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For an overview of LabManager see "Overview".Using LabManager
Some useful information for using LabManager 4.2. Throughout LabManager, "tips" have been added to the 
fields and labels. If you are uncertain what something does, leave the cursor over it for a moment, and a tip will appear like the one illustrated here on top of an "Inventory" button..
Throughout LabManager, the "Done" button will take you out of the screen you are in, and back to a previous or Menu screen.
ALWAYS NAVIGATE WITH BUTTONS ON THE SCREEN. Do not use forward or back buttons or manual navigation between screens. LabManager uses a series of subroutines to 
correctly process information. These are activated as you use the buttons on the screen. For example to "Quit" the program, use the "Quit" button available on most screens.
If you get stuck on a screen with no buttons, quit LabManager using command-Q (Mac) or cntrl-alt-del(PC) and start it again.
Help is available from the "Help" Menu at the top of your screen. Select "Labmanager Help" from the pulldown menu. You will be taken to the most appropriate Help page for the screen you are on.
You can navigate through these Help files by clicking on any of the topics to the left, or on any hyperlink in the text.
WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading the SETTING UP LABMANAGER, the PLACING AN ORDER and PROCESSING AN ORDER series of help files. These are set up as tutorials. Each page in each series has a "Next" link at the bottom to take you to the next page in the series.
The more information you place in LabManager, the more it can colate the information for your use. You are encouraged to populate all lists as they are available.
You do not need to enter every item currently in your laboratory into LabManager. The stock in a laboratory turns over at a regular pace. If you simply enter new orders as they are made, over the course of a year, Labmanager will contain most of the active inventory in your laboratory. If you already have an inventory, see "Importing and Exporting Data".
Labmanager learns from you
It is not necessary to enter all possible information into every popup menu and list right away. With use, LabManager will ask for information as it is needed. Lists are editable and can be added to at any time. LabManager will promt you or allow you to enter any information that is lacking while it is in use.
Participation
LabManager is designed so that all laboratory members may submit orders as they need them. In return, LabManager requires those same people to inform LabManager when they have used up an item in the lab. Extensive testing has allowed us to identify certain classes of items that do not regularly get reported as used up, and these are handled differently by LabManager. Still, try to keep the inventory current by reporting what is finished.
Label your purchases, label your lab
It is MUCH more convenient for laboratory members to keep track of what they need and what they have used if each item purchased is labeled with the SERIAL NUMBER assigned in the LabManager Inventory. This is an automatic process after an item isreceived and enters the Inventory.Write the serial number in indelible ink on each item received.
LabManager keeps track of locations in the laboratory by naming them. Name all refrigerators, freezers, benches, etc. to make the most use of LabManager.
The Stock Room
Most institutions have a stockroom for commonly used supplies. This is a special "Company" in LabManager. LabManager assumes that items from the Stock Room are so commonplace that laboratory members will not report them as used up. So, LabManager will automatically mark them as used up after a month.
Backup
As with all software and all data, we HIGHLY RECOMMEND making backups of the LabManager database (or even the entire folder) every few days. Should your data become corrupted or deleted, this will save you a lot of trouble. Some Help files may not work when using a backup if the filename is not identical "LabManager 4.2.fp7"