LabArchives Folder Monitor utility allows you to upload files from your computer or designated drop boxes ofyour instruments to notebooks or folders within LabArchives.
Quick links
Common Problems when uploading files
Download Folder Monitor for Mac
Install Folder Monitor
1. Download Folder Monitor by selecting the link at the bottom of this article.
2. Run the Folder Monitor Installer file
3. On the “Installation Type” screen, click “Install”. You may need to enter administrator account information.
4. The installation may take several minutes. When finished, click “Close”
Login to Folder Monitor
Once you open the program, you will be prompted to login. Use the same email and password you use to login to LabArchives.
If you are an Australian, European, or UK User, and would like to log into your account, you can do so by following the steps below.
1. Select the “Webservice URL” drop-down menu
2. Select https://auapi.labarchives.com if you are an Australian User, https://eu-mynotebook.labarchives.com if you are a European User, or https://ukapi.labarchives.com if you are a UK User.
If you log in using your institution credentials, see the Single Sign-On Instructions.
If you share a computer with another user, you will need to take turns logging into folder monitor. It is important to note that only the currently logged-in user’s folders will be monitored.
For more information on logging in as an Australian user, Click Here, as a UK user, Click Here, and as a EU user, Click Here.
Note: If your account is connected to a Single Sign-On system you may need to generate a password token to use applications like Folder Monitor, GraphPad Prism, or Vernier Logger Pro. Fore more information about using password tokens, please Click Here.
Create an Upload Rule
An upload rule allows you to identify the local folder that will be monitored, criteria for types of files to be uploaded, and a LabArchives destination for files.
1. To Create a New Rule, click “Add Rule” to open the “Upload Rule Editor”
2. Name your rule in the Description field
3. Select the Local Source Folder you wish to monitor. Click the Folder icon , select a folder on your computer in the “Browse for Folder” Window and click “open.”
4. File Filters allows you to set criteria for the type of files to upload. By default, the filter will be set to All Files (*.*).
To select a filter, click the filter icon () to open the File Filter Selection. You can select one or more options from this list or add your own filter.
To create your own filter, select “Add Filter” to open the “File Filter Editor”. Provide a Filter Name, indicate the filename pattern, and click “OK” to add this filter.
Example: The filename pattern "*.sk2, *JDoe" would upload all .sk2 files and any files that contains “JDoe” in the filename.
5. Specify your preference for handling Subfolders of the local source folder.
- Exclude: This will upload only the files in your source folder and ignore the subfolders completely.
- Combine: This will combine all files in your local source folder and subfolder(s) and upload these as a group.
- Map: This will create folders and subfolders in the designated notebook that follow the same structure and naming convention used in your local source.Files found in the local source folder or its subfolders will be organized into the mapped folders in your notebook.
6. Specify your LabArchives Destination for the uploaded files. Click the select folder icon to open the LabArchives Target Folder window. Click + to expand a folder or notebook and click the folder name to select it. To select a folder, you must have edit rights to the folder.
7. Create Daily Pages will create a new page each day files are uploaded to LabArchives. The pages will be named: yyyy-mm-dd.
8. Max Entries per Page is the number of attachments that will be uploaded to each LabArchives Page. When the maximum number of files is met for a page, a new page is created for additional files. If you Create Daily Pages and exceed the maximum entries per page, the page name will be numbered.
9. Click on OK to save your Upload Rule.
10. If you are logged in to Folder Monitor, it will run in the background of your computer and automatically upload files to LabArchives. If you create a new rule or login to Folder Monitor, any files that match the upload rule will be listed in the “New Files Found” window.
Folder Monitor Tools
- Add Rule: Create a New Rule
- Edit: Select a rule to edit it
- Duplicate:quickly make a copy of a rule
- Delete: Select a rule to delete it.
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"Move Up" or "Move Down": Used to change the rule order
NOTE: Files can only be uploaded to one LabArchives destination. If a new file meets the upload criteria for more than one rule in your Folder Monitor, it will be uploaded based on the first rule. - In Settings, you can select “Start Automatically” to run Folder Monitor when the computer starts up. You can also show Hidden notebooks.
- If you are using your institutional credentials, we strongly recommend you turn on the "Start Automatically" option so that the Password Token only has to be used once. From then on, every time Folder Monitor is started, you will be logged on automatically until you manually log out in the program.
Folder Monitor Folders Preview
To view the folder layout of your Source Folder in Folder Monitor as well as the status of your files, click the “Folders” tab.
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Files that have been uploaded are indicated with a
next to its name.
- Files that are in the process of being uploaded are noted with a
Status Bar
The indicators at the bottom of the Folder Monitor Window will show the user who is currently logged into Folder Monitor. If you are uploading files, it will also state the current file’s name that is being uploaded, and a progress bar to show the progress of the file being uploaded.
Once Folder Monitor has finished uploading the contents of a rule, the status bar will state “Sync Completed”.
Common Problems when Uploading Files
File path issues:
The cumulative File path name must be less than 260 Characters in the local source folder and the LabArchives Destination. Try moving the files to a location with a shorter file path name.
File Size Issues:
Folder Monitor is unable to upload files larger than 250 MB and it may not work properly if your source folder Is larger than 1GB.
Upload Rules:
We recommend that you use folder monitor with as few rules as possible. If the rules conflict they can prevent files from uploading to LabArchives. New files will be uploaded to one LabArchives destination. If a file meets the criteria for two rules, it will be uploaded according to the first rule.
Drive Issues:
External drives or USB Flash drives may not work properly with Folder Monitor. Folder Monitor does not support monitoring folders that are located on a Network drive.
Download Plugin for Mac – Microsoft 365 (desktop only), Office 2019 / 2021 and after (v.16):