• LabKey Server
• Sample Manager
• Biologics

LabKey Server

Data Types

• The Text Choice data type lets admins define a set of expected text values for a field. (docs)
• The field editor allows more flexibility in changing the data type of a field. (docs)

Samples

• Sample naming patterns are validated during sample type definition. (docs)
• See and set the value of the "genId" counter for naming patterns. (docs)
• Sample status types and values are exported and imported with folder archives, when the sampleManagement module is present. (docs)
• Linking samples to studies has become more flexible:
• Use any names for fields of the "Subject/Participant" and "VisitID/VisitDate" types. (docs)
• The subject and visit fields may be defined as properties of the sample itself, or can be defined on the parent sample. (docs)

Assays

• Administrators can require that users enter a comment when changing the QC state of an assay run. (docs)

Flow Cytometry

• If Samples are defined at the project level, they can be referenced from Flow subfolders without having to redefine new local copies. (docs) (Also available in version 21.11.1.)

LabKey SQL

• Support for NULLIF() has been added. (docs)

Study

• Queries can be included when you publish a study. (docs)

Folder and Study Archives

• Import and reload from "study archives" is no longer supported. (A study archive is a zip file or a collection of individual files with study.xml at the root; LabKey stopped exporting study archives 10 years ago.) Use folder archives to export/import/reload studies and other LabKey objects and data. (docs)
• The elements supported in study and dataset XML files have changed. (docs)
• In study.xml, the "<lists>", "<queries>", "<reports>", "<views>", and "<missingValueIndicators>" elements are no longer allowed. These elements belong in the folder.xml file.
• In datasets_manifest.xml, the "defaultDateFormat" and "defaultNumberFormat" attributes are no longer allowed. These were moved many years ago to the folder.xml file.
• In datasets_manifest.xml, the "<categories>" element is no longer allowed. This was replaced many years ago by a separate viewCategories.xml file.
• Categories are now exported in any folder archive; previously they were only included when exporting from study folders. (docs)

Administration

• Linked schemas now grant the Reader role only within the source container. (docs)
• View raw schema metadata for assistance in troubleshooting external data connections. (docs)
• Administrators can substitute server property values into the server name shown on page headers. (docs)
• The Project Creator role lets users without full site administrator access invoke an API to create projects. (docs)
• Set a Content-Security-Policy for your Tomcat installation using a new filter in the bootstrap jar. (docs)
• Show alert highlighting when the clock on the database and server differ by more than 10 seconds. (docs)

DataFinder

• The DataFinder module has been enhanced to support partial word searching, custom publication facets and reordering of facets, and multiple data finders on a single server. Several unused publication facets have been removed. (docs) (Also available in version 21.11.4)

Panorama

• Configure which peptide groups and small molecules are shown in plots, so that you can focus on the most relevant ones. (docs)
• Set the default view for QC plots for providing customized and consistent views to users. (docs)
• Improvements to Reproducibility Report: Select either light/heavy ratio or peak areas. (docs)
• Performance of AutoQC plots has been improved.
• Panorama is available only with Premium Editions of LabKey Server through the Panorama Partners Program.

Ontologies

• The standard insert and update forms now support type ahead filtering for quick input into ontology lookup fields. (docs)

Premium Resources

• Premium Resource: Change the Encryption Key

Distribution Changes and Upgrade Notes

• Panorama is available only with Premium Editions of LabKey Server through the Panorama Partners Program. It is no longer included in the Community Edition.
• Please contact us if you are interested in joining the Panorama Partners.
• Mass Spectrometry Support (protein database search workflows provided by LabKey Server's MS2 module) has been removed from the Community Edition and is available only with Premium Editions of LabKey Server.
• Redshift external datasources are now supported in all Premium Editions of LabKey Server. Previously they were only provided as an add-on or in the Professional or Enterprise Editions.
• Rotation of labkey.log and other log files now uses naming consistent with labkey-errors.log. The most recently rotated copy of labkey.log is now named labkey.log.1 instead of labkey.log.7. (docs)
• Our upgrade support policy now reflects annual schema versioning. You may need to perform an intermediate upgrade in order to upgrade to version 22.3. For details, see our LabKey Releases and Upgrade Support Policy page.
• Upgrade Performance: In order to expand the long-term capacity of audit log tables, event table rowIDs have been changed from integer to bigInt. Depending on the size of your audit logs, the audit module upgrade step can take considerable time and disk space. Be patient and alert for settings like Tomcat timeouts and available disk space that may need adjustment for this one time upgrade action to complete. (details)

Backwards Compatibility Notes

• Support for importing study archives has been removed. Use folder archives instead. Review the Folder and Study Archive section above for details about changes to elements supported in some XML metadata files.
• If a query has a syntax error or metadata problem, LABKEY.Query.validateQuery() (and its related bindings in other client API languages) now uses a 200 HTTP status code to convey the information. Previously, it used a 400 or 500 status code, so callers may need to update their success/failure handlers accordingly.
• LabKey no longer accepts the JSESSIONID in place of the CSRF token. All POST requests must include a CSRF token. (docs)

Upcoming Dependency Changes

• Beginning with version 22.4 (April 2022), support for Java 16 will be removed. Before upgrading, Java will need to be upgraded to a supported version of JDK 17.
• Beginning with version 22.6 (June 2022), support for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 as the primary database will be removed. Before upgrading, your database will need to be upgraded to a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server.

Developer Resources

• Links to Current API Resources

Sample Manager

Sample Manager Release Notes listing features by monthly version.

