Running workflows with multiple input elements in batch mode
Workflows with multiple input elements cannot be launched in batch mode using the standard mechanism described in the previous section because extra information is needed to specify the grouping and roles of the data being inupt. This extra information is provided in an Excel format (.xlsx/.xls) file.
Only installed Workflows can be launched in batch mode using the method described in this section. Figures in this section are taken from the Biomedical Genomics Workbench, but the method described will apply to the launching of any Workflow with multiple input elements.
Requirements to be able to launch installed Workflows with multiple inputs using the method described in this section:
- All the data elements that will be used as input must be located in a single folder. No input elements in subfolders will be considered.)
- An Excel format file (.xlsx/.xls) must be provided. The contents of this file must meet the following criteria:
- The first column must contain the names of the data elements that will be used as inputs.
- At least one other column must be present. That column will contain the grouping information that will specify to the Workbench how to group the data into batch units.
- Right click on the name of the Workflow in the Toolbox panel in the bottom left hand side of the Workbench and select the option "Run in Batch Mode...". See figure XXX.
- Select the Excel file containing the information about the data to be analysed.
- Specify the folder with the data.
The entries in the first column of the Excel sheet will be compared to the names of the data elements in the selected folder. Where the entries and names match perfectly, an icon representing the data type will appear next to the relevant row in the table view within the Wizard.
- Click on the button labeled Next.
- Specify the column names that will be used to group the data and the type of data each row represents. For example, in an analysis involving three family members, you might group by family and then need to specify whether a given sample of that family is the mother, father or child sample.
- Click on the button labeled Next.
- The next stage of the Wizard allows you to step through the analysis steps and configure any unlocked paramaters.
- Choose where to save the outputs of the analysis.