General Questions

There are two possible causes for forms to fill the whole page or look weird. Both are generally easy to fix.

The first case is that the form takes up all of the Access window and is a result of a common error. Itis caused by Maximizing the current window using the control found in the upper right of every Windows window (see figure immediately below). This is most commonly seen when using Print Preview to view an Access Report and then zooming in to enlarge it and then forgetting to Restore [it] Down (shwon in second image below). it. This can happen with any Access form so make sure you Restore after Maximizing!

The second case is a little more complicated, but is still easy to fix. Your forms, tables, etc. will show up as Tabs in the Access window. This make the many form look strange and hard to see their data . An example of tabbed Access windows are shown below.

To correct this, on the Access menu in the upper left (shown above) click on File and then on Options at the bottom left. In the Access Options form that opens (shown below), click on Current Database and change the setting for the Document Window Options from Tabbed Documents to Overlapping Windows. Click OK to return to Access.

Note you must Exit all Access programs and restart them to apply this change. You can restart by simply opening Enviro Data.

To use as an example to answer this question, a client asked: We report multiple different units and filtered analysis…e.g. the analysis is Chlorophyll, the filter is lab 0.22, the units are mg/L and then for the same station I also have a field 0.45 and units are mg/L for reporting OrthoP for the same station. How is that handled in Enviro Data.

In this scenario, a sample taken at a site and filtered in the field with a 0.45u filter, all these analyses would have the FilteredSampleCode of F45U. When the lab reports Chlorophyll back they would use a FilteredAnalysisCode of L22U (for Lab 0.22u). The OrthoP result would have its own FilteredAnalysisCode of TOT. The units for both would be whatever the lab reports. (See Filtered table below.) However, if the OrthoP sample was not filtered, it would be a different sample even though it was filtered in the lab. They obviously would not be the same Analysis since the Parameter is different.

Filtered lookup table.

Also, if these two samples did not all have the same criteria as shown in the unique index for the Samples, they would not be the same sample.

Criteria for a Unique Sample

Enviro Data identifies unique samples based on the station, sample date, sample matrix, sample top, duplicate sample, sample bottom, filtered sample, field sample ID, QC sample code and alternate sample ID fields as seen below. This allows the data administrator to import multiple samples related to one sampling event or make multiple imports of analyses from a given sampling event.

Fields used to define the Unique Index in the Samples Table.

Criteria for a Unique Analyses

Enviro Data identifies unique analyses based on sample number, parameter number, superseded, analytic method, leach method, report units, basis, filtered analyses code, QC analysis code and lab sample id fields as seen below. This allows the data administrator to import multiple analyses related to one sample or make multiple imports of analyses from a given sampling event. Re-analyses or analyses delivered at separate times are matched to the correct sample event by the import code using the unique fields listed above.

Fields used to define the Unique Index in the Analyses table.

There are several symbols used in the MS Access system (that Enviro Data is written in) that should not be used in your data fields. The use of these may cause errors because Access may treat them as actions or code to be acted on and can also cause problems with file names and paths. These symbols include:

. (period) This is OK when used as a decimal point but might cause problems elsewhere.
, (comma) This is generally not a problem but it depends on where it is. It can cause a problem in Site Name.
/ (forward slash)
\ (forward slash)
* (asterisk)
; (Semicolon)
: (colon)
! (exclamation point)
# (number, pound or hash tag)
& (ampersand)
- (dash) When used in numbers might result in subtraction. This is OK when used in site or stations names and other text.
? (question mark)
" (double quote or inches symbol)
' (single quote or foot symbol)
$ (dollar sign)
% (percent) This is acceptable for a reporting unit but within other data fields it is best spelled out.

Many times, a problem with Enviro Data can be traced to a problem with the computer itself. Below are some of the solutions to try when something does not seem right with your computer. While these may not solve your problem, they will not harm your computer. They only take a few minutes to run and rely on tools built into Office and Windows. We recommend you run them in the order shown. While these steps apply to all versions of Windows, the terminology may vary slightly from one version to another.

