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Creating a Template for eLabFTW

Creating experiment templates aids in developing a standardised, reproducible logging of important experimental details. Below is a guide for RobotLab members creating a template for an experimental investigation.

Note that in the current version of eLabFTW (as of when writing this guide), the button to save the template is about halfway down the page.

Experiment Title

This should be the experiment code. Please see experiment codes for information about choosing experiment codes.

Category

We have not yet implemented categories. Leave this as not set.

Status

Choose 'Running'.

Tags

Choose default tags for the project here. Tags make it easier to filter for certain projects. Add the following tags:

  • Project code
  • Sub project code

Visibility

Choose 'Only owner', and select the RobotLab team.

Can write

Choose 'Only owner and admins'.

Experiment Body

The next few fields to choose and edit are up to you to tailor to your project.

Make sure to include the sub project code as a title (choose the format 'Heading 1') and include a heading for 'Experiment Aim and Description'.

This box should contain details about the experiment expressed in natural language. Anything which can easily be tabulated or encoded can be logged elsewhere and mentioned here.

Extra Fields

You may wish to add some fields for things which need to be checked off, logged or linked to which are easily explore.

Careful with creating new groups- if you create one in the template and don't use it, it will still down up in the experiment created with the template. They can be removed using the json editor at the bottom of the page; find the "extra_field_groups" key and remove the list element of the undesired group (1).

  1. { "elabftw": { "display_main_text": true, "extra_fields_groups": [ { "id": 1, "name": "group2" }, { "id": 2, "name": "TO REMOVE THIS GROUP, DELETE EVERYTHING AROUND ITS ENCLOSING {}" } ] }, "extra_fields": {} }

Steps

If the experiment has a well-defined protocol, you can place the steps here. This can be useful for facilitating standard operating procedures.

Linked Resources

If you know which instruments will be used in every experiment, add them here as defaults.

JSON Editor

You can leave this alone unless you really know what you are doing.