diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3cfccf1..f2180c6 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 *-Ex.R
 /*.Rcheck/
 .Rproj.user/
-vignettes/*.html
 .httr-oauth
 /*_cache/
 /cache/
@@ -28,4 +27,7 @@ revdep
 vignettes/*.html
 vignettes/*.R
 vignettes/*.log
+
 !vignettes/precompiled_vignettes.R
+!inst/exampleObj.RDS
+!inst/miniObj.RDS
diff --git a/DESCRIPTION b/DESCRIPTION
index 2802f21..a0e126b 100644
--- a/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 Package: DGEobj
 Type: Package
 Title: Differential Gene Expression (DGE) Analysis Results Data Object
-Version: 1.1.1
+Version: 1.1.2
 Description: 
     Provides a flexible container to manage and annotate Differential Gene 
     Expression (DGE) analysis results (Smythe et. al (2015) <doi:10.1093/nar/gkv007>).  
@@ -29,15 +29,15 @@ Imports:
     stringr,
     utils
 Suggests: 
+    biomaRt,
     conflicted,
     dplyr,
+    edgeR,
+    GenomicRanges,
     glue,
     knitr,
     rmarkdown,
-    testthat,
-    biomaRt,
-    edgeR,
-    GenomicRanges
+    testthat
 biocViews:
 RoxygenNote: 7.1.2
 VignetteBuilder: knitr
diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
index 7c5ce8c..b35e500 100644
--- a/NEWS.md
+++ b/NEWS.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@
 
 ---
 
+### v1.1.2
+* Made all Bioconductor packages optional (suggested)
+* Added a new, minimal "mini" example object that has no internal Bioconductor-based features (ie normalization, analysis) to allow 
+for clean, simple examples that do not depend on suggested packages
+* Testing updated so that when Bioconductor suggested packages are unavailable the tests will not be run
+
 ### v1.1.1
 * Updated tests and examples so that when suggested packages are unavailable the examples and/or tests dependent on them are not run
 
