LabLink©

 

Overview:

LabLink© is our web-based system that allows customers to log in and retrieve their laboratory test data.  LabLink© not only allows customers to view their data at their convenience; 24/7, but also allows them to export their data to an excel file for customized use.  LabLink© is a user-friendly application and in this handout you will see exactly how to make this program work for your business. 

 

To Get Started…

 

  1. Contact us at ICIA to get your user name and password set up in the LabLink© system
  2. Go to our website www.indianacrop.org and click  and you will see this screen:

 

 

  1. Then simply enter your User ID and password in the appropriate places.

 

Once logged in, the default data set is for current production. You can view prior year data by selecting “Previous Year” in the pull down menu just above the log in area PRIOR to logging in. Note: If you are already logged in and want to view prior year data, you will need to log out and then select Previous Year and then log back in.

 

 

You may change your password at any time by clicking on the "change password" menu option on the test home page.

 

LabLink© can automatically email you when new test data has been uploaded since you last logged in. To activate this feature, simply click on "Email Options" on the test home page, check the box and then list the email address to which you want notification sent.
 


If you log in and there has been no new data uploaded since you last logged in, the LabLink© screen below will say just that. If there is new data, it will tell you immediately at log in AND list the lots and number of tests performed.

Also on this initial log in screen you will find ICIA News that includes up to date average germination scores as well as other valuable updates regarding our systems, observations regarding seed quality and marketing items such as conferences and industry news.
 


Once logged in, the following three viewing options are available for data review:  
       

 

Option 1.       “View All Test Results for this Crop”.  First select the crop kind in the small pull down menu, i.e. Corn. Click on this option and you will see all the summary results for all tests performed on lots from that crop. This option provides no testing detail, only final results, i.e. 95% germination. (If you wish to see the test details behind any of these simply double-click on the score to go to the detail screen – you will see an example later in this document.)  This is the quick and easy way to review summary information for many lots and tests all on one screen. The word "pending" will appear instead of test results for those tests not yet completed for samples in the system – you will see this again later in this document.
 

  

Option 2.     “Results by Crop and Test Type”.  First select the crop type AND the test type you wish to review using the respective pull down menus – i.e. Corn and Cold Germination Test.  Click this option and you will see a listing of ONLY your corn lots that have cold germination test scores, again, there is no testing detail, only final results, i.e. 95% germination and the corresponding comments. While in this option you can “drill down” for testing detail for a particular lot by highlighting the row of the desired sample and then clicking on the “View Details” menu option at the top of screen OR by double-clicking on the test score cell. To view the testing details for multiple lots at once, see Option #3 below. 

 

Option 3.    “All Test Details”. Again, select the crop kind AND the test type you wish to review, i.e. Soybeans and Warm Germination Test. Then click on this option and you will see a listing of your soybean lots with all the warm germinations – including the testing detail – normal seedlings, abnormal seedlings, dead seeds, etc.  

                                                                                                          

Lab#, Sample Date, Variety, LotNo, FieldNo, and Grade are default columns always present to identify your samples. And, in each viewing option, the newest data is at the top of the spreadsheet so you can easily find and review new data.  

 

In general the data spreadsheets have these features:
 

A. You can resize the column widths by clicking on the margin lines between the headers.
 

B. You can sort any column on any data sheet by clicking on the header. Each time you click, the data order is reciprocally changed from top to bottom.
 

C. The column headers are “fixed” when you scroll vertically to view data that exceeds your screen size. The first five columns on each viewing option are also “fixed” so they remain visible when you scroll horizontally to view data that exceeds the screen width. The fixed columns are the sample number, date, variety, lot number, field number and grade columns. There are small push pin icons on each column header. When they are upright the column is fixed and will not scroll. When they are lying down, the columns will slide under the fixed columns as you scroll. The five “pinned” or fixed columns may be unpinned by clicking on the pin icons. You can also pin any unpinned column by clicking on the pin icon. This enables you to determine how you want to view data as you scroll horizontally.
 


