Using The Browser
This guide is about the workflow: how to find variables quickly and export a clean list without getting lost in the schema.
Recommended Workflow
Start broad. Search by concept first, not by prefix.
Narrow the list. Use filters and component groups before selecting in bulk.
Inspect when needed. Open details for descriptions, coverage, and related variables.
Validate imports. Paste old lists into the import box before applying them.
Export simply. Treat selectedvars.txt as the main output.
What The Main Controls Mean
Search and facets
Use these to move from a vague concept to a smaller candidate set.
Group and family actions
These bulk actions work best after you narrow the catalog.
Saved sets
These are browser-local helpers for repeat work. They are useful, but exported files are still the safer handoff format.
Manifest export
This is optional metadata for reproducibility. The plain-text variable list is still the main output.
How To Read The Metadata
Coverage badges summarize when a variable appears in the panel window.
Completeness badges help you notice sparse variables before you export them.
Source labels show the main source lineage used for grouping and context.
Related variables are helpful neighbors, not guaranteed companion variables.
What The Browser Guarantees
It only lists columns that exist in the published cleaned-panel snapshot.
It exports a plain-text selection format that stays easy to inspect and reuse.
It remains static and self-contained, which keeps the public Pages deployment simple.
What It Does Not Guarantee
It does not tell you whether a variable is conceptually right for your design.
It does not resolve comparability issues across survey or reporting changes.
It does not replace the underlying panel QA and method documentation in the repository.