Sample Manager

LabKey Sample Manager is a web-based application designed to help laboratories to efficiently track, organize, and manage samples, their lineage, associated metadata, and storage. It provides tools for sample registration, source management, storage tracking, data import, and more.

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Getting started

In order to get accees to LabKey Sample Manager, you need to set up the account and set up the permissions:

1. Setup User Accounts and Permissions

• Create user accounts and manage permissions via Roles and Groups.
• For an introduction, see User Accounts, Groups and Roles.

2. Organize Projects and Folders

• Set up a folder structure to logically separate data or labs within your organization.
• For details, see Folder Organization.

3. Explore the Sample Manager Dashboard

• Access an overview of your lab’s key metrics and recent activity in one place.
• For more, see Sample Manager Dashboard.

Managing Samples

With Sample Manager you can effectively create, manage, and track different types of samples. Explore the resources below to learn more:

• LabKey official Sample Manager documentation on Samples
• Video Tutorial: How to create sample types

Source Management

With Sample Manager you can define, manage, and associate various physical and biological sources with your samples. The following materials explain thoroughly how to do it:

• LabKey official Sample Manager documentation on Sources
• Video Tutorial: How to create a new source type

Storage and Location Tracking

With Sample Manager one can create a virtual representation of lab’s storage system and track sample locations.

1. Create Storage Units

• Model freezers, racks, boxes, and shelves in LabKey.
• Video Tutorial: Create storage in Sample Manager

2. Add Samples to Storage

• Assign individual samples to specific units or locations.
• Video Tutorial: Adding sample to Storage

3. Find or search for a specific storage location

• Use the built-in Storage Search function to locate particular racks, boxes, or freezers.
• Video Tutorial: Searching for Storage

Searching for Samples

In order to quickly locate any sample across your entire LabKey project you can use the Sample Finder, which searches across all registered sample types and metadata.

• Video Tutorial: Searching for Samples

Printing Sample Labels

LabKey Sample Manager allows to easily print barcode labels for samples using BarTender. Note that an administrator must first complete the one-time steps to configure BarTender Automation. Once configured any user may send labels to the web service for printing. To learn how to print sample labels, see Print Labels with BarTender.

Data Import Guidelines

Best Practices for importing data into LabKey:

• Use Templates: Download example import templates to ensure your file format is compatible.
• Validate Data: Double-check required fields and data consistency before importing.
• Bulk Imports: Consolidate large numbers of samples or sources into a single batch import.

For detailed information, refer to the following links:

• LabKey official guide on Data import in Sample Manager
• Video Tutorial On Data import in Sample Manager

Additional References

• LabKey Official Sample Manager Documentation
• Webinar: Getting started with LabKey Sample Manager
• Webinar: Best practices for effective sample management using LabKey Sample Manager