Note that we are assuming you are running an up-to-date antivirus and/or antimalware application.

If you are having a specific problem with Enviro Data, try these steps first.

1. Restarting usually solves most issues. Before restarting, make sure you have saved any settings or files you need. Note we are not talking about turning your computer's power off.
2. Click on Maintain Database and then click Clear Temporary Tables.
3. Close Enviro Data and then and open the database file you were attached to in Access then run "Compact and Repair*. This should only take a few minutes. Note that this step does not apply to databases on SQL Server.
4. Open both the EDITOR and VIEWER programs and run Compact and Repair in each from Access’ Database Tools menu.
5. Check to see if you are still having the problem. If so, continue below.
6. Check your hard drive to see how much free space you have available. It is recommended to have at least 10% free space. You can check this by opening the Windows Explorer in My Computer view (this will vary depending on the Windows version) and check to see how much space you have free on your hard drive(s). If you see a red bar, you need to move or delete some files to free up space. (If you cannot delete or move any files you may need to get a larger drive.) To help free up space run the Windows Disk Cleanup (CTRL-R and type in disk cleanup).
7. While still in Windows Explorer, right click on the C:\ drive and choose Properties then use the following steps. Click on the Tools tab. Click on Error checking and then click the Check button. You may see a warning; "You don’t need to scan this drive.” Do it anyway. This may only take a few minutes unless there are serious errors on your drive. (Repeat this for other drives as appropriate.)

We typically do not recommend reinstalling Enviro Data unless directed to by our Support staff.

If you are still having problems with Enviro Data after going through the above steps, send our Support section message and we will setup a Teams meeting to assist you.

* See Compact and Repair a database at Microsoft.com

It may be necessary for Geotech Support to have a sample, or subset, of your database in order to determine the issues you are encountering. A subset is a portion of your database in an Access (MDB) format from the Select Data query you used that replicates the issue.

Creating a subset of your database is very easy. Use the Select Data form with the data set used when you encountered the problem, click on Export and choose Enviro Data Access file (subset) and save the resulting database. Note that it must be compressed (zipped up) prior to sending to Geotech.

NAlso, when saving the subset database there cannot be any spaces in the file name or path to the folder where it is stored.

1. At the top left-hand corner click on File in the Access file menu.

2. Click on Options to open the Access Options form.

3. Make sure General is selected in the top left of the Access Options form. (See below)

4. Under Creating databases section, the Default database folder, click the browse and choose the folder you wish Enviro Data to open in.

5. Click OK to return to Enviro Data. You may have to restart Access for this to take effect. 

In most you should select the folder C:\Enviro\EData8 because you will need to access multiple folders in this one. However, you could also set it to C:\Enviro\EData8\Databases for attaching a database or C:\Enviro\EData8\Import or C:\Enviro\EData8\Export depending on your needs.

The Lab Master Service Agreement Tool or Lab MSA system helps project staff track laboratory invoices. The user sets up one or more master service agreements. The lab costs are entered by method, plus add-ons. When an electronic data deliverable file (EDD) is imported through the Import Wizard, the user can have the software create a record for the sample delivery group (SDG) and enter data in as many of the fields as possible. Each SDG also represents a laboratory invoice. From this, the invoice cost items can be calculated. Forms are provided for editing the SDG data during the import. The system calculates the costs for the samples and methods, and the user can add any lab add-ons. Two reports are provided, one for the MSA/invoice detail, with a similar appearance to a lab invoice, and another showing a list of invoices selected by date and site, along with their status.

To learn more please see the video instruction for the Enviro Data Lab Master Services Agreement Tool on our YouTube channel.

There are many ways to view or list data in Enviro Data. The Select Data form in the Viewer provides a Quick List, List, Report, Export and Graph buttons that produce a variety of output. In the Editor, you can list Sites, Stations, Samples and Analyses using these buttons and the Datasheet button. Additionally, the Manage Lookups form in the Editor provides a way to edit and view many of the lookup or valid values tables again using the Datasheet button on each of the forms.

