Chromatography Forum

Hi there,
I am using a GC-MS system from thermo with Xcalibur software. AMDIS is also used on a regular basis. Since the number of persons allowed to use the system increases my job now is to check if the others process the data correctly. This because I am the one with the most experience.
I want to move the interpretation of data to my writting area (my labtop).
For this I have downloaded AMDIS from the net but do not have Xcalibur on my pc. I can open AMDIS but I can't open any of the Xcalibur .raw files (obtain from measurments with the system) in AMDIS.

Do anyone know if it is mandatory to have Xcalibur installed on my pc in order to load the .raw file in AMDIS??

Look under the analyze menu and select settings. The data file settings list if found on the menu that appears. Exalibur is at the end of the list.

Thanks for the reply Don
I know that AMDIS support Xacalibur .raw files.
But thing is that I have to look/check data (.raw files) anywhere. Not only on the lab. Therfore I have installed AMDIS on my laptop. But when I want to load the .raw file in AMDIS it will not work.

Is this because i do not have Xcalubur installed?? Do you have to install Xcalibur on the machine (laptop) in order to view data in AMDIS??

From my experience with AMDIS and other data files, it should work. So, if you can give some more specifics as to what you mean by does not work, it may help.

Do you see the chromatogram trace displayed?

Have you set up the type of scan? Quad, sector, etc.?

Take me through to where you do not see what you expect to see.

Hi Don,

I will try my best to explain the problem

I have downlaoded AMDIS from the net and installed it on my laptop. I have checked if it works and it does so. Open a couple of examples that came with the download and it works. I have made all the settings. The type of file quad and scan direction. All that is set propely. I have copied a couple of data from the GC-MS pc and put them on my laptop.
When I open AMDIS and try to open the data AMDIS sees no data. I have cheked via explorer to see if the data is on the laptop and it is so. Try again with AMDIS and it do not see the .raw on the laptop. I can not see the chromatograms I aquire myself. I can only open the examples chromatograms that came with the AMDIS download. This means that I can not see my chromatograms because AMDIS do not sees them for me to open them.

Do I have to install my aquisition sofware (Xcalibur) on my laptop too. I prefer not to do so because the lisence is for only 1 machine.

Th question is do you have to install you aquisition software on the same pc that you will be running AMDIS. Or is there a trick that I can use?


P.S. I am using AMDIS for a while now and it save me alot of time. But I always uses AMDIS on the GC-MS pc where I do the data aquisition.


I really hope that you or someone can help me

Hi Willyrast, I have encountered the same problem with trying to open Xcalibur.raw files; AMDIS recently installed on my office PC doesn't recognise them, but it does recognise .D files (Agilent). I believe that I had the AMDIS settings correct.

Contact your Thermo rep and check your licensing. Thermo are as clear as mud on their arrangements. But it's just possible that you are already entitled to a process-only copy on another machine, and no one has told you.

Xcalibur provides a series of interface bits that allow third-party programs to access .raw files. I don't know if AMDIS uses them, but if it does, it will only be able to read .raw files on a PC that has Xcalibur installed.