See also:
Version 5.5 FAQ
Version 6 FAQ
Version 7.1 FAQ
Version 8 FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (Version 5.5): Table of Contents

Custom Programs:

User-Exchange Forum/Library of STATISTICA BASIC Programs (Version 5.5) Visual Basic/STATISTICA Interface Programs (Version 5.5) STADEV Example Programs (Version 5.5)

Installation Instructions for STATISTICA Products

Our newsletter: STATSOFT NEWS

Current Issue Back Issues

    User-Exchange Forum/Library of STATISTICA BASIC programs (Version 5.5). A library of example programs (many of which were written by users of STATISTICA) is available (see User-Exchange Forum/Library of STATISTICA BASIC Programs). These programs include a wide variety of advanced illustrations of how to create highly customized reports, graphs, follow-up analyses that use STATISTICA output as input, and how to design your own complete application programs (e.g., statistical procedures) with user interface, and Scrollsheet and graphics output.

    Library of Visual Basic Examples (Version 5.5). A library of example programs which show how to call STATISTICA (including STATISTICA BASIC) is available (see Visual Basic/STATISTICA Interface Programs). These programs include examples of calling STATISTICA from within Visual Basic, calling STATISTICA BASIC from within in Visual Basic and managing STATISTICA files from within Visual Basic via STATISTICA Development Environment.

    Library of STADEV example programs (Version 5.5). A library of STADEV example programs is available (see STADEV Example Programs). These programs include illustrations on using STADEV in a variety of programming environments including Visual C++, Visual BASIC, Delphi, and STATISTICA BASIC.

    On-line documentation (Electronic Manual). The quickest way to obtain comprehensive information on each of the topics mentioned here (including examples and technical notes) is to use the STATISTICA Electronic Manual -- that is, the context-sensitive Electronic Manual accessible by pressing the toolbar Help button, the F1 key, or double-clicking on the status bar (on the bottom of the STATISTICA window). The Electronic Manual offers Hypertext facilities, contains a Glossary, and provides a complete reference to all features of the system.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS

Troubleshooting problems during installation of STATISTICA

The STATISTICA Concurrent Network Version workstation (i.e., client) installation finishes successfully. But I receive an error message that says "Active-X component cannot create object" when I try to logon to STATISTICA for the first time from this workstation.
   Under certain circumstances, the installation procedure does not successfully install a necessary system update. If you receive this error message, please download a supplementary installation routine called fix_COMDLG32.exe. This additional setup program is to be run, on each machine that experiences the problem, after the Concurrent Network Version workstation installation is completed.

At the end of the installation procedure (before installing ODBC drivers) a General Protection Fault error message is issued and the installation process is aborted. How can I install STATISTICA correctly on my computer?
    This problem is occasionally reported when STATISTICA tries to install ODBC-related dynamic link libraries (DLL) in your WINDOWS/SYSTEM directory where older versions of these files already exist. There are two workaround solutions to this problem:

1. If you don't need ODBC drivers for data import into STATISTICA, choose the option for custom installation during the STATISTICA setup procedure and de-select the ODBC driver option.
2. If you do need ODBC drivers with STATISTICA, look for any the following files in your WINDOWS/SYSTEM folder:
   CPN16UT.DLL, msAJT200.DLL, msJETERR.DLL,
   msJETINT.DLL, msTX2016.DLL, msXL2016.DLL,
   ODBC.DLL, ODBC16UT.DLL, ODBC32.DLL,
   ODBCCP32.DLL, ODBCCURS.DLL, ODBCINST.DLL,
   ODBCJT16.DLL, ODBCTL16.DLL, ODDBSE16.DLL,
   ODEXL16.DLL, ODFOX16.DLL, ODPDX16.DLL,
   ODTEXT16.DLL, PDX200.DLL, VAEN2.OLB,
   VBAJET.DLL, VBAR2.DLL, XBS200.DLL
   If any of those files are found, make a backup copy and delete the file(s) in the WINDOWS/SYSTEM folder. Then start the STATISTICA setup again.

After the installation procedure I get an error message about a DDE communication failure and the setup program is aborted. Does this mean that STATISTICA is not correctly installed on my computer?
    No, STATISTICA is correctly installed on your system. However, we received occasional reports of this non-fatal error message. It usually indicates that the setup program could not create a STATISTICA program group. You can easily create a STATISTICA program group (Windows 3.x) or desktop shortcuts for your STATISTICA modules (Windows 95/NT 4.0) yourself. For details on how to create a program group or shortcuts (desktop icons) please consult your Windows documentation or the STATISTICA Quick Reference.

