Private scientific-data repair
Escape Excel Online & Gene Updater Online
Repair date-converted gene symbols, update outdated HGNC names, and protect identifiers from Excel auto-formatting—entirely inside your browser.
- No file upload
- No account
- Backup readers
- Auditable output
Local browser application
Process a spreadsheet
Start with inspection, then approve only the repairs and protections you want.
Choose a file
XLSX, XLSM, CSV, TSV, TXT, JSON, or ODS. Legacy binary XLS is detected but not modified.
Ready. Files stay in this browser tab.
Verify the input
Format detection, hashing, package inventory, and redundant reader reconciliation run before any write.
Choose the workflow and scope
HGNC reference data
Loading bundled reference…
Review findings
| Apply | Cell | Current value | Proposed output | Issue | Evidence |
|---|
Downloads ready
The audit ZIP contains the primary output when applicable, changes.csv, changes.json, a manifest, and warnings.
Preservation-first architecture
How the online Gene Updater avoids silent data loss
Identify without trusting the extension
Magic bytes and package contents determine whether the file is OOXML, ODS, delimited text, JSON, or unsupported legacy XLS.
Read through independent paths
Delimited files are parsed by byte-span and decoded-text readers. OOXML worksheets are read by both DOM and raw XML-span paths, then reconciled.
Separate facts from guesses
Unique HGNC previous-symbol mappings can be recommended. Ambiguous date conversions remain unchanged until a user explicitly chooses a candidate.
Patch the smallest possible surface
UTF-8 CSV and TSV values are replaced by byte span. XLSX and XLSM changes target only selected worksheet cells while package parts outside those sheets remain unchanged.
Verify before download
The generated package is reopened, changed cells are checked, untouched parts are compared, and hashes and decisions are written to a manifest.
Leave an audit trail
Every approved change records its location, before and after values, reason, HGNC evidence, user decision, and verification status.
See detailed format behavior, safety boundaries, and implementation notes
Privacy by architecture
No upload endpoint is needed
The application can be hosted as ordinary static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Input files are obtained through the browser File API, processed in memory, and returned through local Blob downloads.
- No analytics code in this packageThe bundled build makes no analytics or telemetry request.
- No workbook macro executionVBA parts can be retained as opaque bytes in supported XLSM files.
- No automatic external lookupThe optional complete HGNC file is selected from the user’s device.
- Offline after first loadThe service worker caches the static application when served over HTTPS or localhost.
Frequently asked questions
Escape Excel and gene-symbol repair FAQ
Which formats can the web tool process?
It supports XLSX and XLSM inspection and targeted patching; UTF-8 CSV, TSV, and TXT inspection and byte-preserving repair; and JSON or ODS import followed by safe XLSX export. Encrypted files, signed OOXML modification, and legacy binary XLS editing are intentionally blocked.
What happens with Mar-01 or Mar-02?
Those values can represent more than one historical gene symbol. The tool presents the possible approved HGNC symbols and supporting names, but does not choose one automatically.
Does protecting values change the visible text?
In generated XLSX files, risky identifiers are stored as text while keeping their visible characters. An optional legacy TSV uses the older ="text" convention and is clearly labeled as a compatibility output.
Can I use the complete current HGNC dataset?
Yes. Download the complete HGNC TSV or JSON separately, then select it under “HGNC reference data.” The file is parsed locally and is not uploaded.
Can the output be guaranteed to reconstruct already-lost values?
No tool can reliably infer information that was irreversibly removed. This app distinguishes deterministic mappings from ambiguous possibilities and records unresolved cells rather than inventing a replacement.