In short
In the RUŌOD Lab app, a formula's history is kept by duplication: each Duplicate is a new formula named with the next version number, marked V and D in the list, and the original is never changed. A lock protects a finished version from edits and deletion. Undo and History step back through recent changes, which is a safety net, not a record. Reports and exports take your data out for analysis — including the external diff the previous lessons taught.
What you will learn
- Keep a formula's development as a chain of duplicates with version marks and reasons
- Use the lock, Undo and History for what each is for, and know their limits
- Reorder lines and collections without changing a formula's numbers
- Export records for an external diff and generate a report, knowing which steps depend on the plan
Before this lesson: RUŌOD Lab Tutorial: Dilution Methods, Scaling and Targets, Diffing Formula Versions
Before you start
You need the dilution and scaling tutorial and the diff lesson. Several steps here depend on the plan; the pricing section sets out which.
Versions
- Duplicate (swipe a formula row, or from the editor) creates Name v2, then v3 and so on, one past the highest existing version of that name. The copy is unlocked and dated today; the original is untouched.
- V and D. Each row shows its version (V2) and how many other copies exist (D1). Deleting a copy lowers D; nothing renumbers V. Both marks can be hidden in Settings → Formulas List.
- Reasons. The app records the version, not why you made it. Write the reason in the formula's notes or description at the moment you duplicate, the way a commit message works.
- Lock. Locking a formula makes its entries read-only, and the app refuses to delete it; a bulk delete that includes a locked formula is refused whole. Lock each version you have evaluated, so the record of what you smelled cannot drift.
Undo and History
Undo and Redo work across the app, restoring earlier snapshots of your library. The History menu shows recent actions and View Full History lists every stored entry. How far Undo reaches depends on your plan and the History Limit in Tools; Redo is never limited. Use Undo for mistakes made a moment ago, and versions for anything you will want to compare.
Order and organization
Lines, formulas and collections are reordered with buttons in reorder mode (from the ⋯ menu), and a position can be typed. Order is presentation: it never changes a figure. Reorder is hidden while a sort or filter is applied, because the order on screen is then not the stored order. Collections group formulas the way they group materials; a study's versions belong in one collection.
Reports and exports
- Reports (Tools → Reports) compute analyses over your library — composition, data quality, material usage, IFRA flags against your recorded limits, cost and inventory, suppliers, formula portfolio and composition by family — from the live data each time, and export as PDF. Which reports are included depends on the plan.
- Exports of materials and formulas are available as PDF, CSV, Excel and JSON. Exporting one formula at a time is available on every plan; exporting a selection, a collection or the whole library depends on the plan.
- For a diff, export each version as CSV or JSON and run the comparison from the diff lesson; the app has no side-by-side comparison.
Exports are files on your device. Backups of the whole library are a separate feature in Settings, and are not a substitute for keeping your exported research records.
Practical exercise: A versioned development record in the app
- Take one formula through four versions by Duplicate, each changing at most two things, with the reason written in the notes at the time.
- Evaluate each version, record the evaluation in the notes, and lock the version once evaluated.
- Export versions 1 and 4 and diff them with your script. Check that the diff matches the reasons you recorded.
- Generate one report available on your plan, and write two sentences on what it shows about your library that you did not know.
You have done this well if every version has a reason written when it was made, evaluated versions are locked, your external diff accounts for every recorded change and reveals any unrecorded share drift, and nothing in your record depends on Undo.
Common mistakes
- Editing the evaluated version instead of duplicating. The smell you recorded no longer matches the formula.
- Relying on Undo as history. It is limited and not labelled with reasons.
- Treating a report's IFRA view as compliance. It reflects only the limits you recorded.
Key terms
- Version mark
- In the RUŌOD Lab formula list, V followed by a number: the formula's version, raised only by Duplicate and never renumbered.
- Duplicate count
- In the formula list, D followed by a number: how many other copies of the formula exist. It falls when a copy is deleted, because it is counted, not stored.
- Formula lock
- In the app, a flag that makes a formula's entries read-only and refuses its deletion, until it is unlocked.
Knowledge check
Written and reviewed by the RUŌOD Lab team. This is general education, not legal, regulatory, medical or safety advice. Example dilutions and exercises are for learning, are not validated products, and have not been safety-assessed. Completing a lesson confers no qualification. How we check these lessons.