diff --git a/R/addItem.R b/R/addItem.R
index 1daa167..9ba672d 100644
--- a/R/addItem.R
+++ b/R/addItem.R
@@ -16,10 +16,10 @@
 #' \dontrun{
 #'    myFunArgs <- match.call()  #  Capture calling function and arguments
 #'
-#'    myDGEobj <- addItem(myDGEobj, item = MyCounts,
+#'    myDGEobj <- addItem(myDGEobj, item     = MyCounts,
 #'                                  itemName = "counts",
 #'                                  itemType = "counts",
-#'                                  funArgs = myFunArgs)
+#'                                  funArgs  = myFunArgs)
 #' }
 #'
 #' @importFrom assertthat assert_that
@@ -168,7 +168,9 @@ addItem <- function(dgeObj,
 #'
 #' @examples
 #' \dontrun{
-#'    # Add normalize counts (DGEList) and log2CPM as additional "assay" items in the DGEobj
+#'    # NOTE: Requires the edgeR package
+#'
+#'    # Add normalized counts and log2CPM as additional "assay" items in the DGEobj
 #'    dgeObj  <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'    dgeList <- edgeR::calcNormFactors(edgeR::DGEList(dgeObj$counts), method="TMM")
 #'    log2cpm <- edgeR::cpm(dgeList, log = TRUE)
diff --git a/R/annotate.R b/R/annotate.R
index 537f9a0..d55c69d 100644
--- a/R/annotate.R
+++ b/R/annotate.R
@@ -16,19 +16,21 @@
 #' @return A DGEobj
 #'
 #' @examples
-#'    MyDgeObj <- system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj")
+#'    MyDgeObj <- system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj")
 #'
 #' \dontrun{
 #'    #using a text file file of key=value pairs
 #'    annotationFile <- "/location/to/myAnnotations.txt"
 #'    MyDgeObj <- annotateDGEobj(MyDgeObj, annotationFile)
-#'}
+#' }
+#'
 #'    #using a named list of key/values
 #'    annotations <- list(Title     = "Rat Liver Slices from Bile Duct Ligation animals",
 #'                        Organism  = "Rat",
 #'                        GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89")
 #'    MyDgeObj <- annotateDGEobj(MyDgeObj, annotations)
 #'
+#'
 #' @import magrittr
 #' @importFrom stringr str_remove_all str_locate
 #' @importFrom utils read.delim
diff --git a/R/attributes.R b/R/attributes.R
index 5081fde..037fd60 100644
--- a/R/attributes.R
+++ b/R/attributes.R
@@ -10,12 +10,10 @@
 #'   "dimnames", "rownames", "colnames", "listData", "objDef")
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' \dontrun{
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'    showAttributes(exObj)
-#'}
 #'
 #' @export
 showAttributes <- function(dgeObj, skipList = c("dim", "dimnames", "rownames", "colnames", "listData", "objDef")) {
@@ -57,7 +55,7 @@ showAttributes <- function(dgeObj, skipList = c("dim", "dimnames", "rownames", "
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     # Assign attributes to a DGEobj
 #'     MyAttributes <- list(Platform       = "RNA-Seq",
@@ -107,7 +105,7 @@ setAttributes <- function(dgeObj, attribs){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     getAttributes(exObj)
 #'
@@ -132,7 +130,7 @@ getAttributes <- function(dgeObj,
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     showMeta(exObj)
 #'
diff --git a/R/get.R b/R/get.R
index eb3b9c1..27fd468 100644
--- a/R/get.R
+++ b/R/get.R
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     myList <- getItems(exObj, list("counts", "geneData"))
 #'     names(myList)
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
 #'
 #' @export
 getItems <- function(dgeObj, itemNames){
-
     assertthat::assert_that(!missing(dgeObj),
                             !missing(itemNames),
                             msg = "Specify both a DGEobj and at least one itemName to retrieve.")
@@ -52,7 +51,7 @@ getItems <- function(dgeObj, itemNames){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     MyCounts <- getItem(exObj, "counts")
 #'
@@ -85,7 +84,7 @@ getItem <- function(dgeObj, itemName){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     MyRawData      <- getType(exObj, type = list("counts", "design", "geneData"))
 #'
@@ -119,7 +118,7 @@ getType <- function(dgeObj, type, parent){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     Assays <- getBaseType(exObj, baseType = "assay")
 #'     AssaysAndMeta <- getBaseType(exObj, c("assay", "meta"))
diff --git a/R/init.R b/R/init.R
index 3249af3..84b100d 100644
--- a/R/init.R
+++ b/R/init.R
@@ -20,18 +20,17 @@
 #' @return A DGEobj
 #'
 #' @examples
-#'
-#'    dgeObj   <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'    dgeObj   <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'    MyCounts <- dgeObj$counts
 #'    geneinfo <- dgeObj$geneData
 #'    sampinfo <- dgeObj$design
 #'
 #'   myDgeObj <- initDGEobj(primaryAssayData = MyCounts,
-#'                          rowData = geneinfo,
-#'                          colData = sampinfo,
-#'                          level = "gene",
-#'                          customAttr = list (Genome = "Rat.B6.0",
-#'                                             GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89"))
+#'                          rowData          = geneinfo,
+#'                          colData          = sampinfo,
+#'                          level            = "gene",
+#'                          customAttr       = list (Genome = "Rat.B6.0",
+#'                                                GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89"))
 #'
 #' @import magrittr
 #' @importFrom assertthat assert_that
diff --git a/R/reset.R b/R/reset.R
index 08776b6..e5de576 100644
--- a/R/reset.R
+++ b/R/reset.R
@@ -11,16 +11,14 @@
 #' @return A DGEobj
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' \dontrun{
 #'     #example object
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     # subset to first 10 rows to show reset functionality
 #'     exObj <- exObj[c(1:10), ]
 #'
 #'     exObj <- resetDGEobj(exObj)
 #'     dim(exObj)
-#'}
 #'
 #' @importFrom assertthat assert_that
 #'
diff --git a/R/rmItem.R b/R/rmItem.R
index 06b79e0..43e1bed 100644
--- a/R/rmItem.R
+++ b/R/rmItem.R
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     exObj <- rmItem(exObj, "design")
 #'
diff --git a/R/subset.R b/R/subset.R
index 4861db8..3fc4b4f 100644
--- a/R/subset.R
+++ b/R/subset.R
@@ -11,12 +11,10 @@
 #' @return A DGEobj
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' \dontrun{
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     exObj <- subset(exObj, 1:10, 5:50)
-#'}
 #'
 #' @importFrom assertthat assert_that
 #' @importFrom stringr str_c
diff --git a/R/types.R b/R/types.R
index 5ef7182..3d15a9b 100644
--- a/R/types.R
+++ b/R/types.R
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     baseType(exObj, type = "DGEList")
 #'
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ baseType <- function(dgeObj, type){
 #'     baseTypes()
 #'
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     # Basetypes from a specific DGEobj
 #'     baseTypes(exObj)
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ baseTypes <- function(dgeObj){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     showTypes(exObj)
 #'
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ showTypes <- function(dgeObj){
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     exObj <- newType(exObj,
 #'                      itemType   = "AffyRMA",
diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
index 11e503f..cbd42ad 100644
--- a/R/utils.R
+++ b/R/utils.R
@@ -44,12 +44,10 @@ dimnames.DGEobj <- function(x){
 #' @return NULL
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' \dontrun{
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     print(exObj)
-#'}
 #'
 #' @export
 print.DGEobj <- function(x, ..., verbose = FALSE) {
@@ -67,12 +65,10 @@ print.DGEobj <- function(x, ..., verbose = FALSE) {
 #' @return A data.frame summarizing the data contained in the DGEobj
 #'
 #' @examples
-#' \dontrun{
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     inventory(exObj)
-#' }
 #'
 #' @export
 inventory <- function(dgeObj, verbose = FALSE)  {
@@ -122,7 +118,7 @@ inventory <- function(dgeObj, verbose = FALSE)  {
 #'
 #' @examples
 #'     # example DGEobj
-#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+#'     exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 #'
 #'     mylist <- as.list(exObj)
 #'
diff --git a/cran-comments.md b/cran-comments.md
index a125b5d..afcaeb6 100644
--- a/cran-comments.md
+++ b/cran-comments.md
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
 ## Comments from Maintainer
 
