Graph Enhancements

New graph styles and options have been added to the Create Graph Wizard for Statistical Graphs.

Quantile-Quantile Plots

Quantile-Quantile Plots for comparing the empirical distributions of two data sets.

Confidence and Prediction ellipses

Confidence and Prediction ellipses for a bivariate data sample.

Jitter Plots

Jitter Plots are a variation of the Point and Column Means graph where options are given to jitter the symbols of the vertical point plot to reduce overlap and improve the identification of observations. To obtains this graph, select Point and Column Means from the Statistics Graph type in the Create Graph Wizard. Set the jitter multiplier and a random number starting seed, Random, say. Select the column to plot and then Finish to obtain jitter as shown below.

Improvements have been made to use column titles as tick labels.

Tick labels improved for Point and Column Means graph

Tick labels improved for Point and Column Means graph to have the x-axis tick labels show as worksheet column titles to indicate the source of each tuple pair that appears in the two plots created for the graph, a vertical point plot and an error bar plot. This graph is a style for the Statistics Graph type created from the Create Graph Wizard. The example below shows the column titles “Iron” and “plasti” as x-axis tick labels on the graph.

User Interface Improvements

Value symbols easily added to symbol and bar graphs

Value symbols easily added to symbol and bar graphs. Click the Plot Labels icon in the Manage Plots group of the Create Graph ribbon to select options for placing labels for symbols and bars.

Plots can be deleted from Graph Properties.

Plots can be deleted from Graph Properties. Now you can delete plots directly from the Graph Properties dialog. Select the particular plot from the Plot panel in Graph Properties (Plot 2 below). Then click the Delete plot button with the results shown below.

Changed the Add Axis default to be Y Axis.

Changed the Add Axis default to be Y Axis. We’ve changed the Default of Add Axis to the Y Axis from the X Axis since this is almost always the desired option.

Align Objects now available from the right mouse menu.

Align Objects now available from the right mouse menu. You can select multiple items and use right click “Align Objects” to align them. For example, select two objects as shown in the upper left in the page below. Right click and select Align Objects as shown in upper right. Then select the alignment you want and click OK.

New option to use the Y column title only as the default for legend items.

New option to use the Y column title only as the default for legend items. The Y column title is commonly used in the legend. In previous versions the default has been “X column title vs Y column title”. We’ve improved legends so that you can use the “Y column title” only as the default for the legend items. This option is available on the Legend panel of Graph Properties.

Quick access to change font.

Quick access to change font. Now you can quickly get to a font in the long list from the ribbon. For example, to change the font of a graph title from Arial to Times New Roman use the following steps:

• Left click on the text of interest.
• Move your cursor to the font list box and click the font list box down arrow to show two or more fonts.
• Type the letter “t”, the first letter of Times New Roman.
• Now scroll the short distance to select the font Times New Roman.

Mini toolbars have been improved when drawing arrows.

Mini toolbars have been improved when drawing arrows. The graphs below show the mini-toolbar covering most of the arrow before the improvement (left) and after the improvement (right).

Improved access to the ribbon controls from a statistics report or result graph

Access from a statistics report or a result graph to the SigmaStat panel on the ribbon has been improved to make it easier to continue with further analysis. From a report or graph page, you will now be able to access the Test Options dialog, the Advisor, and make a new selection from the Test Combo Box. The worksheet will automatically appear when needed for these commands.

Worksheet Import

Import multiple sheets from Excel files.

Import multiple sheets from Excel files. Use Import File in the Worksheet ribbon and select the sheets to import. Sheets are imported to separate SigmaPlot worksheets.

Analysis Features

Additional numerical and graph results for contingency tables

The Chi-Square test for contingency tables has been enhanced to include more options for the content of tables, to improve the formatting of tables, to add more statistics, and to create a grouped bar chart for the two categorical variables being tested. The updated Options dialog box with these new options is shown below with program defaults selected.

The report below shows the improved table formatting.

Below is an example of a grouped bar chart of the categories.

Assumption checking and table formatting added to correlation tests

The Pearson Product Moment and Spearman Rank Order correlation tests have been modified to add bivariate normality testing for each pair of the selected columns that are tested and measured for correlation. A new table display format for the report results has been added as an option together with our previous matrix display format. The table format is especially useful when more than seven columns are selected in the worksheet for the correlation tests.

Below are the panels of the Options dialog box showing the new options for assumption checking and formatting.

The two reports below show the Pearson correlation and Spearman Rank correlation results, respectively, with bivariate normality testing and table formatting.