I tried to run the setup program, but I got the following error message: "Cannot find _mssetup.exe." and the installation failed. What did I do wrong?
    This error message only occurs when installing STATISTICA from 3.5" diskettes. You have most likely accidentally deleted the file _msssetup.exe which is located on your first installation disk by trying to execute it. Since this file is vital for the setup program, you need to obtain a copy of this file and put it onto your first installation disk. If the file does not fit on your first disk, you can move the txt files to another location in order to free up disk space. Note that the file _mssetup.exe is available in the DOWNLOAD area of our web site.

After installing STATISTICA on a system running Windows NT, every time I try to run the program I get a message saying the environment is too large. What is the problem?
    This problem used to occur on some installations of Windows NT 3.xx; however, it has been corrected in programs which were purchased after July 20, 1997. Contact StatSoft at info@statsoft.com for more details.

Troubleshooting STATISTICA Electronic Manual problems

When I try to access the Electronic Manual for STATISTICA, I receive the following message: "Cannot display this help file. Try opening the help file again, and if you still get this message, copy the help file to a different drive, and try again. (136)." How can I access the Electronic Manual?
    According to ms, this behavior can occur if the help file you are trying to open is currently open on a computer running ms Windows NT. It appears to us that the problem is more generic and happens as users try to access shared files. It also seems to be fixed if you delete the STATHELP.GID file which is located in the STATISTICA program directory. The STATHELP.GID file is an index of keywords that Windows generates to optimize access to the help files. Deleting will only cause Windows 95 or NT to create it again.

Troubleshooting general problems running STATISTICA

When I print a 3D graph in STATISTICA the scale labels are missing, even though the graph looks fine on the screen. How can I print the complete graph?
    This problem is occasionally reported with some printers under Windows NT. It usually occurs if your printer driver does not support a 3D representation of fonts properly. In order to print out the 3D graph correctly, de-activate the 3D Text check box in the General Layout dialog for the graph. You may also contact your printer manufacturer or hardware dealer for updated printer driver versions.

When I try to run STATISTICA I receive a message "Cannot read from drive A." If I click on Cancel, STATISTICA opens with the a new empty spreadsheet. What is the problem?
    You probably saved a STATISTICA data file on a diskette the last time you exited the program. STATISTICA usually keeps a log of the recently used files and opens the last file that you saved. Therefore, the program is looking for the last file on the A: drive (or any other removable media drive). However, if your floppy disk drive is currently empty, STATISTICA cannot find it. If you have set the number of entries in the list of recently used files to 1 in the STATISTICA: General Defaults dialog, this message can reoccur everytime you open STATISTICA. In order to prevent it, you can either temporarily set the number of recently used files to 0 or delete the STATIST.INI file (STATISTICA will recreate this file next time you open the program). Note however, that you will lose customized STATISTICA settings if you delete the INI file. Alternatively, you might modify the list of the recently used files in the [file list] section of the STATIST.INI file.

I run Windows 95/NT, but all of sudden my dialogs for opening or saving files in STATISTICA appear in Windows 3.1 fashion. Also, long file names are not supported any longer. How can I make STATISTICA behave like a Windows 95 application again?
    There are two possible solutions to this problem. First check you Statist.ini file for "LongNames=number" This turns off the long file names in STATISTICA. Removing this line from the Statist.ini file and placing Sta_lfn.exe in the STATISTICA directory (C:/STAT by default) will ensure that STATISTICA continues to use long file names.
    If the line described above is not in your Statist.ini file, your registry information is probably damaged. STATISTICA runs on multiple Windows versions including 3.xx, Win95, and NT. If your STATISTICA registry information is damaged, it might not recognize your operating system as Windows 95 and therefore defaults to Windows 3.xx behavior. You need to re-install STATISTICA again in order to have it behave like a Windows 95 application.

Question: When launching STATISTICA under Windows NT, I get a "cannot run XX-bit application" message.

Cause: This problem may occur when a program attempts to access an incorrect version, outdated, missing, or damaged DLL file.

Resolution: Expand the following files from the original Windows NT compact disc to the \System32 directory:

Compobj.dll
Ddeml.dll
Ole2.dll
Ole2disp.dll
Storage.dll
Ctl3dv2.Dll
Ole2nls.dll
Stdole.tlb
Typelib.dll
Ver.dll

NOTE: The Ver.dll file is located in the %SystemRoot%\System folder and the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder, and both versions have the same file size and date.

