Release 20th of November 2024
CORE 1.38.0. [SciNote Premium]
We’re excited to announce a new feature that enhances how you manage and recover your files in SciNote! With File Version History, you now have the option to access, download, and restore previous versions of your files, ensuring that important data and changes are never lost.
Access Version History:
You can now access a comprehensive version history for each file, including the date, time, and the user who made each update.
You can find version history in every file’s preview: 
or directly from the “More” dropdown in protocol steps & task results;
This allows you to track changes and access previous versions with ease:
Restore Previous Versions:
Accidentally overwritten something? No worries! You can download and/or restore any previous version of a file with just a few clicks, and it will immediately become the current version.
Audit Trail for Admins:
Admins can now track and log all file activities. This feature enables you to access deleted files and records every restoration, including who performed the action and when, ensuring a robust audit trail for compliance and security.
How to Use the New Feature:
- Navigate to any file in SciNote Tasks, Protocol template step or Inventory column.
- Select the “Version History” option in the file’s dropdown to see all available versions.
- From there, you can download or restore any previous version.
This update adds another layer of safety and control over your data in SciNote. We hope you find these new capabilities useful in your research workflows!
This feature will be available exclusively on the SciNote Validated and Platinum plans. If you’re interested in upgrading your subscription, please reach out to your Customer Support Manager for assistance.
Other improvements in this release:
- Renaming protocol template in each draft – You can now rename each draft version of the same template
- Improved notifications – You can mark each notification separately as Read or Unread and we also added tabs for “Read”, “Unread” and “All” notifications.
- Signatures widget improvement – We added tabs to filter between your team’s signature requests, SciBot signature request & all requests.
- Additional loading speed improvements
- The default report template is now automatically selected when no custom report templates are available.
- We added the ability to exclude task metadata and timestamps from docx and pdf reports.
- We added the ability to select which inventory columns are included in the docx report.
Release 16th of October 2024
CORE 1.37.0. [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes Storage Locations and a set of smaller improvements and bug fixes.
Inventory Storage Locations
We’re excited to announce the release of the new Storage Locations add-on, designed to enhance your inventory management in SciNote.
Create Locations hierarchy
Build a location hierarchy that reflects your organization’s storage structure. Create locations from the highest level (e.g., buildings or floors) down to detailed levels like specific boxes. The hierarchy is fully flexible, allowing you to create as many levels as needed.
The difference between a location and a box is that locations represent the places where you would add another level of locations or put your boxes or containers with inventory items. Inside a location you can create both new locations and new boxes.
Inside a box, you can’t create new locations or boxes. You can only assign items to it.
You can define the dimensions of the box. No grid box has no positions specified and can represent i.e. a shelf in the closet or a carton box.
For a grid box, you define the number of rows and columns it has. This is then reflected by the visual representation of the box positions and allows more precise placement of inventory items.
You can tag a person using @ or smart annotate another object with # in the description field.
Assign inventory items to a box
When you have your locations and boxes created, you can assign inventory items to it either from the box side or from the item card directly. You can do this by clicking on the specific box position or on the Assign item button.
Another way to add items to a box is by simply importing a list of existing inventory items.
Removing items from the box is done by simply selecting the items you want to remove and clicking the Unassign button in the bottom toolbar.
You can also move an item to another location or position with the Move action.
Share, move and duplicate a location
The first level of location structure can be shared across teams in SciNote which helps with cases when you have a shared storage space.
You can also move a location or the whole box of items to another location if you want to reorganize your storage space.
If you have two identical freezers, simply create the structure for one and duplicate it to get another one with the same location hierarchy. The items placed inside boxes are not duplicated.
Edit or add item location on the Item card
You can also update item locations directly from the item card. Simply open the item card, navigate to the new Location section and assign a new location or remove existing ones. By clicking on the box name, you’ll jump directly to see the whole box.
Learn more about the new add-on in the knowledge base.
Other improvements in this release:
- Inventories are now split into items and locations.
- Improved loading speed of inventories.
- The system remembers result collapse/expand state.
- Improvements for SAML SSO setup.
- Improved warning about the consequences of un-sharing inventories.
- You can now generate and revoke an API key on the My profile page.
- Other small improvements and bug fixes.
Release 9th of October 2024
CORE 1.36.2.2 [SciNote FREE]
This SciNote Free release includes some of the updates that were released from
CORE 1.34.0.2 to CORE 1.36.2.1 [SciNote Premium].
