Link items together¶

A single record is useful. A chain of linked records is more useful. It lets you answer questions like "which cells used this batch of powder?" months later.

In datalab you build that chain by recording what each item was made from.

Record what a sample was made from¶

Open your sample and scroll to Synthesis Information. It has a table of constituents and a Procedure box.

1. Click the + at the bottom of the constituents table.
2. Start typing the ID or name of the item you used, such as a starting material from the inventory or another sample. Pick it from the list.
3. Enter the quantity and the unit, such as 1.5 and g.
4. Repeat for each constituent.
5. Describe what you did in Procedure.
6. Press Save.

Each constituent you pick from the list becomes a link. The constituent is recorded as a parent of your sample.

Build a cell from your samples¶

Cells work the same way, with three tables instead of one.

1. Create a new item with type cell. See Create your first sample.
2. Open it. Under Cell Construction there are tables for the Positive electrode, the Electrolyte and the Negative electrode.
3. Add your samples to the right tables, in the same way as constituents above.
4. Fill in the cell's Cell format and Active mass if you know them.
5. Press Save.

Your samples are now recorded as parts of the cell.

See the graph¶

Every item page shows a small graph of its links, just below the information panel. Click any item in the graph to open it.

For the bigger picture, click Graph View in the top menu. It shows how all the items you can see are linked.

Other ways to group items¶

Links are for things that were physically made from each other. To group items that belong to the same project or paper, use a collection instead.

More detail is in Relationships and the item graph.