Creating and managing plate groups

About this topic

This topic describes how to create a plate group, which is a list of specific labware that can be moved into or out of a labware storage device without regard for which slots they are stored in.

Read this topic if your lab automation system has an incubator or random-access storage device, such as the Labware MiniHub.

For instructions on how to add labware into the database, see Adding labware information in the inventory database.

Procedure

To create a plate group:

1	In the VWorks window, select Tools < Inventory Editor.

2	In the Inventory Editor window, click the Plate Groups tab.

3	Click Create new, type a name for the group, and click OK.

 

To add labware to the plate group:

1	In the Available Plates area, select a group of available labware, and drag the selection into the Group Members area.

You can use CTRL+click or SHIFT+click to select more than one labware. Alternatively, you can double-click a plate to add it to the plate group.

 

Note: To delete a plate from the plate group, select the plate in the Group Members area, and then press DELETE.

2	Click Save Changes.

3	Close the Inventory Editor window.

The plate group is listed as a available groups in the Groups tab in the Load/Unload Task Parameters area.

 

Changing the processing order

You can change the order in which the labware in a plate group will be processed.

To change the processing order:

1	In the plate group list, select a labware.

 

2	Drag it to another position in the list.

 

Deleting a plate group

To delete a plate group from the inventory:

1	In the Inventory Editor window, click the Plate Groups tab.

2	In the Saved Groups area, select the plate group.

3	Click Delete.

Related information

 

For information about...	See...
Creating a location group	Creating and managing location groups
Opening the Inventory Editor	Opening the Inventory Editor
Moving labware in and out of a storage device	• Adding labware information in the inventory database • Removing labware information from the inventory database • Moving labware between storage devices
Incubating labware	Using a plate group to process labware
Using barcode input files	• Creating a plate group with a barcode input file • VWorks Automation Control User Guide
Using storage tasks in a protocol	VWorks Automation Control User Guide