The Metadata Utility can facilitate the creation of the tab-delimited text files for an ISA archive. This page describes how to save these files for continued development at a later time, or for import into CSSI DCC.
- Create or import an investigation, as described in one of the following pages:
- Add or edit items, as described in one of the following pages:
In the Action panel, click Save ISA TAB Investigation.
The system performs a validation check.
- If the investigation fails validation, a message appears requesting your confirmation. If you save the investigation with validation errors, you might not be able to import the resulting investigation file into CSSI DCC. To save anyway, click Save.
- After the validation check, a dialog box appears for saving the investigation. Navigate to and select the folder in which you want to save the investigation. The recommended filename for the investigation is i_investigation.txt. Click Save.
The system saves the following tab-delimited text files to the specified location:
- One file for the ISA Tab Investigation.
- One file for each study, with a file name as specified in the Study File Name field.
- One file for each assay, with a file name as specified in the Study Assay File Name field.
If you change the filename of a study or assay and then save the investigation, the system creates a new file for the renamed study or assay. If you import an investigation, rename a study or assay, and save the investigation to the same folder, multiple copies of your study/assay files remain in your investigation folder, (one copy with the current filename and one copy with each previous filename).
To create a set of files for import into DCC:
- Discard copies of study/assay files with old filenames, by saving the investigation to an empty folder.
- Add your data files to the same folder.
- Compress that folder to a file in
.zipformat.
For instructions on uploading the resulting ISA archive, refer to Uploading ISA Archives.