To complete this file "expansion" from the NT4.0 CD carry out the following steps: [Note: it is very important to make sure you have a good emergency repair disk for your NT 4.0 workstation before you complete the following steps.]

1. From the Windows Start button, select "Run"
   
2. In the file to open box, type in the following command: Expand e:\1386\filename.dl_%SystemRoot%\System32\filename.dll Note: substitute for "e" the drive letter where your NT4.0 CD is located. Substitute the actual name of the file for expansion in the place of "filename". For example: "Compobj.dl_"
   
3. Click . Complete this process for all listed files.
   
4. Reboot your PC.
   
5. Make an emergency repair disk of your NT 4.0 system now: place new diskette into floppy drive and type, "Rdisk".

Troubleshooting problems with data import

Why do I get an error message when trying to import a Paradox (.db) file?
    The STATISTICA Quick Import facility does not support files from Paradox, release 5.0. The file must first be saved as either an earlier version Paradox file or as a .dbf (dBase) file. However, the ODBC interface may be used to import data from Paradox 5.0 directly.

Why do I get strange values for my date variable when I import a SPSS portable file into STATISTICA?
    STATISTICA stores date values in the standard Julian format while SPSS uses a different format. To resolve the problem after importing the SPSS portable file into STATISTICA convert the values into the standard Julian format. Enter the following statement:
        =(v1-10010304000)/86400+1
    into the Long Name section of the Variable Specs dialog for the date variable.

I am unable to use the ODBC option with ms Access 7.0. What do I do?
    Windows 95 is shipped without an installation facility for ODBC drivers. You must obtain a special installation disk from ms. This file is also available from their BBS under the filename GE1263.exe. After you’ve extracted this file, you may use the following procedure to use your ms Access ODBC driver with STATISTICA functions.

1. First, make sure that you have installed the ODBC drivers that come with your STATISTICA software.
2. Reboot your computer.
3. Select the setup command associated with the ODBC program you extracted by executing GE1263.exe. You may do this through Windows Explorer (95) or File Manager (3.1).
4. Follow the installation procedure and finish it by selecting the Close button.
5. Again, reboot your computer.
6. You should now be ready to use 32-bit ODBC Access drivers from within STATISTICA.

I am trying to import a large ASCII file via Quick Import and the import fails. How can I import the file?
    Quick Import is limited to data files of small to moderate size. For large data files, you should use the Import Data—More option which is available only in the Data Management module.

Every time I try to import a certain Excel file into STATISTICA, I get a General Protection Fault error message ("This program has performed an illegal operation.") and STATISTICA crashes. What am I doing wrong?
    This behavior can also happen with other source applications. It is most likely that you are trying to import a corrupted or damaged file. First of all, you should try to import any other file and see whether the same behavior occurs. If this is the case, you might have to re-install the source application and/or STATISTICA.
    If the behavior is specific to one file, you should open the file in its source application (e.g. Excel), copy the contents into the Clipboard, paste it into an empty spreadsheet and save it under a new file name. Should the problem occur rather frequently, it's generally recommended to check your hard drive by using SCANDISK or advanced disk utilities.

Troubleshooting problems with Animated Overviews

When I run the Animated Overviews they seem to run fine from the CD, but I cannot run them from the Help menu. What is the problem?

We have received questions about this and the problem occurs for a few different reasons and applies to network server/client type installations.

During a server installation, STATISTICA copies the "multimed.ini" file to the network directory located on the server. In contrast, STATISTICA does not install the "multimed.ini" file to any of the clients.

To get around this when performing a Server/Workstation installation, we suggest to map a drive letter to the directory on the server that contains the STATISTICA installation files. Then, reinstall using the workstation setup directory, "wrkinst."

To map the drive letter, use these steps:

1. Open Windows Explorer
2. Click on Tools (located on the Windows Explorer title bar)
3. Next, select Map Network Drive.
4. Depending on where your server installation is located, assign a Drive letter and Path to your STATISTICA Installation directory

DATA MANAGEMENT

Cases, Variables, Formats

How to add/delete variables (columns of data):
    Variables may be added to and/or deleted from a data file either by (1) using the Drag-and-Drop operation ( insert to add columns), or (2) selecting an appropriate option from the spreadsheet menu of global operations on variables accessible by pressing the Vars button on the spreadsheet toolbar. For more information on those operations, see the section on Drag-and-Drop, and the spreadsheet toolbar.
    How to add variables before variable 1. The quickest way to add variables before variable 1 is to use the Insert action of the Drag-and-Drop facilities; you can also add variables after variable 1 and then move variable 1 after those variables.

