How to Import Expression Data

Overview

Importing expression data into GeneLinker™ is a four-step process.

1. Choose a template that matches the format of the data in your file(s).

The template to choose usually has the same name as the software which generated your data files, although there may be several to choose between in some cases. See Selecting a Template for Data Import for more information.

2. Select the source files in which GeneLinker™ should look for the data. This process is slightly different depending on whether you have all your data in one file, or whether it is spread across several files. Selecting a Template for Data Import gives you directions appropriate to your situation.

3. If you have tabular data in Microsoft Excel binary format (XLS) you can still import it directly into GeneLinker™ by selecting the "Convert XLS" checkbox. This option is only available for tabular data, in which all samples are in a single file. Please note that XLS conversion is a currently quite slow, and may take several minutes for large files. This will improve in future versions of GeneLinker™

4. Ensure that the gene database matches the gene identifiers in the data. This may be done either before or after you select the source files. See Selecting the Gene Database Type for more information.

5. After GeneLinker™ has read the source files, a preview of the data is presented on the Import Data dialog so you can verify that the imported dataset is correct before it is saved to GeneLinker™’s database.

Note: In GeneLinker™, we refer to a dataset which has both treatment and control values stored as Two-Color Data. In the description pane for such a dataset it will say Two Channels Available: Yes. If the description pane does not say this, then GeneLinker™ does not have the required two values for each spot and cannot treat the data as Two-Color Data. If you believe you imported two-color data but the description pane says Two Channels Available: No, re-examine your data and your choice of a data import template. Two-Color Data can be imported using GenePix, Quantarray and Scanarray templates, but not all templates of those types import two-color data.