GC Image GCxGC Edition Users' Guide

New Features and Improvements in Version 2021

GC Image GCxGC Edition 2021 has many new features and improvements. See the GC Image GCxGC Edition Users' Guide for full documentation.

What's New in Version 2021 Release 3 (July 2022)

New and Improved I/O Support

Version 2021R3 has the following improvements for file input and output, including:

• The software has a new Convert Profile Data to Centroid option for importing Thermo raw data files (.raw) and JEOL GCv profile data files (.RPC). When the option is selected, profile spectra are centroided before being imported.
• The software now supports importing MS data channels from the Agilent OpenLab raw data file format (*.dx) (OpenLab CDS version 2.6 or later must be installed on the system).
• The software now automatically sets the modulation period when importing Agilent ChemStation and MassHunter data files that are acquired with an Agilent flow modulation system.
• The software now supports importing the newer BenchTOF2 LSC data files.

New and Improved Quantification Support with Multipliers and Dilution Factors

Version 2021R3 now supports calculating concentration from amount with Multiplier and Dilution Factor. New Concentration and Relative Concentration attributes can be added to the Blob Table and included in reports, similarly to the existing Amount attributes. Newly added supporting operations include:

• Multiplier and Dilution Factor values can be specified in the Amount Table of either images or project vials.
• Concentration Unit can now be specified separately from the existing Amount Unit.
• GC Project now supports importing a multi-column CSV file into the Vials > Amount Table. The import interface allows users to specify which column contains compound names, which columns contain amounts for which vials, and an option to import Multiplier and Dilution factors.

In addition, the software has related improvements for batch processing, including:

• Sample Amount, Multiplier, and Dilution Factor values can now be added to a sequence table in Project and applied as part of Auto Processing.
• Amount unit, concentration unit, multiplier, and dilution factor can now be specified for the Apply Amount Table method command. The units and factors are stored in methods and can be changed during run time.

New and Improved Operations and Interface for Editing Projects

Version 2021R3 includes usability improvements for editing projects in GC Project, including:

• Unused vials may now be deleted. Additionally, pending vials from sequence table edits are automatically deleted upon canceling editing.
• Vials, Amount Tables, and Sequence Table now have a better and more consistent in-place editing mode triggered by the Edit button or double clicking on tables.

Improved Operations and Performance for Multi-Sample Analysis

Version 2021R3 adds further improvements for multi-sample analysis with Investigator, including:

• The software can now generate a feature template with Auto Feature faster than previous versions. In addition, in the Image program, Processing > Extract Areas from Blobs has similarly improved speed, which makes creating a feature template manually faster too.
• The software now automatically adds the Spectrum attribute when loading images with spectral data instead of requiring the user to create a CLIC expression beforehand.
• Compound Finder automatically derives the Base Peak attribute from the Spectrum attribute instead of requiring the user to create a CLIC expression beforehand.

What's New in Version 2021 Release 2 (March 2022)

New and Improved I/O Support

Version 2021R2 has the following improvements for file input and output, including:

• The software now includes the new JEOL msAxelDataReader v1.3 for reading the latest JEOL data formats, which provides better supports for JEOL JMS-T2000GC AccuTOF GC-Alpha Mass Spectrometer data.
• The software is now more tolerant of data corruption and will import partially corrupted files when importing Thermo raw data files
• When importing an Agilent 2D-LC OpenLab ChemStation (.dx) file that contain multiple data channels, the software now displays the dimensionality of each channel in a Description column in the Select a Data Channel dialog.
• File > Export Image > Export Image as CSV now supports exporting variable modulation data with better handling of the empty regions of a 2D chromatogram. This improvement is also applied to the save button on View > Text View and the Export Image as CSV method command.

New and Improved 1D Visualization

Version 2021R2 has new improvements for the 1D View display, including:

• The 1D View has been updated to display the blob profiles when enabled via a Show Blobs checkbox.
• The view axes have been updated to use better tick intervals and improved zoom interaction.