How to add/delete cases (rows of data):
    Cases may be added to and/or deleted from a data file either by (1) using the Drag-and-Drop operation (insert to add cases), or (2) selecting an appropriate option from the spreadsheet menu of global operations on cases accessible by pressing the Cases button on the spreadsheet toolbar. For more information on those operations, see the section on Drag-and-Drop, and the spreadsheet toolbar.
    How to add cases before case 1. The quickest way to add cases before case 1 is to use the Insert action of the Drag-and-Drop facilities; you can also add cases after case 1 and then move case 1 after those cases.

How to select (highlight) the entire spreadsheet:
    Following the standard spreadsheet convention, click in the upper-left corner of the spreadsheet. This shortcut is useful, for example, when you intend to copy the entire file to the Clipboard. Note that by clicking twice in the upper-left corner, you will de-select (i.e., select and then de-select) the entire spreadsheet.

How to edit the contents of a cell (and not overwrite it):
    Double-click on the cell. To avoid clearing the contents of the cell (at the point when you start entering a correction), before you start typing, first double-click on the cell. This will enter the editing mode and will position the cursor within the cell.
    Press F2. Alternatively, you can follow the "old" spreadsheet convention and press the F2 key, which will also enter the edit mode for the currently highlighted cell.

How are dates represented in STATISTICA data files?
    Date values of variables are internally stored in Julian format, that is, as a single integer value that represents the number of days that have passed since January 1, 1900; for example a date entered and displayed as 1/21/1968 will be stored as the Julian date 24858; the (optional) decimals are interpreted as time (see the next topic). Date values stored in this manner can be used in subsequent analyses (e.g., in Survival Analysis in order to calculate survival times, see below) and transformed using arithmetic operations; at the same time, they can be displayed as dates in reports or graphs (e.g., used to label scale values).
    Julian date values can be displayed in the spreadsheet in numeric (Julian) format or in one of several pre-defined date display formats (e.g., 1/6/64, 6-Jan-64, Jan-1964, 01/06/64, 01/06/1964, 6-Jan).
    To change the date display format, select the Date format option in the Current Specs dialog (accessible by double-clicking on the variable name in the spreadsheet or from the spreadsheet Edit pull-down menu) and choose one of the pre-defined display formats.
    When entering dates into a new variable, you will first need to change the variable display format from Number (the default format) to Date in the Current Specs dialog and select the desired date display format. Now, you can enter the dates in any of the pre-defined date display formats (i.e., enter the dates in the format that is easiest to key in, even if it is different than the desired display format) and STATISTICA will recognize those formats, convert the display to the desired date format, and internally store the date values in Julian format. Please refer to the on-line Electronic Manual for more detailed information on entering new or pasting copied date values into the data file.
    You can create a single date variable from two (month, year or day, month) or three (day, month, year) variables as well as split a single date variable into two or three variables in the Date Operations dialog accessible from the Date Values option in the spreadsheet Vars pull-down menu.
    Please refer to the on-line Electronic Manual (click the Help button or press the F1 key in the Variable Specifications dialog) for examples of creating date variables from numeric variables and splitting date variables into numeric variables.

How is time represented in STATISTICA data files?
    Time values of variables are stored as (optional) decimal values representing the fraction of the day since midnight; for example, 6:00AM is stored as 0.25. Time values stored in this manner can be used in subsequent analyses and transformed using arithmetic operations; at the same time, they can be displayed as times in reports or graphs (e.g., used to label scale values).
    STATISTICA will format the display of time values according to the current settings in the International - Time Format option of the Windows Control Panel.
    Please refer to the on-line Electronic Manual (click the Help button or press the F1 key in the Variable Specifications dialog) for examples of creating time variables from numeric variables and splitting time variables into numeric variables.

How to use date-values as codes (e.g., as values of grouping variables):
    Some procedures in STATISTICA require that values of grouping variables (codes) be less than 32,000, i.e., less than the Julian values of some dates [this does not apply to grouping codes used in all Stats (and Quick Stats) Graphs procedures, Quick Basic Stats, Quality Control, Experimental Design, Process Analysis, and other procedures]. In order to use date values as codes smaller than 32,000, convert them into text values using the facility described below.

