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OpenRefine Goal Posts

This page is primarily based on the results of the 2024 prioritization survey. To keep things focused, completed items have been removed. At the end of the list, you’ll also find additional feature requests related to the core product that were not part of the survey but have been raised by the community.

Score and Status are defined on the about goal post page.

Native Reconciliation with arbitrary external datasets​

  • Score: 76
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Native Reconciliation with arbitrary external datasets, e.g. csv reconciliation, reconciliation with another OpenRefine project. Reconciliation against any dataset, not only the ones with a reconciliation endpoint. Reconciliation locally is a very useful feature. I suggest local reconciliation based on projects in Openrefine instead of using external services. (from the survey open-ended questions)
  • The current solution is to use one of the csv-based reconciliation services. Related issue: #2003. See also Antonin's take on reconciliation

Allowing import again for adding new rows to existing projects.​

  • Score: 73
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Easy adding of additional rows/importing rows from other datasets. Update existing project with new data (append rows from a file). Extend datasets: add rows to existing datasets from files, assuming the same column structure/order. The inability to update imported data is a limiting factor (user survey)
  • Related issue: #715

Making joining records easier across 2 datasets by multiple keys​

  • Score: 72
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Please create a thread on the forum or create an issue to discuss this request.

Easier rename a column by clicking on it​

  • Score: 72
  • Status: Ready for Development
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Easier rename a column by clicking on it and don't break any facets that depend on it
  • Loosely related issue: #6282

Loading and working very large projects more easily/smoothly​

  • Score: 68
  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Loading and working very large projects more easily/smoothly (100,000s of rows/records). Loading and working large datasets could increase OR's user base in both numbers and variety to a great extent in my opinion.
  • Related to the scaling - 4.x branch

Better support of nested structure (improved record mode)​

  • Score: 67
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • See discussion on the forum

More GREL options that allow for creating and using variables for your dataset​

  • Score: 67
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Please create a thread on the forum or create an issue to discuss this request.

Option to save facet​

  • Score: 65
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Related issue: #560

Support Python 3 as an expression language​

  • Score: 62
  • Status: Ready for Development
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Support Python 3 as an expression language - Continue maintaining Python / Jython option.
  • Also requested survey open-ended questions. Related issue: #2249

Drag and drop for columns​

  • Score: 61
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Please create a thread on the forum or create an issue to discuss this request.

Support for more alphabets​

  • Score: 59
  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Support for more diverse (human language) alphabets/scripts, date and time formats...
  • No related issue. This feature idea comes from the Diversity grant

Allow bookmarking and naming starred GREL expressions​

  • Score: 58
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • This was also expressed by user as
    • Allow bookmarking and naming starred GREL expressions so they can show in a Star top-level menu. (seed).
    • Allow Users to customize a Custom Menu to save macro (user suggestion).
    • More 'point and click' functions to replace GREL (seed).
  • Discussions and the consensus is to promote option for the users to create macros. This is loosely related to the suggestion of allowing the sharing and exploring of public expressions. Related issue: #109

In context help for GREL or wizard-like approach​

  • Score: 58
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • In context help for GREL or wizard-like approach to writing GREL (like Excel)
  • Mention on the forum. This issue would require additional design work to better scope and refine the feature. #153 and 2023 internship suggestion

More and better notifications, error messages, and warnings in OpenRefine​

  • Score: 58
  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • This is track via many issues (and most likely many more to create) under the error handling tag in Github

Multi-user support​

  • Score: 58
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Allowing two or more people to work on the same project
  • Related issue: #101 and discussion at the 2024 Barcamp

Make OpenRefine more useful as an exploratory tool​

  • Score: 53
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Make OpenRefine more useful as an exploratory tool through quick data visualization and analysis.
  • Related issue: #5315 and forum discussion

Option to refactor the JSON operation scripts​

  • Score: 53
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Option to refactor the JSON operation scripts to edit a facet, update a GREL command, or add a step
  • Related discussion on the forum

Improved integration with cloud storage services for data import and export.​

  • Score: 51
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Need to create an issue and better scope this feature.

Supported REST API for external use​

  • Score: 50
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • This is already supported via add a column by fetching url. During the 2024 BarCamp we discussed supporting OpenAPI within OpenRefine

Improved JSON parsing when calling API​

  • Score: 49
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Related issues: #1440 #2515

Faster rendering of many columns in Record mode​

  • Score: 49
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024

Make OpenRefine easier to learn​

  • Score: 47
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024 Make OpenRefine easier to learn and get started with better or easier UX / interface. This would need dedicated design effort

Pause and resume my operations in OpenRefine​

  • Score: 46
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Related discussion on the forum

Save Template exports​

  • Score: 46
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Related issues: #1928 #468

Allow users to set precise values for numeric facets​

  • Score: 45
  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Related issues: #5168 #5008

Better support for OpenRefine extensions​

  • Score: 44
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Only present maintained and currently operational ones. Improve extension discoverability and ease installation process.
  • At the moment extension developers have too few interface stability guarantees, and the user experience of installing and upgrading extensions is poor. There are a lot of open questions around this since OpenRefine’s architecture is quite uncommon, so there does not seem to be an established off-the-shelf model we can adopt. Unsucessfull grant applications: 2024-DEF and 2023 Mozilla Infrastructure Fund grant application. See also this conversation in the forum, and the first version of the extension page released in 3.9.0 #7012. See also Antonin's take on extensibility.

Better support of MARC format​

  • Score: 44
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Better support of MARC format for complex dimensions and repeating elements.
  • Related issues: #794 #2127

A walkthrough tutorial​

  • Score: 44
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • A walkthrough tutorial inside the software itself, to introduce and guide new users
  • This would need dedicated design effort

Supported client/client library based on REST API​

  • Score: 41
  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: Prioritization-2024

AI integrated help for writing regular expressions, GREL​

  • Score: 40
  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • May be related to the suggestion In context help for GREL or wizard-like approach to writing GREL (like Excel)

Add transform for book-style Title casing​

  • Score: 37
  • Status: Ready for Development
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • Please create a thread on the forum or create an issue to discuss this request.

Allow sharing and exploring of public expressions​

  • Score: 37
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • This is discussed on the forum. This is loosely related to #109

An online, hosted instance of OpenRefine​

  • Score: 34
  • Status: Needs Solution Definition
  • Source: Prioritization-2024
  • This is often requested by the trainer as a replacement for the unstable mybinder deployment. See also the summary of the discussion during the 2024 Barcamp

Dark mode​

  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: User Survey 2025
  • Related issue: #3017

Better support for geographic dataset​

  • Status: Needs Scoping
  • Source: User Survey 2025
  • Any features about geographic coordinates and GIS
  • Related issue: #6570 and forum discussion

Better preference screen​

  • Status: Needs UI Design
  • Source: User Survey 2025
  • A GUI that would highlight what could be modified and what are the current configuration files even if it cant be modified from the menu.
  • Related issue: #2796

Better testing utilities for extension development​

Better test coverage for importers and exporters​

Support for the new reconciliation protocol​

How OpenRefine Can Support Federated Data Repositories for Open Science?​