Most of these lists, regardless of where they are found, can be modified by either right-clicking in any field header and changing the options or, by selecting one or more columns and dragging to change their order in the header. The screen shot below from Manage Lookups --> Parameters --> Datasheet shows the options available in lists.

There are multiple ways to store geologic data in Enviro Data.

You can assign geology and lithology to each physical sample in the Samples table and store these lookup values in their respective tables. This makes it easy to tie the geology to field and lab data.

You can also select a geologic unit for each station in the Stations table. This is generally used for the formation at the bottom of the hole for soil and similar borings, or the geologic unit of the screened interval for water wells.

Finally, in the Stations table you can store formation “tops” by location and independent from the samples. This probably better represents the actual site geology and allows you to enter the geologic column encountered at a Station location by depths. This could be (and often is) different from the geology of the samples and may be referred to as the site stratigraphy. You can do this in the form below from the EDITOR; click on Stations and then on the Geology tab as shown below.

The Map tool used a 32-bit add-on to create the mapping feature. It is still available iin current versions of Enviro Data but only when installed with 32-bit Office. Geotech is looking for a substitute that will supports both 32 and 64-bit Office. 

The Map feature allows you to display simple dot maps in Enviro Data without needing a separate mapping program. You will need a vector base map (such as a CAD drawing or a ShapeFile) and optionally a bitmap image. These should be entered on the Sites form for each site for which you want to make a map. You will also need coordinates in the Stations table that match those of the base map. Then select data for one parameter, click on Map at the bottom, answer the questions on the next two forms, and your map will be displayed. Additionally, to use a shapefile as the base map, export the shapefile to AutoCAD Release 14 format and use the resulting CAD file as the base map.

When you get a notice that no records were return when selecting data this usually means that the selection criteria you have entered on the SELECT DATA form did not result in any data being retrieved. On this form click on the Update button and see if there are records shown in the box next to it. If not, try changing the selection criteria.

Parameter Units are used by Enviro Data for comparison to regulatory limits and also the unit conversion feature. (Unit conversion allows you to determine the target units for a conversion during import or reporting.) You can associate one reporting unit or Parameter Unit for each combination of a parameter and matrix.

For use with Regulatory Limits, the Parameter Units (and the matrix) must be the same as the units (and matrix) of the limits you are checking against.

They are also used during import checking, the Validation module, and in some reports.

You can view and edit Parameter Units by going to the EDITOR's Setup section, clicking on Manage Lookups and then clicking on Parameters. This will open the PARAMETERS form seen below. You can select the parameter desired in the Go to Parameter dropdown. Both the Matrix and Parameter Units can be set by using dropdowns in the appropriate text box. Note that both the Matrix and Units chosen must be present in their appropriate lookup table.

 In order to have these work with your data, make sure you also set Unit Conversion in the Display Options form as shown below. 

There are over eighty lookup tables in Enviro Data that contain lists of "lookups" or valid values. Lookups, common to a relational database, can be used for parameter names, flags, units, etc. As such, they help interpret the data in the primary tables, and enforce data quality. Because they often change from project to project, they can be managed separately in each project database if needed. This makes it easy to customize a database for your specific project needs. Enviro Data gives you complete control of these lookup tables and you can customize them to suit the needs of each of your projects. Note that the lookups that come with Enviro Data should be considered suggestions.

Lookups can be edited using Manage Lookups form in the EDITOR shown below.

Note that most of this section also applies to Validation Flags that use a similar form and table structure.

Flag Codes are not required and generally are not checked to see if they present are in the Analytic Flags or ValidationFlags tables and Flags not in the Analytic Flags table may be ignored in ValueAndFlag formatting. Flags used in the Analyses.FlagCode field that are not in the Analytic Flags table can cause a problem when moving to a newer version of Enviro Data. This means you need to be extra careful when using them.

Analytical Flag Codes

A FlagCode is an analytical flag that describes the analysis.

It is important to understand that in Enviro Data there are two similar but different FlagCode fields, one in the AnalyticFlags lookup table and a different but similar one in the Analyses data table. The FlagCode field in the Analyses table contains one or more FlagCodes from the AnalyticFlags table. When multiple codes are used in the Analyses table, they must be separated by either a comma or a space.