How to convert date-values into text values and vice-versa:
    In some circumstances it may be useful to create text values with date information (e.g., when using a date variable as a coding variable with codes smaller than 32,000, see the previous topic). In this case, you can transform the date variable into a variable containing date text values with numeric equivalents in a range that will allow them to be used as codes by all procedures of STATISTICA (i.e., numeric values less than 32,000). Use the Text Values/Dates dialog to convert dates into codes. This dialog is accessible by pressing the Text Values/Dates button in the Date Operations dialog.

How to review and edit variable specifications (names, formats, notes, formulas, etc.):
    Specifications of a single variable. Double-clicking on the variable name in the spreadsheet will open a variable specifications dialog where you can change the variable name, format, missing data value, long label, formula, or a DDE link for the current variable. (As in most other facilities commonly used in STATISTICA, alternatively, this dialog can also be accessed from the toolbar, flying menus called by the right-mouse-button, and the pull-down menus.)
    The dialog can also be used to access graphs, descriptive statistics, and a listing of sorted numeric and text values for the current variable (press the button Values/Stats or Graphs). From this dialog, you can also access the Text Values Manager (press the Text Values button) to review and change the assignments between the text and numeric values for the current variable.
    Specifications of all variables. You can also press the Variable Specifications button on the spreadsheet toolbar or the All Specs button in the dialog shown above), to bring up an editable, combined table of specifications of all variables in the current data file. The table format is convenient when you need to compare or edit specifications of several variables, especially when you need to paste and copy between variables (e.g., comments, formulas, or links), or extend a format definition or missing data code from one variable to subsequent variables (use the Fill Block Down option from the flying menu).

How are Missing Data handled in STATISTICA?
    Specifying Missing Data codes. A Missing Data code, that is, a value which signifies that there is no data for a particular case and variable (displayed as a blank cell in the spreadsheet) can be specified separately for each variable. To change the code, double-click on a variable name in the spreadsheet to access the Variable Specifications dialog for that variable. Alternatively, you can press the Combined Variable Specifications button on the spreadsheet toolbar to access a combined table for all variables (see above). The default Missing Data code in STATISTICA (used when new files are created, new variables are added, or data are imported) is -9999.
    Processing cases with Missing Data. The way in which missing data are handled when processing data can be adjusted individually for each analysis (see the field MD deletion in most analysis-definition dialogs). Whenever applicable, the user has the choice to eliminate them from calculations in a casewise or pairwise manner, substitute them with means, or reconstruct or interpolate them (e.g., in the Time Series module).
    Press the Help button or the F1 key in the respective analysis-definition dialog to learn about the specific missing data handling options available for the procedures of interest.

How to change the Missing Data code for individual variables:
    The value used to designate missing data values for individual variables can be changed in all variable specification dialogs (the default value is -9999; see also the section on reviewing and editing variable specifications).

How can I create a variable which contains the values 1 through n, in a random order without repetition?
    First, create a variable with random numbers between 0 and 1. You can do this with the spreadsheet formula =rnd(1). Then rank those numbers using the Rank option with sequential Ranks for Ties (this option will ensure that there is no repetition), available from the Vars toolbar button.

Can I use complex case selection conditions?
    Yes, Case Selection Conditions can be used to set user-specified conditions (of practically unlimited complexity), which define a subset of cases on which to base an analysis (without physically subsetting the data file).
    The Case Selection Conditions dialog can be accessed either by clicking on the Sel option from the Status Bar (on the bottom of the STATISTICA application window), clicking on the Select Cases button on the Startup Panel or an analysis definition dialog, or by choosing the Select option from the Options pull-down menu.
Logical conditions can be entered or edited in this dialog. Complex selection conditions can be created using logical operators and parentheses. For example,
        Exclude if: (v1<=10) OR (GENDER=’MALE’)
    This condition would exclude from an analysis those cases where the value of variable number 1 was less than or equal to 10 or those cases where the values of the variable GENDER equaled MALE.

How can I generate subgroup identifiers (codes) for my quality control charts?
    A spreadsheet formula can be used to generate subgroup identifiers. For example, the formula:
        =trunc((v0-1)/n)+1
where n is the number of times to repeat each value, can be used to generate the codes. For example, when n=4, then the following values (codes) of the grouping variable will be generated: 1, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3,...
    Note that the constant sample size option can also be used (instead of a grouping variable).

