Scan to ELN with Labguru Mobile App

Photograph tables, notes and results at the bench, and send them straight to your experiment.

Labs are full of paper: temperature logs taped to fridges, tables filled in by hand at the hood, printouts from instruments. With Scan to ELN in the Labguru Mobile App, you can capture them with your phone or tablet and add them to the right experiment in seconds. If the image contains a table, the app can turn it into a CSV file you can edit, so the data is ready to use, not just a picture of it.

What you can do

• Attach a photo to an experiment: results, gels, plates, labels, notes or anything else worth recording.
• Convert a table into a CSV file: both handwritten tables and printed tables you've filled in by hand. The original photo is attached together with the CSV, so you can always check the source.

Scan and attach to an experiment

1. On the home screen, tap Scan to ELN. The camera opens.
2. Take the picture. Check that it's sharp and that the whole table or page is in frame.
3. To try again, tap ‚X on the image and retake it. When you're happy with it, tap Next.

4. Choose what to do with the image:
   • Convert image to CSV if the image contains a table.
   • Attach image to experiment to attach the photo only.

5. If you converted a table, check it on the Review & Edit screen. Tap any cell to correct it, and tap the, three-dot handles to add or remove rows and columns. Then tap Continue.

6. Choose the project, folder and experiment, and enter a file name.
7. Tap Attach image & CSV, or Attach image if you're attaching the photo only.

A message confirms the files were attached. You'll find them in the experiment's attachments in Labguru.

If the conversion fails: the app tells you it couldn't find a table. Take another picture, or attach the image without a CSV file.

Tips for tables that convert well

• Use printed tables for routine records. Print the tables you fill in often, such as temperature logs or equipment checklists, and fill them in by hand. Consistent layouts give consistent results.
• Write clearly inside the grid lines, one value per cell.
• Photograph the page straight on, in good light and without shadows.
• Check the CSV before attaching. Correct anything the app misread on the Review & Edit screen. It's quicker than fixing it later.