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Finding items in LabTrove

There are a number of different ways that you can use to find Entries in your Notebook or the Trove. You can find Entries based on the following criteria:

  • Date created
  • Entry type
  • Subject
  • Author

Within your a particular Notebook you can locate specific Entries using the headings in the navigation menu on the right of the Notebook.

Browsing for items​

Browse by date created​

To browse Entries by date created, click on the links beneath the Archives heading in the navigation menu on the right of the Notebook. Each link displays the Entries for the selected month in reverse chronological order. An alternative way to view Entries based upon their creation date is to use the Timeline View. See 'Using the Timeline View' below, for more information.

Browse by type​

To browse Entries by type, click on the links beneath the Sections heading in the navigation menu on the right of the Notebook. Each link displays the Entries that are associated with the selected Section metadata in reverse chronological order.

Browse by subject​

To browse Entries by subject, click on the links beneath the subject headings in the navigation menu on the right of the Notebook. Each link displays the Entries that are associate with the selected key-value metadata added to the Entry, where the heading represents the key, and the link represents the value for that key. The Entries are displayed in reverse chronological order.

Browse by author​

To view Entries by the author that created them, click the name of the author at the bottom of a Entry that user created. When you click on the name of an author on a Entry, all the comments and Entries that have been created by the selected author are displayed. You can also see details about the author, including their user name and Email address.

  1. To see more of the Entries or comments created by a selected user, click See All.
  2. To return to viewing both Entries and comments, click Show recent.

Within each Notebook there is a Search box in which you can enter a search terms to find Entries and comments that match your search terms. You can also choose to search all Notebooks you have access to from the Dashboard, All Blogs, and search pages. The search is not case sensitive.

The search has the following limitations:

  • You cannot search for the names of authors
  • If you use multiple search terms, results are only shown when the search terms are next to each other in the Entry or comment.
  • You cannot search for quotes using double quotes ("").
  • You can use the wildcard % to find multiple terms in the same Entry, but they must be located in the correct order within the Entry. For example, if your Entry contains the following text:
My Analysis Template
Lab Note Book Or Experiment Code

You could find this Entry using the search terms Template%Experiment but not the search terms Experiment%Template.

Searching a Notebook​

To search a Notebook:

  1. View the Notebook that you want to search
  2. Enter your search terms in the Search box above the navigation menu on the right of the Notebook
  3. Press Enter to search the Notebook. The matching results from the Notebook are displayed in reverse chronological order together with the name of the author of the Entry or comment.
  4. (Optional) Choose an option from the in list in the search results to search in a different Notebook or all Notebooks for your search terms.
  5. (Optional) Enter a new keyword or phrase and click Search to start a new search.

Searching all Notebooks in the Trove​

You can choose to search all Notebooks in the Trove from the Search all box on the Dashboard and All Blogs pages. To search all Notebooks:

  1. On the Dashboard page or All Blogs page, enter your search terms in the Search All box.
  2. Press Enter to search the Notebooks. The matching results from the Notebooks are displayed. The matching results are displayed in reverse chronological order together with the name of the author of the Entry or comment, and the Notebook in which the result appears.
  3. Click the links to view the matching Entries.
  4. (Optional) If you are having problems finding the Entries you want, try clicking Use simple text search or configuring an advanced search by clicking More Options.
  5. (Optional) Enter a new keyword or phrase and click Search to start a new search.

Using the Timeline View​

The Timeline View provides a visual representation of the creation date and time of Entries in a selected Notebook. Within the Timeline View you can navigate to different Entries by changing the displayed date by scrolling backwards and forwards. Owing to the evolution of LabTrove Notebooks from a blog-based system, some internal variables do still use the term blog.

To display the Timeline View for the selected Notebook, click Timeline View beneath This Blog on the right navigation menu. You can scroll left and right to change the date range displayed in the view. You can scroll through longer periods of time more or less quickly by scrolling in the different horizontal sections of the Timeline View:

  • Days
  • Months
  • Years

Within each section there are visual markers to indicate the presence of Entries created on the dates displayed. You can also jump directly to a specific month by clicking on a link in the Jump to Date box beneath the Timeline. The Section Key shows the sections associated with the different colour coding used for the Entries.

To view a Entry on the Timeline View, click the Entry and click on one of the links in the information box that appears.

To return to the Notebook, click the Notebook title above the Timeline.

There are various options for helping others to find your Entries in LabTrove, see the sections below for more information on each option.

