TopPoint User's Guide - PDF Free Download

Table of Contents 1 Introduction 2 Operation 3 Troubleshooting Steps to Using TopPoint... 1-2 Accessing Online Help... 1-3... 2-2 Select Experiment... 2-3 Remove Rack... 2-29 Reports... 2-32 Logoff... 2-44 Emergency STOP... 2-45 Error Messages... 3-2

Introduction 1 TopPoint is a top layer interface for Gilson UniPoint System Software. Your TopPoint Administrator is an experienced UniPoint user who generates TopPoint experiments for you to run. TopPoint incorporates the versatility required to control multiple systems. 1-1

Introduction 1 Steps to Using TopPoint Steps to Using TopPoint Following is an overview of the steps that a User must follow when using TopPoint to control a system(s). You ll learn how to perform these steps in this user s guide. 1 Log on to TopPoint. 2 Click on the Select Experiment radio button and click OK. Select the experiment you want to run. Select the first tube to be injected, and name the sample. Select the next tube to be injected and name the sample. Continue until all tubes to be injected have been selected and samples named. Review the experiment summary. Put the rack(s) in the indicated position(s) and click GO. 1-2

Introduction 1 Accessing Online Help Online help comes with TopPoint. You can display the online help anytime you re using the software. The online help describes the dialogs available in the software and discusses the procedures for defining, assigning and running experiments. You can access online help by clicking on the Help button in the dialog box. Steps to Using TopPoint 1-3

Operation 2 2-1

After logging on as a TopPoint User, the Pick next task screen (see below) will be shown and active. Use this screen to navigate the program. Refer to the following pages for information on the options on the Pick next task screen and using TopPoint as a TopPoint User. 2-2

Select Experiment Within the Select Experiment option are several screens where you: select a validated experiment to run select and name the samples to be injected A more detailed description of each screen follows on the next few pages. After you select an experiment from the list and click Next, you see a screen similar to the one on the next page. 2-3

Creating a sample list Displayed on this screen is an empty table for creating a sample list and an interactive, graphical representation of the TopPoint tray that you associated with the selected experiment. Available for selection are any tubes in zones indicated previously as source zones or zones that are used to satisfy variables (for example, FRACTIONS). Select tubes to add them to the sample list. Samples will be injected from top to bottom of the sample list. There are two ways to select tubes: select a rack and then point and click on the tube(s) in the order that you want them injected import a sample list from an experiment sample list (or archived sample list), experiment results list (or archived results list), or import from a spreadsheet-based comma delimited (.CSV) file 2-4 Refer to the following page for detailed instructions on creating a sample list.

Selecting tubes for the sample list Before selecting any tubes, make sure that the rack is selected. You can tell because there will be a red outline around the rack on the graphical display. To select tubes individually: Click on each tube in the order that you want them injected. To select multiple tubes: Tubes can be selected across a column or row. Select the tubes by holding down the mouse button, then dragging the mouse over the tubes. Or, click on the Auto Range button and indicate a range of tubes to add to the sample list. To indicate the starting tube in the range of tubes to add to the sample list, put your cursor in the Start Tube field then click on the desired tube in the graphical display. 2-5

To indicate the ending tube in the range of tubes to add to the sample list, put your cursor in the End Tube field then click on the desired tube in the graphical display. In the Sample Name field, type a name that will be used for every sample and followed by the tube number in the sample list. Changes in this field are only accepted for new sample lists or additions to existing sample lists. Refer to the screen shown on the next page. 2-6

Samples will be injected from the lowest number tube first and the highest number tube last unless you edit the sample list (see Editing the sample list, on the next page). 2-7

Editing the sample list The sample list appears as a table. You can cut, copy, and paste entire rows in the table by selecting the row then clicking on Cut, Copy, or Paste. To select multiple rows, simply drag your cursor vertically to the left of the Name column. Or, while holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard, select multiple rows by clicking on them with the mouse. To insert a row, select a row then click on Insert. TopPoint inserts a blank row beneath the selected row. To add a sample, click in the Name column then click on the sample location. The sample is added to the bottom of your sample list. To edit text within a cell, just click in the cell then type or delete characters. To qualify a variable that requires a tube location, click in the cell and then click on the tube. 2-8

Importing a sample list Sample lists can be imported from an experiment sample list (or archived sample list), experiment results list (or archived results list), or from a spreadsheet-based comma delimited (.CSV) file. To import a sample list, click on Import. Refer to the following pages to see the import screens and a description of how to use them. To import from a completed experiment s results: When you click on the Import button and choose the Experiments Results tab, you see a screen similar to the one shown above. The Database column lists all ODBC data sources. From this tab, however, the only experiment results information you can access is located on your local TopPoint database (current database used until purged or archived and purged). Double-click the local database (tp-database, by default), denoted by a check mark ( ), and a list of experiments appears on the right. Select the completed experiment from which you wish to import results. Experiments are listed chronologically by the time the experiment finished. The most recently run experiment appears at the bottom of the list. Select the experiment by clicking in its row in the Time column then clicking on OK. 2-9

