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Understanding the limits

The lab note must be self-contained and is seen as the only source of truth.

An experiment optionally derives from a registered Protocol. LabID allows to edit protocols at any time i.e. including after users derived lab notes from them. This means it is not possible to compare a lab note with its initial protocol at any point in time to learn what was changed in the lab note (as changes might also reflect edits of the protocol itself). For this reason, a lab note is always a full copy of the original protocol. Practically speaking, users should not create lab notes which only refer to protocol and state the changes. In case users want to achieve such a behavior, it is their responsibility to (1) make sure the protocols are read-only and (2) save as an attachment the used protocols (e.g. PDF exports). Point 2 is the only way to ensure that the protocol will be taken into account at experiment freezing.

LabID exports details of the linked collections (consumables, materials, specimens, and samples). This includes the information visible on the item's view page excluding:

  • attached documents
  • notes
  • order details
  • details of other linked items

The last point is of particular importance. Assume you linked a transgenic fly (specimen fly line) to your experiment and this fly line refers to a Plasmid describing the actual transgene. The export will only contain the reference of this Plasmid but not its details. In case you want the Plasmid details as well, you must link this Plasmid directly to your experiment. This behavior is unfortunately necessary to prevent LabID from following infinite links between items.

Linking manually items can be tedious and you will likely not take the time to do so. In case you want to make sure items are no longer modified (e.g. the Plasmid above), simply revoke write permissions on it.