Each Entry has a unique identifying code that is used in the URL and is also used when linking between Entries. The Permalink URL for a Entry includes the ID code and the title of the Entry in the following format:

http://domain.com/blogname/ID_code_number/post_title.html

If the title of a Entry is changed, the Permalink for the Entry will change, but the ID code remains the same. If you have recorded the permalink and the title of the Entry changes later, the URL will be directed to the correct Entry because the ID code remains consistent.

The URI for the Entry is a URL identifying the location and identity of the Entry in the following format:

http://domain.com/uri/hexnumber

The URI is also constant and does not change when the Entry is edited.

URI Labels​

A URI Label displays the specific URI and URL for a specific Entry. The URI Label is useful if you want to record the details of a specific Entry that you have written, or you want to reference it in a different location. For example you might want to refer to a particular Entry in your lab book, in a paper, or on a website. You can use the URI Label to create a barcode that can be printed out. An example use could be to link together a sample to the Entry that describes the source of the sample or the steps used to create it.

To view or print the URI Label:

  1. Locate and click the title of the Entry that you want to record.
  2. Click URI Label in the navigation menu. The URI Label Generator window is displayed. You can use the information displayed in this window to record the location of the selected Entry. For example you could use on of the following methods:
    1. (Optional) Write down or copy the URI or URL to use to reference the Entry from a new location.
    2. (Optional) Print the URI Label out.
    3. (Optional) To view a bar code for the Entry, click just view label. A bar code reader is needed to read the information.
    4. (Optional) To view a QR code for the Entry, click just view qr label.
  3. Close the URI Label Generator window when you have finished.

QR codes​

As an alternative to using the URI, URL, or bar code you can view and print QR codes that provide a link to a specific Entry. A QR reader is needed to read the information, for example many mobile phones with built in cameras have QR reading software. There are two ways to generate a QR code for a specific Entry:

  1. Locate and click the title of the Entry for which you want to create a QR code.
  2. (Optional) Click Show/Hide QR Code link under the subheading 'Tools' in the navigation menu. You can take a copy of the QR code by right-clicking on the image.
  3. (Optional) Alternatively to view a printable version of the QR code:
    1. Click URI Label in the navigation menu. The URI Label Generator window is displayed.
    2. Click just view qr label to view a QR code for the Entry in PDF.

The QR code uses the URI in the form:

http://domain.com/uri/hexnumber

QR Code Software​

To read QR codes you need a portable device with a camera and an internet connection. Most modern camera phones are of high enough quality to read QR codes.

  • Neoreader supports most mobile handsets.
  • Barcode Reader can be used with Android and Blackberry
  • Alternatively, search for 'Barcode Reader' in the Android market or other application stores.

Using the MyList Feature​

LabTrove has a List Feature that can be used to build a collections of notebook entries.

warning

Lists are only stored when you use the list to create something else, for example if you create a report.

Making a List​

Within an entry in the notebook, click the Add to list link beneath the This Post section in the sidebar. A My List link is displayed at the top of the page together with the number of posts in the list.

Navigating to a new entry allows you to add that entry to the list.

Managing a list​

You can manage your list using the My List link at the top of the page. Click the My List link to view all entries in your list. Delete unwanted entries from the list or reorder entries using the arrow buttons next to the entry titles.

What to do with a list​

When you have compiled your list you can use the list to create a report or to export the selected posts to be archived or to be shared.

Create a report​

Reports are collections of notebook entries that reference a particular revision of an entry, so if the entry gets updated in the future the report shows only the content was when the report was created. This feature is useful if you want to collate a set of notebook entries and results data to accompany a publication such as a presentation or paper.

The visibility of the report can be changed so that it is Private and visible only to you, Trove users only where the report can be viewed only by authenticated users of the LabTrove instance, or Public where the report can be viewed by anyone. A Public report can also be indexed by search engines.

warning

If the report is made public any private content within the notebook entries will also be made public, so ensure that you have permission from the notebook author or owner before including these entries in your report.

To create a report:

  1. Create a list of notebook entries you want to include in your report as detailed in 'Making a list' above.
  2. Click the Create Report link in the side bar.
  3. Edit the title of the report.
  4. Click Publish.

Export notebook entries from LabTrove​

You can also use a list to export entries from LabTrove. See Exporting content from a notebook for more information about exporting notebook entries from LabTrove.

Using the Exhibit View (deprecated)​

The Exhibit View allows you to find notebook Entries matching specific criteria, and hide Entries that do not match. The Exhibit View is particularly useful if you have a Notebook that contains many Entries and multiple authors. Using the Exhibit View you select filters that you want to apply to the Notebook and only the Entries matching those filters are displayed. Owing to the evolution of LabTrove Notebooks from a blog-based system, some internal variables do still use the term blog.

