maxdLoad2 is capable of exporting data in the MAGE-ML format which is the international standard for transcriptomics data exchange. In particular, the data is optimised for submission to the Array Express data repository managed by the EBI.

maxdLoad2 has a built-in documentation browser with a search feature. The documentation can also be viewed online.

Please note that the documentation is lagging behind the development somewhat, please contact us if you have queries about how to use any of the features or if you encounter bugs or unexpected behaviour. Helpful suggestions, and contributions to the documentation will be especially welcomed.

How to install and configure maxdLoad2

Use the maxdSetup installation utility to download and configure the latest version of maxdLoad2.

Create an new database on the your database server (or create a new user in the case of Oracle). More details on how to do that can be found in the online documentation.

Start the program, using the script file created maxdSetup (or by double-clicking on the JAR file, or via the command line if you installed maxdLoad2 manually without using maxdSetup).

Fill in the relevant fields on the connection panel and connect to the new database. A built-in help document is available which describes how to do this.

The 'Create Database Tables' form will be displayed. A built-in help document is available which describes how to populate the new database. Once the new tables have been created, the new database is ready for use.

Sample data set

A sample data set (which is completely synthetic) is provided in the ZIP file SampleData.zip. Unzip this file into a temporary folder. Press the "Import" button on the main panel and select the "Import data from a batch script" option. Use the file browser to select the file "LoadingScript.xml". Press the 'Import' button and the database tables will be populated using data in the various tab delimited files are that have been provided.

maxdBrowse: a web-based browser

A web-browser interface to maxdLoad2 databases is being developed as part of the StreptoBASE project. This interface (which doesn't require any software downloads) allows easy browsing and data extraction from any public maxdLoad2 database. More information, and a demo version can be found here.

Release details

2.3.0
  Improved handling of Excel spreadhseets
  Enhanced tabular export
  New data loading features
  Documentation upgrades

2.2.3
  Important bug fixes in MAGE export
  Improved tabular export mode

2.2.2
  Greatly reduced memory requirements
  Improved data export options
  Enhanced validation during data import
  Support for exporting data directly from CEL files
  Innumerable minor tweaks and bug fixes

2.2.1
  Bug fix to repair the 'missing link problem'

2.2.0
  Many user interface enhancments
  Faster data import and export
  Advanced Unicode support
  Richer MAGE-ML documents than ever before
  Countless minor tweaks and bug fixes

2.1.0
  'Plain Text' export
  Repeatable attribute groups
  Improved native file format
  Enhanced MAGE-ML output
  Numerous bug fixes

2.0.9
  Allows selection of multiple instances in 'Browse Mode'
  Significant performance improvements for bulk data loading
  Yet more enhancements to the 'Navigation Panel'

2.0.8
  The 'Action' tables have been removed
  Import and export of native data repaired
  Navigation panel improved
  Added support for inserting 'special' characters
  Improved layout of grouped attributes
  Help documents updated
  Enhancements for bulk-loading via batch scripts

2.0.7
  Bug-fixes galore (especially for Postgres users)
  Performance improvements
  Support for many common text encodings in all import/export features

2.0.6
  New attribute definition modification tools
  Documentation improved

2.0.5
  Column Specification syntax revised
  Improved error messages in bulk data loading

2.0.4
  Navigation panel repaired
  Documentation improved

Development Shapshot

The development shapshot is the most up-to-date version. It is not for general use, it is provided for those keen to see a repview what is coming up in the next public release.