Auto-Save (PRO Feature)

Blast2GO PRO allows to automatically and continuously save Blast2GO results after a certain amount of time.

Figure 1: Blast2GO Auto-Save function

General Preferences

In the General Preferences, it is possible to enter a valid email address, which will be used in the QBLAST and also in the InterProScan searches. Furthermore, the path to the Blast2GO workspace can be provided and all results such as BLAST, InterProScan, charts and Blast2GO projects will be saved here.

Figure 2: Blast2GO General preferences

Update

Blast2GO allows automatic software updates during the application startup. These updates contain improvements, new features or bug fixes. It is possible to choose if you want to be notified of new updates or if you want to install software updates automatically (recommended).

It is also possible to specify the update behaviour of installed Apps. We differentiate between "Featured'' and normal Apps. New "featured'' Apps can be installed and updated automatically. Normal, non-featured Apps have to be installed manually but can be updated automatically.

Figure 3: Wizard to configure the Blast2GO update behaviour

Data Access

To execute the Mapping step one of the following options have to be selected.

Public Blast2GO Database

The Public Blast2GO Database contains the Gene Ontology database and all the information necessary to perform the mapping step i.e. to be able to link the different protein IDs to the functional information of the Gene Ontology database (see Gene Ontology Mapping Section).

To be able to connect to the public Blast2GO port 80 has to be opened at your institution for out-going connections and you can see if you have the right database name (host-name or IP-address) and DB-Name (see Launch B2G) selected (in the Blast2GO menu under File > Preferences > Data Access (see Figure 4).

Blast2GO Server (PRO Feature)

This tab allows you to choose the closest, fastest and most up-to-date Blast2GO server. Simply choose a location and a database version and click OK to connect Figure 5. 

Local Blast2GO database (PRO Feature)

Local Blast2GO database installation: If you are interested in installing an own Blast2GO database locally with the aim to not depend on the Blast2GO server, you can find a tutorial on the Blast2GO website in the download section including a step-by-step installation guide. Basically will need a MySql server, the latest GO database dump and some additional "mapping tables" (NCBI and PIR flat-files). By following several few steps this data is imported into your database.

Proxy

Proxy Settings. If a proxy server or a firewall is used to access the internet here you can define the proxy settings. An HTTP or a Socks proxy can be configured. In this window, you can configure the proxy settings only for Blast2GO and this will overcome the system-wide settings. If the Use Direct Connection check box is selected, the application will try to connect directly to the internet skipping any system settings. To use your defined proxy settings select the HTTP or Socks Proxy check box and complete the required fields.

Figure 6: Proxy settings dialog