To display the Exhibit View, click the Exhibit View link in the This Blog section on the navigation menu. The Exhibit View page is displayed. To begin with, all the Entries in the Notebook are displayed. You can then choose to reduce the number of Entries by applying one or more of the following filters:

  • date
  • Section
  • metadata
  • author

The number of Entries matching the selected filters is displayed at the top of the page. Before you have applied any filters, this number is the total number of Entries in the selected Notebook. As you select different filters this number will change to indicate how many Entries match the filters you have configured. If you are looking for a specific Entry this can help you narrow down the number of Entries to make it easier to find a specific one. You can filter by multiple criteria at the same time. For example you could search for all the Entries created in the last six months, about a specific experiment, and written by a specific author.

Filtering by date​

You can use the calendar on the right sidebar to select an individual date or a range of dates from which to select Entries to display. To select a date range for the filter:

  1. Locate the start date for the filter on the calendar, and click the appropriate box. If you need to look for a date that is earlier than is currently visible, click the previous month to centre the calendar on that month. You can get to an earlier date by repeating this process.
  2. Click the appropriate box for the end date. If you need to look for a date that is more recent than is currently visible, click the next month to centre the calendar on that month. You can get a more recent date by repeating this process. Selecting the end date for the filter creates a range of dates, and the Entries are filtered with the selected date range.
  3. (Optional) To display Entries created on a single day, click the calendar on that date.

To select a single date or date range, you can manually enter the start and end dates that you want in the boxes below the calendar. The left box is the start date, and the right box is the end date. Enter the dates you require in the format: yyyy-mm-dd.

The number of days in the date range is displayed above the calendar. To remove the date filter from your results, clear the check box above the calendar, or alternatively, click Reset all filters at the top of the page to remove all filters.

Filtering by section​

To display Entries that have a specific value for their Section, click the name of the Section value by which to filter in the box beneath Section in the right sidebar. The number next to each check box shows how many Entries match the value. The Entries displayed by the selected Section. You can select multiple Sections on which to filter by selecting the appropriate names in the Section box. To remove a Section from the filter, clear the appropriate check box.

To remove all the Section filters from your results, clear the check box above the Section box, or alternatively, click Reset all filters at the top of the page to remove all filters.

Filtering by metadata​

You can filter by metadata in the same way as filtering by Section, except there is a box for each metadata key in your Notebook, with links and check boxes for each of the values for that key. You can filter by multiple values for each metadata key, and you can also filter by multiple metadata keys. The number next to each check box shows how many Entries match the value.

To remove filters on the metadata values from your results, clear the check box above the appropriate metadata key box, or alternatively, click Reset all filters at the top of the page to remove all filters.

Filtering by author​

To display Entries written by a specific author, click on the name of the author in the Author box in the right sidebar. The Entries written by that author are displayed. The number next to the name of each author is the number of Entries written by that author. You can select multiple authors by selecting additional names in the Author box.

To remove all the author filters from your results, clear the check box above the Author box, or alternatively, click Reset all filters at the top of the page to remove all filters.

Sorting results​

You can sort the order of the Entries that are displayed. Sorting can be done on all the Entries or a filtered set of Entries. You can order the Entries in ascending or descending order, and by the following criteria:

  • author
  • authoruri
  • html
  • labels
  • metadata keys
  • month
  • section
  • type
  • URIs

You can also combine sort criteria. For example, you might choose to sort by section, then by date, and then by author. By default the Entries are displayed in descending date order.

To change the order that your Entries are displayed in:

  1. Click the date link next to sorted by at the top of the page. A list of available sorting criteria is displayed.
  2. Choose whether to sort in ascending (a-Z) or descending order (Z to a), and click the appropriate option from the top of the sorting criteria menu.
  3. Select the criteria on which to sort the Entries. When you select the criteria the Entries are sorted in the new order.
  4. (Optional) Add an additional criteria on which to sort:
    1. Click the then by link next to sorted by at the top of the page.
    2. Choose whether to sort in ascending (a-Z) or descending order (Z to a), and click the appropriate option from the top of the sorting criteria menu.
    3. Select the criteria on which to sort the Entries. When you select the criteria the Entries are sorted in the new order.

You can also choose whether to sort the Entries as groups. For some of the criteria it makes sense to group the Entries. For example, if you choose to sort the Entries by section, you can display all the Entries belonging to the same Section together as a group, and order the groups in alphabetical order. To switch between sorting the Entries as groups or not, click the Group as sorted link next to sorted by at the top of the page.

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