Expression for Custom Calculation

Question

I'm using MassHunter 10.0 to quantify glycerides in biodiesel from GC data. I'd like to create a custom calculation in Report Builder 10.2 to calculate total glycerin. I have created compound groups to quantify the Mono, Di and Tri glycerides. The bound monoglyceride would then be 0.2591 * [MonoglycerideGroup]. The bound di and triglycerides are calculated in a similar fashion. The total glyceride would then be the sum of the free glycerin, bound mono, bound di and bound triglycerides. 
 
 Is this a task best done in the Quant program? Or is an expression in Report Builder the preferred method? 
 Is there a standard resource available for building expressions in Report Builder?

howard_sanford · Answer

Hello MParsons , 
 This type of calculation can be done in quant using the SDK, but it would require extensive programming and working with the quant database to retrieve the desired results, perform calculations, and write back to the database. If you need that many custom results you will need to utilize most of the custom calc fields that are available. There are some basic instructions in this discussion 
 (12) Mass Hunter SDK - Mass Spectrometry Software User Forum - Mass Spectrometry Software - Agilent Community 
 on how to get it set up. Documentation is installed with the SDK. 
 You can accomplish similar calculations in Report Builder using expressions, though it will still require a bit of programming. There are example expressions in many of the shipping templates which show the basics of evaluating results and performing error checking. Other than those there have been a several discussions in the community regarding expressions. Some relevant discussions are 
 (+) Report builder - Final Concentration Expression Change - Mass Spectrometry Software User Forum - Mass Spectrometry Software - Agilent Community 
 (+) Report Builder System Suitability Expression - Mass Spectrometry Software User Forum - Mass Spectrometry Software - Agilent Community 
 (+) Expression in Report Builder for Result interpretation using CalculatedConcentration, FinalConcentration, or SampleAmount - Mass Spectrometry Software User Forum - Mass Spectrometry Software - Agilent Community 
 (+) Add statistics (mean, stdev) for a column in MassHunter Report Builder - Mass Spectrometry Software User Forum - Mass Spectrometry Software - Agilent Community 
 You can search for 'report builder expressions' to find more. 
 To find the name of database entries for use in expressions, use the Quant Dataset manual. This is installed as part of the help and the SDK, but it can be easier to copy the pdf directly from the USB installation drive. It is in the folder \Additional\Schema.