How do I perform "bulk" actions on multiple files in SnapGene?
SnapGene 8.0 and later allows you to perform bulk actions on selected files and folders via the Project side panel
If you can't see a bulk action that you would find useful in SnapGene then contact our support team at https://support.snapgene.com/hc/en-us/requests/new and let us know
Manage Your Files in SnapGene 8.0 or 8.1
Open a Folder as a Project - see Use the SnapGene Project Interface.
Select two or more files or any combination of files and folders in the side panel. Use CTRL-click (Windows and Linux) or Command-click (macOS) to select or deselect individual files or folders.
- Selected items will be highlighted blue in the side panel
- A summary of the number and types of file in the selection will be displayed.
- Use the "Manage your files..." options to "bulk" manage your files/folders.
Manage Your Files in SnapGene 8.2
Open a Folder as a Project - see Use the SnapGene Project Interface.
Select two or more files or any combination of files and folders in the side panel. Use CTRL-click (Windows and Linux) or Command-click (macOS) to select or deselect individual files or folders.
A tabular summary of the selected files will be displayed.
- Selected items will be highlighted blue in the side panel.
- If required, use the right hand dropdown to filter and remove unwanted file types.
- Use the "Manage your files..." options to "bulk" manage your files/folders.
Annotate or Edit Your Data
Select two or more files or any combination of files and folders in the side panel. Use CTRL-click (Windows and Linux) or Command-click (macOS) to select or deselect individual files or folders.
Selected items will be highlighted blue in the side panel and a detailed summary of the number and different types of file in the selection will be displayed in the dropdown on the right.
Use the dropdown on the right to deselect unwanted file types. Hold the option key (macOS) or ALT key (Windows, Linux) to deselect all but the selected file type.
Use the "Annotate, simulate, or edit your data..." menus and buttons to perform an action on the selected files. "Bulk actions" that are compatible with the selected file types will be shown.
The "bulk actions" options offered will be dependent on the file types in your selection. For example, you won't see the option to "Simulate agarose gel..." if you have DNA and protein files selected.
If you don't see an expected "Bulk Action" option then double check the file types that you have in your selection.
Example WorkFlow: Detect Common Features
Select 2 or more .dna files, then click Annotate, simulate or edit data → Detect Features → Detect Common Features....
Set the detection threshold, then click Add Features to detect and add features to all sequences.
SnapGene will report all files that have be modified to include new features.
Click "Copy to clipboard" if you want to copy the summary and paste/save the information in another program.
A yellow "banner" at the top of the side panel will warn that files have been modified and are unsaved. All modified unsaved files will be marked by a gold dot.
Click the ellipsis on the banner to choose to Save All, Save Selected, Discard all, Discard selected or Select Unsaved Files.
Example with Mixed File Types: Align to Reference
The Align to Reference operation aligns mixed file types, it can align trace files (.ab1, .scf or .ztr formats) to a reference sequence (.dna format). Select a reference sequence and 1 or more trace files and click Annotate, simulate or edit data → Align to reference DNA sequence to perform an alignment to reference in one step.
The reference file will be opened and the trace files will be aligned to the reference (if matches are detected).
You can then validate the alignment by standard procedures, see Align Sanger Reads to a Reference Sequence.
A yellow "banner" will appear at the top of the side panel and the reference file will be marked by a gold dot, to show the file has unsaved changes.
To save the alignment, select the reference sequence in the side panel, click the ellipsis in the yellow banner and choose Save Selected. Alternatively, select the reference sequence and go menu File → Save.
