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How to get your data files out of OpenLab CDS 2 onto your computer

OpenLab CDS 2 keeps runs in projects, not in a folder you browse to. To take the data home, send it to a colleague or open it in other software, you need a copy outside OpenLab. There are three ways; which one works depends on how your OpenLab is set up and on your user rights.

The three ways at a glance

WayYou getWorks when
1. Copy the filesThe original .dx file of each injectionA workstation whose project folder you can open in Windows Explorer
2. Export an OpenLab archiveOne .olax archive per result set or folderYou have the Export data privilege; best for moving data to another OpenLab
3. Export plugins.dx, CSV, AIA .cdf or ChemStation .D files in a folder you chooseYou may edit the processing method; written when the data is processed

1. Copy the .dx files from the project folder

On an OpenLab CDS workstation, projects are ordinary folders on disk, by default under C:\CDSProjects. Each project has a Results folder, and each sequence run is a result set folder ending in .rslt. Inside, every injection has a .dx file with the raw data and an .rx file with the processing results.

  1. In Windows Explorer, go to C:\CDSProjects\<your project>\Results. If your lab moved the projects, the OpenLab Control Panel shows where they are: Administration > System Configuration, the project storage path.
  2. Copy the whole .rslt folder, or only the .dx files you need, to a USB stick or network drive.

This does not work everywhere. With Secure Project Folder switched on, the project folders cannot be changed or deleted from Windows, and your lab may block copying too. With Content Management (Workstation Plus or client/server), OpenLab stores the data on a server, not in folders on your PC. Then use one of the exports below.

2. Export an OpenLab archive (.olax)

  1. In Data Analysis, open the Data Selection view and select a result set or folder (or search and select single runs).
  2. On the Import/Export ribbon tab, click Export.
  3. Choose where to save: a local folder, a mapped network drive or a UNC path.

The result is one .olax file. Agilent's notes: you need the privilege Data Analysis > Export data, only the latest version of each result is included, and zipped ChemStation or EZChrom data cannot be exported this way. The archive is meant to be imported into another OpenLab CDS. Nagura Lab does not open .olax files; for that, use way 1 or 3.

3. Export with a post-processing plugin

OpenLab CDS 2 can write a copy of every processed injection to a folder of your choice. Agilent ships these plugins:

  1. Open the processing method and go to Tools > Post Processing Plugins.
  2. Pick the plugin from the drop-down list and click +.
  3. Give it a name, tick Run plugin, and set the Output path. Tokens such as the result folder name keep runs from overwriting each other.
  4. Save the method and process the data again. The files are written at the end of processing.

Agilent lists the privilege Method Development > Edit Post Processing Plugins parameters for the AIA and ChemStation exports; if you lack it, ask whoever manages OpenLab in your lab. For a network folder, the OpenLab instrument service account needs write access to it. Agilent notes that the AIA export reads the signals as processed, so blank subtraction or smoothing set in the method may already be applied. Steps from Agilent's OpenLab help, Export raw data and results.

Open the files without OpenLab

  1. Open Nagura Lab in any browser, on any computer.
  2. Drop the .dx files, a whole .rslt folder, the .cdf files or the .D folders on the page. The other files in the folder are skipped.
  3. Overlay the injections, look at the DAD spectra, and download CSV or PNG.

The files are decoded on your computer and never uploaded. Peak tables and integration results from OpenLab (the .rx files) are not read; you get the signals.

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