Location Data Tools

Reserving Locations

In databases that have the Locations module, locations can be reserved for vials from within Shipments, Data Entry and Requisitions task completion editors.  The locations must already exist in Locations in order to be reserved.  Reserving the locations will automatically assign the location data to the selected rows in the batch editor. If desired, users can stop midway through reserving locations and then resume at a later point.

To reserve locations for a batch:

1. Select the rows that are to have locations reserved and assigned.

2. Select Reserve Locations from the Tools menu in Data Entry and Shipments editors.  In a Requisitions task completion editor, press the Locations button and select Reserve Locations from the sub-menu.  This will open the Reserving Locations wizard.

3. Use the Reserving Locations wizard to select the container(s).

   • If a user stops reserving locations in a box at any point, they can continue to reserve locations in that box later by choosing the box from the Location Selection page in the Reserving Locations wizard.

4. When the wizard closes, the locations selected will be reserved and the location data will be assigned to the selected rows.

If locations have been erroneously reserved, they can be unreserved by selecting Remove Location Reservations from the Tools menu.

Copy Location Data Between Editors

Specimen location data can be copied from one editor to another by using the Copy location data between editors tool.  This is useful when location data has been reserved for one batch, and therefore is not available to be assigned by Reserving Locations or scanning to the second batch in a verify pair.

Before location data can be copied accurately, several conditions must be met:

1. The editors for both batches must be open.

2. The batches must have the same number of rows and columns.

3. All location columns must be visible.

4. The columns must be in the same order.

5. The tables must be sorted in the same order.

Once these conditions have been met locations can be copied by selecting Copy location data between editors from the Tools menu in the batch editor that will receive the copied locations.

Retrieve Last Known Specimen Location

In databases that have the Locations module, the last known Specimen Location can be retrieved from within Data Entry modify batches and Requisition's task completion editors.  The locations retrieved using this tool will be the last recorded locations for the specimens and may no longer exist in the Locations module.  If a specimen has never had a location assigned, no changes will be made in the editor.

To retrieve the last known specimen location:

1. Select the rows that are to have the last known locations assigned.

2. Select Retrieve Last Known Specimen Location from the Tools menu in the Data Entry Editor.  In a requisition's task completion editor, press the Locations button and select Retrieve Last Known Specimen Location from the sub-menu.

3. Select the desired assignment option:

   • Only overwrite blank data - Will only enter the location data for rows that have no existing data in the editor.

   • Overwrite existing location data - Will enter the previous location data for all selected rows in the editor.  All existing data will be overwritten.

4. Select OK.  The previous location data, if it exists, will be retrieved from the database and entered in the editor according to the option selected in step 3.