AnalyticFlag in the Lookup Table

The FlagCode in AnalyticFlags table is a lookup that stores a single code of up to four characters and cannot contain any spaces or commas. The AnalyticFlags table stores the following:

• FlagCode is the code for a ONE Analytic Flag. It can contain multiple characters but cannot contain a space or comma.
• AnalyticFlag is description of the code.
• ReportingFactor is used as a multiplier for statistical analysis. Note that this can be impacted by selections in Non-Detect Options on the DISPLAY OPTIONS form.
• ReportingBasis indicates how display the output. See examples in Reporting Basis.

NOTE: Use Analytic Flags Table must be selected in the Detected Value Options and Same as Detected Values in the Non-detect Option on the Display/Graphing Options form as shown below for the Value and Flag field to be displayed in the ReportingBasis format in Reports or Exports.

Fig. 18 - Settings for Detected Value and Non-detect Options in Display/Graphing Options form.

• ReportingPriority determines the flag’s priority in formatting the value for output. The flag with the lowest number will determine the format. Note that ReportingPriority is an integer and only accepts whole numbers. See examples of this in Figure 21 and Figure 22.

Note the field Indicate Non-Detect was replaced by the DetectedResult field in the Analyses table after Version 2012.

To view the flag codes, open the ANALYTIC FLAGS form. This can be done either from the Edit Analytic Flags button on the Display Options form in the Viewer (shown on the screen shot above) or from Manage Lookups Analytic Flags button in the Editor. This form can be seen in Figure 19.

You can scroll through the Flag Codes by using the page control at the bottom left. You select how each Flag Codes displays using the ReportingFactor, Reporting Basis, and/or ReportingPriority options. (Note: Setting a flag as a detected or non-detected is no longer an option on this form. Use the DetectedResult field instead.)

Fig.19 - ANALYTIC FLAGS form in Form View

This table can also be edited in Datasheet View as shown in Figure 20, below, by clicking the Datasheet button.

Fig. 20 - ANALYTIC FLAGS form in Datasheet View

Note that the FlagCode or “Y”, and its description AnalyticFlag of “Calculate Value” is a required value because it is used in some calculations. Even if you are not doing any calculations, if this flag is not present, the ValueAndFlag field may not be displayed correctly.

Examples for Reporting Basis

FlagCode in the Analyses Table

The FlagCode in the Analyses data table can contain one of more analytic flags that are separated by spaces or commas. These are usually imported with your analytic results. They are not checked against the AnalyticFlag lookup table during an import.

• The order of the flags doesn’t matter, when being output to a report or export the program is only looking for the lowest ReportingPriority.
• You can have any number and combination of FlagCodes, up to the 25-character limit in the Analyses table.
• Commas or spaces always indicate that multiple FlagCodes are present.
• If the analysis is considered a usable value, and would not otherwise have a qualifier, this field can contain the code for Detected Value (usually a “v”).
• If the analytical flag is unknown, it may contain a “z” but this not required.
• The FlagCode field may be left blank if desired.

Example of Flag Code Usage

One example is if data is imported with FlagCode “U,B” which should indicatesa that the result is a not-detect and there was a problem with a blank. Because of the comma, these are two distinct qualifiers (flag codes). The AnalyticFlags table should have two records: one with FlagCode = “B”, and another record with FlagCode = “U”. It should NOT have a record for FlagCode = “U,B”. (Ignore all quote marks.)

Controlling How Data is Displayed

The formatting decisions that you make as described in this section are used for most types of output, so you should see the same result whether you are printing a report, exporting to Excel, or posting the data on a GIS map.
For reporting, Enviro Data uses the Reporting Factor and Reporting Basis entered below to format the display of the result. Where multiple Flag Codes are reported for a result, the Reporting Basis of the Flag Code with the lowest Reporting Priority is used to determine the format.

Here’s what happens when Enviro Data formats ValueAndFlag in SelectedData during an export.

