Author: Chris
-
How to reset the sequence numbering when working with a subsection from a larger sequence
When you copy a section from a long sequence and paste it into a new MacVector window, the original numbering from the original sequence is retained. This is very useful if you want to work on a shorter segment of a genome without losing the original numbering. However, sometimes it is preferable to have the…
-
Organising your sequences using Smart Folders
OS X’s Finder has many features for quickly finding and working with your files. Spotlight Search is one such tool that most Mac users are familiar with. However, Smart Folders is a tool that is very useful but often overlooked. Smart Folders allow you to create a dynamic folder whose contents are derived from a…
-
How to increase the number of graphics levels to stop features overlapping.
MacVector tries to optimize the Map graphics layout using a trade-off between performance and minimizing unnecessary white space. Sometimes the default settings we have chosen are not ideal, particularly if you are looking at the Map tab of an Align To Reference window where you have a large number of reads overlapping the same region.…
-
Know Your Alignments
We often get asked “how do I do an alignment” using MacVector? Well, the answer to that is always “it depends”, and it depends on what you want to learn about your sequence(s). Here’s a quick summary of the different types of alignments and what you would use them for: Multiple Sequence Alignment (File |…
-
Importing sequences/features from websites such as ENSEMBL or UCSC’s Genome Browser
Many Genome Browsers/databases allow you to browse and view genomes, or a specific gene/region, with a high degree of detail. For example ENSEMBL and the UCSC Genome Browser. However, many times you want to work with that data on your own Mac. As usual the easiest way to exchange sequence data is using the Genbank…
-
How to reset the zoom level when you Drag Zoom into your sequence.
Being able to Drag Zoom makes it easy to view a specific region of your sequence in greater detail. To Drag Zoom, just hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor along your sequence. The Map view will redraw to show the selected area in greater detail. Once you are zoomed in you have…
-
Generating a primer report to send to your Oligo Synthesis service
QuickTest Primer is a great tool for primer design. Paired with Primer Design/Test (Pairs) it gives you great control and flexibility for designing primers with tails, mismatches, silent mutations, one out sites and more. Once you’ve designed your primer the next step is to get it synthesized. QuickTest Primer will produce a PDF report of…
-
Selecting sequence residues in the Map tab
The Map tab is very flexible and allows you to do almost all of the sequence manipulations you might need, without switching tabs. In addition to selecting segments of a sequence by clicking on Restriction Enzyme sites or Features, you can also directly select sequence even when the residues are not visible and represented by…
-
ASM Microbe 2016
The MacVector team will be in Boston next week (16-20 June) for ASM Microbe 2016. We’re looking forward to visiting Boston again. It’s a great city. We’re on booth 441. Please do drop by and say hello. We’ll be able to show you the upcoming release of MacVector 15 and MacVector for Windows. There’ll probably…
-
Testing pairs of primers
Quite a few versions back MacVector used to have an old, but well loved, Test PCR Primer Pairs algorithm. Its interface was clunky and it did not take into account modern algorithms for calculating Tm. However, the results were useful. If you liked this tool then you will be pleased to know that the functionality…