Delay the Protocol

Use this control to temporarily delay the procedure. It adds a delay step to your protocol. You can set:

• an indefinite delay, which must be manually ended during operation;
• a timed delay, which can be manually overridden when necessary;
• or, for more precise control of your chemistry, you can use a timer to launch a protocol step. This "timer activated" delay lets you apply a uniform processing time to each plate in a multi-plate run.

Delay Type 

Indefinite: To delay the procedure until the operator manually ends it. A message box will open with a Continue button. Any Prompt text will be displayed on-screen, as well. The run will be paused until the operator clicks Continue.

Fixed-duration: To pause the protocol for a certain length of time. Select this option and specify the delay duration in the time control. At the start of the delay, a message box will open with a Continue button and any Prompt text. The operator can override the delay at any time by clicking the Continue button. Otherwise, the protocol will not resume until the specified time has expired.

Timer-activated: To control the start time of a protocol step. This option is most useful in complex protocols that use the BioStack or another robot to process multiple plates. You can make sure that each plate is processed at a precise time. Learn more...

Set a specific length of time for the delay using the spin control. The maximum length of a fixed delay is 23:59:59 (23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds).

Delay Behavior  

Sound alert at start of delay: de-select this option to silently display the message box at the start of the delay. When activated, the sound is defined under Tools>Preferences>Sounds. It chimes one time only at the start of the delay concurrent with an opening message.

Prompt: enter text, if desired, to display in a message box that opens during runtime at the start of the delay.