1. The Value and Flag handling parses FlagCode from the SelectedData table (retrieved from Analyses) into its two separate flags (“B” and “U”) and sorts them by first ReportingPriority assigned to the code in the AnalyticFlags table, then alphabetically. If a code is not found in the AnalyticFlags table, that code is ignored.
2. The flag with the lowest ReportingPriority wins, and its ReportingBasis is used to format the result.
3. If both FlagCodes in the AnalyticFlag table have the same ReportingPriority, the code that appears first in the alphabet wins.

For example, you could display your non-detects with a "<" sign and the detection limit. Or you could display them as "ND" or " - ". But for results with a "J" flag, you could display the value followed by the flag. See examples in Table 1.

Note: The FlagCode “v” for “no code required” is generally automatically stripped out of exports and reports.

The Value and Flag function uses the Reporting Basis shown below in Table 1 for each character of the analysis FlagCode. It also finds the Reporting Factor from the AnalyticFlags table based on the first character of the analysis FlagCode. This factor is used to calculate the number displayed for non-detects, if that option is selected on the DISPLAY OPTIONS form.

Table 1- Examples of Value and Flag Formats

If there are multiple flags, i.e. b j, and you wish to print j in reports, use the Reporting Priority on the ANALYTIC FLAGS form to set the hierarchy determining which flag is used in the display. Again, if two or more flags are encountered, the flag having lowest Reporting Priority value is used. If two or more flags have the same Reporting Priority, then the priority is determined alphabetically.

An example of this is a analytical result with the FlagCode of “u,d” for undetected and diluted respectively. If the ReportingBasis for the “u” was “< and Detection Limit (Detect1) or Value” you would expect the Value and Flag field to be something like “< 0.06”.

However, if both have a ReportingPriority value of 1 in the AnalyticalFlag table, then the program would use the ReportingBasis of the “d” flag which does not contain a “<” so the results would not be formatted as a non-detect. See the examples in Figure 21 and Figure 22 below.

Fig. 21 - Value/Flag format where Reporting Priority for flag codes "u" and "d" are the same.

Fig. 22 - Value/Flag format where Reporting Priority of flag code "u" is 0 and for "d" is 1.

Note: If the Value/Flag is not displaying correctly after checking all of the above, check Parameter Units to see if it is set correctly for the parameter(s) in question.

There are multiple reasons why trailing zeros are lost and/or decimals places are not displayed correctly. Options for decimal places can be found in the EDD that is imported, the import setting and in Display Options when the data is reported or exported. (See screen shots below.)

1. Our standard EDD has a NumberDecimals field that the laboratory can populate when importing data. If this field is used, Enviro Data stores that information in that field in the Analyses table for use when the result is displayed.

2. If the NumberDecimals field in the EDD is not populated Enviro Data calculates the number of decimals from the Value field and stores that number. If this is the case, you can choose to use the decimal places from either the Value or the Detect field in the EDD.

Options for # of Decimals in the Import Wizard in the Editor

3. When preparing reports or exporting data, there is the Number of Decimals option in Display/Graphing Options that can determine how the decimal place to be displayed. The options are Exact Value or Auto. Setting this option to Auto will use the NumberOfDecimals value stored in the Analyses table to add back trailing zeros if necessary. Choosing Exact Value turns this feature off and uses the Value field as it is stored The Auto option is necessary because Microsoft Access (and Excel for that matter) do not normally store or display trailing zeros. Loss of these zeros can be a problem because they contain information about the precision with which the result was measured.

Options for Number of Decimals in the Display/Graphing Options form in the Viewer

4. Once you have the correct decimals places stored and output, the Viewer outputs the Value of an analysis with the correct decimal places based on the option chosen.

Your results will vary depending on the output chosen. For the Crosstab Export, Value and Flag is always stored as text and this is recommended. However, the Value (only) field is numeric. If you are depending on the Value field only, this can be problematic because Excel does not store or display trailing zeros in a numeric field.

Note that if you are having a problem with decimal places and/or significant figures, you should check with Support to see if there is a newer version available. Also, the screen shots shown above may vary slightly depending on your version of Enviro Data.

