- GETTING STARTED
- IT REQUIREMENTS, UPDATES & SUPPORT
- FUNCTIONALITY
- DATA STORAGE & SECURITY
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- 1- What do I get with my subscription?
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• 4GB storage per user (Cloud solution)
• Email support
• Automatic backups
• Multiuser collaboration
• In App messaging
• Web and tablet interface
- 2- Do I need to install the application on my computer?
- Mbook is an entirely web-based and you do not need to download any program. It is recommended to use Chrome, Firefox or Safari as web browsers.
- 3- Do I have to use the Cloud data storage or is there an alternative?
- Mbook is a flexible system and as such an in-house alternative to the Cloud based system is available. It can be installed on your own servers and accessible to your users via their browsers avoiding the need for Cloud storage. Contact us if you are interested in this installation.
- 4- I got two different login accounts by email when I signed up, what are the different users for?
- Mbook provides several levels of access through user roles, limiting access depending on the position occupied by the individual user:
• Admin
• Project Manager
• Group Manager
• Bench Chemist
• Guest
In addition to these roles, Mbook offers the possibility of further customization of permissions by allowing Group Managers to designate Safety, Inventory or Structure managers.
You can read more information about User roles and permissions.
- 5- How safe will my data be in the cloud-based solution?
- AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud infrastructure is one of the most secure cloud computing environments available today. It provides an extremely scalable, highly reliable platform that enables customers to deploy applications and data quickly and securely.
- 6- How much does it cost?
- Mbook Cloud solution costs 10€/user/month for Academia and 25€/user/month for Industry. Please note that subscriptions must be purchased on a yearly basis. In-house installation has an additional cost of 2000€/year that covers for software updates and support.
You can purchase your subscription in our store page.
- 7- Once I purchase a subscription, will I be able to keep the data I record during the trial period?
- Yes, all your data, uploaded files, users and groups created for your team will be keptfor a year after you finishit and would be there should you purchase a full license.
- 8- Is there any help or manual to get me started?
- We have plenty of resources to get you started with Mbook.
– Starting guide
– Mbook Manual
– Tutorials and videosAnd you can always contact our support team for any user, via mail at at support@mestrelab.com, or by phone: +34 881 976 775 (our office hours are 9.30 to 13.30 and 16.30 to 20.30 CET, Monday to Friday)
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- 1- Can I contact support about technical issues with my Mbook account?
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Of course you can. Just email support@mestrelab.com or call +34 881976775
Mestrelab has a well-regarded English-speaking support team based in Spain, which provides phone/email/webform support. We aim to respond to customer requests within 24 hours of receiving them.
- 2- Is the system entirely web-based or do users have to install a local client/piece of software on their PC/laptop?
- Mbook is entirely web-based so no installation is required. It is recommended to use Chrome, Firefox or Safari as web browsers.
Cloud solution does not require any IT department involvement. All new versions of MBook are made available to users straight upon release.
In-house solution requires IT expertise in order to manage server itself, backups and updates.
- 3- Can you log into the Electronic Log Notebook (ELN) outside the university IP range? Are there any vendor-imposed restrictions? Is this a safe connection and what are the alternatives?
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Since the application itself is a web browser application, it can be used by anyone from anywhere, as long as they have access to the server via a web protocol. At the moment we are not using any encrypted connection (e.g. https) but it could be implemented if requested.
- 4- Does organizing the database need support of a member of the group (setting up user groups, organizing access rights, etc.)? How much time would that support cost?
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A typical research group would be 20-40 users. For such a group, one person should ideally be able to simple admin work (setting up user groups, organizing access rights, etc.).
Setting up of different users and workspace is extremely easy and intuitive. In general setting up the workspace for 20-40 users can be easily achieved by one person within the group with administrative rights. For more information please see this tutorial.
- 5- Does the ELN work on a tablet?
- Mbook is optimized for Chrome, Firefox or Safari web browsers, hence Android or iOS web browsers work with some limitations. We are developing a proper Mbook tablet-client.
- 6- Does Mbook work on Apple OS?
- Mbook clients work on Apple Operating System. We have never tested the use of Mac as a server.
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- 1- Which chemistry features does the system have (e.g. built-in application for drawing chemical compounds/reactions, automatic calculations of stoichiometric amounts, etc.)?
- Mbook supports most of the features requested by Chemists. Please refer to this guide to read more information about how Mbook handles experimental conditions, addition of a reaction participant and stoichiometry table.
- 2- Does the ELN have functionality to support “bio-related work?” (protocols, etc.)? Which “bio-functionality” is supported?
- No, Mbook has not specific functionalities to support “bio-related work” yet.
- 3- Can files from other sources (Word, Excel, Chemdraw, mass spectra, Origin, NMR data, etc.) easily be dragged into or uploaded into experiments in the ELN?
- Yes, files from other sources (images, pdf, general documents, compressed files, raw analytical data, Mnova files, etc…) can be easily uploaded into Mbook. Please refer to this guide for additional information.
- 4- What is the maximum file size for the upload of external files (PDF, Word, etc.)?
- The maximum size is 250MB for each individual file uploaded.
- 5- Is there a search engine/search option to search via keywords, sample codes, experiments, etc.?
- Yes, basically all Mbook’s fields are searchable via keywords, sample code, CAS number, compound structure or substructure, etc. Please refer to our Starting Guide to Mbook for any additional information.
- 6- Can one make (experiment) templates for different types of experiments into the ELN that all or a selected group of users can use?
- Templates can be used into Mbook and associated for a particular group of users. However, at the present time, layout’s templates cannot be created directly by users, but have to be generated by our development team.
- 7- Most ELNs appear to allow that users work completely independently or as part of a group that allows collaboration and giving data sharing/viewing rights. How is this organized in this ELN?