-* Resolved CRAN check errors
-* Skipping examples dependent on suggested packages
-* Updated tests so that they do not fail if suggested packages are not available
+* There is one outstanding note - we updated this package recently in an attempt to resolve the issues with noSuggests
+however unfortunately it uncovered a different package dependency problem that wasn't caught on the 3 standard RHub platform
+configurations.  We have now combed over the entire package and extensively checked all RHub and local platforms to try to 
+ensure the suggested packages are just that, suggested!  We also made sure we now have a very small example object to use
+that was not made using any of the suggested packages as well.
+
+* We appreciate your consideration of this package update, here is what we have done for this release:
+  * Resolved CRAN check errors, including the noSuggests issues
+  * Added a new example object so that as many examples can be run as possible without suggested packages
+  * Bioconductor packages in suggests are required for testing, now we will not run tests if any are missing
+  * Also updated our process to check ALL available/usable RHub platforms prior to submission
 
 ---  
 
@@ -13,6 +21,7 @@ RStudio Server Pro (ubuntu 18.04.2)
 * R 3.6.3
 * R 4.0.5
 * R 4.1.3
+* R 4.2.0
 
 CircleCI
 
@@ -28,7 +37,9 @@ WinBuilder
 RHub
 
 * devtools::check_rhub(interactive = F,
-                       env_vars    = c("_R_CHECK_DEPENDS_ONLY_"   = "true"))
+                       platforms   = c(rhub::platforms()$name),
+                       env_vars    = c("_R_CHECK_DEPENDS_ONLY_"   = "true",
+                                       "_R_CHECK_FORCE_SUGGESTS_" = "false"))
 
 ---  
 
diff --git a/inst/miniObj.RDS b/inst/miniObj.RDS
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9c6e386
Binary files /dev/null and b/inst/miniObj.RDS differ
diff --git a/man/addItem.Rd b/man/addItem.Rd
index 05e9040..11276b9 100644
--- a/man/addItem.Rd
+++ b/man/addItem.Rd
@@ -45,10 +45,10 @@ Add a data item
 \dontrun{
    myFunArgs <- match.call()  #  Capture calling function and arguments
 
