Having your devices set up on Labstep makes many things straightforward and efficient. However, it can be a bit tricky to start with. We've created this article to simplify this whole process. Continue to read to learn how to set up all your devices perfectly. No special skills are needed, we promise!
Navigate to the 'Instruments & Devices' page
Click on 'New Device'
Click on 'Untitled Device' and enter your Device's name
Click on 'Add Metadata Field' to add any relevant metadata such as the Manufacturer, Model or Serial Number
Labstep team tip: You can also add Date fields such as 'Last Service Date' or 'Next Service Date' and File fields for attaching instruction manuals and other essential documents.
Labstep team tip: You can also import your instruments & devices by uploading a csv/xlsx file.
Labstep team tip: You can set Category templates for your Instruments & Devices and add fields to capture all essential information. When you create a new device in this category, you'll only have to fill in the metadata fields accordingly.
'Notes' tab → you can keep a record of recurring events such as services or calibrations.
'Data' tab → you can see and search through all the data sent to Labstep by this Device.
You can book a Device by selecting a date and time. You'll be able to see if any of your collaborators have booked it on the same day/time. No more waiting to use a device!
You need to generate your Labstep API key first. Check out this article to learn how.
After installation, a pop-up will appear
Click 'add device' to get started
Next, paste in your Labstep API key
Hit enter
Select the Device connected to the computer that you want to send data from, or you can create a new one if you haven't already
Select the folder where the Device outputs data to
Whenever a file is saved to this folder, the Device Client detects it and uploads it to Labstep. You should see a notification pop-up if the file was uploaded successfully.
If you have multiple instruments connected to the same PC saving data to different folders, you can click 'add device' to watch other folders for different devices
That's it!
Labstep team tip: If you're using a Mac and it is not letting you open the Labstep Device Client, find out how you can override it here.
Data collected from your devices can be used to populate Data fields in your experiments with a single click.
Type / (slash) in an experiment or protocol entry
Click on 'Data'
Click on 'Search measurement device'
Select a device
Specify the Data Type
Specify the Label and other fields if necessary
Click on 'Done'
Labstep team tip: You can also follow the same process by adding Data from the Data tab.
Labstep team tip: Now, whenever you run this Experiment/Protocol, you can click 'Fetch from device', and it will fetch the most recent data of that type sent by the Device!
Labstep team tip: If you have fetched the wrong data point, you can click the 'plug' icon to select the correct data manually.
Devices can send three different types of data to Labstep.
Simple numeric measurements consisting of a number and a unit, such as temperature, concentration or weight
Files such as .CSV files with raw data, output reports generated by larger instruments or even images
Free form text
To send numeric measures or free-form text from a device, you'll need to use the Labstep API. We provide a Python SDK.
Labstep team tip: If you're not comfortable working with the API, you can still send files from your devices with no coding required using the Labstep Device Client (See STEP 3).
Still need help?
Contact us here or start a conversation with a member of our team using our in-app chat.
