Minimum Requirements

There are many features in the Trialex System but this section will focus on the minimum requirements necessary for getting started.  In order for a study to be conducted within the Trialex System, it is required that the report object be defined.  This object stores all the attributes of reports such as listings, summary tables and figures.  Once a study is defined, the reports object is the first object defined before any of the Trialex tools will be made available.

Setting up a New Study

The first step towards defining a new study in the Trialex System is to identify a physical path to the location of the study.  An example path to a study may be:

D:\Global\Project2\study3

It is recommended that a subdirectory be created at the study level for the use of the Trialex System.  The name of this directory is decided by the user but it is recommended that a convention be established and used across studies for consistency.  An example subdirectory would be:

D:\Global\Project2\study3\trialex

Once the location has been established, go to the level design located in the study design area.

This is how all studies and projects are set up.  Determine which portion of the hierarchy or which project the new study belongs to and click on it.  Select the menu item "Add Sub-Level" as shown here:

This will add the new study as a sub-level to the project selected.  A dialog box will then appear requesting information about the new study.  Enter a meaningful name identifying the study.   Note that the path location is the same one which has been determined from the first step.

Click the OK button after all entries have been entered.  This will create a new study and automatically create the following objects for the study: Data, Program and Reports.  These new objects are defined from the standards established within the hierarchy which has been set up.

Creating a Study from Manually

It is possible to create a study manually besides relying entirely on the Trialex System.  This may be useful to give the user a better understanding of the process of creating a new study.  This process described below is not comprehensive but rather the minimum steps required for a study to function with the Trialex System.

• The physical directories needs to be created on the network which the main Trialex Server has access to.  A study root is required along with the associated Trialex folder.  Additional folders pertaining to programs and data are recommended but are not required for the minimal Trialex functions.
• Create the data set to manage the report object within the Trialex System through the %newrpt macro.
• Register this study to the Trialex System in the level design located in the study design area.

  

• Determine which portion of the hierarchy or which project the new study belongs to and click on it.  Select the menu item "Add Sub-Level" as shown here:

  

• This will add the new study as a sub-level to the project selected.  A dialog box will then appear requesting information about the new study.  Enter a meaningful name identifying the study.   Note that the path location is the same one which has was created to be associated to the Trialex System in the previous step.

  

  Click the OK button after all entries have been entered.  This will associate the new study to the manually created directory which has been manually setup.

• Additional setup can be applied to the program and data object within the Trialex System but these are the essential steps for setting up the new study.

Copying from an Existing Study

In the event where the standards are established for the current project, it may be useful to copy from an existing study.    

Follow the steps below to have a study copied.

• Go to the level design diagram from the study design area.
• Select the source study which is to be copied and click on it.  Select the menu item "Copy Current Level".
• Move up to the project level under which the study will be created.  Click and select the menu item "Paste as a Sub-Level".
  
• Update the name, description and the new physical path location of the new study before clicking the OK button.

This process will create a new study based upon the source study.  It will transfer the three objects: Data, Program and Reports.  If a dependency object is defined, it will transfer that as well.   Note that the paths are updated in the new objects and clarification notes will document this update.  An example of the update may be:

NOTE: Data Warehouse path has been updated to: d:\global\project2\study3
NOTE: Data objects has been successfully copied and pasted.
NOTE: Programs objects has been successfully copied and pasted.
NOTE: Programs path has been updated to: d:\global\project2\study3
NOTE: Report path has been updated to: d:\global\project2\study3
NOTE: Reports objects has been successfully copied and pasted.
NOTE: Source data path has been updated to: d:\global\project2\study3