6 File menu
7.12 Import
ProLab Plus allows the import of
- The structure of the ring test with or without ring test results
- Laboratory addresses
- Measurands & samples with all characteristics
- Analytical methods & sample preparations
- Ring tests (LZH compressed)
Click in the menu item Database – Import and select the type of data to be imported. In the following, the import of measurement data will be described in detail. The import procedure of addresses or information on the measurands and samples is similar.
7.12.1 Import of structure with or without test results
Almost all data that can be entered manually into the database may also be imported from EXCEL or CSV files.
The general structure of the import files is always the same: each column has to be assigned to a field in the database. The import procedure comprises the following steps:
1. select type of data to be imported,
2. open the import file or paste the data into the import window, 3. assign columns in the import file to database fields,
4. start transfer of the file into the database.
Click on to open the import file. In the opening dialogue box select the correct directory,
file type (*.db, *.csv, *.lab, *.txt, *.xls, *.xlsx) and name of the import file. Excel files need to be saved as EXCEL 97 or above. The file to be imported must not be opened or used by an-other program. Alternatively, input via copy & paste is possible by either clicking into the empty table and pressing the key combination Ctrl + V, or by right-clicking and selecting the option Paste from the opening menu.
Subsequently the individual columns are assigned to the database fields. In order to select these fields, please click on the arrow in the top row of the relevant column. A list will appear where you can select the database fields. The fields M 1, M 2, …, M 32 correspond to the test results 1, 2, …, 32.
If the ring test is of nested design a certain order of the test results to be entered needs to be respected. For example if for three different days two measurement values are available, the design should be nested 3 x 2. Thus, in total there are up to six test results, the first two be-long to day 1, test results 3 and 4 to day 2 and test results 5 and 6 to day 3. The test results must be entered in that order.
Columns that are already assigned to database fields are highlighted in blue.
Figure 44: Database – Import – Structure/ring test results
Before the data is transferred into the database, all rows that do not contain valid mea-surements (e.g. the headline) should be deleted. This can be done by clicking with the right mouse button on the cell, column or row and selecting Delete.
If the first row contains the headers that should not be imported, simply check the box Ignore first line on the right side of the window.
The correct decimal delimiter in accordance with your data has to be chosen on the right side of the window before starting the transfer.
The imported test results are always assigned to the currently selected ring test. If test re-sults should be imported into a new ring test, please create a new ring test in the menu Da-tabase – Basic tables and select it for editing. Afterwards test results may be imported as de-scribed above.
If the import file only contains one laboratory, no column for lab names is required. In this case, mark the check box Laboratory on the right side of the window and enter the name of the laboratory. Proceed analogously if the import file only contains pertaining to one sample or measurand. The name of the laboratory or sample is entered into the corresponding field.
This name is then assigned to all datasets of the file in question.
It is further to be noted that there are two columns each for sample, measurand and laborato-ry in the basic tables. Those columns refer to name and description. As the name must con-sist of no more than eight characters (alphanumerical or underscore), the import into ProLab Plus works as follows:
1. A name for each dataset is created by reducing the already existing text to eight characters, after removal of all characters that are not allowed.
2. If there is no already existing sample (or measurand or laboratory) with this name, it is applied. In this case, and in this case only, the entire original text will be used as de-scription.
3. If the name of a sample (or measurand or laboratory), that has already been imported during the current process, is the same as the newly generated one, ProLab Plus de-termines whether it corresponds to the same text. For example, since “A+” and “A-“
are assigned the same new name “A”, they would be treated as the same sample (or measurand or laboratory). In case of such a collision the user will be asked if both samples can be assumed to be identical.
It is recommended to use the semicolon as column (field) separator. Depending on the Win-dows setting, the use of comma or point is recommended as decimal separator.
After checking the plausibility of the table with respect to correct column assignment, start the transfer of data by clicking on the button Transfer data. Now all columns that contain val-ues attached to a database field (highlighted in blue) are entered successively in the data-base. Since an automatic comparison of the different tables is performed at the same time, the import of the file may take a few minutes. The changes within the database and error messages will be listed in the log window and the log file (see chapter 6.3).
Please note: Be aware that wrong names or column assignments for the laboratories, sam-ples, measurands or ring tests may have serious consequences for the database, and that restoring the original database or repairing the damage may take great effort. It is therefore important to thoroughly check the names and the assignment of the columns before starting the import. Moreover all tables of the database should be backed up first. For example, if a laboratory with name “001” has been defined in the Basic tables but, in the process of import-ing data, the name of the lab is changed to “1”, ProLab Plus will interpret this as a new labor-atory and will not assign the values to laboratory “001”. Thus, make sure the right format is defined in the Excel table (showing leading zeros etc…)..
You can also import data if the corresponding laboratories, ring tests, samples and measur-ands have not yet been defined. In this case ProLab Plus will ask you if a cross-check of the
tables should be performed. Click the All button to cancel the enquiry, which will otherwise reappear at every new entry.
Remember that descriptions cannot be entered in the Import menu, but only manually in the Basic Tables menu.
If there is a space character in between two separators, ProLab Plus will interpret this as a column that contains a NULL value.
Test results that contain invalid characters will result in a warning.
Test results with the character '<' will be interpreted as results below the limit of quantifica-tion. In this case the test result will be set to NULL and obtain the state NB. The actual value will be entered as the limit of quantification.
Test results with the character '+' will be interpreted as results above the “greater limit”. In this case the test result will be set to NULL and obtain the state GL. The actual value will be entered as “greater limit”.
7.12.2 Addresses, Measurands & samples, Analytical methods/Sample preparations The import of laboratory addresses, samples and measurands, and of analytical methods and sample preparations is analogous to the procedure described in section 7.12.1.
7.12.3 Ring test
The basis for importing a ring test is an LZH-file that has been created earlier by exporting a ring test via Database – Export – Ring test (LZH compressed).
Please note that already existing data with identical names (whether ring tests, sam-ples, measurands or laboratories) will be overwritten after confirmation is given. The confirmation prompt will appear even if there are no values in the actual database but the fields are already defined.