Expanded model selection criteria in Polynomial Regression

The Polynomial Regression feature has been modified to add more goodness of fit criteria for selecting the best model for your data, based on order. More explanations have been included in the report to interpret the criteria and to show the user how to use and complete a polynomial regression analysis.

The new model selection criteria are displayed on the Criterion panel of the Options dialog box. The program defaults are shown below.

Below is the section of the report showing the best fit models for each order below the threshold set in the Options dialog box.

Below is the section of the report showing the computed values of the selected criteria to assess for each order below the threshold set in the Options dialog box.

Below is the section of the report explaining each model selection criterion so all models can be properly assessed in the tables above for goodness of fit.

Easier access for setting population mean and median for one-sample tests.

The setting for the population value of the mean and median for the One-Sample T-Test and the One-Sample Signed Rank Test, respectively, has been moved from the test options dialog to the Test Wizard for user convenience. Below are shown the old positions of the controls in the options dialog for the hypothesized values.

The panels of the Test Wizard for navigating to the new controls are shown below for each test.

Option to generate reports for 2D and 3D Smoothers

An optional report can be generated when using the Smoothers 2D and Smoothers 3D features to save the settings used to create a smoother’s plot for future reference. The new Create Report option is shown in the Smoother Wizard below. The option is checked by default.

The report shows the worksheet location of the input data, the smoother specification detailing the properties of the selected smoother method, the grid locations of the x-values for the smoothed values, the columns in the worksheet for the smoothed values and their locations (this is the graph data), and the name of the graph and the graph page containing the smoother results. If the user requested that smoothed values and/or residuals of those values be computed at the input data locations, then a new section will be added to the end of the report for the locations of these values. Examples of 2D and 3D Smoother reports are shown below.

Histogram improvements from the Histogram Wizard

Options have been added to the Histogram Wizard to include scaling options for histogram counts and options for either left-edge or right-edge binning. The algorithm for automatic binning has been improved. There are three options to scale or normalize histogram counts so that the y-axis is measured as count, fraction of the total count, or percent of the total count. The Bin Options panel of the Test Wizard is shown below with the new normalization and bin edge options.

The histograms below generated by the Histogram Wizard have percent scaling and represent the same data, but have different edge binning.

Histogram improvements to result graphs created for statistical procedures

A new Histogram Options dialog has been added for the histogram result graphs that are available as part of ANOVA and regression testing. The options include a user-defined number of bins, automatic binning, bin count normalization, and bin type for choosing which edge of the bin to include when partitioning the data. The x-axis scaling has been changed in terms of the data (usually in the form of residuals) being binned rather than just representing the bin number as before.

The new options dialog box for histogram result graphs is shown below.

The graph below is a histogram of the residuals from a 2-way repeated measures ANOVA.

Enhancements to polar plots from the Polar and Parametric Equations macro

The Plotting Polar and Parametric Equations macro in our macro library has been modified to correctly plot polar equations whose sample values contain negative values of the radial coordinate. The macro dialog has been modified to include options for both radians and degrees for the angular units, which assumed only radians before.

Examples of polar plots created by the macro after adjustment for negative radial values.

New transform language functions for matrix computations

Added four transform language functions for performing matrix operations and solving matrix equations:

1. trp – Generates the transpose of a matrix
2. prod – Computes the product of two matrices using the standard definition of matrix multiplication.
3. eigen – Computes the eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors of a real symmetric matrix.
4. linsys – Solves a system of linear equations and multilinear regression problems. In addition to a solution vector, an optional distance measure and an estimate of numerical rank are given. The optional values indicate whether the problem has a solution or not, and whether the solution, if it exists, is unique.

In the transform language, a matrix is realized by using the block function. The above transforms can greatly strengthen the computational capabilities of user-defined transforms and macros.

Restructured transform library for easier navigation

The transform library or samples file (xfms.jnb) has been modified to change its structure by reorganizing the transform sections into subsections under twelve different sections (categories) which are titled by the general application or the field of study that the transforms under it apply to. These categories are not rigidly defined but are meant to serve as a guide for locating transforms.

The twelve categories of transforms are shown below on the left with Regression selected. Example transforms under the Regression category are shown on the right.

New transforms added to the transform library

Multilinear Orthogonal Regression and Regression w/ Equality Constraints

The Multilinear Orthogonal Regression transform computes the coefficients of a plane in n-dimensions that minimizes the sum of squares of orthogonal distances from a given set of points to the plane.

