DataForge LITE

⚖ LITE vs Full — at a glance

Everything the free LITE edition includes — and what the full version adds.

✔ included  ·  ✘ full version only. Locked features appear in LITE as in-editor previews that link to the upgrade.

🏠 Overview

All your game data assets, in one editable grid.

DataForge LITE is the free edition of DataForge — a Unity Editor extension that turns your ScriptableObject assets into an editable spreadsheet. Pick a type — WeaponData, EnemyData, ItemData, anything — and every asset of that type becomes a row, every serialized field a column. Edit values inline with full Undo, search and filter, sort, and show / hide columns — all for free.

What you can do in LITE Free

In the full version Full version

Bulk / multi-edit (set one value across a selection), CSV/TSV/JSON export, formulas, validation, conditional formatting, two-way Google Sheets sync, import (CSV/TSV/JSON back into assets), batch create, scratch pad, change history and smart multi-cell paste from Excel / Google Sheets are all part of the full version. The sections below double as a preview of each. Get the full version →

Typical Workflow

⚡ Quick Start

From import to editing your first asset in under two minutes — no dependencies, no setup.

📦 Installation

No dependencies — import and open.

DataForge LITE is completely self-contained. There are no dependencies to install and no setup step — just import the package and open the window.

🖼 The DataForge Window

A toolbar on top, your data grid below.

Open it via Window → DataForge → Open DataForge. The window is dockable and resizable, and has two areas:

The data grid

• Rows are the assets of the selected type. Columns are their serialized fields.
• Click a cell to select it; click + drag or Shift+click to select a range; Ctrl+click rows to multi-select.
• Arrow keys, Tab and Enter move the active cell, just like a spreadsheet.
• The header row stays frozen while you scroll. Column headers can be shown in Friendly or raw form (see Settings).
• Large tables are paginated — the page size is configurable in Settings.

Search & filter

The search box in the toolbar filters rows live as you type — matching against the asset name and cell values. Clear it to show every row again.

Column visibility

Click Columns in the toolbar to toggle individual columns on or off, or choose Show All Columns. Hiding columns you aren't editing keeps wide tables readable.

🧰 Toolbar Reference

Every control across the top of the window.

✏ Editing Cells

It writes to the real asset — with full Undo.

Editing a cell in DataForge is editing the asset. Every change goes through Unity's serialization and is registered with the editor Undo system, so Ctrl+Z works exactly as it does in the Inspector. Object-reference, colour, enum, curve and gradient cells open the same property drawers Unity uses.

Keyboard & mouse

📑 Supported Field Types

DataForge renders an appropriate editor for each serialized field.

Each column is rendered with a type-aware cell editor. The following field types are supported as first-class columns:

🔁 Bulk / Multi-Edit ⭐ Full version

Change dozens of assets in a single action.

Select a range of cells — a column, a block, or a multi-row selection — and set them all to a single value in one action. This is what makes balancing data fast: changing many values together instead of cell by cell.

Σ Formulas ⭐ Full version

Compute numeric cells from other fields in the same row.

Any cell value that begins with = is treated as a formula. Formulas reference other fields of the same row by wrapping the field name in braces — {fieldName} — and are evaluated to a number that is written into the cell.

Examples

// double the base damage
={damage} * 2

// derive DPS from damage and attack speed
={damage} * {attackSpeed}

// clamp a computed price into a sensible band
=CLAMP({basePrice} * 1.15, 10, 999)

// round a value to a whole number
=ROUND({weight} * 0.45)

Operators

Standard arithmetic is supported: +, -, *, /, and parentheses for grouping.

Built-in functions

✅ Validation ⭐ Full version

Catch bad data before it ships.

DataForge can check each field against rules and surface failures right in the grid. Rules are attached per field and stored in a per-type validation profile asset.

Rule types

How it runs

• With Auto Validate on Edit enabled (the default), DataForge revalidates after every edit and when the window regains focus.
• Otherwise, click Validate View in the toolbar to run validation on demand.
• When issues are found, an issue count appears in the toolbar — red for errors, amber for warnings. Click it to filter the grid down to just the offending rows.

🎨 Conditional Formatting ⭐ Full version

Let the data colour itself.

Conditional formatting paints a cell's background or text based on its value, so patterns and outliers are obvious without reading every number. Rules are defined per type and persist with your DataForge settings.

Typical uses

• Highlight a damage value that is far above the rest of the table.
• Tint a whole rarity column by tier — common, rare, legendary.
• Flag a price of 0 red so unfinished economy data stands out.
• Mark booleans — e.g. isEnabled — green when true.

Each rule pairs a condition on a column with a format style (background colour, text colour, emphasis). Rules are evaluated as the grid draws, so formatting updates the instant a value changes.

➕ Batch Create ⭐ Full version

Generate many new assets in one dialog.

Click + Create in the toolbar to open the Batch Create window and stamp out a run of new assets of the selected type.

A live Preview shows the name of the first asset before you commit. Click Create and the new rows appear in the grid, ready to edit.

💾 Import & Export

Import and all export (CSV / TSV / JSON) are full-version features.

Export ⭐ Full version

The Export toolbar drop-down writes the current table to a file:

Import ⭐ Full version

The Import button reads a CSV, TSV or JSON file back into the current table, matching columns by header and updating the corresponding asset fields. After an import the grid refreshes so you can review and validate the new values.

📋 Scratch Pad ⭐ Full version

A scratch area for moving tabular data into a table.

Open the Scratch Pad from Window → DataForge → Scratch Pad. It is a simple text area: paste a block of rows and columns copied from Excel, Google Sheets or a CSV, then send it straight into the active DataForge table with Paste to Table.

It's handy when you want to stage and eyeball external data before it lands in your assets — especially large blocks that you'd rather not paste cell-by-cell.

📁 Google Sheets Sync ⭐ Full version

Two-way sync between a ScriptableObject type and a Google Sheet.

DataForge can connect to Google Sheets so designers can balance data in a shared spreadsheet while the project stays the source of truth. Each type syncs with its own tab in a bound project spreadsheet.

Controls

🕔 Change History ⭐ Full version

Every edit recorded — and revertible.

Click History in the toolbar to open the Change History window. It logs each value change with its asset, field, old → new value, timestamp and author.

⚙ Settings

Tune DataForge to your project.

Open settings from the gear icon in the toolbar. Settings are stored per-project in UserSettings/DataForgeSettings.asset.

📁 File Structure

Everything DataForge ships lives under Assets/DataForge/.

⭐ Get the Full Version

Unlock the full DataForge toolkit.

You're using DataForge LITE — the free edition. It gives you the spreadsheet grid, inline editing with full Undo, search & filter, sort, column controls and copy & single-cell paste. The full version of DataForge adds everything else — including bulk / multi-edit and CSV/TSV/JSON export — with the locked controls in LITE unlocking instantly once you upgrade.

What the full version unlocks

💡 Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to fix them.

❓ FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

📬 Support

Need help? We're here for you.