We are excited to announce that Quartzy’s inventory system now supports up to 7 levels of nested locations! This highly requested update allows you to create a digital mirror of your physical lab space within Quartzy.
If you previously used long, descriptive names to indicate location hierarchies (for example, naming a single location "Freezer 1 > Shelf 1 > Rack 1 > Box 1"), this guide will show you how to easily migrate your existing setup to the new nested structure without losing track of your items.
Accessing Your Location Settings
To start migrating:
On the top left of your toolbar, click your Org Name or Lab Name, then click the gear icon.
Navigate to the Inventory Locations tab.
Use the Expand All button to see your full location tree, or use the arrow icons to reveal nested sublocations. To expand a single location tree, use Shift + Click while clicking on the arrow icon of a top-level location.
Migrating Existing Locations: "Build Up, Not Down"
When migrating your existing flat locations into nested hierarchies, the most important rule is to preserve the location where your items currently live. Because your items are tied to that specific location in Quartzy, you need to build the parent layers above it, move the original location inside, and then simply rename it.
Example Scenario: You have a location named "Shelf 1 > Rack 1 > Box 1" that currently holds 50 inventory items.
Create the Parent Levels: Click Add New Location to create a top-level location named Shelf 1. Then, click the plus (+) icon next to Shelf 1 to nest a sublocation named Rack 1.
Move the Original Location: Find your original "Shelf 1 > Rack 1 > Box 1" location. Click and drag the dot icon next to it, and drop it underneath your newly created Rack 1.
Rename the Original Location: Now that it is correctly nested, simply place your cursor in the original location's name, delete the extra text so it just says Box 1, and click Save.
Result: Your hierarchy is now perfectly nested, and all 50 items remain exactly where they belong in Box 1!
Building Out Your Lab: The "Single Chain" Strategy
If you are building a new hierarchy from scratch (like a brand new freezer), don't build it layer-by-layer. The fastest way to build out large, uniform spaces is to build a single chain all the way to the bottom, and then duplicate up the chain.
Example Scenario: You have a freezer with multiple shelves, racks, and freezer boxes you want to create.
Build your first chain: Create Freezer 1, and nest Shelf 1 under it. Next, nest Rack 1 under the shelf. Finally, nest Box 1 under the rack and turn the Freezer Box toggle on.
Copy the Boxes: Click the duplicate icon (two overlapping squares) on Box 1 to instantly create Box 2, Box 3, etc., right inside Rack 1.
Copy the Racks: Now that Rack 1 is completely full of boxes, click the duplicate icon on Rack 1. This will duplicate the rack and all the boxes inside it, creating Rack 2. Repeat as needed.
Copy the Shelves: Once your shelf has all its racks (and boxes), duplicate Shelf 1. You now have a second, identical shelf fully populated with nested racks and boxes!
Advanced Features & Pro-Tips for Setup
Make sure to take advantage of these new shortcuts as you organize your lab:
The "Shift + Enter" Chain: Need to create a new nested path quickly? Click to add a location, type the entire path using ">" as a separator (e.g., Freezer 2 > Shelf 1 > Rack A), and press Shift + Enter. Quartzy will automatically build the nested hierarchy for you.
Auto-Incrementing: When you click the plus (+) icon to add multiple locations at the same level, Quartzy detects numbers. If you just added "Rack 1," your next click will automatically suggest "Rack 2."
Freezer Boxes (Grid Tracking): You can designate the final level of any location chain as a Freezer Box to track specific cell coordinates (e.g., A1, B2). Just click the (+) icon on a location, set the Freezer Box toggle to Active, enter your rows/columns, and save. (Note: You cannot nest further sublocations underneath an active Freezer Box).
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