Welcome to the 12th volume of our 2023 product release notes! We’ve been working hard to bring you performance improvements that add value to your work. Read on to learn about the product enhancements and bug fixes released in December 2023.
Notebook
Benchling Notebook helps users log their experiments, create protocols, and capture results against their samples.
Per-row submission for structured tables [2023.12.N.1]
Users can now select multiple rows, open the row context menu, and submit them, eliminating the need for the submit button.
Disabled Dropbox previews endpoint [2023.12.N.2]
Dropbox previews and the associated endpoint have been removed due to security concerns. Users can continue to view files in Dropbox, or after importing them into Benchling.
Added 'review_status' field to the warehouse 'entry_auditor' table [2023.12.N.3]
Users can now determine if auditors are up next for or blocked by a prior review stage in sequential reviews.
New table formula TRUE() [2023.12.N.4]
Returns the logical value TRUE. You can use this function when you want to return the value TRUE based on a condition.
New table formula ISNUMBER() [2023.12.N.5]
ISNUMBER() function, checks if the specified value is a number and returns TRUE or FALSE depending on the outcome.
In Vivo
Manage in vivo studies with modern software designed for data capture, collaboration, and insights.
User Median and MAD for group analysis, graphs, and exports [2023.12.IV.1]
Users can now opt to calculate and display Median and MAD in grouped data summaries, alongside Mean and SD/SEM.
View all animals in study table by default [2023.12.IV.2]
Users can now automatically view all study animals in the table, instead of expanding the view for full visibility.
Download recaging report from study file attachments [2023.12.IV.3]
Users can now access the recaging report from the study attachments section at any time, making it more accessible. The email contains a link to the study attachments section where any user with access to the study can find and download the recaging report at any time.
Access animal metadata in workflow [2023.12.IV.4]
Users can now view animal metadata during data collection in studies using an information icon in the workflow.
Registry and Inventory
The Registry and Inventory combine to form an extremely powerful solution for life sciences R&D samples. The Registry can be used to model and log any biological entities while the Inventory provides an interactive digital window into the physical storage system of your lab.
Moved printer icon [2023.12.RI.1]
Users can now find the printer icon in the actions banner at the top of the metadata page, instead of the barcode field, for better accessibility.
Deprioritize full boxes and plates in create containers modal [2023.12.RI.2]
When transferring containers into a plate or a box, full plates and boxes are deprioritized for easier selection by being moved to the bottom of the list.
Added an audit event for label printing with Zebra Printing [2023.12.RI.3]
Users can now track an audit event when labels are printed using Zebra Browser Print, enhancing tracking and accountability.
Insights
Insights enables users to query, visualize, and share high-quality, structured data that resides in Benchling.
Updated JMP Add-in to Version 1.1.0 [2023.12.IN.1]
Updated JMP Add-in to Version 1.1.0 to work with our updated API endpoints.
Updated the /analyses endpoints [2023.12.IN.2]
Updated the /analyses endpoints to remove analysis steps.
Updated the /files endpoints [2023.12.IN.3]
Updated the /files endpoints to include folderIds.
Updated "Analysis step key" to "Analysis key" in the import/export step window [2023.12.IN.4]
The updated button now copies the "Analysis key" instead of the "Analysis step key" for clarity.
Benchling Connect
Benchling Connect, formerly Lab Automation, enables seamless integration of Benchling to liquid handlers, plate readers, imaging instruments, and more.
Real-time preview functionality on top of existing transforms [2023.12.BC.1]
Users can now preview data transformations in real time when configuring a Run schema, aiding in instrument integration and streamlining file-based outputs.
Added re-ordering and deleting capabilities to transform preview steps [2023.12.BC.2]
When users preview how a series of transformations changes their data, they can now reorder the transformation steps and view how the new ordering affects their data.
Error message for file format errors [2023.12.BC.3]
Users can now view detailed error messages when file imports fail, to help with troubleshooting and resolution.
