Input plates are where your liquid(s) start the workflow. For example, if you start with some liquids in tubes, the tubes would be the input plates.
There are two ways Synthace deals with input plates:
Liquids are defined in a specific location of an input plate.
Liquids are defined without a specific input plate.
For liquids defined in a specific input plate location...
In your Define Liquids and Plates element, you must provide both the input plate type and well location for each liquid you are defining.
If you use the table editor, for each liquid row, these four columns—plate name, plate type, location, and volume —need to be completely filled in.
If you enter a value under the Plate Type column, you need to specify a well location (e.g. A1, B4, etc.). For tubes, this is always "A1."
For liquids defined without a specific input plate...
Leave the Plate Name, Plate Type, Location, and Volume columns blank. Synthace will calculate the total volume needed for each liquid (based on the downstream elements in the workflow) and then choose the best input plate to use.
However, you must define the list of input plates Synthace can choose from. This list is found in the Workflow Settings (click the cog at the bottom of the screen next to your device). Under Input Plate Types, add as many plates as you want. Synthace will use this list to decide the optimal input plate for each liquid.
Synthace will warn you if you do not add any plates to this list. If you do not add any input plates to the list, you must add an input plate and well location for each liquid in the Define Liquids and Plates element.