I have a data file (spreadsheet) with many (e.g., 400) variables. I would like to change the number of decimals that appear for all of the data. I know how to change the values for each variable, but is there a quick way to change the format for all variables?
    Yes, the number of decimals that appear for all of the data (or a range of variables) can be changed by pressing the toolbar Specs of All Variables (Table) button (or selecting the Vars toolbar button, and choosing All Specs), changing the format for the first variable of the range to be modified (e.g., 4.3 to 4.6 to add 3 decimal places), highlighting the desired range of variables in the Format column, clicking the right-mouse button, and choosing Fill Block Down. All formats in the selected block will be automatically modified.

How do I remove cases that have values greater than 2.5 (or some other multiple) of standard deviation for a variable (or set of variables)?
    You can write a STATISTICA BASIC program, using if then statements to find out which values are outside of +/-2.5 standard deviations and use the Delete command in Sequential Mode to delete those cases.

Text Values, Value Labels

How to enter/edit the assignments between numeric and text values:
    Normally, the assignments between text and numeric values are handled automatically as you enter or edit data in the spreadsheet (see the previous topic). However, in some circumstances, you may want to review, edit or restructure all assignments of values for a particular variable or copy text/numeric assignments from one variable to another. These operations can be performed in the Text Values Manager (accessible by pressing its respective button on the spreadsheet toolbar, by pressing the Text Values button in the variable specifications dialog for a particular variable; or from a flying menu (accessible by pressing the right-mouse-button anywhere on the respective variable in the spreadsheet).
    The Text Values Manager allows you to sort the assignments by text or numeric values, perform the Fill Down operation (to automatically reassign numeric values to text values), Copy numeric/text assignments from other variables or from case names, and perform other operations (press the Help button or the F1 key in this dialog to access the Electronic Manual).

How to switch between displaying text and numeric values in the data spreadsheet:
    As explained in the previous two topics, STATISTICA supports a double notation of values, where each value of a particular variable can simultaneously have a numeric and text identity. You can select a display of text or numeric values using a toggle switch button on the spreadsheet toolbar.

What are value labels?
    Value labels are comments or descriptions (up to 40 characters long) that can be assigned to specific text/numeric values in STATISTICA datasets. Each value of a variable can have a label assigned to it. Value labels can be displayed and edited directly in the spreadsheet (as well as in the Text Values Manager dialog). Value labels are automatically used in the output of all analyses which involve individual values (e.g., frequencies, crosstabulations, breakdowns, etc.).

How to display/edit the value labels:
    To display value labels in the spreadsheet, press the button while holding down the CTRL key or select the Text Values - Value Labels option in the spreadsheet View pull-down menu. Value labels can also be reviewed/edited in the Text Values Manager, accessible by pressing the Text Values Manager toolbar button.

How to copy a set of numeric/text value assignments and long value labels to other variables and other files:
    One of the options available in the Text Values Manager allows you to copy to the current variable the text values from other variables or from case names (see the Copy from box in the Text Values Manager dialog).
    When you need to copy the numeric/text value assignments and long value labels from one file to another, use the Merge files facility (in the Data Management module). One of the merge options available from the merge type selection dialog allows you to concatenate or replace text values with values from another file (see the topic on this merge option).

Clipboard and Drag-and-Drop operations in the spreadsheet
    When you copy or move a block in the spreadsheet, the values which are copied to the Clipboard will depend on the display mode of the spreadsheet. If the spreadsheet is displaying numeric values (or value labels) when the block is copied to the Clipboard, then only those numeric values (or value labels) will be copied to the Clipboard. If the spreadsheet is displaying text values when the block is copied to the Clipboard, then not only are the text values copied to the Clipboard, but also the corresponding numeric values and value labels (if any). This may result in the assignment of text values to numeric values that did not previously have text value equivalents.

I imported a file from Excel into STATISTICA. I want to change the default numerical assignment given to my Gender variable. How do I change "Male" from 100 to 1 and "Female" from 101 to 2?
    First, click on the Gender variable and then press the Vars toolbar button and select Recode. Under Category 1 type Gender=100 and set the resulting value to 1. Analogously, for Category 2, type Gender=101 and set the numeric value to 2. Then go back into the Text Values Manager (e.g. double-click on the variable name in the spreadsheet and select the Text Values button) and change the numeric values associated with "Male" and "Female" from 100 to 1 and 101 to 2, respectively. Click OK and the text values will be correctly associated with the new numeric assignments.

