Parts of the specimen

A specimen can contain several parts which may be stored in several collections. These parts may represent different material categories, e.g. herbarium sheets, microscopic slides etc. The parts are shown in the part tree under the main tree. This tree depicts the parts either in accordance to their relation to each other in the specimen tree (click on the icon in the panel on the left) - see first image below - or in relation to the collections where the parts are stored (click on the icon in the panel on the left) - see second image below. Here the two parts of the specimen are located in two collections. To add a new part use the drop-down field in the panel on the right of the tree and choose the material category of the new part. The material categories which appear in this list can be customized. You can set the a default collection for new parts. If the default collection is not set, you will be asked to name the collection of the new part. If the part is derived from another part, select this in the tree before creating the new part. The new part will then be added as a child of the old part. You can later edit these relations by drag & drop. If you wish to create a copy of a part, use the button in the panel on the right side of the tree. To insert parts when the tree is hidden use the button and follow the upcoming dialogs. As another option you can transfer all specimens in the result list of a query via the menu Data - Transfer - To collection ... into a collection. Please keep in mind that next to adding part existing part will be transferred to the selected collection as well.

To see the whole content of a collection, click on the button. All specimens within the collections will be listed as shown below with e.g. their accession number, accession number of the part, storage location, collection date and/or locality as set in Customize

If an organism is present in a part of the specimen, it will be shown in the tree. To edit its presence select the specimen part in the tree and edit the Display order as shown below.

In the example above, all organisms are present in the specimen. However, the fungus Cystotheca lanestris was chosen not to appear on the label and was transferred to the Hide list. This is symbolized by a grey icon in the tree. You may enter a description for an organism as a whole or for the organism within a certain part. The slide, symbolized by the icon, was created from the sample. Thus, in the specimen tree it is shown as a child of the specimen symbolized by the icon. Concerning the organisms only the fungus Arthrocladiella is found on the slide. Thus, in the tree it is the only organism shown as child of the slide. In the display order the two other organisms appear in the Units not in part list (see below).

To move the organisms between the lists use the > and < buttons. In the list Show in label you may change the sequence of the organisms with the and buttons in the panel at the base of the list. The organism at the top will be the one taken as the main organism, e.g. for printing a label.

To see changes of the stock of the part click on the button . A window will open listing all previous volumns together unit, the date and the responsible user.

To change the sequence of the parts according to e.g. the name instead of setting all entries one by one, you may choose among the options shown in the image below (Name, Identifier, ID).

To edit the details of a part select it in the tree to open the fields as shown below.

The identifier, e.g. the taxonomic name under which the specimen can be found in the collection is entered in the field Storage location. You can search for this entry in the query.

With the template you can define and copy predefined values into the data (see chapter Template).  

To search for a free accession number use the button (see chapter Accession). To enter the storage location you may use the drop-down button to select from e.g. the identifications within the specimen. The source for the list can be specified under Administration - Customize display ... (see below). 

 The drop-down button for the Notes will provide you with a list of all entries in this field, filtered with your entry in the text field. You may use wildcards like "%" or "_" (see Wildcards).

In the collection tree, the specimens are shown with their dependence upon each other based on their location in Collections. To get information about a collection simply select it in the tree. If you have the required rights, you may use the button to open the administration of the collections. This form is accessible under the menu entry Administration - Collections... as well.

The material category of a specimen part is indicated by the icon in the hierarchy.

Here some examples:
bones: bones or skeleton from vertebrates
cultures: living cultures of organisms
drawing: original line or color drawing
herbarium sheets: capsules or sheets as stored in a botanical collection
icons: icons, images etc. stored in a botanical collection
micr. slide: glass plate with sections of specimen for microscopic studies
specimen: specimen stored in a collection

Specimens can be included in a transaction. Every stored part of a specimen may be treated with several processings.

If there are images which are related to the current part, the button for the restriction of the images will be enabled ( ). Click on it to restrict the images to this part. The button will receive a red background    to remind you of the restriction and in the image list a button will appear which enables you to show all images.

To edit the parts of the specimens in a table see the chapter Grid for parts, use the Table editor for the Part table or the Part sheet from the Spreadsheets .

The data is stored in the table CollectionSpecimenPart.