How to Store Non-image Files in PAX-it

PAX-it is known for helping labs work with images—from light microscopes, electron microscopes, scanners, hand-held cameras, and specialty devices.   The filing structure for your images is complete with a browsable folder structure plus an easy-to-use database to tag your images with keywords and data

But did you know that NON-image files may also be stored in your PAX-it collection?  PAX-it is not simply for  image management, but is a project management tool.

By default, PAX-it can store a variety of image file formats, and also the popular mpeg, mp3, mp4 and avi media files for video and audio.  Also available for storage right out-of-the box are Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files, and Microsoft Office files (Word: .doc and docx; PowerPoint: .ppt and .pptx, Excel: .xls and xlsx).

Reports and presentations that are created in PAX-it can be auto-saved right into the same PAX-it folder that the images came from, maintaining the association of the images with the report.  In this way, projects are kept together, and anyone browsing or searching the database for related items will pull up not only images that match, but the reports and presentations that apply as well.

You can add more file types to the list you would like PAX-it to handle! Simply navigate to Options…Preferences…Files and use the Add button to indicate the file extension that is used by the files you wish to add.  Specialized or proprietary file types are allowed.

When non-image files are seen inside PAX-it folders, they are displayed by the icon that is associated in Windows for that file type, and the title field that is used in the PAX0ti database (see illustration to the right).  To open the non-image file, simply double-click on the icon.  The parent application will start (for example PowerPoint will automatically start if a ppt file is opened), and the file may be viewed.   Any edits that take place in that application will be saved back to the original file in the PAX-it database.

Keep in mind that the database functions of PAX-it are available for any PAX-it asset, including the non-image files.  When a non-image file is Quicksaved into PAX-it, it can be tagged with data that can help to locate the asset through a database search.

I hope you will start taking advantage of PAX-it’s non-image file capabilities as a complement to our easy report generation and presentation-building features.  Add your own file types that are specific to proprietary instruments in your lab, and make PAX-it your total project management tool.