Next you see the Experiment Results Query screen. The Select Parameter to Query drop-down menu lists the column headers (for example, Fraction Site(s) or Major Ion(s)) from the experiment s first associated analysis method. The analysis method must have a Fraction Site(s) column if you want to reinject collected fractions. Choose the parameter that you wish to query for creating a new sample list. The Select Lower/Upper Limits fields show the lower and upper limits of the parameter selected in the Select Parameter to Query column. Edit these fields for the query you wish to perform for selecting a sample list. In the Select AND/OR field, choose AND or OR from the drop-down menu to narrow or broaden your query. Refer to the example above. 2-10

Optionally, in the Query Name field, type in a name the click on Save to save the current query parameters. When more than one name is saved, they appear in a drop-down menu. Select a name from the drop-down menu and click on Restore to make the current parameters those saved to that name. Click on Next to perform the query. Query results are displayed as on the following screen: To create a sample list for reinjecting collected fractions, click on the Fractions radio button. To create a sample list to reinject from the original sample sites, click on the Source radio button. 2-11

Click on Next and the new sample list is created. The example shown below is a sample list created to reinject collected fractions. 2-12

To import from a spreadsheet-based comma delimited (.CSV) file: When you click on the Import button and choose the Import from File tab, you see a screen similar to the one shown above. Use the left pane to browse for and select a.csv file from which you wish to import your sample list. Note: The.CSV file must have a column titled Sample Name as the first column and a column titled Location as the second column. After you select the.csv file, the information from the file appears on the right pane. See the example below. 2-13

Click on Ok and a new sample list is created from the imported file. 2-14

To import from an experiment sample list: When you click on the Import button and choose the Experiment Sample List tab, you see a screen similar to the one shown above. The Database column lists all ODBC data sources. From this tab, however, the only experiment sample lists you can access are located on your local TopPoint database (current database used until purged or archived and purged). Double-click the local database (tpdatabase, by default), denoted by a check mark ( ), and a list of experiments appears on the right. Select the experiment from which you wish to import a sample list. Experiments are listed chronologically by the time the experiment finished. The most recently run experiment appears at the bottom of the list. You can import sample lists from completed or canceled experiments. Select the experiment by clicking in its row in the Time column then clicking on OK. The new sample list is created. 2-15

To import from an archived completed experiment s results: When you click on the Import button and choose the Archived Results tab, you see a screen similar to the one shown above. From this tab, you can access any experiment results that have been archived to an archive TopPoint database. Archived TopPoint databases are listed in the Archived Database column chronologically by time. The most recent archived database will be listed at the bottom of the list. Double-click an archive database, denoted by a bullet ( ), and a list of experiments in that database appears on the right. Select the experiment from which you wish to import results. Experiments are listed chronologically by the time the experiment finished. The most recently run experiment appears at the bottom of the list. Select the experiment by clicking in its row in the Time column then clicking on OK. 2-16

Next you see the Experiment Results Query screen. The Select Parameter to Query drop-down menu lists the column headers from the experiment s first associated analysis method. The analysis method must have a Fraction Site(s) column to use the query feature. Choose the parameter that you wish to query for creating a new sample list. The Select Lower/Upper Limits fields show the lower and upper limits of the parameter selected in the Select Parameter to Query column. Edit these fields for the query you wish to perform for selecting a sample list. In the Select AND/OR field, choose AND or OR from the drop-down menu to narrow or broaden your query. Refer to the example above. Optionally, in the Query Name field, type in a name the click on Save to save the current query parameters. When more than one name is saved, they appear in a drop-down menu. Select a name from the drop-down menu and click on Restore to make the current parameters those saved to that name. Click on Next to perform the query. 2-17

Query results are displayed as on the following screen: To create a sample list for reinjecting collected fractions, click on the Fractions radio button. To create a sample list to reinject from the original sample sites, click on the Source radio button. 2-18

Click on Next and the new sample list is created. The example shown below is a sample list created to reinject collected fractions. 2-19

To import from an archived sample list: When you click on the Import button and choose the Archived Sample List tab, you see a screen similar to the one shown above. From this tab, you can access any experiment sample lists that have been archived to an archive TopPoint database. Archived TopPoint databases are listed in the Archived Database column chronologically by time. The most recent archived database will be listed at the bottom of the list. Double-click an archive database, denoted by a bullet ( ), and a list of experiments in that database appears on the right. Select the experiment from which you wish to import the sample list. Experiments are listed chronologically by the time the experiment finished. The most recently run experiment appears at the bottom of the list. Select the experiment by clicking in its row in the Time column then clicking on OK. 2-20

