Additional software is provided to automatically compress and archive the data files generated each day. Turbochrom initiates this activity nightly through the sequence file. Utilizing the date code in the file names, it compresses each day’s data files into a "single" compressed file with a unique site and date code name in a PKZip 2.0 format. The method files and electronic logbooks for the site are also archived with the data for ease of QA evaluation. Through automating daily file maintenance we free up operator time to evaluate system performance and for data validation and reduce potential data losses from data handling. For users who have multiple systems and desire more ‘real-time’ access to data, Merlin can provide an alternative system, which archives the data each hour into a compressed file, that can be accessed anytime. Merlin can provide additional configurations that will allow hourly transfer of data from multiple sites to a main host.