diff --git a/makeitwright/core/parsers/__init__.py b/makeitwright/core/parsers/__init__.py
index 1d2de02..7a29c4b 100644
--- a/makeitwright/core/parsers/__init__.py
+++ b/makeitwright/core/parsers/__init__.py
@@ -40,9 +40,9 @@ def typeID(*fpaths):
             if "LabRAM HR" in txt:
                 if (htype := horiba_typeID(fpath)) is not None:
                     types[fpath] = htype
-            if "Goniometer" in txt:
+            elif "Goniometer" in txt:
                 types[fpath] = 'Bruker_XRD'
-            if "[m]" in txt:
+            elif "[m]" in txt:
                 types[fpath] = 'Gwyddion_traces'
 
         if fpath.suffix == '.asc':
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ def typeID(*fpaths):
         if fpath.suffix == '.wt5':
             types[fpath] = 'wt5'
 
-    print(f"{len(types)} of {len(fpaths)} files identified as valid data types")
+    print(f"{len(types)} of {len(fpaths)} files designated valid")
     return types
 
 
@@ -78,30 +78,43 @@ def listfiles(fdir:str|pathlib.Path, pattern:str="*") -> list[pathlib.Path]:
     ]
     
 
-def parse(fdir, objective, select_types=None, keywords:list|str=[], exclude=[]):
+def parse(fdir, objective, select_types=None, keywords:list|str=[], exclude:list|str=[]):
     """
-    DOCUMENTATION NEEDED
+    import all files in a directory matching name rules.
+    A file must match all provided keywords.
+    Any file that matches any exclude word is ignored. 
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    fdir: path-like
+        directory to search for files
+    objective: identifier
+        the objective used.  for images, this is used to convert camera indices into spatial coordinates
+    select_types: list of strings (optional)
+        types of data to keep (e.g. "TRPL").  other data types are ignored.
+    keywords: list of strings
+        files are only parsed if their names contain all keywords
+    exclude: string or list of strings
+        files are only parsed if their names contain no exclude words
+
+    see also
+    --------
+
+    WrightTools.collection.from_directory
     """
-    files = listfiles(fdir)
-    
-    include = [1 for i in range(len(files))]
-    if keywords:
-        if type(keywords) is not list:
-            keywords = [keywords]
-        for kw in keywords:
-            for i, f in enumerate(files):
-                if kw not in str(f):
-                    include[i]=0
-    if exclude:
-        if type(exclude) is not list:
-            exclude = [exclude]
-        for x in exclude:
-            for i, f in enumerate(files):
-                if x in str(f):
-                    include[i]=0
-
-    files = [file for i, file in zip(include, files) if i]
-    print(f'found {sum(include)} files matching keyword specifications')
+    if not isinstance(keywords, list):
+        keywords = [keywords]
+    if not isinstance(exclude, list):
+        exclude = [exclude]
+
+    files = [
+        file for file in filter(
+            lambda f: all([kw in str(f) for kw in keywords]) 
+                and all(x not in str(f) for x in exclude),
+            listfiles(fdir)
+        )
+    ]
+    print(f'found {len(files)} files matching keyword specifications')
     
     ftypes = typeID(*files)
     if select_types:
diff --git a/makeitwright/core/parsers/andor.py b/makeitwright/core/parsers/andor.py
index 0f76c54..d9c8468 100644
--- a/makeitwright/core/parsers/andor.py
+++ b/makeitwright/core/parsers/andor.py
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ def fromAndorNeo(fpath, name=None, px_per_um=None):
     data
         New data object.
     """
-    # parse filepath
     data:wt.Data = wt.data.from_Solis(fpath, name=name, verbose=True)
     data.rename_variables(xindex="x", yindex="y", wm="wl")
     data.rename_channels(signal="sig")
@@ -47,5 +46,4 @@ def fromAndorNeo(fpath, name=None, px_per_um=None):
     else:
         data.sig.label = "counts"
 
-
     return data
diff --git a/tests/test_PL.py b/tests/test_PL.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..67d9670
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_PL.py
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+import makeitwright as mw
+from makeitwright import datasets
+
+andor = mw.andor
+parse = mw.parsers.parse
+
+
+def test_import_andor():
+    """smokescreen to see if importing fails"""
+    p = datasets.PL  
+    filepath = p.parent
+    filename = p.stem
+
+    data1 = parse(filepath, objective="10", keywords=filename + ".asc")
+    data2 = mw.parsers.fromAndorNeo(p)
+    assert data1.variable_names == data2.variable_names == ("wl", "y")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    test_import_andor()