# Getting started

:::callout{theme="warning" title="Planned deprecation"}
Preparation is in the [planned deprecation](../../platform-overview/development-life-cycle/index.md) phase of development and will be deprecated on May 4 2027. Full support remains available. We recommend migrating your workflows to Pipeline Builder for cleaning and preparing data and to take advantage of [Marketplace](../../marketplace/overview/index.md) support.
:::

This page will help introduce you to the Preparation interface for cleaning and preparing datasets.

## Open a dataset for cleaning and preparation

### From a dataset

Choose **Clean in Preparation** from the **Actions** menu on any dataset to create a new [preparation](../overview/index.md#terminology) for that dataset.

### From the Preparation screen

Click the **Select a dataset...** button, and select the dataset to clean/prepare.

## Clean and prepare your data

1. Click on a column to see an overview of the data in that column, and apply cleaning and preparation actions.
   * There are two preparation views: **Table** (which looks like a spreadsheet) and **Column** (which shows a more compact card for each column).
2. View the [basic examples](../basic-examples/index.md) page for various ways to clean and prepare data.

### Analyze in Contour while cleaning/preparing

1. Click the **Analyze** button to open the current preparation in Contour.
2. As you make changes to the preparation, Contour will prompt to update. Click the **Update data** button in Contour to refresh the analysis based on the preparation.

## Save a cleaned or prepared copy of a dataset

1. Click the **Save as dataset** button in the header bar.
   * By default, this action will create an updating dataset that can be rebuilt based on changes to the underlying data set or changes to the preparation. To save off a one-off dataset, click the arrow beside the **Save as dataset** button and choose **Save one-off dataset**.
2. Select where you want the dataset to be saved, then click **Save**. The dataset will begin building, and you will be notified when it is ready.

   <img src="../../../assets/1771a3eb398b28978c47140b40099dd31e8cf37594f87d8f287ab06e0bba65e1.webp" style="max-height: 95.5px;" />