Trailing zeros are NOT supported in regulatory limits as they are meaningless.

This error generally occurs because the Parameter Units field has not been set for the parameter and matrix shown in the error message. However, it can also be displayed when you list / report Surrogate and regular analyses which have different matrices.

Enviro Data only displays this error message for the first Parameter Units error even if there are additional one that need attention. The parameters with errors are indexed in alphabetical order. In the case above with Arsenic, there would likely be more errors to correct. If this error was for Zinc, you might not expect any more. Additionally, since some routines in Enviro Data may loop through the data more than once to produce the output required so you could see the same message again before it finishes processing.

Pparameters Units are used by Enviro Data for comparison for both regulatory limits and the unit conversion feature. You can associate one reporting unit (or Parameter Units) for each combination of a parameter and matrix. Unit conversion converts any units to the matching select units set in the Parameter Units. For use with Regulatory Limits, the Parameter Units and the matrix must be the same as the units (and matrix) of the limits you are checking against.

Target units can be set in the Parameter lookup table and conversion can be set in Unit Conversion lookup table, both found on the MANAGE LOOKUPS form. You can find more information on this issue in the FAQ at What are parameter units and why do I need to set them?

For quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) purposes, environmental projects generate duplicated data in a variety of ways. Care needs to be taken with this duplicated data at both the samples and analyses levels. Enviro Data can handle duplicated data at both the samples and analyses levels. To import this duplicated data, the system uses two fields, DuplicateSample and Superseded, which are numeric fields in the Samples and Analyses tables respectively.

Duplicate Samples.

Duplicate sample are one or more additional samples taken from the same station at the same time to check the quality of the sampling, shipping, and analysis processes. This information is stored in the DuplicateSample field in the Samples table.

At the sample level, this data could be QA/QC data associated with an original sample such as a field duplicate. As an example, an original sample assigned a DuplicateSample number of zero might have a field duplicate taken on the same day, which would be assigned a DuplicateSample number of 1. The QCSampleCode in the Samples table is used to explain the meaning of the two samples, with perhaps a code of “Original” for the first sample, and a code of “Duplicate” for the second. Additional related samples are given higher DuplicateSample numbers. In some cases, the additional sample might be a second original sample instead of a QC sample. In this case, the QCSampleCode might be the same for both samples, however, in most cases the LabSampleID number would be different.

Enviro Data identifies unique samples based on the station, sample date, sample matrix, sample top, duplicate sample, sample bottom, filtered sample, field sample ID, QC sample code and alternate sample ID fields as seen in Figure 134 below. This allows the data administrator to import multiple samples related to one sampling event or make multiple imports of analyses from a given sampling event.

Figure 134 - Fields used to define the Unique Index in the Samples Table

Superseded Analyses

A superseded analysis is a duplicated result from one or more a re-analysis of the same sample for a single or group of parameters for QA/QC purposes. This results in duplicated or superseded results at the analyses level. In the industry these results can be represented in two ways, either as the original result plus the re-analysis, or as a superseded (replaced) original result plus the new unsuperseded result. This information is stored in the Superseded field in the Analyses table.

During import Enviro Data provides a way to supersede the original result value as this is more useful for selection purposes. You can choose to supersede or replace (overwrite) a superseded result by checking or unchecking the Supersede Values If Present checkbox in the IMPORT WIZARD – OPTIONS AFTER CHECKING After Successful Check section. If this box is checked, a new analysis will supersede the old one. Otherwise, if it is unchecked, the new analyses will replace (overwrite) the old one. Either way, in the when selecting data, you can easily choose to see just the most current (unsuperseded) data. Selecting the re-analyzed results is not as helpful because not all the parameters may have been re-analyzed.

Enviro Data identifies unique analyses based on sample number, parameter number, superseded, analytic method, leach method, report units, basis, filtered analyses code, QC analysis code and lab sample id fields as seen below in the figure below. This allows the data administrator to import multiple analyses related to one sample or make multiple imports of analyses from a given sampling event. Re-analyses or analyses delivered at separate times are matched to the correct sample event by the import code using the unique fields listed above.

