MacVectorTip: Sign up for an NCBI API key to speed up BLAST results

MacVector has a very cool BLAST Map results tab that displays the annotations surrounding any hits from the selected database. Particularly if you are working with prokaryotic sequences, where most BLAST hits these days are to genome sequences. This can really help you see the context of your hits, and let you download just the […]

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How to change the default appearance of features

If you download a sequence from Entrez, or open a sequence that is not in MacVector format, MacVector assigns a default appearance to any features on the sequence. For example, CDS features are shown as a blue arrow with a Helvetica 9 point font label. With the advent of ultra high resolution displays, you may […]

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Download the latest published version of your favorite sequence with its accession number

It’s very quick to download the latest version of a sequence if you know its accession number. When you start working with a new sequence, it’s the best place to start. Go to DATABASE > ENTREZ Enter the accession number of your favorite sequence Click SEARCH Double click on the result to open up your […]

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IMPORTANT SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Entrez and BLAST services will stop working in November for MacVector 15.0.3 and earlier.

UPDATE – November 8, 2016 – Although the official switch off date is not until Wednesday the 9th, Entrez and BLAST are NOT currently working from MacVector 15.0.3 and earlier. We suspect this change is now permanent. UPDATE – November 7, 2016 – We have just been notified by the NCBI that they will be […]

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Using Blast and Entrez in MacVector with a proxy server

Blast and Entrez connect to the NCBI server using the normal “http” ports (exactly the same as if it was a web browser). If a web browser can access the NCBI’s server then MacVector should be able to. The address for the Blast server is: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/blast/Blast.cgi However, if you get the following error message then […]

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