How to Link Processing Methods to a Result Set in OpenLab CDS

Answer

This Information Applies To: Agilent OpenLab CDS

Issue

Any desired processing method can be assigned to the current Result Set.

Requirements

• A result set available to link the method to.
• Correct Privilege (Role Membership) set up for the current user: Project Management > Edit content of project. This role can be assigned from the Control Panel of the OpenLab CDS Software.
  For a detailed procedure on how to adjust privileges see the article:  How to Create or Edit Roles in OpenLab Chromatography Data System.

Steps to Follow

Note: From this point forward, processing methods will be referred to as simply methods. Acquisition Methods are entirely separate method types, and will not be discussed in this article.

Identifying the linked methods

When linking methods, you need to identify what injections are currently linked to what processing method.

1. 1. In the Data Processing pane, click the desired injection to see what method it is linked to. A Link icon will be shown next to one of the methods in the Methods section (Figure 1).
      A Link icon will show what method is linked to the selected injection.
   2. In the Methods section, click the desired method to see what injections are linked to it (Figure 2).
      A Link icon will show the injections linked to the selected method.

Figure 1. Identifying what method a particular injection is linked to.

Figure 2. Identifying what injections are linked to a selected method

Choosing a processing method and linking it to the results:

1. Select the method type that you want to use (this option only shows if the data was acquired without a processing method).
   
   There are three options for selecting the method, Link Only, Link and Process and No Method. The selected method is a default method present in your CDS software, and the method name is displayed as well. (Figure 1).
   

   
   
   Figure 3. Method file selection highlights
   1. New Method Name, 2. Methods available for linking for this data file. In this case, no method was selected so the field is empty. 
   

   Here is a brief description of each available option:
   
   
   1. No Method option.
      
      The method GC_LC_Area_Percent_DefaultMethod will be open Methods tab (bottom-left). However, will not be linked to any of the existing injections (Figure 4). You can also link the method as described in the following instructions.
      
      

      
      
      Figure 4. Choosing No Method on the method selection screen will still load the method, but will not link the method.
      1. Lack of icons next to either the method or the injection indicates no linking.
      

   2. Link Only:
      
      In this case, the method will be linked to the result set, but it will not be processed (indicated by the exclamation mark next to the sample name). To process the results with the selected method, you will need to process manually.
      Only the Data Set you have opened will be linked. Any other result sets that may be open already are not linked (Figure 2)
      
      
   3. Link and Process:
      
      Similar to option b, but here the selected result set will also be processed with the selected method. You can still reprocess the result set afterwards if you wish to change the method.
      
      
2. Open the method that you want to process the data with, by doing the following (Figure 5):
   
   
   1. From the Home tab, click the Open Method icon.
   2. Select a method from the method list.
      
      Here you will see the default methods created during installation as well as methods created by users.
      
      
   3. Click Open, or double-click the method name.
      

      
      
      Figure 5. How to open a new processing method file.
      1. Location of the Open Method option, 2. Processing methods list, 3. Open button.
      

3. Link method to selected injections or result sets, by doing any of the following:
   
   
   • Link a partial result set:
     
     1. Click one of the injections in the result set.
        
        

        Tips: If multiple injections are needed, hold down the Control (CTRL) key on the keyboard and click all the required injections

        
        
        Figure 6.Selecting multiple injections from the result set.
        1. Colored band indicating the selected injections.
        

     2. In the Method tab, click the desired method.
        

        
        
        Figure 7. Selecting the method.
        1. Colored band indicating the selected method used for linking, 2. Injections selected in the previous step.
        

     3. Right-click any of the selected injections or the selected method and from the contextual menu, click Link selected injections to selected method.

        
        
        Figure 8. Linking the method to the injections.
        

        
        
        Figure 9. Linking the method to the injections. 
        

   • Link the whole result set:
     
     1. Click the result set.
        

        
        
        Figure 10. Result set selection
        1. Colored banner indicating the result set selection. This selection includes all the injections within that result set.

     2. Click the desired method in the Method tab (Figure 8).
     3. Right-click either the result set or the selected method and from the contextual menu, click Link selected injections to selected method (Figure 9).

Confirmation: The method should be linked now to the injections (or result set) you selected.

Learn how to effectively operate your Agilent OpenLab CDS: HPLC-OLII-1131e - Agilent OpenLab CDS Data Analysis - Processing Methods. e-learning courses available from Agilent education