-   myDGEobj <- addItem(myDGEobj, item = MyCounts,
+   myDGEobj <- addItem(myDGEobj, item     = MyCounts,
                                  itemName = "counts",
                                  itemType = "counts",
-                                 funArgs = myFunArgs)
+                                 funArgs  = myFunArgs)
 }
 
 }
diff --git a/man/addItems.Rd b/man/addItems.Rd
index 96c99ed..45ee515 100644
--- a/man/addItems.Rd
+++ b/man/addItems.Rd
@@ -30,7 +30,9 @@ Add multiple data items
 }
 \examples{
 \dontrun{
-   # Add normalize counts (DGEList) and log2CPM as additional "assay" items in the DGEobj
+   # NOTE: Requires the edgeR package
+
+   # Add normalized counts and log2CPM as additional "assay" items in the DGEobj
    dgeObj  <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
    dgeList <- edgeR::calcNormFactors(edgeR::DGEList(dgeObj$counts), method="TMM")
    log2cpm <- edgeR::cpm(dgeList, log = TRUE)
diff --git a/man/annotateDGEobj.Rd b/man/annotateDGEobj.Rd
index be736f1..829b358 100644
--- a/man/annotateDGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/annotateDGEobj.Rd
@@ -33,11 +33,12 @@ specifies which keys we want to capture as attributes on the DGEobj.
    #using a text file file of key=value pairs
    annotationFile <- "/location/to/myAnnotations.txt"
    MyDgeObj <- annotateDGEobj(MyDgeObj, annotationFile)
-}
+
    #using a named list of key/values
    annotations <- list(Title     = "Rat Liver Slices from Bile Duct Ligation animals",
                        Organism  = "Rat",
                        GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89")
    MyDgeObj <- annotateDGEobj(MyDgeObj, annotations)
+}
 
 }
diff --git a/man/as.list.DGEobj.Rd b/man/as.list.DGEobj.Rd
index 60dfdab..a4e4f7c 100644
--- a/man/as.list.DGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/as.list.DGEobj.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Cast as a simple list
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     mylist <- as.list(exObj)
 
diff --git a/man/baseType.Rd b/man/baseType.Rd
index 6d07771..2d60ad2 100644
--- a/man/baseType.Rd
+++ b/man/baseType.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Get the baseType of an internal data item
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     baseType(exObj, type = "DGEList")
 
diff --git a/man/baseTypes.Rd b/man/baseTypes.Rd
index cbc95a6..c43bb35 100644
--- a/man/baseTypes.Rd
+++ b/man/baseTypes.Rd
@@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ Get a list of the available baseTypes
     baseTypes()
 
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     # Basetypes from a specific DGEobj
     baseTypes(exObj)
diff --git a/man/getAttributes.Rd b/man/getAttributes.Rd
index 83d5f9f..40a20b1 100644
--- a/man/getAttributes.Rd
+++ b/man/getAttributes.Rd
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ excludeList argument.
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     getAttributes(exObj)
 
diff --git a/man/getBaseType.Rd b/man/getBaseType.Rd
index 79d5b5b..a16e22f 100644
--- a/man/getBaseType.Rd
+++ b/man/getBaseType.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Retrieve data items by baseType
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     Assays <- getBaseType(exObj, baseType = "assay")
     AssaysAndMeta <- getBaseType(exObj, c("assay", "meta"))
diff --git a/man/getItem.Rd b/man/getItem.Rd
index 9852214..bdae976 100644
--- a/man/getItem.Rd
+++ b/man/getItem.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Retrieve a data item by name
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     MyCounts <- getItem(exObj, "counts")
 
