# Extract with views

Turn a folder into a table where every file answers the same questions, with citations.

A view is a table built from a folder. Each row is a file, each column is a question, and Anara fills every cell by reading that file. Every cell keeps the passages it came from, so you can check any value in a click.

Use a view when you want the same answer from every file: sample sizes, study designs, outcomes, limitations, or the fields you need to screen papers. For one synthesized answer across a folder, use [chat](/guides/chat) instead.

## Create a view [#create-a-view]

1. Open a folder.
2. Click **View** in the toolbar, then **Create view**.
3. Describe what to extract, or click a suggested prompt and edit it.
4. Click the arrow. Anara writes the columns, names the view, and fills cells column by column.

To use only some files, select them with checkboxes and click **Extract to table**. You can also ask in a folder chat, for example: "create a table extracting the country of the first author and the funding source from this folder."

<Callout>
  Describe the fields, not the task. "Extract sample size, study design, primary outcome, and limitations" gives cleaner columns than "review these papers".
</Callout>

## Edit columns [#edit-columns]

* Click **Add extraction column**, write a question such as "What was the sample size?", and pick a type: Text, Number, Date, Yes / no, or Single select.
* Open a column header to edit, retry, or delete it. Editing a column re-runs it.
* Ask the chat to add, change, rerun, rename, or delete columns in the open view.

## Check the answers [#check-the-answers]

Hover a cell and click the passage count to open **Source evidence**: the file, page, and exact text used. Click a row to open the file at that passage.

| Cell shows   | Meaning                                                              |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Not reported | The answer is not in the file. Reword the column if you expected one |
| Failed       | The file could not be read. Fix it, then click Retry                 |
| Waiting      | The file is still importing                                          |

## Keep it current [#keep-it-current]

A view built from a whole folder follows it: new files add rows, removed files drop them. Click **Rerun** to refresh every cell. Views read documents, web pages, spreadsheets, notes, video, and audio; images are skipped. One run fills up to 2,000 cells (files multiplied by columns).