The Regression w/ Equality Constraints transform computes the solution to a multilinear least squares problem where the parameters satisfy a system of linear equality constraints. Also, it tests the hypothesis that the constraints hold for the true parameter values.

The new transforms have been added to the Regression section of the transform library. The coding for both transforms illustrates the use of the new transform functions trp, prod, eigen, and linsys.

Passing-Bablok Regression

The transform performs Passing-Bablok regression for method comparison which is a non-parametric procedure for fitting a straight line to two-dimensional data where both variables, X and Y, are measured with error. It complements Deming Regression. As part of the results, the transform generates graph data that can be used to produce the following graph types:

Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test for category data

This transform uses a column of data sampled from a finite number of categories that partition the members of a population.  The test determines if the user’s data supports the hypothesis that each category in the population occurs with a specified probability or that the categories occur with specified ratios that are supplied by the user.  This transform is a supplement to the transform for One-Way Frequency Analysis.

The output of the transform can be used to construct a grouped bar chart of the data and expected frequencies of the categories in the problem:

Improvements in the random number generators when using a random seed

The random number generator functions in the Transform Language, gaussian and random, have been improved when selecting a random seed that results when the user specifies 0/0 for the seed argument. The advantage is to make larger variations in the seed value so that the random number sequence varies more often and, in particular, won’t repeat values when you restart the program. This makes the behavior of these functions consistent with their counterparts in the statistical transforms.

Miscellaneous Features

A notebook section can now contain one or more subsections.

Subsections in a notebook can be used to better categorize and locate items in the notebook. These items could be worksheets, graph pages, reports, transforms, equations and macros. Here is an example using multiple subsections in a notebook.

The Histogram Plus Kernel Density macro has been added to the toolbox.

Added a system memory indicator

A system memory indicator has been added to the status bar showing the amount left.

Improved search in Help

Search results in Help take you right to the topic you are looking for. For example, click Help, click the Search tab, enter the topic (“Excel” in this case), click List Topics, double click the specific topic, and then select the item of interest.

Unicode Support

The Unicode support in SigmaPlot 14.5 is described in the file “SPW 14 Unicode Support.pdf” that is located in the product’s application folder SigmaPlot/SPW14_5 under Program Files.

Licensing Features

License search mode settings on the license information tab page. Based on the settings (Local, Network, Auto) appropriate license will be loaded.

Local Mode: Search for valid license (Standalone/Network) only from local machine

Network Mode: Search for network license from the server machine (s). Only network license is searched, local license files are ignored.

Auto: Search for valid license either local machine or network license from other servers.

Added license transfer mechanism for re-hostable licenses (between sender and recipient machines) in license transfer tab.  Added support to apply H2H (Host to Host) license file to transfer license from one machine to other.

New tab added to transfer license from current machine to another machine. With SigmaPlot 14, user need to follow with Systat sales to install SigmaPlot in another machine, since the license is locked to that machine.

Added additional option to handle license manager in different subnet in network tab, where user can provide sever name or IP address of the license manager and save the settings. On successful settings, hasp_107466.ini file will be created/updated in local user appdata folder (sample location C:\Users\user1\AppData\Local\SafeNet Sentinel \Sentinel LDK).

New UI to support creation of INI, this feature is required for network license with server and client is in different subnet. With SigmaPlot 14, it is a manual process without UI.

Additional support information in the log file.

Log file details are improved. With SigmaPlot 14, there was limited details on the log file, now we collect detailed information to trace back the problem or give more details to the user.

Additional validation to handle remote desktop / remote session / remote terminal

No specific UI. SigmaPlot display messages when the license is applied thru remote session or application is invoked thru remote session.

Installer Features

Added a check box at the end of installation to open Readme file.

New check box has been added to open ‘Readme.txt’ file after installation. By default, this is disabled and will not open the file.

Added a check box “Always check patch updates on application start up” at the end installation.

Check box has been added to enable or disable checking patch updates at the beginning of the application startup. If this check box is not enabled then user can update the patch manually using the license utility.

If the Excel running, we are NOT forcing the user to close the Excel. Instead we are giving the user option to Ignore and continue.

No UI for this feature. SigmaPlot gives out a warning message and let the user continue with the installation. In earlier versions, we don’t allow the user to continue until they close Excel.

Improved Silent installation tool.

No UI for this feature. MSI based silent installation has been improved with a Silent installation tool, which validates all conditions before starting the MSI installation.