Issue
Questions might sound like "How does Output to Task Lookup work?" "When I click Output to Task Lookup, I'm seeing an error that says 'No tasks found. Please link manually or update the lineage'." or "Why doesn't Output to Task Lookup autofill other fields in the Output table?"
Environment
Workflows
Cause
Confusion on what exactly Output --> Task Lookup does and how to configure it correctly.
Resolution steps
Enablement includes:
What is it:
Benchling can automatically find which Task is associated with each row of the Output Table and autofill that info for you! But, you've got to tell it where to look. You can do that by setting up a special Lookup Column created just for Workflows called 'Output to Task Lookup'. This is configured in the Output --> Task Lookup section at the bottom of the Workflow Task Schema. This can appear confusing at first, but all you're really doing is telling Benchling "Start at this field on the Output Table and take the following steps to find what Task matches each row.". When you give these instructions via Output --> Task Lookup, your starting point is always the Output table field, and your endpoint is always the Task. Any intermediate steps are instructions to get from Output table field to Input table field to Task. If you've configured normal lookup columns, configuring Output to Task Lookup should be pretty similar.
Once Output --> Task Lookup is configured in the schema and the starting field designated during configuration is filled into the Output table in the entry(automatically or manually), end users can click the 'Output to Task Lookup' button on the Output table in the entry to autofill the Task based on the designated starting field.
Examples:
Example A: During your Task, you are sequencing a sample. Your Input Table and Output Table both have the field "Sample". Your Output --> Task Lookup would be 'Sample' --> 'Task'. You're telling Benchling, "Start at the Sample field in the Output table. This matches the Sample field in the Input table. Show me the Task associated with each Sample."
Example B: During your Task, you're starting with a sample and adding reagents to create a Sample Prep (a different entity type) and then sequencing the Sample Prep. Your Input Table has a "Sample" field, but since you generate Sample Prep Entities during the Task, your Output has a "Sample Prep" field (and no "Sample" field, because filling in data twice is inefficient). You still need to find the Task based on the Sample listed in the Input table, but you've got to tell Benchling how to match up the data in the in the output table to the data in the Input table. You want to tell it, "Start at the Sample Prep field in the Output table. Use 'Sample Prep' to determine 'Sample', then show me the Task associated with each Sample." This will look like 'Sample Prep' --> 'Sample' --> 'Task'.
Limitations:
Only the Task field will be filled in automatically. If the user desires to have other fields auto-populate based on the starting field or task, they will need to add snapshot fields to their output table in the Workflow Task Schema.
Troubleshooting: If seeing the 'No Tasks Found' error message, it is likely that the Output --> Task Lookup has not been configured correctly (in other words, the user set up the 'Output --> Task Lookup' to search for the Task via an incorrect or nonexistent output table field).