New Peak Detection Algorithms for Variable Modulation and Heartcutting data

Version 2021R2 adds further improvements for blob detection. The software now includes new peak detection algorithms suited for detection on variable modulation and heartcutting data. These algorithms will perform smoothing and detect wrap-around blobs correctly at the modulation region bounds. These algorithms can be enabled with the Use the Variable Modulation-Aware Detection Algorithm option, and include additional improvements:

• The new algorithms can now detect peaks in the first and last columns of the chromatogram when the Use the Variable Modulation-Aware Detection Algorithm option is enabled.
• A new Limit Integration within Individual Modulation Regions option is available for preventing blob detections and smoothing across multiple modulation regions. This option is especially useful if modulation regions should be considered independently (e.g., heartcutting data).
• A new 1D detection algorithm type is available for detecting 1D peaks with shoulder peak detection, which is especially useful for heartcutting data.
• A new Peak Filter option is available for the merging 1D peaks step of the Hybrid detection algorithm type. This option allows users to filter out noisy 1D peaks based on the minimum peak width, SNR, and peak height constraints.
• Processing > Extract Ion Peaks now has better handling of variable modulation data.

New Improvements for Batch Reprocessing and Project Management

Version 2021R2 includes new improvements for batch processing and project management including:

• Images can now be reprocessed in batches from GC Project using the new Run > Reprocess Images operation.
• GC Project files can now be easily accessed from File Explorer using the new File > View in File Explorer menu item.
• Import > Automated Actions > Use Method now uses the Method Manager instead of a file browser, allowing for new methods to be created and existing methods to be edited in addition to the existing browse functionality. Additionally, method selection now has improved validation behavior. This improvement is also applied to the processing operations in GC Project.

Other New Improvements

Version 2021R2 has other improved operations, including:

• New settings are properly validated for errors before they are applied or exported from Configure > Settings.
• A new Look and Feel, FlatLaf, option has been added to Configure > Settings > System.
• Within Investigator, File > Reload All now initially checks the source files and notifies the user once if any are missing instead of displaying a new error dialog for every missing file.
• Within Investigator, File > Load Images now checks the file extension of the selected files and displays an error if any files are unsupported instead of displaying a new error dialog for every unsupported file.

What's New in Version 2021 Release 1 (October 2021)

New and Improved I/O Support

Version 2021R1 has new I/O improvements, including:

• Support for importing UV spectral data channels from an Agilent OpenLab .dx raw data file.
• Support for importing UV spectra stored in a double precision format from an Agilent .uv raw data file.
• Support for importing chromatographic CDF files with non-uniform sampling and a raw data retention time array.
• Additional sample acquisition attributes are now read from Agilent files (.ms, .ch, .uv) and are accessible from View > Image Attributes > Miscellaneous.
• The auto-generated image file name for imported JEOL RBC and RPC files has been updated to include the more meaningful name of the raw data folder.

In addition, the software has new I/O improvements for batch processing, including:

• A new option for Project > Run > Process Runs > File Format that allows specific data channels to be imported and processed from raw data files that contain multiple data channels (such as Agilent MassHunter or OpenLab data files).
• The Project > Run > Process Runs > File Format options pane has been reorganized for improved usability.

New Hybrid Blob Detection Algorithm for Improved Handling of Split and Shoulder Peaks

Version 2021R1 introduces a new Hybrid blob detection algorithm that takes advantage of both 1D and 2D peak shapes. The new algorithm:

• Maintains the integrity of 1D peak shapes to avoid undesirable splitting due to fused peaks;
• Detects 1D peak shoulders using second derivatives;
• Merges 1D peaks with the original intuitive 2D detection algorithm while allowing tuning the allowed retention differences.

In addition, The various Blob Detection settings panes, (Configuration, Interactive, Local, Detect/Edit Blobs Mode), have been updated to use a consistent layout and labels. Also, user input validation have been made consistent. For example, the user now can turn off smoothing by specifying 0 as smoothing factors in all places.

Other New Improvements

Version 2021R1 has other improved operations, including:

• The Context MS cursor mode now includes the "Lib Search MS" in the spectrum view list.
• The layout of the CLIC Expression dialog now shows the description of the selected item for both Functions and Blob Properties in a larger pane to the bottom.
• The software now includes a new CLIC function: STRCONTAIN(searchString, string) for testing if a string contains the search string.

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