Re: FloJo and DiVa file IDs

Ray,

I had this discussion with BD a while ago.  This is something that 
blindsided me.	We actually have an SOP that we follow for tube IDs such 
that they are all unique.  Basically, we use accession numbers of the 
format FCM00001 for experiment names and then the tube IDs would be 
FCM00001_001, etc.  In the older versions of Diva, this was the "FCS" file 
name that showed up in the folder when experiments were exported. However, 
those weren't "real" FCS files.  Evidently, people were trying to import 
these bogus FCS files back into Diva, or elsewhere, and it was creating 
errors.  In their infinite wisdom, BD's fix was to change the names of 
these files to something unrecognizable to the users so that they wouldn't 
be tempted to do that.	They have a system of generating their own 
pseudo-unique IDs in this manner.  I say pseudo-unique, because it isn't 
clear to me where/how the numbering starts if, for instance, you have 
several instruments running Diva in the same lab, or if upgrade to a new 
version by doing a clean install.  Or perhaps the machine crashes.  Can 
the numbering be set to pick up where if left off?  I think what they 
really mean is unique to that particular incarnation of the database on 
that local machine which isn't unique enough in my mind.  This really 
screwed up my system.  So asked the same question you just did, "Is there 
a way to retain my Tube IDs and/or can I configure Diva to use the same 
unique filenaming convention that I do".  Of course, the answer was no. 
Even worse, even if you export as FCS files, although recognizable, the 
files aren't exactly the same as the entered ID.  The specimen name and an 
underscore are added before the tube ID and ".fcs" is added  to the end. 
This is more aggravation for me to deal with in regard to data management 
in a GLP setting.  It's too bad.  We like exporting entire experiments for 
archiving purposes, but it is easier to reconcile file name/tube ID 
discrepancies when exported as FCS, so we will probably have to make a 
change.  At present we've just been adding a file note to the archive 
documents and explaining that the original naming scheme will reappear 
when imported back into Diva.  This isn't entirely true when FCS files are 
imported into Diva since you have to import them into an open experiment, 
which could be named differently than the exported FCS files.  Again this 
is an issue for me in a GLP validated instrument setting and would warrant 
more workarounds or further explanation as to why reimported raw data 
doesn't look "exactly" as it did when collected.

Let me know if you here anything different from what I've told you as the 
situation seems to change frequently and this may no be the most current 
info.

Regards,

Dave

David McFarland
Principal Scientist
GlaxoSmithKline



"Ray Hester" <rhester@jaguar1.usouthal.edu> 
17-Jul-2006 16:16
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Subject
FloJo and DiVa file IDs






Can someone tell us how to export DiVa files as 'Experiments', not as 
'FCS files', so that the individual tubes within the 'Experiment' retain 
their specific identities, e.g., 'T4/8', rather than some numerical 
value, e.g., '2437'.  When we export DiVa data as 'FCS files', the 
specific tube ID is retained.

We have a FloJo 7.1 USB dongle and it's being used primarily on PCs.

Thanks.

Ray Hester
Univ. of South Alabama