Check out the list of updates and materials to learn more:
- Global search improvements
- Improved import to inventories
- Updated add-ons page
- Renaming and duplicating files
- Other small improvements and bug fixes
Release 11th of September 2024
CORE 1.36.2.1 [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes a set of smaller improvements and bug fixes.
Improvements:
- Hybrid e-signing of tasks with SSO and user credentials when both are enabled.
- Restriction on opening executables via SciNote Edit.
- Security improvements and updates.
Release August 28th, 2024
CORE 1.36.2. [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes a few technical updates.
Release August 14th, 2024
CORE 1.36.1. [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes an updated Add-ons page and a set of smaller improvements.
Overview of all available add-ons and integrations
We improved the Add-ons page accessible in the Settings menu. It provides you an overview of all add-ons, applications and integrations available in SciNote.
You can manage add-on settings for those that require it (if you have the permissions to manage them) along with the materials to read more and an “Upgrade” button for add-ons that are not yet enabled in your SciNote account.
Shortcut for inserting content on Protocol steps & Task results
You can now add content to Protocol steps and Task results also via the new toolbar that is available below protocol steps and results after third content block is inserted into any one step or result.
Using this, you’ll no longer need to scroll up past long blocks of existing content to insert new content blocks.
Other improvements:
- The disabled Share button on Tasks is now visible even if task sharing is not yet enabled within the SciNote team. Enabling task sharing still first requires a team owner to enable this via the team settings page. Read more about this in this article.
- Improved behavior for automatic column mapping in the Import items function.
- Inventory storage locations (item locations) feature announcement.
Release July 24th, 2024
CORE 1.36.0. [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes improvements to the Import inventory items function and a set of smaller improvements and bug fixes.
Improved Import items function in Inventories
Exciting news! We improved the import function in Inventories to include the often-requested ability to update existing items via import. There are also many other improvements to the import function.
Ensuring the correct import data structure
1. For easier inventory item data preparation, we added two options that will help you prepare the correct import file format:
- An Export all items button to export a file with the current inventory items’ data. This is practical when updating existing items to ensure you’re working on the latest data and preserving a current snapshot of the inventory.
- A Download inventory template button exports a file with all the column headers from your selected inventory. Using this template, simply add your item data to this file, and it will already have the structure needed for a seamless import.
Every inventory export file now includes a new Instruction sheet explaining how to prepare the files for import when adding new items and bulk updating existing inventory items in SciNote.
2. When you have your file ready, you can now simply drag and drop it to the blue square to import.
3. You can access the item import guide by clicking the “Help” button.
Automatic mapping of columns
After you import a file, SciNote will automatically map the columns by matching column names from your imported file with the ones in your SciNote inventory. Review the mapped columns and confirm to continue with the import changes.
If you want, you can unselect the Auto-mapping function and map the columns manually instead.
Matched columns that are set to import are marked with a check mark symbol and those that will not import are shown with an X symbol in the Status column.
Import preview
You can now do a final review of the imported data using the new Import preview window. This preview displays pending changes resulting from the imported file.
The preview indicates in green which items are newly added and/or which will be updated after clicking import.
Any detected errors are marked in red (e.g., items with the same or a nonexistent Item ID in the file, items with no Name, etc.). These items/rows will be automatically omitted, and you can still import the other data.
If you have unchanged or archived items in the file, they will be marked in black (the default color).
IMPORTANT: Please note that when bulk updating items via import, the data in your import file will override the existing data in your SciNote inventory! This action can’t be undone. We recommend exporting your current inventory data beforehand in case you need to revert any changes.
Learn more about the new inventory items import in the knowledge base.
We made a few other inventory-related improvements:
- The system-generated columns “Updated by” and “Updated on” are now available in inventories. You can set their visibility in the Manage columns window.
- New .xslx file format option when exporting items and entire inventories.
- Importing negative amounts to number and stock columns is now allowed.
- In .xslx file format, all date and time column types are now exported in the format dd-mmm-yyyy hh:mm:ss. This doesn’t affect your personal date/time formatting settings in SciNote.
- Inventory exports are now excluded from the daily limit of exports.
Other improvements in this release:
- The system remembers step collapse/expand state.
- The system remembers applied sorting of the task results.
- Enhanced responsiveness of Task Protocol section improving accessibility of buttons on small screens.