Operations on Blocks of Values

What are the Drag-and-Drop facilities?
    STATISTICA supports the complete set of standard spreadsheet (Excel-style) Drag-and-Drop facilities, as summarized below. For information on variable-speed scrolling while dragging a selection, and extending blocks outside the current window, please refer to the topic on variable speed highlighting.
    Moving a block. A selected block of data may be moved by pointing to the border of the selection (the cross-cursor will change to an arrow) and dragging it to the new location.
    Copying a block. A block may be copied by pointing to the border of the selection (the cross-cursor will change to an arrow) and pressing the CTRL key (a "plus" sign will appear next to the cursor) while dragging it to the new location.
    The default action which occurs when dragging a block without pressing the CTRL key may be changed from moving to copying in the STATISTICA Defaults:General dialog.
    Inserting a block. You may insert a block between rows or columns by pressing the SHIFT key while dragging the block and pointing the cursor between rows or columns (if you also press the CTRL key, the block will be copied and inserted instead of moved and inserted; a plus will appear next to the arrow-cursor as in the Drag-and-Drop copy operation, as shown in the illustration below).
    Clearing a block. A portion (or an entire) block can be cleared by dragging within a selected block (dimming the values to be deleted when you release the mouse).
    Extrapolating a block (AutoFill). Values within a block may be extrapolated by using intelligent, Excel-style, series extension facilities (see below).
    Numeric values are extrapolated using linear regression, text values are extrapolated following meaningful sequences (e.g., Q1, Q2, Q3, ..., or JAN, FEB, MAR, ...), see extrapolating blocks for more information.

How to rearrange blocks of data or ranges of cases and variables in a data file:
    There are three types of these operations: Clipboard-based, Global, and Drag-and-Drop-based; they operate differently and may produce different effects.
    Clipboard-based operations. Clipboard-based operations (invoked via the standard Clipboard keyboard, toolbar, or menu-commands) affect only the contents of blocks of data, rows, or columns, and they do not influence the overall size of the data file (e.g., they may empty a column but will not remove the column from the spreadsheet).
    The Global operations. The Global operations option (accessible from the pull-down menu or the spreadsheet Vars and Cases toolbar buttons) are performed on entire rows or columns as "units;" for example, they will move or delete entire columns and not only their contents.
    Drag-and-Drop operations. STATISTICA supports the standard (ms Excel-style) selection of Drag-and-Drop facilities, allowing you to easily perform both Clipboard-style (but without using the Clipboard) and Global (if the insert mode is invoked by pressing the SHIFT key) operations; for details see the previous topic.

How to expand a block in the spreadsheet outside the current screen:
    Blocks may be selected (1) by drag-selecting (holding down the left-mouse-button) with the mouse, (2) by clicking in one corner of the block to be highlighted, then scrolling to the desired opposite corner (the original cell will remain selected) and pressing the SHIFT key while clicking in that cell, or (3) by holding down the SHIFT key while using the cursor keys on the keyboard. To expand a previously-selected block, you may use the SHIFT-cursor key, or scroll the display with the mouse and press the SHIFT key while clicking in the desired corner of the block. To highlight a large block in "split-pane" mode (as shown below), click in a cell in one pane, then scroll to display the diagonally opposite corner in another pane and use SHIFT-click to select the block.
    Variable speed of block highlighting. Note that you can control the speed at which you scroll when you extend a block outside the current display window. By moving the cursor a short distance away from the spreadsheet (or Scrollsheet), you can scroll one line at a time when a block is selected; you can scroll one page at a time by moving the cursor further away from the spreadsheet (or Scrollsheet).

How to expand the data file size by using Drag-and-Drop:
    If you drag a block past the current boundary of the spreadsheet, the data file will expand to make room for the new data. You can also expand the spreadsheet by using the Insert operation. This operation will insert the block between cases or variables, thereby increasing the size of the spreadsheet. Note that whether you move, copy, or insert new cases or variables, when the block contains only part of a variable or case, then STATISTICA will fill the remaining values in the variable/case with missing data.
    Note that if you work with large data files (e.g., more than 10 megabytes), you may wish to enable the option to Ask before inserting rows or columns in the STATISTICA Defaults: General dialog.

Splitting and Merging Files

Can I merge the long value labels (or text/numeric value assignments) from two files?
    Yes, when you select the Merge files option in the Data Management module (see above), in addition to the Merge Cases and Merge Variables, you will be able to choose the Merge Text Values option. In the subsequent dialog you will be able to select the way in which the text values from the two files are to be merged.

