---
title: Viewing, Editing and Creating Items
description: "*Web client > Overview > click an item* Click an item in the overview to open it. This page explains how to look at an item, change it, copy it, delete it and create a new one. # Looking at…"
url: "https://datacrow.org/docs/web-client-items/"
updated: "2026-11-12"
category: Web Client
---

# Viewing, Editing and Creating Items

*Web client > Overview > click an item*

Click an item in the overview to open it. This page explains how to look at an item, change it, copy it, delete it and create a new one.

# Looking at an item

An item page is divided into sections. You choose them on the left (on a small screen they are a list at the top). The first section, **Details**, shows all the values of the item. Other sections, such as **Pictures**, **Related items**, **Loan Administration** and **Attachments**, appear when there is something to show.

- **Pictures** shows all the pictures of the item. In the details you see them one by one.
- **Attachments** are files which belong to the item. Click the name of an attachment to open it in your browser. A file which the browser can show, such as a PDF or a picture, opens right there. Other files are downloaded to your computer.
- **Related items** shows the items which refer to this item. Click one to open it. When you go back, you return to the same place in the list.
- A **file field** in the details can be downloaded: your browser saves the file.

![An item page with the Details section](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794425871296-8j9ddo.jpg)
An item page. The sections are on the left, the buttons for the item are in the top bar.

## The buttons of the item

The top bar shows what you can do with the item. You only see the buttons you are allowed to use. While you look at an item you see **Edit**, **Edit as new** and **Settings** (the sliders icon, where you can change the order of the fields of the form). When you click Edit you also get **Save**, **Online Search**, **Delete** and **View**.

- **Edit:** change the item.
- **Delete:** delete the item (when you are changing it).
- **Edit as new:** make a new item which starts as a copy of this one.
- **Copy and assign as a child:** for items which can contain other items of the same module, such as the editions of a book.
- **Online Search:** fill in the details of the item from the internet (when you are changing it). See [Online Search](https://datacrow.org/docs/web-client-online-search/#update).
- **Save:** save your changes (when you are changing the item).
- **View:** go back to looking at the item (when you are changing the item).

# Items inside an item (child items)

In some modules an item can contain other items of the same kind. A book can have several editions, for example, and a series has episodes. These child items are shown in a list on the page of the parent item, with a picture and a few of their values. The list has a filter so you can find a child item quickly, and shows 50 items per page. The sliders icon opens the list settings.

# Changing an item

1. Open the item and click **Edit** .
2. Change the values you want in the form.
3. Click **Save** . A message tells you that the item is being saved. Wait until it disappears: an item with many pictures or child items can take a moment.

![An item while it is being changed](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794425890234-3725v9.jpg)
While you change an item the top bar also shows Save, Online Search and Delete.

## Adding pictures

While you are changing an item, the section **Pictures** lets you add pictures. Choose a file from your computer, or paste a picture you have copied:

- Press **Ctrl+V** (**Cmd+V** on a Mac) anywhere on the page.
- Or click the clipboard icon . Your browser may ask for permission to read the clipboard. This icon only works when the web client is used over a secure connection (https). Pasting with the keyboard always works.
- On a tablet or phone without a keyboard, tap the paste area and choose **Paste**.

Pictures are numbered: *Picture #1*, *Picture #2* and so on. Next to every picture you find arrows to move it up or down in the order, a button to rotate it and a trash can to remove it.

![The Pictures section of an item in edit mode](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794425910892-e6yio7.jpg)
The Pictures section: paste or choose a picture, and move, rotate or remove the pictures.

## Adding attachments

Use the section **Attachments** to add files to an item, such as a manual or a receipt. For your safety, Data Crow checks every file. A file is refused when it is too large, when its type is not allowed, or when it turns out to be a program or a script. Your administrator decides what the limits are.

# Creating a new item

1. Click the **+** button  in the top bar of the overview.
2. Fill in the form. Fields which are required have to be filled before you can save. If you forget one, Data Crow tells you which field is missing.
3. Click **Save** .

![A message about a required field](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794426089712-0x5000-1.jpg)
A message tells you which required field has been left empty.

After you click Save, the item stays open for editing, so you can add pictures and attachments straight away. Click **View** to look at the item.

**Tip:** For many modules you do not have to type everything yourself. Online Search can find the details on the internet for you. See [Online Search](https://datacrow.org/docs/web-client-online-search/).

![The form for a new item](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794426067269-6fyheb.jpg)
The form for a new item. The title tells you which type of item you are creating.

## Starting from a template

When the module has templates, the form has a list called **Template** at the top. A template is a set of values which you often use, so you do not have to type them every time. The default template is chosen for you when the form opens. If you choose another template, the form is filled with the values of that template instead. The values of the previous template are not kept. Administrators create the templates, see [Templates](https://datacrow.org/docs/web-client-templates/).

![The form for a new item with the Template list](https://datacrow.org/wp-content/uploads/mcp-claude-in-chrome-blob-1794426200875-1wuej0.jpg)
When a module has templates, the form starts with a Template list. The default template is already chosen.

## Copying an item

Do you have items which look alike, such as several volumes of the same series? Then copy an existing item instead of starting from nothing:

1. Open the item you want to copy.
2. Click **Edit as new** . A new form opens with all the values of the original already filled in.
3. Change what is different and click **Save**.

The new item also gets the pictures, attachments and child items of the original (for example the tracks of a music album). The link to the online service of the original item is not copied, so the new item is not tied to the same online result.

For items which can contain items of the same module, such as the editions of a book, use **Copy and assign as a child**  instead. Data Crow makes a copy with its pictures and attachments, adds it as a child item of the original and opens it, so you can change what is different.

# Deleting an item

Open the item, click **Edit**, then click **Delete**  and confirm. An item which has been deleted cannot be brought back.