Sphinx can handle many types of plate data and this article will explain basic and advanced cases for using plate data to create a Dataset. For this example we will be using the file Sphinx Example Plate Data.xlsx. This dataset contains plate data in a format as it appears on a plate — i.e. a matrix with rows and columns.

Example plate data

If you do not have plate data, you can use our example file to understand how uploading plate data works. About the example data file.

• It represents three pieces of information for a 96 well plate.
  • The measurement (a random number).
  • The sample ID
  • The type of sample (control, test, positive control).
• A 96 well plate is used in this example, but if your data looks the same, you can have plates layout with 24, 96, 384, and 1536 wells.
• You can replace the tables in the file if you want to upload your own data. You may also add more plates in the first tab, or more tabs with the same layout.

How plate upload works

Sphinx takes a best guess using the content of your file to create a Dataset. This includes the shape, size, and identification of the data in your file. This example is the most common case for uploading plate data but many other formats are supported as well. As you interact with a plate upload, the data preview will show you how Sphinx is merging the data to make one tidy table.

For advanced cases skip to Advanced Cases.

Uploading the example plate data

Now that you have uploaded plate data, you can create an Analysis. Learn more about Analyses here.

Advanced Cases

Multiple Plates

You can upload a file that has any number of plates – either in the tabs of an excel file, across the rows or an excel file, or across the rows of .csv file. You can also upload multiple files. Sphinx will identify and label each column-plate pair. This allows you to add data across multiple plates all at once and create a single Dataset.

Updating Column Names and Plates

When previewing a dataset, you can use the left column to update the names of each resulting data column.

To do this, first selecting the data-plate pair, then optionally change the Column Name, Plate, and File fields:

• Changing the Column Name will change the column as it appears in the Dataset.
• Changing the Plate will change which plate the data are associated to.
• Changing the File will change which file (if you uploaded multiple) the data are sourced from.

Selecting Data Regions

Your data may be uploaded but not correctly identified. To resolve this you will need to select the correct data regions. You can do this by using the left column, selecting the column you want to edit, and then selecting the region where the plate is located.

In the example image you would select A1:M9 if you wanted the values to be sourced from that region of the file. Once you have selected the correct region, save the selection.

You can repeat this for any number of data regions you want to change.

Using a Plate Map

During upload you may optionally provide a plate map that contains additional information about your plates. This may can be in the form of a plate or in the form of a normal table as shown below:

This is useful when you have multiple data files that describe a plate Dataset. Sphinx will automatically merge these data using the well identifiers from the plates.