Plexus Connect - List Management

On this page:

• Saving search hits as a list

• Creating lists manually

• Loading lists

• Editing saved lists

• Deleting saved lists

• Logical operations on lists

Plexus Connect is able to handle lists to organize the molecules you are interested in for various reasons into well-defined groups. For instance, you have the possibility to save the hit list of a query (filter) for later usage as a permanent list. As opposed to saved queries (filters), where the result set can be changed due to database changes (as a result of adding, removing or modifying some records), creating a list from your search hits by saving (e.g. their compound identifiers), will guarantee that the saved list will always contain the same items (unless an item is completely removed from the database). Alternatively, you can create lists manually as well by "cherry picking" – by adding and removing records to and from a list one by one.

Saving search hits as a list

When you have run a query (filter), the Save List button appears on the filter panel. Clicking this button will create a new item in the Lists panel, which is located on the action bar. The new list will contain the IDs of those compounds (records) which were among the search results. The default name of a saved list contains the time and date of its creation. Once you have created a saved list, it will be available only from your own user account. If you want to give access to some of your saved lists to other users, you can share these lists with them via the Instant JChem desktop application.

Creating lists manually

Lists can also be created manually in order to mark interesting compounds or to further filter your result set. When you click the New List button of the Lists panel, checkboxes are added to the rows of the active grid view, and you can cherry pick records into the new list which has been created by marking their checkboxes. The changes will be saved automatically after each step. Once you have finished building your new list, you can deselect it and remove the checkboxes by clicking on the list while you hold down the CTRL key.

Manual list creation works similarly in form views as well, where the checkbox and the current number of items in the selected list can be found in the header of the active form.

A new list can be created also from selection. When you select multiple records with CTRL button, the new list will be created by clicking on the New List from selection button of the Lists panel.

Loading lists

A saved list can be loaded by opening any of the database views which contains the same source data. Navigating to the Lists panel by using the button on the action bar will show you every saved list associated with the active source data. If you select an item from this list, the Load List button becomes visible. By clicking on it, the selected list will be loaded. Alternatively, a list can be loaded by double-clicking on it.

Editing lists

You can also edit the records saved in your own lists by cherry-picking. When you open the Lists panel and select a list, checkboxes are added to the records included in the selected list. Records already belonging to the list are marked by checkbox. You can add/remove further items to/from your list by marking and unmarking the corresponding checkboxes. The changes you made will be saved automatically after each step. When you have finished editing the list, you can simply deselect the list by clicking on it while holding down the CTRL key. When you want to remove some items from a list, load your list first and then unmark the checkbox of those records which you do not want to include in your list anymore. Please note that you can't edit lists belonging to another owner (even when they are shared with you).

If a saved list belongs to your own user account, you can rename it by selecting it and clicking on its name. When you finished editing the list name in the editable text box, save your changes by pressing Enter. Modifications can be cancelled by hitting Esc or simply clicking out of the text box.

Deleting lists

In order to delete a list, open the Lists panel, select the list you wish to delete by clicking on it. By hovering over the icon in the right upper corner, the icon became active and the selected list can be deleted by clicking on it. The action is followed by a dialog box, where you have to confirm the deletion.

Deleting a saved list is possible only for the owner of the given list. A deleted list is permanently removed the list from the database and neither you nor the other users with whom the list has been shared will be able to use it afterwards. Of course, the records which had been saved in that list will still be available.

Logical operations on lists

Your lists can be combined to create a new list by using one of the logical operators in Plexus Connect. You can choose from the following operators:

• Intersection: gives a list of the elements common to the selected lists;

• Union: gives a list of every unique element of the selected lists;

• XOR (symmetric difference): the symmetric difference of two lists containing those elements which belong to either of the selected lists, but not to their intersection;

• A and not B: those elements of the first selected list which do not belong to the second selected list;

• B and not A: those elements of the second selected list which do not belong to the first selected list.

Apart from the last two of the items above, list operations are applicable in every case when more than one list is selected. Using the last two operations, however, requires exactly two lists to be selected.

In order to select more than one lists, hold down the CTRL key while you click on the lists. When you have at least two selected lists, select the required operator from the combo button. The new list will belong to your user account, and it will not be shared with any other user.