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Does Clone Manager work with Windows 7?
Clone Manager 9 (version 9.1, November 2009) fully supports the Windows 7 operating system. If you are using Clone Manager 9, you can download a free incremental update to bring your software to the latest version (9.1).
Can I expand my workgroup license for Clone Manager to allow more installations?
Yes, you can add seats (installations) to your existing workgroup license for Clone Manager. Increments of 4 or 8 seats can be added as your group increases in size. Please contact us for more information.
Does my Clone Manager license expire on a specific date?
No, your Clone Manager license does not expire. You can continue to use your Clone Manager software for as long as it is useful to you. Technical support is available by email or telephone without additional cost.
Can the Clone Manager program read molecule files prepared by Vector NTI software?
Yes, Clone Manager can read individual molecule files generated by the Vector NTI program in a GenBank-like format. In Clone Manager, use the filter settings in File | Preferences | Import Features to tell Clone Manager which feature keys to import for molecules in GenBank formats.
The Get Molecule button in the Retrieve from Entrez function seems to have stopped working. How can I get molecule data into Clone Manager?
In modules that link to NCBI data -- the Retrieve from Entrez module and the BLAST search module -- the Get Molecule feature stopped working after recent changes in the Entrez web page formatting at the NCBI. The Get Molecule feature has again been updated to work with the modified Entrez system.
If you are using Clone Manager 9, you can download a software patch that will update your program to the latest version (ver 9.1) and repair the Get Molecule feature. (This feature captures molecule information and reads it directly into Clone Manager.)
If you are using earlier versions of Clone Manager, the following work-around will let you bring molecule data into Clone Manager now. Use the Retrieve from Entrez function as usual to find your molecule file. With the file shown on the screen in GenBank format, click the Download link (right side, just above the page view), select GenBank format and then select to save the file to your computer, giving the file an appropriate name and location. You can then use File, Open to bring this saved file into Clone Manager.
I just downloaded a new Clone Manager help file and it doesn't seem to be working. What do I need to do?
Windows security updates can enable a block that will prevent the display of compiled help (*.chm) files you download from the internet. You may need to unblock this help file before use. In Windows Explorer, right-click on the Clone Manager help file you just downloaded and select Properties from the menu. Click the Unblock button (lower right) on the General page and then click Apply. If you do not see the Unblock button, you may need to log on as administrator.
How can I export the sequence of a primer I've just designed?
With the primer open in the primer viewer window, click the toolbar button Export Primer Sequence. Select the option to export the primer sequence to a disk file or to copy the primer sequence to the Windows clipboard so that you can paste the primer sequence into another application. If your primer is a part of a primer collection, just open the Primer List and highlight this primer in your collection. Click the toolbar button Export Primer Sequence and select to export to a disk file or copy to the clipboard.
What's the quickest way to create a PCR amplified product?
In Clone Manager Professional, click Primer, Create Product to create a new DNA molecule that is the amplified product of a PCR-type reaction using two primers and a DNA molecule that you specify. Select the molecule and then select the two primers and click OK. If an amplified product can be produced, the results screen will show the product size, GC content, melting temperature and annealing temperature. You can select to use the new molecule now, save it to disk for later user or export the product sequence as a text file.
If an amplified product can not be produced using standard PCR reaction conditions, you can opt to relax these conditions and try again. If more than one product is possible, you can opt to open the Analyze Mix Wizard to view the more detailed results and then use the Create Product toolbar button in the results section to create the product of interest.
How can I import a primer collection?
In Clone Manager Professional, you can use the Import option to create a primer collection by reading in primer data contained in a tab-delimited text file prepared in another application. Open the Primer List and click My Collections. Click the first toolbar button (Folder Options) and select Import. In the import module, select the text format file that contains your primer data. Follow the screen prompts to identify the data in each column and the first row to start importing.
Preparing data for import -- If your primer data is in an Excel worksheet, for example, you can open the worksheet in Excel and use Save As... to save your file in Text (tab delimited) format.
I'm getting an error message when I try to access Help in the network version of Clone Manager. How can I read application Help topics?