Figure 135 – Fields used to define the Unique Index in the Analyses table.

Discussion of Duplicates and Supersedes

Examples of data at these two levels, and the various fields that can be involved in the duplications at each level, are shown below.

Figure 136 - Diagram of duplicates and supersedes

In the Sample Level example in Figure 136 above, there are three samples from the same well on the same date: an original sample, a field dup, and a split. These are represented with three different DuplicateSample numbers, and three different LabSampleID numbers.

In the Analysis Level there are superseded results for two different reasons.
In the field four different pH values were taken, most likely to confirm that the well chemistry had stabilized prior to taking a sample. The results have increasing superseded values from 0 to 3, with the 0 value being the most recent and presumably most representative value.

For naphthalene, multiple results were reported possibly due to matrix interference. The dilution factor for each result is shown. The original sample is reported with a superseded of zero, and the dilutions with higher superseded values. The ReportableResult field has been used to override which result will be reported. An alternative would have been for the data administrator to adjust the superseded values so the value for the result at a 50:1 dilution had a superseded value of 0 and it would be displayed by selecting a superseded value of 0 on the SELECT DATA form.

At the analyses level, the Superseded field is incremented when different analyses apply to the same sample and parameter. For example, multiple dilution analyses can be stored with incremented superseded values of 0, 1, 2, etc. Likewise, a re-analysis can be stored with a superseded value of zero (most recent data), while the original value remains in the database with a superseded value of 1. Note that this use of superseded values is the opposite of the more traditional view of new data for the same parameter as being a “re-analysis.” Experience has shown that while both the superseded and re-analysis view of the data validly describe what happened, the superseded approach is more useful for selecting data, since you can select the “unsuperseded” data (Superseded = 0) to suppress all but the most representative data. This is the default on the SELECT DATA form in the VIEWER program, so for the most part people get what they expect without much effort.

While you can manually change or delete the values in the Duplicate or Superseded Field Criteria boxes in the Select Data form, this form now had a dropdown control that will toggle them between a value of 0 (zero) and nothing (Null). This control can be found near the left side the Action Buttons Bar. “Display 0” is the default setting and how Enviro Data has historically opened the Select Data form. Caution: This should only be used to show the specific duplicated and/or superseded information when outputting data for calculations, exports, and reports.

The default is to leave this control set to “Display 0”. This means that both the Duplicated or Superseded Fields Criteria boxes will contain a 0 and duplicated or superseded data will NOT be provided in the dataset. If this control is changed to “Nothing”, the default of 0 is removed from both the Duplicate and the Superseded Fields Criteria boxes. The resulting dataset WILL contain every duplicated sample and every superseded result.

The ValueCode field provides a reason for the superseded value, such as re-analyzed, dilution, etc. however, the ValueCode field is not used to order the superseded sequence. The software sets Superseded values if one of the Duplicates and Supersededs options on the IMPORT WIZARD form, shown below, is selected as described in Duplicates and Supersedes in the User Documentation.

Figure 137 - Duplicates & Superseded settings in IMPORT WIZARD form

Correctly assigning QCSampleCode is crucial to identifying original vs. QC data as the QCSampleCode field is used to correctly identify original data vs. QC data for reporting. If you are importing data with QC sample information, you must populate the DuplicateOrder field in the QCCodes lookup table before importing as the Import Wizard uses this field to set your duplicate values based on the duplicate order.

Understanding duplicate and superseded values is very important for understanding QC and other data in Enviro Data. Selecting data based on duplicated and superseded values is discussed in Select Data section of the documentation.

List applies the selections made the Display Options form to the data selected and then populates the Selected Data table with that formatted data. This formatting includes converting reporting units, providing Value and Flag and other features in the table. Depending on the amount of data selected, this can take time to prepare and display.

Quick List provides a basic listing of the selected data WITHOUT applying any formatting and shows the reporting units as they are stored in the Analyses table without making any unit conversions. Because Quick List does not perform any formatting, it is much faster than List and is valuable for viewing raw data.

