Hi all--

A few more reminders...

Backup Everything!!!!  You may be reformatting your hard disk when you
upgrade Windows NT to XP before Isodat 2.0 install.

Save your old focus settings for use in 2.0.  Or you can be like me and
discover that the autofocus routine is better behaved in 2.0 than it was
in 1.5--though an "auto-linearity" feature would be nice ;)

When you build a new method, it may not always find the default
Acquisition script.  Select browse next to acquisition script line and
find "acquistion.isl".  I have a configuration with a standard GC and a
dual inlet, and for the acquisition script, it comes up with "dual
inlet\acquisition.isl", and their is no "dual inlet" folder under GCC.

You can use your old time event lists--you can even pull them out of
your old result files (go to edit method and click on save under time
events).

When running in Standard GC mode, it no longer "waits for GC ready", so
the GC better be ready when Isodat wants to go.   I haven't dug into
this yet.

have fun

gerry



Gilles St-Jean wrote:

>Hi all
>A special problem with Isodat needs to be brought to your attention regarding NAMING of information in the sequence tables.  This problem was brought to me by Dr Tyler Coplen recently.
>
>You must never use the following caracters in identifying variables in the sequence table: "\ / : * ? " < > |."  This is a Windows rule for file identification, not Isodat.
>
>Why?
>
>When you save the data to a Windows file after the analysis Isodat allows you to add a PRE and POST filename addition from the columns of data.  These can be: Line, Identifier 1, Identifier 2, Analysis, Comment, Preparation, Method, Date, Time.  Also for those of you who want to be more detailled,Isodat 2.0 allows you to create as many variables as you want. (e.g. Identifier xx, Comment 2, etc).
>The filename in Windows can look like this: A-6002_TEST-TIMING_5 SEC.cf where:
>A-6002 is the 6002 Analysis number on our Artemis(A) IRMS (Pre file identifier)
>TIMING-TEST is a general identifier for the sequence
>5 SEC is the Identifier 1 (Post file identifier)
>
>The problem is that if Windows sees a no-no caracter then it flags and won't save the data.  The problem is that Isodat does not flag the problem since it does not "see" the Windows error and keeps going.  The result is that the data was not saved and thus is lost in cyberspace forever.  You can lose an entire run due to this without realising it.
>
>If the PRE and POST filenaming did not exist then I suspect that this problem would not be there, however we find this feature extremely useful for long term sample tracking even though we use Coplen's LIMS for data storage and processing.  Plus it saves alot or typing the same thing twice.  I suggest that you print this set of caracters and post it onto the Isodat computer screen as a "DO NOT USE THESE CARACTERS FOR SEQUENCE INFORMATION" for your users to see.  I expect Bremen will put a flag in there in a future SP of Isodat which will POP-UP when a no-no caracter is typed or rename the file for you with a default value not containing the bad, naughty, unwanted, misunderstood caracters.
>
>Gilles
>
>Gilles St-Jean
>U. d'Ottawa / U. of Ottawa
>Sciences de la Terre / Earth Sciences
>Laboratoires d'isotopes- G.G.Hatch -Isotope Laboratories
>140 Louis Pasteur, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
>K1N 6N5
>Tel: 1-613-562-5800 xt 6830 (Bureau / Office
>                    xt 6839 (Bureau 2/ Office 2)
>                    xt 6836 (Lab)
>Cell: (613) 327-2896
>Fax: 1-613-562-5192
>Courriel / e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>Web: www.isotopes.science.uottawa.ca
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>>-----Message d'origine-----
>>De : Stable Isotope Geochemistry [mailto:[log in to unmask]]De la
>>part de Howard Sanford
>>Envoyé : 20 février 2004 09:01
>>À : [log in to unmask]
>>Objet : Re: [ISOGEOCHEM] Isodat 2.0
>>
>>
>>At 04:51 PM 2/19/2004, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>>1) The amplifier zero (measure) routine crashes.  A faulty
>>>
>>>
>>.dll has been
>>
>>
>>>repaired and this bug is now gone and will be part of a post
>>>
>>>
>>1.35 service pack.
>>
>>There is a work around for this if you have a copy of your
>>old Isodat 1.5
>>system (may also work with an old 1.2 system). You can copy
>>your old values
>>into the new software. Not as good as measuring, but mine
>>rarely changed by
>>more than 0.5 mV anyway. The values are stored in the file
>>\Finnigan\Isodat
>>NT\Global\Databases\Isodat System.iso. Open the old version
>>of this file
>>with the IsodatEditor.exe found in the \Global\bin directory.
>>The values
>>are stored under the key \\Isodat System\Isodat
>>System\Preferences\Electronic Offset. Copy the object
>>Electronic Offset,
>>open your current Isodat 2.0 Isodat System.iso and paste it
>>into the same
>>place. Delete the 'bad' Electronic Offset object and restart
>>Isodat. That
>>will work until the new patch comes out.
>>
>>Howard
>>
>>Howard Sanford
>>919-513-3039
>>North Carolina State University
>>Dept. of Soil Science
>>Box 7619
>>3114 Williams Hall
>>Raleigh, NC 27695
>>http://www.soil.ncsu.edu/services/sims/
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>