Australia's Science Forum

I am having a terrible time trying to get a label for universal indicator. I have prepared solution from "The Laboratory".
Everything on Chemwatch is coming up in company names and with the wrong pH range. So frustrating!

Yes, "the laboratory" is not coming up in the vendor field. If you look at the container where the address of the manufacturer is, there might be another name they go by eg laboratory supply etc.

You can then type that in under Vendor in chemwatch.
I hope that helps!!

Unfortunately there is no manufacturer as I prepared the solution following instructions from the reference book "The Laboratory". This is where my problems lie.
Guess I just have to go back to Chemwatch instructions on how to make own labels. Drat!

Yes, another "win" for Chemwatch. Maybe you could try contacting them, but I'd suggest a big dose of patience first. My dropper bottles here are only labelled as "Universal Indicator 2% Solution" with a flammable label added. Probably not GHS compliant, but will have to do for now.

Do you have to have the school's chemicals recorded in Chemwatch Gold FFX manifest prior to being able to generate a label? I have had a look at the FFX manual, but I am finding it confusing. I'm from a NSW DEC school and have been using Chemwatch gold where I found generating a chemical label easy.

Thanks.

Me too, Vick.
I can get some chemicals to create labels and not others.

You don't have to have it listed in your manifest to make a label but you do need to tick the box for "Full" not "Own". The "own" option will only search your manifest. Be careful, as it will always default to "own". Of course, this doesn't guarantee that you'll find a match.

Thanks Merilyn

I will try that.

Vicki

I have used the label in Chemwatch for the Chemsupply solution..

I'm from NSW Dec School and cannot work out Chem FFX - can't even get started! Manual confusing (or is it me)?! The old Chemwatch was so much simpler, especially for generating labels which I need to do, but have no clue. Are there others with the same problems?

Hi Karend
At the top of the screen near the manual is an e-learning tutorial. It's not bad and you can learn if you have the time to watch. It more or less takes you through the manual.

Labels.. I have mine in a word document and I copy from the label that chemwatch comes up with.. and paste onto the word document.. can only do a small part at a time.. BUT it allows you to cut out what you don't want, add what you do AND add a DOT coloured for the level.

I agree with karend!

The manual is very confusing, and I didn't think the e-learning covered labels at all! But I have had a play around and I think I have figured out how to print labels, some anyway!! It's going to be an exercise in frustration I think!

Thanks so much for your help, am getting there, but finding it hard and very time consuming messing around with labels but am learning from you guys!!

WHY WHY WHY!! Can someone please explain???

When I'm searching in FFX for a chemical eg Cyclohexane and the box pops up on the side when you start typing and you select the most relevant one why doesn't it then take you directly to that selection??

I have just waded through 19 pages of 37 to find the one that I wanted and FFX said was 100% relevant?? WHY!!!

AAARGH

Yes, Rae, I had the same problem this week for HCl, can't remember which molarity, regardless, something really common. Typed it in to the search, waited for the drop down menu, selected what I wanted but still didn't find it until Page 3! There were other chemicals listed before it. I don't get it!

I just think that Chemwatch is designed for industry, not schools, although there must be a lot of schools using it. We need someone to come up with something designed for schools. If it was good, I'd be happy paying extra for it. I think of all the time I would save searching for chemicals and making labels. There's a business opportunity in the waiting!

If we all complain - and I have many times, why cant they FIX it.. I think they only sell this program to schools, so why don't they take out all those chemicals that schools are not permitted to have and make it a simpler data base to search

This new program hard to use and VERY time consuming-bring back chemgold3! Am very frustrated and have given up, am handwriting labels. Who else can we complain to?

I hear you, rae!