Access Management
Access Management is the way customers control who is able to access which resources, and includes things like project permissions, access policies, and admin roles.
Folder depth limited to 30 levels [2023.12.AM.1]
Folders now have a maximum of 30 layers of nesting.
Limits on maximum number of collaborators [2023.12.AM.2]
Resources are now limited to 1000 collaborators for projects and 100 collaborators for other objects, balancing collaboration with manageability.
Application Core
To create a seamless Benchling experience, our platform must be consistent, compliant and predictable. The Application Core provides the central capabilities platform to create a smoother user experience.
Removed owner restriction for searches inserted into templates [2023.12.AC.1]
Users can now insert saved searches into templates regardless of who owns the saved search.
Released version 1.3.3 of Benchling Sync [2023.12.AC.2]
The newest version of Benchling Sync offers updated help links, security updates, and improved error messaging.
Global search can now be filtered to starred items of any type [2023.12.AC.3]
Users can now filter global search results to include only starred items.
Added IS_EMPTY operator to search filters [2023.12.AC.4]
Added IS_EMPTY operator to custom field filter to support finding items with a custom tag that contain a blank string.
Compliance Controls
With Compliance Controls, gathering required information for compliance is simple, intuitive, and performant. The team’s primary focus is on our auditing platform but we also own exporting and archiving.
Split large exports by project [2023.12.CC.1]
Users exporting multiple projects can now find large project lists split by project in a zipped folder, simplifying file management.
Tenant URL added to audit log [2023.12.CC.2]
Users can now find the tenant URL or name on audit logs.
Benchling Support delegate user added to Activity Log [2023.12.CC.3]
The activity log shows the Benchling support delegate user, so that one can identify which Benchling personnel was accessing a Benchling tenant.
Developer Platform
Our developer platform is fundamental to centralizing and standardizing all your R&D data. Benchling’s APIs and Events are built to match the flexibility and speed of modern life science R&D.
New Data field in App Canvas [2023.12.DP.1]
App Canvas now has a multi-purpose Data field that can be used to store data as JSON.
Throughput rate limiting [2023.12.DP.2]
To enhance Benchling availability, API endpoints are now protected by a throughput rate limit. Tenants that have integrations or scripts that create or update objects in the tens of thousands per hour may experience 429 rate limit errors. This new rate limit is in addition to the existing request count-based rate limit.
1000 character limit implemented for blob "name" uploaded via API [2023.12.DP.3]
An informative error message now displays if blob names exceed the new 1000-character limit.
Bug Fixes
Notebook
- Entries displayed "invalid date" on the side panel if a date was not used for the first and/or last section
- Initial reviewers of a notebook entry review process were not notified that an entry was ready for their review
In Vivo
- Users couldn’t click next when multiple observations were being recorded
- Users couldn’t create a study using a draft when the linked folder ID had been set prior to saving the draft
- Workflows was caching the measured_at date so the date of the previous day was set by default instead of today in workflow setup instead of the current day
Workflows
- If a sample group was deleted in legacy requests, the audit log could not be exported
- A bug lowered the limit on Workflows task .csv exports to 550
- Flowchart tasks that failed to propagate would not display as "failed to map" if the flowchart did not contain a router
- Task group authors and task assignees that should have been granted additional ability to modify task groups and outputs (respectively) were blocked
- A race condition where executing tasks into a pre-existing entry did not lock updates to that entry. This bug allowed another user to edit the same entry at the same time and override the version of the entry containing the executed tasks, effectively making the tasks disappear
- Configuration UI crashed when customers had configured a router's rules to use the Task schema and the transitions flowing through that router use the Output schema (or vice versa, output schema changed to task). An informative error now displays, enabling customers to correct their router
Access Management
- The error message that displayed when users entered invalid characters in username field on login page was unhelpful
- When suspended users tried to log in, they weren’t clearly directed to their own admin instead of Benchling Support
Application Core
- Worklist creation was prevented due to a timeout error
- Pop-up windows were being blocked from view