plate object

About the plate object

The VWorks JavaScript interpreter provides the following objects that can be accessed by a script.

•	plate object

•	plates[ ] object

•	task object

•	InventoryLabware object

•	plateDB object

•	runset object

•	forms object

This topic describes the plate object properties and methods.

plate provides access to properties of the labware that the current task is operating on. You use the plate object in non-subprocess tasks such as the Place Plate task.

IMPORTANT To access labware properties in a subprocess task, use the plates[ ] object.

Properties

To see the properties of a plate object:

1	Open a protocol and select a task in the protocol area.

2	In the Advanced Settings area, type plate. The software automatically displays the list of available properties for the plate object.

 

Instead of displaying the list of plate properties in the Advanced Settings area, you can also list them in the Main Log. Doing so allows you to print the log file and retain a copy of the properties for reference.

To list the plate properties in the Main Log:

1	Open a protocol.

2	Select a task in the Protocol area.

3	In the Task Parameters area, click Advanced Settings.

4	Type the following in the Script to be executed before task area:

for (x in plate) {

print ("plate." + x + " = " + plate[x]);

}

5	Run the protocol. The plate properties appear in the Main Log.

The following table lists the plate properties.

 

Property	Data type	Description
plate.name	Read-only string	Name of the process.
plate.instance	Read-only integer	Instance number of the process.
plate.labware	Read-only string	Name of the labware type.
plate.barcode	Read-only array	Array of four strings where, SOUTH=0, WEST=1, NORTH=2, EAST=3. The barcode property can be changed by the plate.setBarcode() method. Example: plate.barcode[SOUTH]
plate.volume	Read-only array of float arrays	An array consisting of one or more arrays of floating-point numbers. The array size depends on the number of wells in the labware (96, 384, or 1536), arranged in row, column format. This property is available only in VWorks software that has the volume-tracking database option. Example: plate.volume[row][column] For 96-well microplates, the maximum row value is 8, and the maximum column value is 12. For 384-well microplates, the maximum row value is 16, the maximum column value is 24. For 1536-well microplates, the maximum row value is 32, the maximum column value is 48.
plate.plateMultiplier	Read-only integer	The number of microplates needed for the run. This number is based on the number of times the protocol is run and the specifications in the Loop and Change Instance tasks. Examples: • A simple protocol processing Plate_A is run twice. The plateMultiplier is 2. • A protocol loops four times to move contents from the Source Plate to the Destination Plate, and changes instance on the Source Plate only. The protocol is run once. The plateMultiplier is 4 for the Source Plate and 1 for the Destination Plate.
plate.hasLid	Read-only boolean	The indicator that the microplate currently has a lid.
plate.startedWithLid	Read-only boolean	The indicator that the microplate entered the system with a lid.
plate.device	Read-only string	The device that is processing the microplate.
plate.location	Read-only string	The location on the device where the microplate currently resides.

Methods

Methods are JavaScript functions invoked through an object. The plate object has the following methods, available on systems that have the volume-tracking database option. Use these methods to track microplate-specific data.

Note: You can use the plate.getUserData() method to retrieve information stored by the plates[n].setUserData() method.

 

Method	Description
plate.setUserData(string key, string value)	Stores value under the key in a database record associated with this microplate. The data is retained across runs. The method is only available if the database is installed.
plate.getUserData(string key)	Returns the ‘value’ stored earlier using plate.setUserData or plates[n].setUserData. (See plates[ ] object.) The method is only available if the database is installed.
plate.reportErrorToPlugin(string error)	Calls the VWorks Hooks ScriptPlateError method to pass error to the Hooks plugin.
plate.setBarcode(SIDE, string barcode)	Manually stores the barcode data in plate.barcode[SIDE]. For example: plate.setBarcode(WEST, "A1234")

Related information

 

For information about...	See...
Using JavaScript in the VWorks software	Using JavaScript
VWorks-defined functions	VWorks-defined functions
Other VWorks-defined objects	• InventoryLabware object • runset object • plates[ ] object • plateDB object • task object • forms object
Using JavaScript utilities	Using JavaScript utilities
JavaScript task	JavaScript
Startup and cleanup protocols	Setting up Startup and Cleanup Protocol processes