top to bottom:

1. The paper: title, authors, year, journal.
2. Quote n of m with Previous and Next, when a value rests on more than one sentence. Quotes are ordered as you'd read them: full-text quotes by page, abstract quotes last.
3. The quote itself, highlighted in context. Where the paper's full text is available, you get the surrounding passage with the cited sentence highlighted, scrolled into view. Otherwise you get the stored excerpt card, labelled with its page number, for example, Page 7 · Excerpt.
4. Reasoning at the bottom, when Explanations are on for that cell.

The reasoning text has its own quote links. The explanation carries the same inline icons, and clicking one re-scopes the panel to that specific citation — so you can step from "why this value" straight to the sentence that supports that particular part of it.

What you can't cite

Paper metadata, such as journal, year, and authors, is context, not quotable evidence — a cell answered purely from metadata shows no quote link. And if a cell's citations can't be matched, the panel falls back to showing all retrieved excerpts rather than showing you nothing.

Working with the finished table

Watch it fill. Cells stream in as they're extracted; the header shows progress such as "Extracting 4/12". You can keep working while it runs.

If cells fail. A banner appears saying "3 cells didn't finish extracting" with a Retry button that re-runs just those cells. A cell that reads "Out of AI credits" isn't a failure: top up, then Retry.

Sort by title, from A–Z or Z–A, or by date, from newest to oldest.

Filter by source — Reference Manager, public papers, or uploaded files. Only the source types actually present in your table are offered.

Select rows with the checkboxes to switch the toolbar into selection mode, where you can export just the selection or remove those papers from the table.

Export to CSV or Excel, either the whole table or only the selected rows.

Share copies the table's link — teammates in your workspace can open it.

Quick reference

Related: Tips for creating better extraction fields · Example fields and use cases