Top variables displays links that filter the experiments that you have access to in the inbox (either through ownership, project membership, having been granted full access, or public experiments) to show only experiments that use the variable. The number of experiments that use that variable is in parentheses after the variable name. Variables are sorted according to popularity, with the three most popular in a category always visible at the top. To see a list of all variables used in experiments to which you have access, click on "(Show More)". Variable names that have no files assigned to them will still be counted.

When you filter the inbox by a variable, the blue border at the top of the inbox will tell which variable you sorted by. For example: "Experiments with Conditions Tag: IL4 + IFNg". However, they are counted without regard to case--so "IL4" and "il4" will count as the same variable.

To turn off the filter, click on "All Experiments" in the "Filter Experiments" box at the upper left. Note that Plate, Plate Row, and Plate Column will never show up in top variables. Note also that variables with different spellings, such as "GCSF" and "G-CSF", will be counted as separate variables.

If you use the search box while a filter is on, you will only be searching the experiments that match the filter.