- Improvements in step and result files action buttons visibility.
- Updated Create new task window on the Dashboard.
- Enabled assigning one inventory item to multiple tasks at once from the inventory.
- Improved activity and audit trail display for deleted Task results.
- Other small improvements and bug fixes.
Release June 12th, 2024
CORE 1.35.0. [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes a set of smaller improvements and bug fixes to enhance your user experience.
Renaming and duplicating files
You can now rename and duplicate files attached to Protocol steps and Task results. Access these options from the three dots menu for each file. Edits are tracked in activities and audit trails.
Commenting on locked tasks
Users with our compliance add-on can now opt-in to allow commenting on locked Tasks, Protocol steps and Task results.
Organization administrators can enable this feature from the Organization page. By default, commenting on locked tasks is disabled.
Update for the Templates project
The project “Templates” with examples of Experiments and Tasks, which is by default available in SciNote, will now be named “SciNote Examples”. This change will only affect newly created teams and new customers.
Other improvements:
- Reintroduction of the task results counter
- Improved display of activities for deleted results in Task activities
Bug fixes:
- Fixed issue with special characters in Global search (characters like -:!()|>&)
- Fixed issue with finding Global search matches in tables, well plates and files
Release May 29th, 2024
CORE 1.34.0.2 [SciNote Premium]
Enhanced Global Search Functionality
We are excited to announce we’ve improved searching capabilities in SciNote. These improvements support the findability aspect of the FAIR principles, ensuring that your data is easily discoverable and accessible within your SciNote instance (see additional information in SciNote’s knowledge base).
The search bar functionality at the top each SciNote page, where you are able to search through everything you have in SciNote, received the following key additions and improvements:
- Enhanced speed and performance
- New quick search results
- New search filtering options
- Support for Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) and double quotes
- Improved search results page
Quick search results display
As you type your search query, the system now displays five instant search results beneath the search field. This enables you to preview relevant matches in real-time, helping you find your most recently searched entries on the fly. Additionally, we added three quick filters, “Experiments”, “Tasks” and “Task results” at the top of the window for narrowing the quick search results.
Search filtering options
We’ve introduced a range of powerful search filtering options to provide greater control over the global search results that are relevant to you.
You can now filter search results based on the following criteria by:
- object Type, Created Date and Updated Date, Team (if you are member of more than one team), User, and you can choose to include or exclude Archived objects.
These filters allow you to refine your search queries and pinpoint the exact information you’re seeking. Global search will pull results from across all your selected teams and according to your set access permissions across project work.
New support for Boolean operators and quotes in global search
To enhance precision in search queries, SciNote now supports Boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT, enabling you to combine multiple search terms effectively. Boolean operators can be used in upper or lowercase.
Additionally, enclosing search terms within double quotes (“like this”) allows you to narrow results to only exact matches, ensuring more accurate search outcomes. Apply Boolean operators and quotes directly in the global search tool, individually or in combination.
Search results page improvements
We’ve restructured the search results page to provide a clearer and more organized overview of results matches to your queries.
After typing in a search and hitting enter, search results can now be categorized by data object type, such as: tasks, inventory items, protocol templates, and more, allowing for easier navigation and locating relevant content.
Applying a filter by type will display relevant search results for only the selected type. You can change your search query and filtering parameters directly on the search results page.
Recent search history
The system now displays a history of your five most recent queries. This ensures that you can easily re-access previous search terms and results without having to re-enter them manually.
Other improvements:
- Warning for unsaved changes in Experiment workflow edit mode (Canvas view)
- Resolved issue with project exports
- Other small improvements and bug fixes
Release May 22nd, 2024
CORE 1.33.0. [SciNote FREE]
This SciNote Free release includes some of the updates that were released from CORE 1.29.4 to CORE 1.33.0 [SciNote Premium].
Check out the list of updates and materials to learn more:
- SciNote Edit app, allowing you to edit files saved in SciNote using the files’ native desktop software (learn more)
- Editable inventory item card
- Improved view of Projects, Inventories, and Reports (read more)
- Notification system updates
- Other small improvements and bug fixes
Release May 8th, 2024
CORE 1.33.0. [SciNote Premium]
This release of SciNote Premium includes Single sign-on improvements and a few small improvements.
Single sign-on (SSO) improvements
Exciting news! We expanded our Single sign-on (SSO) offerings to include two additional providers. Choose between Microsoft Azure AD, OpenID Connect, SAML and Okta.