Experiment summary When you are finished creating a sample list, click on Next. You will see a screen similar to the one shown below. This screen displays important information about the experiment you are about to add to the experiment queue. Click on Finish to proceed to the next screen. The User Name field displays the logon name for the currently logged on user. The Number of Steps field displays the number of tubes picked for your sample list. The Estimated Start Time field displays the approximate time your experiment will start running after being placed in the queue. This time is based on the estimated end time of the last experiment listed in the queue. Or, if the queue is empty, it will display the current time plus approximately thirty seconds from the time the Experiment Summary screen is displayed. 2-21

The Estimated End Time field displays the approximate time your experiment will finish running. The Estimated Waste Volume field displays the approximate total volume of solvent that will be used for the experiment. The Estimated Solvent Volume(s) field displays the approximate volume needed of each solvent to run the experiment. Click on Notes to read information about the experiment that was entered by the TopPoint Administrator who defined the experiment. 2-22

Rack placement After you have reviewed the experiment summary and clicked on Finish, you will see a screen similar to the one shown below. This screen shows you which position(s) on the bed to place the rack(s) for the sampler(s) in the selected experiment. The example below shows you that you need to place the rack in position one on your instrument at Unit ID 22. In this example, the sampler is a 215 Liquid Handler. After you have placed the rack, click on Go. If your experiment uses a fraction collector, you will then see a screen similar to the one on the next page. If it does not, skip to page 2-25. 2-23

This screen shows you which position(s) on the bed to place the rack(s) for the fraction collector in the selected experiment. The example above shows you that you need to place the rack in position one on your instrument at Unit ID 6. In this example, the instrument is an FC 204 Fraction Collector. Click on Go to add the experiment to the queue. 2-24

Running an experiment After placing the racks and clicking on Go to add the experiment to the queue, you will see a screen similar to the one below. As a standard practice, you may wish to logoff TopPoint while running an experiment. On the Pick next task screen (shown above) click Logoff. 2-25

You will then see the following screen. See the descriptions of the displays below. In the upper-right corner of the Queue box, the current system date and time is displayed. Along the bottom of the Queue box is a message bar that displays various status-related messages. The Status column displays whether the associated experiment is running ( ), ready to run upon completion of the current experiment ( ), finished running ( ), or canceled before completion ( ). An experiment shows a canceled status if the Emergency Stop button is clicked or an error is detected in the experiment. TopPoint must be shutdown and restarted before attempting to re-run the canceled experiment. The Experiment Name column lists all of the experiments in the queue. 2-26

The Start Time column displays the approximate time the experiment will start running. This time is based on the estimated end time of the last experiment listed in the queue. Once the experiment has started, the time is updated with the actual start time. The End Time column displays the approximate time the experiment will finish running. When the experiment has finished running, the time is updated with the actual end time. The User Name column displays the logon name for user who put the experiment into the queue. The box in the upper-right part of the screen displays the user name, experiment, step number, start time, estimated end time, next pause, free space, and solvents. A more detailed description of those displays follows. User Name is the logon name for user who put the experiment into the queue. Experiment is the name of the experiment running. Step Number is displayed as n : x where n is the cycle number currently being executed and x is the total number of cycles. Add one cycle each for a startup or shutdown method. Start Time is the approximate time your experiment started running. Est. End Time is the approximate time your experiment will finish running. Next Pause is the estimated time that the system will be allowed to pause next if requested by adding an experiment to the queue. 2-27

Free Space is the amount of hard disk space available expressed as a percentage. Your TopPoint Administrator can archive your TopPoint database if you are running out of hard disk space. Solvents is the approximate volume of each solvent needed to run the experiment. When clicked, the Emergency STOP button, located at the bottom left of your screen, causes all hardware to stop after the current command has been executed. It is then necessary for a TopPoint Administrator to shutdown then restart TopPoint before running any more experiments. The experiment that was current before the Emergency STOP was clicked will then be canceled. Any Ready experiments in the queue should run as expected when TopPoint is re-opened. 2-28

Remove Rack Select Experiment to Remove Select the completed experiment you wish to remove from the queue. Experiments are listed chronologically by the time the experiment finished. The most recently run experiment appears at the bottom of the list. Select the experiment by clicking in its row then clicking on OK. 2-29

Remove Rack This screen shows you which racks need to be removed when an experiment is complete. The example below shows you that you need to remove the rack from position one on your instrument at Unit ID 22. In this example, the sampler is a 215 Liquid Handler. After you have removed the rack, click on Removed. If your experiment used another sampler or fraction collector, you will then see a screen similar to the one on the next page. 2-30