• Sample Finder: Find samples based on source and parent properties, giving users the flexibility to locate samples based on relationships and lineage details. (docs)
• Redesigned main dashboard featuring storage information and prioritizing what users use most. (docs)
• Updated freezer overview panel and dashboards present storage summary details. (docs)
• Available freezer capacity is shown when navigating freezer hierarchies to store, move, and manage samples. (docs | docs)
• Storage labels and descriptions give users more ways to identify their samples and storage units. (docs)
• New Storage Editor and Storage Designer roles, allowing admins to assign different users the ability to manage freezer storage and manage sample and assay definitions. (docs)
• Note that users with the "Administrator" and "Editor" role no longer have the ability to edit storage information unless they are granted one of these new storage roles.
• Multiple permission roles can be assigned to a new user at once. (docs)
• Sample Type Insights panel summarizes storage, status, etc. for all samples of a type. (docs)
• Sample Status options are shown in a hover legend for easy reference. (docs)
• When a sample is marked as "Consumed", the user will be prompted to also change it's storage status to "Discarded" (and vice versa). (docs | docs)
• Search menu includes quick links to search by barcode or sample ID. (docs)
• A new Text Choice data type lets admins define a set of expected text values for a field. (docs)
• Naming patterns are validated during sample type definition, and example names are visible to users creating new samples or aliquots. (docs)
• Editable grids include visual indication when a field offers dropdown choices. (docs)
• Add freezer storage units in bulk. (docs)
• User-defined barcodes can be included in Sample Type definitions as text or integer fields and are scanned when searching samples by barcode. (docs | docs)
• If any of your Sample Types include samples with only strings of digits as names, these could have overlapped with the "rowIDs" of other samples, producing unintended results or lineages. With this release, such ambiguities will be resolved by assuming that a sample name has been provided. (docs)
• The "Sample Count by Status" graph on the main dashboard now shows samples by type (in bars) and status (using color coding). Click through to a grid of the samples represented by each block. (docs)
• Grids that may display multiple Sample Types, such as picklists, workflow tasks, etc. offer tabs per sample type, plus a consolidated list of all samples. This enables actions such as bulk sample editing from mixed sample-type grids. (picklists | tasks | sources)
• Improved display of color coded sample status values. (docs)
• Include a comment when updating storage amounts or freeze/thaw counts. (docs)
• Workflow tasks involving assays will prepopulate a grid with the samples assigned to the job, simplifying assay data entry. (docs)

Biologics

Biologics release notes listing features by monthly version.

• Notebook Entry Locking and Protection: Users are notified if someone else is already editing a notebook entry and prevented from accidentally overwriting their work. (docs)
• Copy and paste from Google Sheets or Excel to add a table to a notebook. (docs)
• Redesigned main dashboard featuring storage information. (docs)
• Updated freezer overview panel and dashboards present storage summary details. (docs)
• Available freezer capacity is shown when navigating freezer hierarchies to store, move, and manage samples. (docs | docs)
• Storage labels and descriptions give users more ways to identify their samples and storage units. (docs)
• Mixture import improvement: choose between replacing or appending ingredients added in bulk. (docs)
• Find notebooks easily based on a variety of filtering criteria. See your own ELN task status(es) at a glance. (docs)
• Users will see progress feedback for background imports being processed asynchronously. (docs)
• New Storage Editor and Storage Designer roles, allowing admins to assign different users the ability to manage freezer storage and manage sample and assay definitions. (docs)
• Note that users with the "Administrator" and "Editor" role no longer have the ability to edit storage information unless they are granted these new storage roles.
• Sample Type Insights panel summarizes storage, status, etc. for all samples of a type. (docs)
• Sample Status options are shown in a hover legend for easy reference. (docs)
• When a sample is marked as "Consumed", the user will be prompted to also change it's storage status to "Discarded" (and vice versa). (docs | docs)
• Search menu includes quick links to search by barcode or sample ID. (docs)
• ELN improvements:
• Tables pasted into an ELN will be reformatted to fit the page width. Users can adjust the display before exporting or finalizing the notebook. (docs)
• Printing to PDF includes formatting settings including portrait/landscape and fit-to-page. (docs)
• Comments on Notebooks will send email notifications to collaborators with more detail. (docs)
• A new Text Choice data type lets admins define a set of expected text values for a field. (docs)
• Naming patterns are validated during sample type definition, and example names are visible to users creating new samples or aliquots. (docs)
• User-defined barcodes can be included in Sample Type definitions as text or integer fields and are scanned when searching samples by barcode. (docs | docs)
• Editable grids include visual indication when a field offers dropdown choices. (docs)
• Add freezer storage units in bulk (docs)
• If any entities are named using only digits as names, these could create ambiguities if overlapped with the "rowIDs" of other entities, producing unintended results or lineages. With this release, such ambiguities will be resolved by assuming a name has been provided. (docs)
• Freezer Management for Biologics: Create a virtual match of your physical storage system, and then track sample locations, availability, freezer capacities, and more. (docs)
• Learn more in the Sample Manager documentation here: Freezer Management
• Samples can be gathered on user-curated picklists to assist in many bulk actions. (docs)
• Workflow job sample lists, and other grid views containing samples of different types, offer tabs for viewing all the samples of each individual type as well as a consolidated tab showing all samples. (docs)
• When a workflow job includes samples, tasks that import assay data will auto-populate the assigned samples. (docs)
• Additional formatting options available for electronic lab notebooks, including special characters. (docs)

The symbol indicates a feature available in a Premium Edition of LabKey Server.

The symbols indicate an additional feature available with the Panorama Partners Program

Previous Release Notes: Version 21.11