diff --git a/man/getItems.Rd b/man/getItems.Rd
index 685aba7..cbf9bef 100644
--- a/man/getItems.Rd
+++ b/man/getItems.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Retrieve multiple data items by name
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     myList <- getItems(exObj, list("counts", "geneData"))
     names(myList)
diff --git a/man/getType.Rd b/man/getType.Rd
index c292868..3627a9f 100644
--- a/man/getType.Rd
+++ b/man/getType.Rd
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ Retrieve data items by type
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     MyRawData      <- getType(exObj, type = list("counts", "design", "geneData"))
 
diff --git a/man/initDGEobj.Rd b/man/initDGEobj.Rd
index 4533930..4261d3e 100644
--- a/man/initDGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/initDGEobj.Rd
@@ -45,17 +45,16 @@ A DGEobj
 Initialize with base data (primaryAssayData, row annotations, col annotations)
 }
 \examples{
-
-   dgeObj   <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+   dgeObj   <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
    MyCounts <- dgeObj$counts
    geneinfo <- dgeObj$geneData
    sampinfo <- dgeObj$design
 
   myDgeObj <- initDGEobj(primaryAssayData = MyCounts,
-                         rowData = geneinfo,
-                         colData = sampinfo,
-                         level = "gene",
-                         customAttr = list (Genome = "Rat.B6.0",
-                                            GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89"))
+                         rowData          = geneinfo,
+                         colData          = sampinfo,
+                         level            = "gene",
+                         customAttr       = list (Genome = "Rat.B6.0",
+                                               GeneModel = "Ensembl.R89"))
 
 }
diff --git a/man/inventory.Rd b/man/inventory.Rd
index 5976647..7abd2e5 100644
--- a/man/inventory.Rd
+++ b/man/inventory.Rd
@@ -18,11 +18,9 @@ A data.frame summarizing the data contained in the DGEobj
 Retrieve the object inventory
 }
 \examples{
-\dontrun{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     inventory(exObj)
-}
 
 }
diff --git a/man/newType.Rd b/man/newType.Rd
index 02ed2f9..5ad3a35 100644
--- a/man/newType.Rd
+++ b/man/newType.Rd
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ Add a new type definition to a DGEobj
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     exObj <- newType(exObj,
                      itemType   = "AffyRMA",
diff --git a/man/print.DGEobj.Rd b/man/print.DGEobj.Rd
index 118d24b..597fecd 100644
--- a/man/print.DGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/print.DGEobj.Rd
@@ -17,11 +17,9 @@
 Print the Inventory
 }
 \examples{
-\dontrun{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     print(exObj)
-}
 
 }
diff --git a/man/resetDGEobj.Rd b/man/resetDGEobj.Rd
index 55a1227..17208f0 100644
--- a/man/resetDGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/resetDGEobj.Rd
@@ -20,15 +20,13 @@ but does revert changes made with addItem() and rmItem(). Reset requires that *_
 in the DGEobj.
 }
 \examples{
-\dontrun{
     #example object
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     # subset to first 10 rows to show reset functionality
     exObj <- exObj[c(1:10), ]
 
     exObj <- resetDGEobj(exObj)
     dim(exObj)
-}
 
 }
diff --git a/man/rmItem.Rd b/man/rmItem.Rd
index 9100328..4ef5b75 100644
--- a/man/rmItem.Rd
+++ b/man/rmItem.Rd
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ Removes a named data item
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     exObj <- rmItem(exObj, "design")
 
diff --git a/man/setAttributes.Rd b/man/setAttributes.Rd
index c8ffd7f..2d2e8d0 100644
--- a/man/setAttributes.Rd
+++ b/man/setAttributes.Rd
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ To remove an attribute from an object pass NULL as the attribute value.
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     # Assign attributes to a DGEobj
     MyAttributes <- list(Platform       = "RNA-Seq",
diff --git a/man/showAttributes.Rd b/man/showAttributes.Rd
index f7bc0cb..1a06e3a 100644
--- a/man/showAttributes.Rd
+++ b/man/showAttributes.Rd
@@ -23,11 +23,9 @@ This function prints all attributes regardless of the class of the attribute val
 *Note* Use showMeta() to only retrieve attributes that are key/value pairs.
 }
 \examples{
-\dontrun{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
    showAttributes(exObj)
-}
 
