Chromatography Forum

Hi everyone!!
In a few weeks I'll change my job. I'm moving to a new lab, with new collegues, new boss.....and new equipment. I always worked with Agilent Chemstation and now I'll change to Waters, Empower.... etc.
I'm a little afraid with this change: is it very different from Chemstation? is it difficult to learn?

in short
yes the software is very different
from training on several softwares, i think that empower is one of the hardest to learn and train, especially if you know another software before that
but on the other hand empower is one of the best out there for all that is post processing, calculation and reporting,
chemstation comes no where near to it on its capabilities

many new names to remember
the method is now divided into 3 files
instrument, processing and reporting
it is different but it makes the versatility and ease of use greater after you get use to it
the data is found in the channels. I will not explain why channels, but it is there
use filtering in order to find the channels you need to look at
far better then going file open data in chemstation
integration parameters will be different as well
learn to use lift off and lift down if you have impurities


if you will run the system you will get the hang of it soon enough

in short
yes the software is very different
from training on several softwares, i think that empower is one of the hardest to learn and train, especially if you know another software before that

I grew up on Expert Ease (8560). Millenium and Empower software. I never found it difficult... But I also had experience with relational databases first.

The trick to learning Empower is to think in terms of a relational Database as that is what it is built on.

When I had to move to Chemstation I found very it very unintuative and lacking in features and poorly organized with too many things feeling like they were bolted on instead designed as a whole. That lack of an overarching design architecture is what made it hared for me to learn. It does not have enough internal consistency.

but on the other hand empower is one of the best out there for all that is post processing, calculation and reporting,
chemstation comes no where near to it on its capabilities

I agree 100%

many new names to remember
the method is now divided into 3 files
instrument, processing and reporting

That is a "Method Set" and it may also include an export method which can be used to export data to Excel for example

it is different but it makes the versatility and ease of use greater after you get use to it
the data is found in the channels.

I will not explain why channels, but it is there
use filtering in order to find the channels you need to look at
far better then going file open data in chemstation

Because everything is in a database you can "filter" (search) on Sample name, date acquired, date processed (Results are stored in the database when ever you process - Not just output to report) and a heck of a a lot of other things...

Also you don't have to deal with individual fields and file names just sample names ... Finding the data for a specific injection of specific sample without knowing the sequence name or date is a snap with the database capabilities.

integration parameters will be different as well
learn to use lift off and lift down if you have impurities

I find Water's integration (particularly Apex Track) to be a lot better than the Agilent algorithms.

if you will run the system you will get the hang of it soon enough

It really is not all THAT hard as long as you can wrap you head around the basic structure. Overall it is much more consistent than Chemstation.

Thanks for your answers!!!
I'm excited with this new stage in my professional life, and also scared!!! I'll explain you my experiences with Empower (I hope to get it!!!)
see you!!

Good luck

They are all good when compared to Agilent's ( hopefully now defunct ) Chemstore...
I still have nightmares thinking about the 'security pack'

Hi bfranc81,
Don't be scared ... sounds like you have landed a great opportunity.
I have been lucky enough to train some excellent folks with all sorts of backgrounds and of all ages on Empower and many have gone on to be champions of the software themselves,

so as umgvar puts it
"many new names to remember...
...it is different but it makes the versatility and ease of use greater after you get use to it
...if you will run the system you will get the hang of it soon enough"

and as Karen01 said, it is based around a database so you do not need to worry about files or data, the software takes care of it all for you.

And there is always help out here if you need it.
Have fun with it!
Ben

Agilent is really easy to learn, however I personally think Waters software is more versatile for reviewing and reporting data (reports are easily customized/no macros required for extra suitability parameters for example tailing etc). It is a bit of a learning curve, hopefully someone at your new job can relate Agilent vs Waters terminology. Waters has a nice data integration guide and also HPLC troubleshooting guide (written by the late Dr. Uwe Neue) to help also, hopefully your new company has a service agreement.

I find Water's integration (particularly Apex Track) to be a lot better than the Agilent algorithms.

IMHO is Empower definitely superior for e.g. QC-Labs. Also I like the paradigm of empower, to have a logical structure due to the database. Other softwares have their origin in the past and the software acts often like a pimped integrator only. I think max. 10 % of the Chemstation-user has found out there self how to store permanently the integration of a manually integrated chromatogram. Nevertheless also Chemstation have their rights to exist.

But I have never observed that a Waters integration algorithm is better than one from Agilent. The ApexTrack algorithm is sureley better than the traditional Waters, but manual correction of the automatic integration is not so good. Finally the ApexTrack needs for complex GC-chromatograms often some minutes for processing when other softwares do the job in one or two seconds with comparable results.

I have compared often Agilent and Waters integrations, four years ago, maybe there were made some advancements, but this is my state of knowledge.

Hy everyone,

after ending my summer holidays, I'm here again, waiting for my new job...... Days pass and september 1st is getting closer. Now I'm a little nervious and very scared!!!!

Thanks for your support!!!!

Hy everyone,

after ending my summer holidays, I'm here again, waiting for my new job...... Days pass and september 1st is getting closer. Now I'm a little nervious and very scared!!!!

Thanks for your support!!!!

You will love Empower , after a couple of weeks into it.