Both can be used to create a Excel spreadsheet. When in List, click the Export To Excel button in the lower right. In Quick List, click in the upper right corner of the table to select all records and use Copy and Paste to put them into Excel. You can also copy a row or rows of records to Copy and Paste.

Before you request support please read ALL of the following,

Have you checked the Documentation for a solution to your problem? the documentation can be downloaded using the Download button in both the Editor and Viewer.

Have you checked the Frequently Asked Questions on our website for a solution to your problem? This is a large set of issues most encountered and asked about by our clients.

Note that both the User Documentation and FAQs are updated regularly so check back whenever you have a problem or need more information.

When asking for help, please do not send your request to a specific individual but contact us at support@geotech.com. This way, if a specific individual is not available, everyone can see it and someone else can jump in. Also, even though one person maybe handling your request, another might have a suggestion or solution that could solve it. Also, please use Reply All when responding.

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• What version of Enviro Data are you having the problem with? This information can be found on the main menu of both the Editor and Viewer and may be different for each. Examples would be Ver. 8 A 1.73 or Ver. 8B 1.3.
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Describe the output you expected and the output you received. People sometimes assume that the desired outcome is obvious. It often isn't, especially to someone who is not in the same room with you. Screen shots are always helpful. It's surprising how often people report that they tried something and "it didn't work", but do not describe what happened. If you expected a specific output or result, but there was none, please state that explicitly. Screen shots are always helpful.

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General Comments

Support time is deducted from your prepaid support account however, if we determine if the problem is a bug in the software, it will be fixed at no charge.

In many cases we may ask you to provide us with a subset of your database, your Settings file and/or any import files you are working with. You can find out how to create a subset here. Note all Access database you send must be zipped up in order be allowed into our email system.

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Non-Detected results are common in environmental data and Enviro Data provides a complete set of tools for handling them. Using these allow you to specify exactly how you want the results displayed with options such as < .01, .01u, ND, and so on. By using detection limits along with the other features of Enviro Data, you can even specify a numeric factor or value, such as zero or half the limit, to report for the result, for special situations like contouring, statistics, or risk analysis.

The detection limit and the type of limit is provided by the lab. For example, Detect might be 0.01 and the LimitType could be “RL” and it is not unusual for a lab to provide multiple detection limits. However, the limit’s reporting units (not duplicated in the EDD) must be the same as the analytical value’s units.

The limits and limit types for each result should be in the electronic data deliverables or EDD file during the importing of data provided by the laboratory. See screenshot below. During the import, they are stored in the Detect and LimitType fields in the Analyses table. Detect is the value of the detection limit and the limit type is the type (usually an abbreviation) of the limit for that specific limit. For example. Detect might be 0.01 and the LimitType could be “RL”. The limit’s reporting units (not duplicated in the EDD) must be the same as the analytical value’s units. You can store up to five detection limits for each result in these paired fields: Detect / LimitType, Detect2 / LimitType2, etc. to Detect5 / LimitType5. The screen shot below is from the DTSFormat8.xlsx import electronic data deliverables (EDD) file showing the fields that the limits are imported from. While there are only three limits available in the DTSFormat8 EDD, you can import up to five (total) with the User-Defined Import.

Users have the ability to choose which of the five available columns to use to store their various detection limits. Typically, the “Detect” and “LimitType” columns are used for the RL or PQL limits, and the “Detect2” and “LimitType2” columns are used for the MDLs. There’s no set rule, but obviously if you only have one limit you need to use Detect / LimitType. Also, it’s imperative to be consistent. If the detection limit columns in your databases contain a mixture of different detection limit types, Geotech can help you run a few queries to get each limit type consistently assigned to the desired column.

You can select which value you wish to display in the Non-detect Options section of the Display/Graphing Options form as shown below.

You can also select multiple detection limits in the Crosstab Wizard Export.

Most users, however, will choose to display (whichever limit they need) for non-detected results in the Value and Flag field selected in conjunction with the Analytical Flag codes.