 }
diff --git a/man/showMeta.Rd b/man/showMeta.Rd
index f380138..6956e80 100644
--- a/man/showMeta.Rd
+++ b/man/showMeta.Rd
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Retrieve the Key/Value metadata attributes that have a character value and lengt
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     showMeta(exObj)
 
diff --git a/man/showTypes.Rd b/man/showTypes.Rd
index 1b5f8f3..5750bbf 100644
--- a/man/showTypes.Rd
+++ b/man/showTypes.Rd
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ Returns and prints the list of all defined types
 }
 \examples{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     showTypes(exObj)
 
diff --git a/man/subset.DGEobj.Rd b/man/subset.DGEobj.Rd
index 905a291..7a3e24d 100644
--- a/man/subset.DGEobj.Rd
+++ b/man/subset.DGEobj.Rd
@@ -26,11 +26,9 @@ A DGEobj
 Subset internal row or column data
 }
 \examples{
-\dontrun{
     # example DGEobj
-    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
+    exObj <- readRDS(system.file("miniObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj"))
 
     exObj <- subset(exObj, 1:10, 5:50)
-}
 
 }
diff --git a/misc/test_object_creation/create_objects.R b/misc/test_object_creation/create_objects.R
index feac996..7eded3a 100644
--- a/misc/test_object_creation/create_objects.R
+++ b/misc/test_object_creation/create_objects.R
@@ -40,41 +40,40 @@ dge_creation_workflow <- function(counts, gene.data, design, qcdata, contrast_li
     # saveRDS(result, glue("simple{ifelse(is.null(limit_genes), '', limit_genes)}.RDS"))
 
     # Protein Coding Filtering
-    result <- result[result$geneData$gene_biotype == "protein_coding", ]
-
-    # Normalize
-    if (requireNamespace("edgeR", quietly = TRUE)) {
-        result <- runEdgeRNorm(result, includePlot = FALSE)
+    result <- result[result$geneData$gene_biotype %in% ("protein_coding"), ]
+
+    # Create using workflow functions IF IT MAKES SENSE
+    if (limit_genes > 500) {
+        # Normalize
+            result <- runEdgeRNorm(result, includePlot = FALSE)
+
+        # Define Model
+        formula          <- '~ 0 + ReplicateGroup'
+        designMatrixName <- "ReplicateGroupDesign"
+
+        designMatrix <- model.matrix(as.formula(formula),
+                                     getItem(result, "design"))
+        attr(designMatrix, "formula") <- formula
+        colnames(designMatrix) <- make.names(colnames(designMatrix))
+
+        result <- addItem(result,
+                          item      = designMatrix,
+                          itemName  = designMatrixName,
+                          itemType  = "designMatrix",
+                          parent    = "design",
+                          overwrite = TRUE)
+
+        result <- runVoom(result,
+                          designMatrixName = designMatrixName,
+                          mvPlot = FALSE)
+
+        result <- runContrasts(result,
+                               designMatrixName = designMatrixName,
+                               contrastList     = contrast_list,
+                               qValue = TRUE,
+                               IHW    = TRUE)
     }
 
-    # Define Model
-    formula          <- '~ 0 + ReplicateGroup'
-    designMatrixName <- "ReplicateGroupDesign"
-
-    designMatrix <- model.matrix(as.formula(formula),
-                                 getItem(result, "design"))
-    attr(designMatrix, "formula") <- formula
-    colnames(designMatrix) <- make.names(colnames(designMatrix))
-
-    result <- addItem(result,
-                      item      = designMatrix,
-                      itemName  = designMatrixName,
-                      itemType  = "designMatrix",
-                      parent    = "design",
-                      overwrite = TRUE)
-
-    # runVoom
-    result <- runVoom(result,
-                      designMatrixName = designMatrixName,
-                      mvPlot = FALSE)
-
-    # runContrasts
-    result <- runContrasts(result,
-                           designMatrixName = designMatrixName,
-                           contrastList     = contrast_list,
-                           qValue = TRUE,
-                           IHW    = TRUE)
-
     result
 }
 