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Mbook can handle users with different rights (Admin, Group Managers, Project Managers, Bench Chemists and Guests) that can work at different level of the working space (Projects, Reactions and Experiments). Hence a Bench Chemist is not able to set up collaborations/share data outside the research group’s sphere; but procedures/data can be viewed by all users in a defined group. Please refer to our “Starting Guide to Mbook” for any additional information.
- 8- How easy/difficult is it to erase your own and/or the work of others? Can data be recoverd if it happens by accident?
- No user (despite his/her privileges) can erase the work of any other users. Moreover a user cannot delete an entire project, reaction or experiment. A user can only delete contents (e.g. uploaded files, compounds, text description, etc.) from an experiment he/she has personally created.
- 9- How can I upload my analytical raw data (Mnova files)? Can this ELN interact with my raw data?
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You can upload a zip file containing your original NMR or MS data in the Files/Characterization section as shown below. This will automatically process your spectra. If the spectra has already been processed you just need to upload your Mnova data. One of Mbook’s unique features is that that you can interact with the raw data you upload. Mbook is an ELN that supports analytical data! Once you upload your NMR, LC/GC/MS raw data, the spectrum will be automatically processed and analysed (peak picking, integration, multiplet analysis) by using the Mnova automation engine. You can read more in this tutorial
- 10- I am used to paper notebooks, would this ELN really save me time?
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Yes, Mbook delivers excellent time saving capabilities when compared to a traditional paper notebook and other ELN’s. If you re still using a paper notebook, you will no longer have to waste time searching for data in a stack of paper notebooks or spend time decoding your colleague’s unreadable handwriting.
Mbook eliminates the learning curve associated with most software products and as it is a searchable system it is very accessible thus improving your time efficiency. Additionally, the interconnectivity with your Mnova data, unique feature for any ELN in the market and the modern capabilities to record and store your chemistry will improve your work efficiency.
- 11- Is this ELN very different from the others?
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Yes, we believe this Electronic Lab Notebook created in collaboration with the University of Santiago de Compostela and the University of Vigo has got very unique features.
It has been made focused on the needs of the organic chemists, with a well-structured and friendly interface, and full of features to speed-up the synthetic chemist’s write-up. Interacting with your raw analytical data is a feature that other ELN’s do not possess.
Mbook has also got an integrated inventory to handle your stockroom and suppliers.
- 12- Can I copy&paste and import structures from my own drawing package?
- Yes, thanks to the new molecular editor Marvin JS integrated in Mbook, you can copy&paste your structures from your preferred drawing package such as ChemDraw. You can also import as .mol files. Our latest version has also included the possibility of importing entire reactions from ChemDraw software.
- 13- What will my reports look like?
- Mbook generates high quality, consistent reports quickly and effortlessly via the reporting automation. You can easily select the spectra and images you want to include in your report in one click. You can see some reports generated with Mbook in our video tutorials section.
- 14- How big is Mbook's compound library?
- Mbook comes equipped with a library of more than 2,500 compounds commonly used in synthetic chemistry. This not only delivers significant time savings but also avoids drawing errors. You can also add compounds to the library to avoid re-drawing them.
- 15- Does Mbook allow countersigning experiments?
- Yes, Mbook offers you the possibility of witnessing and also approving experiments. Witnesses will receive a notification via the in-app messaging service.
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- 1- Will Mbook keep my data even if I leave my group or organization?
- Yes, your data will be kept and only people with the privilege from your team will be able to access to your data.
- 2- How is the data back-up procedure organized? How many back-ups, multiple locations, etc.?
- Back up is automatic and frequency by default is once per day / Recovery is 1-click to restore to a point in time. System is deployed to different ‘Availability Zones’, which means that instances are running in different geographies, therefore protecting the user. The system automatically provisions and maintains a synchronous standby replica of your DB instance in a different Availability Zone. The primary DB instance is synchronously replicated across Availability Zones to the standby replica to provide data redundancy, failover support, eliminate I/O freezes, and minimize latency spikes during system backups.
- 3- How long (in years) is data storage guaranteed?
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As far as there is one active Mbook’s account, data storage is always guaranteed. Upon the closure of an account, Mestrelab is capable to mantain a read-only copy of Mbook according to customer’s preservation strategies (i.e. as described in customer’s Data Managment Plan).
- 4- Most/all data will presumably be stored in the cloud. Where (as in which country) are the servers located for (cloud) storage?
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We use Amazon Web Services (AWS) with servers physically located in Ireland. However, Mestrelab is open to use Amazon’s servers located in other countries, according to user’s requirements.
- 5- Can data/procedures be exported – PDF, fully machine-readable, other? – so that a copy can be stored/backed up elsewhere, for example when an ELN user leaves our group?
- Data (experiments) can be easily exported as PDF file. Enclosed documents can be downloaded in their native format. Backup of records/users is going to be implemented soon.
- 6- If a user stops using an account, how can we assure that the data are not lost or inaccessible (if for example the user would leave suddenly and access details have gone lost)? Can a designated administrator/superuser always obtain/request access to these data?
- When a user stops using an account all contents related his/her account are retained and accessible to all users belonging to the same group. It works exactly in the same way it was before his/her departure. Access details can be updated by a designed administrator. Moreover uncompleted experiments can be re-assigned to another active user.
- 7- Who “owns” the procedures/data stored on the ELN? How is this stipulated in the agreement? Does the vendor claim any form of ownership on the data?
- Ownership is 100% of the customer. Neither Mestrelab nor AWS have any ownership of Mbook’s contents. Please find more information on data policy agreements here.
- 8- Does the vendor sell data in the ELN or make data available in the ELN to third parties?
- No, we don’t!
