Problems navigating chroms in chemstation (need macro?)

[bromine81]

Hi everyone. I'm new to these boards, but have searched them in the past to find answers to my questions.

I have one simple problem that I can't seem to find the answer to.

I'm using Chemstation E 02.00.493.

I'm looking for a way to "scroll" across the x-axis in the chromatogram. So far, the only way I can navigate the chrom is by zooming in on the peak I want, then zooming back out, then zooming back in again on another peak. This makes manually integrating my chromatogram (a long chrom with a complex PCB mixture) very cumbersome, and I end up missing peaks because of it.

In older versions of Chemstation I was able to just scroll across the x-axis. It does't appear that I can do it in this version.

Does anyone know of a workaround to this problem? Perhaps a command line command or a macro that can accomplish this?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

- Brian

[bisnettrj2]

This makes manually integrating my chromatogram (a long chrom with a complex PCB mixture) very cumbersome, and I end up missing peaks because of it.

Ok, I don't use Chemstation for data analysis, but as someone who got thoroughly reamed by an auditor once, I want to address the statement above. You will be a lot better off if you take some time to optimize your integration parameters to eliminate the need to manually integrate all but the lowest of your calibration standards (if at all), and the occasional difficult real-world sample. You'll suffer much less critical scrutiny if you work on the paramters by which the software processes your samples. Just my two cents.

In regard to your more general problem of scrolling the x-axis, call Agilent to see if there might have been a software patch or a service pack to address the issue. You may be stuck, though - which may make it all the more pertinent to optimize your integration parameters.

[bromine81]

Thanks for looking at my post. Regarding the autointegration vs. manual, I respectfully disagree. In my experience, I've found that the autointegration, even when optimized, cannot reliably and properly integrate every peak in a chromatogram. I can autointegrate, but I will still have to inspect the chromatogram thoroughly anyways, and definitely have to fix multiple errors and omissions. Sure, calibration standards, even low concentration ones, will usually produce flawless results, but the real world samples are another story.

I'd also consider myself quite knowledgeable in the area of chromatographic peak integration, having been published on that very topic. So I'm confident that, should an auditor inspect my quantitation method, I could defend it thoroughly and unequivocally.

Long story short, whether I use manual or auto integration, I still have to thoroughly inspect my chrom, and that requires me to move along the x-axis.

Thanks again for your consideration of my problem. I'm taking your advice and contacting my Agilent dealer to see if he has any suggestions. Still, if anyone else has a possible suggestion on how to solve my x-axis problems, please pass it on.

[Schmitty]

I also have this version of GC/MS Chemstation on two instruments, and have used the previous three or four releases. I have never seen scrolling as an option to enable or disable, like it is in Empower, for example.

When I am reviewing peaks and integration, I use the Qedit function, which zooms to the peak(s) of interest and displays the integration of all ions I have selected as quantifiers and qualifiers.

Are you using the Qedit function, or some other way to review the entire TIC? Or, are you using the software to integrate FID data?

When I am doing "unknown" work, I will select an appropriate (small) portion of baseline to zoom in on, and identify peaks and library matches. Then, I will note the time that the zoomed in portion ends at, to allow me to zoom out a bit and select the next frame where peaks are showing up.

[bromine81]

I have actually been using the MSD chemstation to process my GC-ECD data, so Q-Edit was not available.

I did solve the problem, however. I spoke to my Agilent rep and he provided me with a GC-only chemstation for my data analysis. I was even able to use the licence number from one of my older versions in this version (B 04.01).

The version I have now has the ability to scroll the x-axis.

[Larry Ellison]

Hi, I integrate GC data in Chemstation but I'm unaware how to scroll through the X-axis. Could you please tell me how to do this? Thanks in advance.