@@ -167,3 +166,6 @@ saveRDS(full.dge, "fullObj.RDS")
 
 sm.dge <- dge_creation_workflow(counts, gene.data, design, qcdata, contrast_list, annotatFile, limit_genes = 1000)
 saveRDS(sm.dge, 'exampleObj.RDS')
+
+mini.dge <- dge_creation_workflow(counts, gene.data, design, qcdata, contrast_list[c(1,4)], annotatFile, limit_genes = 250)
+saveRDS(mini.dge, 'miniObj.RDS')
diff --git a/tests/testthat/setup.R b/tests/testthat/setup.R
index f913bd3..5fb5556 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/setup.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/setup.R
@@ -4,8 +4,14 @@ require(DGEobj)
 
 setup_failed <- TRUE
 
-if (requireNamespace('GenomicRanges', quietly = TRUE)) {
+# NOTE: if the bioconductor packages are missing from the platform we will NOT perform tests
+if (requireNamespace('GenomicRanges', quietly = TRUE) &&
+    requireNamespace('edgeR',         quietly = TRUE) &&
+    requireNamespace('biomaRt',       quietly = TRUE)) {
+
     require(GenomicRanges)
+    require(edgeR)
+    # require(biomaRt) - does not need to be imported into the environment
 
     # --- gene level example object
     t_obj <- readRDS(system.file("exampleObj.RDS", package = "DGEobj", mustWork = TRUE))
@@ -60,3 +66,7 @@ if (requireNamespace('GenomicRanges', quietly = TRUE)) {
 
     setup_failed <- FALSE
 }
+
+if (setup_failed) {
+    message('Test Setup Failed - likely due to missing suggested packages.  Tests will be skipped.')
+}
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_addItem.R b/tests/testthat/test_addItem.R
index f57608b..e8150f0 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_addItem.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_addItem.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("addItem.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('addItem.R: addItem()', {
     #meta
     add <- addItem(t_obj,
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_annotate.R b/tests/testthat/test_annotate.R
index 11b7b24..22447d3 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_annotate.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_annotate.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("DGEobj - tests for annotate.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('annotate.R: annotateDGEobj()', {
     ann.file <- tempfile("annotations_test", fileext = ".txt")
     writeLines(c("key1='value 1'", "key2=value 2"), con = ann.file)
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_attributes.R b/tests/testthat/test_attributes.R
index 099eb14..eced548 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_attributes.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_attributes.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("attributes.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that("attributes.R: showAttributes()", {
     output <- capture_output_lines(showAttributes(t_obj))
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_get.R b/tests/testthat/test_get.R
index 0f3b210..c0b6af9 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_get.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_get.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("get.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('get.R: getItem()', {
     getItem_DGEobj_test <- getItem(t_obj, 'design')
 
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_init.R b/tests/testthat/test_init.R
index 21f445d..6050ef0 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_init.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_init.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("init.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('init.R: initDGEobj()', {
 
     # collect data from test object to initialize new DGEobj
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_reset.R b/tests/testthat/test_reset.R
index a75786c..55cd2bd 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_reset.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_reset.R
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 context("reset.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
-# test gene level data
+
 test_that('reset.R: gene level data', {
 
     test_t_obj <- t_obj
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_rmItem.R b/tests/testthat/test_rmItem.R
index 907edc7..ed2e2f6 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_rmItem.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_rmItem.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("rmItem.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('rmItem.R: rmItem()', {
     expect_length(t_obj, 18)
     rmItem_design_t_obj <- rmItem(t_obj, "design")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_subset.R b/tests/testthat/test_subset.R
index aad8544..187b4a5 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_subset.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_subset.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("subset.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('subset.R: subset()', {
     subsett_obj_1.0 <- subset(t_obj, row = c(1:5))
     subsett_obj_1.1 <- t_obj[c(1:5), ]
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_types.R b/tests/testthat/test_types.R
index 3b547a7..72641f2 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_types.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_types.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("types.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('types.R: baseType()', {
     expect_equal(baseType(t_obj, "counts"), "assay")
     expect_equal(baseType(t_obj, "design"), "col")
diff --git a/tests/testthat/test_utils.R b/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
index a2a0dde..cb71859 100644
--- a/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
+++ b/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 context("utils.R functions")
 skip_if(setup_failed)
 
