Export of folders and data elements in CLC format
The CLC Main Workbench stores data in CLC format. A CLC format file holds all the information for a given data element. This means the data itself, as well as information about that data, like history information.
Data can be exported in CLC format by selecting the CLC fomat, or the zip format, from the list of available formats.
If CLC format is chosen, each selected data element can be exported to an individual file. An option is offered later in the export process to apply gzip or zip compression. Choosing gzip compression at this stage will compress each data element individually. Choosing zip produces a single file containing the individual CLC format files. If a single zip file containing one or more CLC format files is the desired outcome, choosing the zip format in the first step of the export process specifies this directly.
If a folder is selected for export, only the zip format is supported. In this case, each data element in that folder will be exported to CLC format, and all these files will be compressed in a single zip file.
CLC format files, or zip files containing CLC format data, can be imported directly into a workbench using the Standard Import tool and selecting "Automatic import" in the Options area.
Backing up and sharing data
If you are backing up data, or plan to share data with colleagues who have a CLC Workbench, exporting to CLC format is usually the best choice. All information associated with that data element will then be available when the data is imported again. CLC format is also recommended when sharing data with the QIAGEN Bioinformatics Support team.
If you are planning to share your data with someone who does not have access to a licensed CLC Main Workbench but just wishes to view the data, then you can export to CLC format, and they can run the CLC Main Workbench in Viewing Mode, which does not require a license, see . In Viewing Mode, CLC format data can be imported and viewed in the same way it would be using a licensed Workbench.
Compatibility of the CLC data format between Workbench versions
When exporting to CLC or zip format, the option "Maximize compatibility with older CLC products" is presented at the Specify export parameters step. With that option checked, data is exported without internal compression applied. This is only relevant when sharing data with someone using a version of the CLC software where the compression applied by default is not supported.
Compatibility information:
- A new compression method was introduced with version 22.0 of the CLC Genomics Workbench, CLC Main Workbench and CLC Genomics Server. Compressed data created using those versions can be read by version 21.0.5 and above, but not earlier versions.
- Internal compression of CLC data was introduced in CLC Genomics Workbench 12.0, CLC Main Workbench 8.1 and CLC Genomics Server 11.0. Compressed data created using these versions is not compatible with older versions of the software. Data created using these versions can be opened by later versions of the software, including versions 22.0 and above.
Information on how to turn off internal data compression entirely is provided in Data Compression. We generally recommend, however, that data compression remains enabled.