Security updates for Windows operating systems have introduced new security features that interfere with the operation of compiled HTML help files (*.chm) accessed across a network. "Action Canceled" or "Page cannot be displayed" error messages will appear in place of help topics in the Help viewer window.
Recent versions of Clone Manager (ver 8 or 9) can access HTML Help files on local computers, in place of help files in the network program installation directory. Ask your network administrator to make the compiled help file CMSuite9.chm or Clone9.chm (CMSuite 8.chm or Clone8.chm for version 8 software) available for you to copy to your home directory. (In Clone Manager, click File, Preferences, Basic to identify the location of your home directory, if needed.) Once the help file is placed in your home directory, you can start Clone Manager and use the Help buttons and Help menu items within the Clone Manager program.
You can also download a new help file from this web site, if needed. In the Downloads section, click on Clone Manager User Documents and select the appropriate help file. You may need to unblock this file after download. Please follows the instructions on the download page.
For earlier versions of Clone Manager, you can ask your network administrator to make a copy of the program help file SECentral.chm available to copy to your home directory. You can directly access this file by double-clicking on this file in Explorer and using the Contents, Index, or Search features to locate the help information needed.
How can I remove primer sites previously saved as part of my molecule file?
When you add primer sites to a molecule map, information about the primer site is embedded in the cm5 file, just like enzyme site information. You can remove these sites, as needed. Open the molecule file so the map is visible in the molecule viewer window. Click the Enzyme Sites/Primer sites toolbar button so primer sites are displayed on the map. To remove one primer site, click on the primer site and then use the Delete Site toolbar button to remove this site. To remove all primer sites, click the More Actions toolbar button and then select Wipe All Primer Sites or click on the Wipe All Sites toolbar button (version 8) to remove all primer sites. Save the file again so the deleted sites will be permanently removed.
What should I do to get basepair numbers for enzyme sites to print on my graphic map?
With the map visible on the screen, click the Format Map toolbar button (Map Print Options in version 8), click the Sites tab, and set the checkbox Display Bp Numbers. This setting will be remembered until you change it again. Basepair numbers will appear on the printed maps, but do not appear on the small on-screen maps. When working with the screen map, hover the mouse over an enzyme site or use the list of enzyme sites at the right to identify basepair positions. Click on the column headers to sort the list by enzyme name or basepair position.
How can I read in more/different features when importing a GenBank file?
If you are using a recent version of Clone Manager, you can identify the feature keys that should be imported when you open a file in standard GenBank or EMBL format. Just click File, Preferences, then the Import Features tab. Click the Add button to include a new feature key on the import list and select the Draw As feature type to tell the program how to display this feature in Clone Manager. (Note: complex features consisting of joins and orders not currently supported.)
What's the easiest way to prepare a group of files to share with others?
You can use the multiple file conversion utility to convert a batch of files in Clone Manager format into the standard GenBank format, all in one easy step. Click File, Multiple File Conversion to get started. You can identify the files or folders of files to convert and specify the location (folder) where you want the program to save the files, and you can select the format to convert to. Files converted to the Compact GenBank format will contain essential molecule data in a format that is consistent with the standard GenBank file format and can be shared with others who do not use the Clone Manager program.
How can I copy my sequence to the clipboard in FASTA format?
With the molecule open in the molecule viewer window, click Operations, Export Molecule Data. Set the option to FASTA in the upper section and set the option to Copy to the Clipboard in the lower section. Click OK. Your sequence data is now on the clipboard in FASTA format, ready to paste into another application. FASTA is a very simple format that is the required format for many sequence analysis programs, especially over the web.
When I double-click on a Clone Manager file (*.cm5) in Windows, the Clone Manager program doesn't automatically start and load this molecule. What do I need to do to get this working?
In Windows 7 or Windows Vista, start Explorer and open a folder that contains a Clone Manager file (*.cm5). Right-click on the file and point to Open With. If Clone Manager appears on the small menu, you can select it. Otherwise, click on Choose Default Program and then select Clone Manager. The check box (lower left) sets the option to have all files of this type (*.cm5) open with the same Clone Manager software.