Introduction
Annotation tracks contain gene models, short read alignments, EST alignments, or other genomic features. IGB allows you to change how annotations appear - you can change colors, change the Track Label names, and so on.
IGB also allows you to create new tracks by combining existing tracks. For example, you can create a new track that represents the intersection of two existing tracks. This is useful when looking for new novel genes or splicing variants, for example.
The following sections describe IGB functions for manipulating tracks.
Hiding and Showing Annotation Tracks
To hide one or more selected annotations, right-click on the track or tracks you want to hide and choose the Hide option. All strands of the selected annotation track will be hidden.
To show hidden tracks, right-click on ANY track label and select either Show All Types or Show > Track Name.
Note: Sometimes when a track re-appears, the minus and plus strand tracks for that track type will appear together above the coordinates track. You can easily click-drag them to your preferred location, and IGB will remember where they belong between sections.
Deleting Annotation Tracks
Tracks can be deleted from IGB using the trashcan icon next to the track in the Data Access panel. Tracks can also be deleted by right clicking in the label and choosing Delete selected tracks. Either way, the file will be removed from IGB memory.
Note: Any style or view changes made to that file (generating a single +/- strand or changing the background color) will be remembered by IGB if you open the file again at a later time.
Saving Annotation Tracks
IGB allows you to save any track; this feature is most useful for newly created tracks after using the Combine function (for more details, see Creating Advanced Annotation Tracks). Right click within the label of the track, and select Save Annotations. At this time, IGB only allows saved files to use the .bed format. This new file can be opened and viewed at a later time, or shared with collaborators, as it is a fully functional .bed file.