+
 test_that('utils.R: dim()/dimnames()', {
     expect_equal(dim(t_obj), t_dim)
     dimnames_t_obj <- dimnames(t_obj)
diff --git a/vignettes/DGEobj_Overview.Rmd b/vignettes/DGEobj_Overview.Rmd
index ded122c..b92a325 100644
--- a/vignettes/DGEobj_Overview.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/DGEobj_Overview.Rmd
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: 'DGEobj: An S3 Object to Capture and Annotate DGE Workflows'
 author: "John R. Thompson"
-date: "2022-03-24"
+date: "2022-05-12"
 output:
   rmarkdown::html_vignette:
     fig_caption: yes
@@ -332,14 +332,14 @@ kable(inventory(dgeObj))
 
 |ItemName      |ItemType      |BaseType |Parent        |Class      |Row   |Col |DateCreated         |
 |:-------------|:-------------|:--------|:-------------|:----------|:-----|:---|:-------------------|
-|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
-|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
+|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
+|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
 
 
 ## Examine DGEobj Metadata
@@ -488,14 +488,14 @@ kable(inventory(dgeObj))
 
 |ItemName      |ItemType      |BaseType |Parent        |Class      |Row   |Col |DateCreated         |
 |:-------------|:-------------|:--------|:-------------|:----------|:-----|:---|:-------------------|
-|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
-|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
+|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
+|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
 
 If just the item names of data stored in the DGEobj are needed, use the base R `names` function.
 
@@ -557,16 +557,16 @@ kable(inventory(newdgeObj))
 
 |ItemName      |ItemType      |BaseType |Parent        |Class      |Row   |Col |DateCreated         |
 |:-------------|:-------------|:--------|:-------------|:----------|:-----|:---|:-------------------|
-|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:54 |
-|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
-|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
-|AlignmentQC   |alignQC       |col      |              |data.frame |48    |172 |2022-03-24 11:47:55 |
-|normTMM       |DGEList       |assay    |counts        |DGEList    |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:56 |
+|counts_orig   |counts_orig   |meta     |              |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|counts        |counts        |assay    |counts_orig   |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design_orig   |design_orig   |meta     |              |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|design        |design        |col      |design_orig   |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData_orig |geneData_orig |meta     |              |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|geneData      |geneData      |row      |geneData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:09 |
+|granges_orig  |granges_orig  |meta     |geneData_orig |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
+|granges       |granges       |row      |geneData      |GRanges    |32883 |NA  |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
+|AlignmentQC   |alignQC       |col      |              |data.frame |48    |172 |2022-05-12 10:58:10 |
+|normTMM       |DGEList       |assay    |counts        |DGEList    |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:11 |
 
 **item** is the actual data object to add.
 
@@ -1023,12 +1023,12 @@ kable(inventory(MetabolomicObj))
 
 |ItemName            |ItemType            |BaseType |Parent              |Class      |Row   |Col |DateCreated         |
 |:-------------------|:-------------------|:--------|:-------------------|:----------|:-----|:---|:-------------------|
-|intensity_orig      |intensity_orig      |meta     |                    |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
-|intensity           |intensity           |assay    |intensity_orig      |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
-|design_orig         |design_orig         |meta     |                    |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
-|design              |design              |col      |design_orig         |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
-|metaboliteData_orig |metaboliteData_orig |meta     |                    |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
-|metaboliteData      |metaboliteData      |row      |metaboliteData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-03-24 11:47:58 |
+|intensity_orig      |intensity_orig      |meta     |                    |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
+|intensity           |intensity           |assay    |intensity_orig      |matrix     |32883 |48  |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
+|design_orig         |design_orig         |meta     |                    |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
+|design              |design              |col      |design_orig         |data.frame |48    |10  |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
+|metaboliteData_orig |metaboliteData_orig |meta     |                    |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
+|metaboliteData      |metaboliteData      |row      |metaboliteData_orig |data.frame |32883 |8   |2022-05-12 10:58:14 |
 
 There are simple dimension-based criteria to determine the basetype of a
 new datatype.