Welcome to the sixth volume of our product release notes in 2021! We’ve been working hard to bring you some much requested features. Read along to learn more about our new product features and enhancements released May 2021 - June 2021.
Notebook
Benchling’s Notebook helps users log their experiments, create protocols, and capture results against their samples.
Template cloning
Previously, users could only clone Notebook entries. With the new release, users can clone templates and store them in any template collection folder.
Localized date chips in Notebook and entity pages
To accommodate global date formats, new date chips are displayed on both the Notebook and entity page in the appropriate format based on users’ language/country settings.
Notebook view
Entity page view
Update schema fields on legacy structured tables
Users can view an updated field on existing structured tables, which now contain a purple stripe above a column. After refreshing the table to pull in updates, the purple stripe will disappear. Note: This will not pull in updated data as it does in structured tables; instead it will pull in any updates made to the field name and format to obviate the need to insert a new table.
Lab Automation
Benchling for Lab Automation enables seamless integration of Benchling to liquid handlers, plate readers, imaging instruments, and more.
Error message if PLATE_SHAPE processing step uses an incorrect plate schema size
The plate shape processing step now flags an error when the provided plate schema is larger than the CSV itself.
“Run” fields are no longer cleared after an unsuccessful creation
Previously, “Run” fields would be cleared if a user opted to create a run that was missing a required field. Now, the “Run” field stays populated with information entered by the user even after an unsuccessful creation.
Developer Platform
The Benchling 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.
Containers in the API now use quantity instead of volume
Container APIs now support “quantity” to account for solid units. “Quantity” replaces “volume” as the recommended way to reflect liquid units as well, and “volume” will be deprecated in the future. Note: “volume” cannot be used in conjunction with “quantity.”
New documentation for long-running tasks in the API
There is new documentation for long-running tasks in the API
Updated information for structured tables in the entry resource
Results tables, registration tables, plate creation tables, box creation tables, and mixture prep tables now have their position, name, and schema included in the “Entries” API resource.
Direct link to domain-specific documentation on the user settings page
Users can now access tenant-specific documentation from their user settings page.
Bug Fixes
The following bugs were fixed in this release:
Notebook
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The error of blob links in runs not creating attachments when exporting Notebook Entry is now fixed.
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Emails are now sent when comments are added on the review tab.
Molecular Biology
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Fixed an issue with multiple ORF annotations overlapping on one another in a sequence.
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Custom ladders no longer duplicate in dropdown when running multiple digests.
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Limit populating “Linked Sequences” on oligo entities to 50 sequences to prevent the timeout error when opening an oligo entity with many linked sequences.
Lab Automation
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Deleted and inaccessible schema fields are now properly handled in the lookup configuration modal.
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The previous issue of not allowing the next step in the lookup configuration modal if there are previous errors is now corrected.
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When using the REMOVE_HEADERS processing step, Benchling can handle non-string values (e.g. dates) in headers.
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Benchling now blocks retrying to process failed output files via API with a proper user-facing error.
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Even if unsaved JSON is invalid, a fix has been rolled out to prevent crashing when switching to the UI mode when initializing a run schema.
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Output file processing can handle integers in Excel.
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Fixed tooltip where previously a run output table with 0 rows had a tooltip that said “too many rows to be displayed.”
Application Platform
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Changes to schema configurations are now populated in audit trails.
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Previously, changes to the schema configurations, such as dropdowns, showed up as blank in the export the audit trail. They are now accurately populated.
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