SnapGene Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Overview

SnapGene allows users to plan, visualize, and document molecular biology procedures. Select the DNA fragments that you wish to fuse, and SnapGene will design the primers. It simplifies the planning of a Gibson Assembly reaction, and automates the primer design. SnapGene automatically records the steps in a cloning project. Each time you edit a sequence or simulate cloning or PCR or mutagenesis, the procedure is automatically logged in a graphical history.

MIT has a site license so that anyone on the entire MIT network (the 18...* subnet and a few other IP addresses) can run SnapGene. It is renewed annually in March. When any license is within 30 days of expiration, the user gets a warning -- this makes a lot of sense for most labs where the user is likely to also be the purchaser, but causes some confusion at with site licenses like ours.

If a user sees a warning at this point, it probably indicates that the license failed to update itself, which should happen automatically when there is a new expiration date. If that happens, a reboot from MIT network or VPN fixes almost all problems. Ignore the warning until then.

Getting Started with SnapGene

• How do I download and install SnapGene?
• What is SnapGene's file compatibility?
• How can I login to SnapGene from an off campus location?

Help Documentation

• SnapGene FAQ
• SnapGene User Guide
• SnapGene Plasmid Files
• Cloning Tips

Questions

• Can SnapGene read files created by my current molecular biology software?
• Why do I see missing or garbled text after printing to a PDF file?
• I have a list of primers in an Excel file. Can I import those primers into SnapGene?
• How should I cite SnapGene?

Getting Help

• SnapGene Tutorials
• Technical or licensing questions, contact SnapGene support via their Support Portal or email
• Questions about obtaining, contact the IS&T Help Desk

See Also

• SnapGene Landing Page