You can now easily set up and configure the SSO you are using in your company on the enhanced Organization page. Plus, enjoy the added convenience of signing tasks using SSO for a streamlined workflow (see instructions in SciNote’s knowledge base).
Small improvements and bug fixes
- Smart annotation window loading speed improvement
- Fixed error with printing default labels
- Security related improvements
Release April 17th, 2024
CORE 1.32.0.2 [SciNote Premium]
This release of SciNote Premium includes a set of small improvements and bug fixes.
Small improvements
- A team owner can remove themselves from the team as long as at least one other owner remains.
- When creating label templates, you can now choose to insert an inventory name.
Bug fixes
- PDF report generation fix
- Dropdown column type display issue fix
- Protocol template publishing issues fix
- Experiment description formatting issue fix
- Security related improvements
Release April 3rd, 2024
CORE 1.32.0 [SciNote Premium]
This release of SciNote Premium includes some great improvements to make your user experience even better!
Improved View of Projects, Inventories, Labels and Reports
The revamped table view includes:
- Custom column visibility: Users now have the ability to tailor the visibility of columns to their specific needs. This feature allows users to hide or show individual columns based on their preferences, streamlining the display of information and enabling a more personalized viewing experience. With custom column visibility, users can focus on the most relevant data while reducing clutter and optimizing their workflow.
- Resize and rearrange columns: With this feature, users can adjust the width of columns to better fit their content, ensuring optimal readability and usability. Additionally, users have the flexibility to rearrange columns according to their workflow preferences, allowing them to prioritize the display of key information. This enhancement empowers users to customize their table view for maximum efficiency and ease of use.
- Pin or unpin columns: This functionality enables users to “pin” specific columns in place, ensuring they remain visible even when scrolling horizontally through the table. By pinning columns, users can maintain easy access to important information without losing sight of it as they navigate through the table. Conversely, users can also unpin columns to restore them to their default position, providing flexibility in managing the display of data within the table.
Upgraded table view applies to:
- Projects, Experiments, and Tasks
- Inventories
- Protocol and Label templates
- Reports
Improved “Manage tags” modal
With the recent revamp of the table view, we’ve also made significant upgrades to the manage tags modal. This enhancement ensures a smoother and more streamlined experience when working with tags. Now, users can effortlessly add or remove selected tag(s) to tasks directly from the modal interface. Additionally, the process of creating and deleting tags has been revamped to be more intuitive, allowing users to efficiently manage their tag system with greater ease and clarity.
Other improvements
- New notification when changing Team access roles on a Projects
You can easily manage notifications in My preferences. By aligning notifications with specific activities, you can enjoy a more tailored and focused notification experience. - Shortcut for “Add new step (+)” after the last step
Easily add new steps with the shortcut “Add new step (+)” placed after the last created step. - Enhanced appearance of Project folders in Card view
Project folders in Card view now have an improved appearance and access actions positioned directly on the folder without needing to navigate through the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. - Warning for unsaved changes in Task workflow edit mode (Canvas view)
Even when leaving Task workflow in Canvas view with unsaved changes, warning is now there to remind you about it and decrease the chance for lost data. - Advanced inventory filter for Item relationships added
You can use the advanced inventory filter to streamline the management of item relationships.
Bug fixes
- Date & Time column settings are now retained when applied in the item card view.
- Issue resolved where the person assigning the task was inaccurately recorded as the consumer in the stock consumption ledger.
- Various minor bug fixes implemented to enhance overall system stability.
Release February 21st, 2024
CORE 1.31.0 [SciNote Premium]
SciNote Edit – file check-in / check-out system
We are introducing SciNote Edit, our new file check-in/check-out system. This application allows you to open files attached to SciNote and edit it in your local desktop application. Edits will be saved directly back to SciNote.
To benefit from it, begin by installing the SciNote Edit application on your computer.
The SciNote Edit local application can be downloaded from the SciNote web application. Simply navigate to Settings > Add-ons and click the download button to initiate the installation process. The application is available for both Windows and MacOS.
After you complete the installation, you will see a new option called “Open in [Application Name]” available within files attached to Task Protocol steps and results. When you select this option, the attached file will be opened in the native desktop application installed on your computer.
Any modifications made to the file within the native application will be saved back to SciNote. This system provides a direct connection between the SciNote web platform and your desktop environment, ensuring that changes made to files are directly recorded within SciNote.
