# What happens if I edit a project's source data?

**URL:** <https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635>\
**Category:** Support and Helpdesk\
**Created:** [November 18, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635 "2025-11-18T19:05:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![martimpassos](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/martimpassos/32/1760_2.png) [@martimpassos](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/martimpassos)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 7:05pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635/1 "2025-11-18T19:05:29Z")

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I'm several transforms into a project and realized there's an escaping issue with my CSV, so some rows are being split where they shouldn't and the following columns are shifted to the right. I'm assuming that editing the original file won't help. Should I export my current project, fix the faulty rows and start a new one? I could join them, but then is there a way to shift values to the left? Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Rory](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/rory/32/1517_2.png) [@Rory](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/Rory)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635/2 "2025-11-18T20:45:27Z")

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Welcome to the forum! I would follow the approach you laid out (exporting the project history, applying whatever processing needs to happen, and then recreating the project and reapplying the history). I can’t think of what issues might come up if you edit the underlying data directly without changing the project first, but it feels like it’d be altogether safer to export the project first.

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**Author:** ![martimpassos](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/martimpassos/32/1760_2.png) [@martimpassos](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/martimpassos)\
**Post date:** [November 18, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635/3 "2025-11-18T21:42:37Z")

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Hi @Rory, thanks!

I hadn't thought of (didn't know it was possible to) exporting the history. I just considered getting a snapshot of the data until this point, then 'starting over’.

But I'm curious, does OpenRefine keep reading the source data or once I start a project it loads it into its own memory? Like, if I go and edit a cell in Excel, should I see it reflected in OpenRefine?

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**Author:** ![ostephens](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/forum.openrefine.org/ostephens/32/8_2.png) [@ostephens](https://forum.openrefine.org/u/ostephens)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://forum.openrefine.org/t/what-happens-if-i-edit-a-projects-source-data/2635/4 "2025-11-19T12:24:09Z")

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No. Once the source data has been read into OpenRefine the original data source (whether that’s a file or some other source like a URL or database) isn’t used again. OpenRefine stores data in its own project format which is where any changes etc are stored.