D. As soon as samples are entered into the system, but before results are completed and reported, the word "pending" appears in the test result cells for the tests requested. Once the data is reported, the data replaces the word "pending" in the result cells. This enables you to quickly and easily see what you have entered and what results are pending.
 

 

E. You can select the “before” or “after” dates by clicking on the check mark beside the before or after window and use the pop up calendar. This allows you to customize the dates for which you wish to see data.
 

 

F. To save the data spreadsheets in Excel just click “Export to Excel” above the grid. The data will export into an Excel spreadsheet - just click save & select a file name and “save in” location.
 

 

G. Once in Excel, data can be moved to custom software, manipulated and/or printed.
 

 

H. “Copy to” & “Copy from” Feature. **Remember from BarLink©** If you arrange to receive data from samples submitted by other customers, we enter those with a “copy to” command which automatically sends their test results to you. And, if you tell us to have data sent to another company from samples we enter for you, we also use the “copy to” command for those samples so they get your results. This option results in lab reports being sent to both parties.
In LabLink©, you can quickly and easily view this data separately with the Option #1 (View All Test Results for this Crop) viewer. When you log in and click on Option #1, the default data is that which resulted from samples entered under your name. Near the upper right hand corner of the screen you will notice a window labeled “Producer”. By default, your company name appears initially in this window. To view data copied to you, simply click on the down arrow by the window and the names of the companies that have copied to you will appear. Just click on the “Company – Copy from” - and that data will appear for viewing. There may be more than one company listed if you had data copied to you from more than one source.
 

 

As part of this feature, you also have the option to view results of samples you have asked us to “copy to” another customer. This data always shows as part of your default data when you first log in since it was entered as your sample. However, for times when you want to see that data separately, click on the down arrow at the Producer window, and then any “Company – Copy to” listings.
There will be a listing in the Producer drop down window for every company with which you have exchanged data – either copied from or copied to.
This feature is tied to viewing Option #1 only as this is the spreadsheet view with the summary results for all tests performed on a sample.
If you have questions about this feature, please call our office 765.523.2535/866.899.2518.

 

CHECK TEST SCHEDULES:

To view when test results will be evaluated for samples you have entered in the system, click on the “View Test Dates” just to the right of “Test Schedule”. This will let you see when to expect results for tests not yet completed and reported. This feature covers conventional lab tests only, NOT genetics lab tests. 



LabLink© Filtering options:

Engage the filtering feature by clicking on the small, square “bull’s-eye " looking icon just under the column head. This pulls down a menu with options such as less than, equals, more than, etc. If any test result fields have the word pending in them, you will need to uncheck the "show pending" box at the top of the screen or the filtering will not function correctly.

Click on the option desired and then place the mouse pointer in the area just to the right of the “bull’s-eye” area and enter the desired number. For example, if you select the warm germination column, you might elect the less than (< Less than) option and put 85.00 in the space by the bull’s-eye icon. Next, hit the “enter” key and the data will be filtered showing you only those warm germination scores less than 85%.

To go back to the full set of data in a column, you need to pull down the menu from the bull’s-eye icon again, and select = (equals), then delete the number from the header space and hit the “enter” key again. The original data in the column will appear.

You can filter more than one column by repeating the procedure for each data column desired.

It is important to remember to uncheck the "show pending" box or the filtering will not work correctly since it filters numeric data and the word pending is not numeric data. Also, remember if you choose multiple filtering options you will need to repeat the process above for each to get your spreadsheet back to where you began.



Special Notes regarding Bt Testing:

If you have a sample(s) being tested for Yieldgard®, Herculex®, or Agrisure® corn borer or rootworm, we ask that you drill down to the test detail for these results.  This is especially important in cases where you are submitting a 90 seed sample for the 2nd time and/or when submitting a 30 seed sample.  The results that show on the spreadsheet for a 30 seed test can be misleading and appear that the sample has not passed, when in fact if you drill down to the detail you will find that in fact it has passed.