The example above shows you that you need to remove the rack from position one on your instrument at Unit ID 6. In this example, the instrument is an FC 204 Fraction Collector. After you have removed the rack, click Removed. 2-31

Reports When you choose the Reports option, you may choose to print any of four different reports. The Reports option has three tabs for selecting options for each report to be printed. Descriptions of these tabs and the options and an example of each report follows. Users tab In the drop-down box, select All Users to view or print information about all TopPoint users or select a single user from the list to view or print information only about that user. To view or print a report listing the e-mail address(es), check the box before User E-Mail Address then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the user identification number(s) needed for locating UniPoint data acquired from that user s experiment, check the box before User Id then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). UniPoint data can be found at C:\GILSON\UNIPOINT\ID00000x (if installed at the default location). 2-32

To view or print a report listing the assigned experiments for the selected user(s), check the box before Assigned Experiments then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). The three reports listed above (User E-Mail Address, User Id, and Assigned Experiments) can be viewed and printed together as one report. An example of the combined report can be found on the next page. To view or print a report listing all experiments run by the selected user(s) on a specified date or range of dates, check the box before Experiment Results Summary and select a date from the calendar on the drop down menu then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). You will be able to view any day starting with that day and up to and including the current date. This report can be viewed and printed with the User E-Mail Address report and the User Id report as one report. An example of Experiment Result Summary report can be found on page 2-35. 2-33

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System Properties tab In the drop-down box, select All TopPoint Configurations to view or print information about all TopPoint configurations or select a specific configuration from the list to view or print information only about that configuration. To view or print a report listing the initialization and/or termination methods and the time out time associated with the selected configuration(s), check the box before Initialization/Termination Methods then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the UniPoint configuration file associated with the selected TopPoint configuration(s), check the box before UniPoint Configuration File then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the archive schedule and path for archived data for the TopPoint station, check the box before TopPoint Station s Archive Information then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). 2-36

To view or print a report listing the time the system will wait in standby (sleeping) mode before logging out a user, check the box before TopPoint Station s Automatic Log Out Time then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). All the reports on this tab can be viewed and printed together as one report. An example of the combined report can be found on the next page. 2-37

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Experiments tab In the drop-down box, select All Experiments to view or print information about all TopPoint experiments or select a specific experiment from the list to view or print information only about that experiment. To view or print a report listing users assigned to the selected experiment(s), check the box before Assigned Users then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the solvents used in the selected experiment(s), check the box before Solvents then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the notes written by a TopPoint Administrator for the selected experiment(s), check the box before Notes then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the UniPoint Control Method associated with the selected TopPoint experiment(s), check the box before Control Methods then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). 2-39

To view or print a report listing the racks used in the selected experiment(s), check the box before Racks then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing whether or not the selected experiment(s) can be paused and the time per cycle for the selected experiment(s), check the box before Pause Available/Time Per Cycle then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing the TopPoint configuration associated with the selected experiment(s), check the box before TopPoint Configuration Name then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). To view or print a report listing any variables used (except TUBE) in the selected experiment(s), check the box before Experiment Variables then click on Print Preview (to view) or Print (to print). All the reports on this tab can be viewed and printed together as one report. An example of the combined report can be found on the next page. 2-40

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Viewing reports To view reports, click Print Preview on a Reports tab. The following icons appear on the print preview toolbar and a description follows: Clicking this icon returns the view to the first page of the report Clicking this icon returns the view to the previous page. Clicking this icon changes the view to the next page in the report. Clicking this icon changes the view to the last page in the report. Clicking this icon enlarges the view by 20%. Clicking this icon reduces the view by 20%. Clicking this icon changes the view so that the entire page is displayed. Clicking this icon changes the view so that the entire width of the page is displayed. 2-42

Clicking this icon changes to view to normal (100%). In the first field, type the first page in the range of pages to be printed. In the second field, type the last page in the range of pages to be printed. Clicking this icon instructs TopPoint to print all pages in the indicated range. Clicking this button exits the print preview window. Printing reports To print reports click on Print from a Reports tab. 2-43

Logoff Use this option to exit TopPoint and allow other TopPoint users to access the workstation. 2-44

Emergency STOP When you click the Emergency STOP button (shown at left), a confirmation dialog appears. If you affirm that you do want an emergency stop, all connected instruments stop responding to any more commands coming from the software. After an emergency stop, a TopPoint Administrator must be present to restart TopPoint. The TopPoint Administrator must log on to TopPoint, shutdown TopPoint, then restart TopPoint. The experiment that was running when the Emergency STOP button was clicked will be canceled. All other experiments in queue will still run in order. Emergency STOP 2-45

Troubleshooting 3 3-1

Troubleshooting 3 Error Messages Error Messages To resolve any errors not listed here, contact your TopPoint Administrator. 3-2