# Collecting data

> Open a template in Use mode and pull live project data into your workbook.

Collecting is the everyday job in Calc: open a template, click **Collect**, and
your workbook fills with the project's data - structured into sheets, with
charts that draw themselves.

## Open a template to collect

<Steps>
  <Step title="Pick the project">
    On the Calc tab, click **Projects** and choose the project you are working
    on. The ribbon shows the selected project and its configuration.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Open a template">
    Click **Templates**, find the template you need, and choose **Open**. It
    opens in **Use mode** - the **Data** group with **Collect** appears.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Collect

Click **Collect**. If the template has any [filters](/calc/collecting-data/filters)
that need input, Calc asks for them first. Then it:

- pulls the matching data from the project for each table in the template,
- writes it into structured sheets at each table's start cell,
- applies the table's sorting and grouping,
- binds any charts to the collected data so they populate,
- runs any macros set to run after Collect.

<Callout type="tip" title="Collect as often as you like">
  Collect is repeatable. If the project data changes - new boreholes from the
  field, corrections in Manage - just Collect again to refresh the workbook.
</Callout>

## Review your results

After collecting you will have one sheet per table (for example *Location
Details* or *Sample Information*), populated with live data, plus any charts
drawn from it. From here
it is a normal Excel workbook: calculate, format and report as you like.

## In this section

<Cards>
  <Card title="Filters at collection" href="/calc/collecting-data/filters">
    Answer prompts to narrow what you collect - by location, list value or unit.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Clearing results" href="/calc/collecting-data/clearing-results">
    Remove collected sheets and return to a clean template.
  </Card>
</Cards>