For detailed instructions on utilizing SciNote Edit, please refer to our knowledge base article.
Quartzy
SciNote is now integrated with Quartzy, an inventory management and e-commerce platform for tracking, managing order requests and buying lab supply.
With this integration, you can access your Quartzy inventories directly in SciNote, and assign/refer to Quartzy inventory items in SciNote. This integration is included in all premium plans.
Once setup, your Quartzy data will be automatically synced into a dedicated Quartzy inventory in the SciNote Inventories section.
Assign Quartzy items to tasks, tag them using # and link with other inventory items in SciNote using item relationships feature (if enabled).
Org admin can setup the Quartzy – SciNote integration from the add-ons page in SciNote (see instructions in SciNote’s knowledge base). You can also learn more about Quartzy and its integration with SciNote in our latest blog post.
Other improvements
- The “Move” option is now available when more than one task or experiment is selected.
- Text extraction from uploaded files has been enhanced, leading to improved search results.
- The issue of being able to copy only one table cell at a time has been resolved.
- Improved field codes behavior inside the Label templates when special characters are used in inventory column names.
- Other small improvements and bug fixes.
Release February 19th, 2024
API 1.30.0 [SciNote Premium]
New API V2 Endpoints
We’re pleased to announce the addition of the following endpoints to API V2:
- Protocol Steps
- Step Checklists
- Step Checklist Items
- Step Tables
- Step Texts
- Attachments
- Task Results
- Result Attachments
- Result Tables
- Result Texts
These enhancements are a direct result of updated database relations, expanding the functionality and capabilities of our API.
Transition to V2
As a consequence of these updates, existing endpoints are now deprecated. We strongly advise developers to transition to the V2 endpoints to ensure uninterrupted functionality and to mitigate any potential issues upon the deprecation of legacy endpoints. The deprecation of these endpoints is scheduled for EOY 2024.
For more information, please refer to our API documentation.
Release January 24th, 2024
CORE 1.30.0 [SciNote Premium]
New feature: Item Relationships
We are excited to announce the Item Relationships, a valuable addition to SciNote inventories. This new functionality allows you to link and group inventory items, streamlining the tracking of interconnected items.
Key benefits of the Item Relationships feature:
- Improved organization
Enhance the overall organization of your inventory items for easier management and navigation through datasets. The display facilitates a quick understanding of connections between samples. - Enhanced linage tracking
Track lineage effectively, a crucial aspect for creating various sub-samples. - Grouping reagents and samples
Apply Item relationships in various scenarios, offering flexibility in handling different types of inventory items. For instance, group reagents as families and manage individual sub-items as batches, gaining control over inventory management processes.
New Relationships section in editable item card
The Item Relationships feature is now integrated into your inventories, visible in both the inventory table and the item card. The dedicated Relationships section within the item card allows you to view and manage parent-child connections.
Managing the Relationships column
Users with the Item Relationships feature will find the new column automatically available in the Inventory table, though initially hidden. To reveal the Relationships column, click “Manage columns” within the inventory table and unhide it.
For detailed instructions on utilizing this feature, please refer to our knowledge base article, or check out the walkthrough video provided.
30-day FREE trial period
Experience the benefits of the Item Relationships feature with a complimentary 30-day trial period for SciNote Premium users, which begins on January 24, 2024.
For feature details or inquiries, please feel free to contact us.
Other improvements:
- Resolved issue related to the presentation of images in exported projects.
- Other small improvements and bug fixes
Release January 10th, 2024
CORE 1.29.6 [SciNote Premium]
This SciNote Premium release includes a set of smaller improvements and bugfixes to enhance your user experience.
Improvements:
- Extended permissions for shared Tasks.
Viewer and Technician user roles can now access shared task links. They can’t manage task sharing, but can copy and share the link to facilitate collaborative efforts. - An additional well plate option.
An additional 12 well plate option is added in Insert step option. - Optimized default view settings.
The default view on newly created Project and Experiment pages is now set to “Table view,” streamlining navigation and improving user interface consistency.
Note: Settings for already created Projects and Experiments remain unchanged.
Bug fixes:
- Various smaller bug fixes have been implemented to address issues and improve overall system stability.
SciNote Reviews
Connect with us
SciNote Newsletter
Receive SciNote ELN news, webinars and articles.