Formulas, Data Transformations, Recoding, Verifying, Cleaning Data

How to calculate (transform) values of a variable:
    Spreadsheet formulas. To perform single-line data transformation and recoding operations on single variables, you can use the data spreadsheet formulas. Double-clicking in the spreadsheet on the name of the variable which you want to transform will open the Variable Specification dialog (see below) where a data transformation or recoding formula can be entered directly into the Long name (label, link, or formula) field.
    Following the Windows spreadsheet formula conventions (e.g., ms Excel), start the formula with an "=" (otherwise STATISTICA will not recognize that the text is to be interpreted as a formula). For example, enter =(v1+v2)/2. Variables can be referenced by their names (e.g., Income, profit, TEST1) or numbers (e.g., v1, v2, v3, ...); v0 is the case number. Logical operators can be used to define conditional transformation expressions.
    Press the Functions button when you are in this dialog to access the Functions Wizard facility that can be used to select functions and other elements of the syntax (for the formulas) and insert them into the formula editor. The Wizard also allows you to quickly access information on any of the functions and the complete on-line syntax documentation.
    After entering a formula and pressing OK, you are given the option to recalculate the variable now. If you choose not to recalculate at this time, you can do so later by pressing the spreadsheet toolbar Recalculate button or the Recalculate All key (F9).
    The STATISTICA BASIC programming language. If you need to write more complex data transformation programs than those which can be entered via spreadsheet formulas, an integrated programming language (STATISTICA BASIC) can be used. The language can be accessed from the pull-down menu Analysis in each module.
    STATISTICA BASIC is a comprehensive programming language, supporting loops, nested conditional statements, compound instructions, multidimensional arrays, matrix operations, random access to individual records, custom-designed recoding functions, calls to external DLL procedures, allows you to access STATISTICA graphics facilities, etc.
    The language comes with an integrated environment that allows you to write, edit, debug, and execute your programs (you may open multiple STATISTICA BASIC programs in separate editor windows in the same module and copy and paste between them). The central part of the BASIC environment is a flexible Function Wizard facility that allows you to select the respective functions or keywords and insert them into the program.
    The syntax of STATISTICA BASIC is very simple. While writing your programs, you can access Examples (shown below) and a concise Syntax summary by pressing the respective toolbar buttons (see the Help:Examples and Help:Syntax buttons). It is convenient to have the help screen available while you write your programs; you can keep the Help window always on top of the STATISTICA window if you press the Always On Top button in the Help window.
    For more information on STATISTICA BASIC, please refer to the STATISTICA BASIC section.

Can STATISTICA automatically recalculate all spreadsheet formulas when the data change?
    Yes, by setting the option Auto-recalculate when the data change in the Recalculate dialog (accessed by pressing the Recalculate button in the toolbar), all spreadsheet formulas will be automatically recalculated when the data are changed in the spreadsheet. Alternatively, you can press F9 in the program in order to manually recalculate the formulas in the spreadsheet.

How to generate values from a normally distributed random variable?
    There are several ways in which to do this. You may use the spreadsheet formulas to fill a variable with random values from a normal distribution with a given mean and standard deviation. This is accomplished by using the inverse function for the normal distribution (vnormal(x)). As an example, to fill a variable with values from a normal distribution with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 3, type the following formula in the long name edit field of the current specs dialog for the variable:
    =vnormal(rnd(1),50,3)
The inverse function can also be used in a STATISTICA BASIC program. Additionally, you can generate values fom the standard normal distribution (mean = 0, standard deviation = 1) by using the normal(x) function in STATISTICA BASIC.

What is the simplest way to recode values of a variable (e.g., split a continuous variable into categories)?
    Recoding functions of practically unlimited complexity can be custom-defined in STATISTICA BASIC and used repeatedly in your data transformation programs. However, a quick on-line recoding facility can also be accessed directly from the spreadsheet at any point (see Recode option, accessible from the spreadsheet Vars toolbar button). The scrollable Recode Values dialog which will be displayed allows you to define new values of the current variable depending on the specific conditions, which you define.
    When specifying the conditions, follow the standard syntax conventions which are common in STATISTICA to all those procedures which involve any operation of "selecting cases" based on their values. For example, the recoding conditions specified above would "translate" the negative values of the current variable (Measur1) into -1 and positive values into 1. Note that the 0's (the only value which is not included in the two recoding conditions) would be left unchanged, as set using the radio button unchanged (see the box Other in the lower right corner of the dialog). You can also use here Case Selection Conditions that have been specified somewhere else and saved to disk files (either as individual conditions or sets). Note that recoding conditions may be much more complex (see the Electronic Manual by pressing the Help button or the F1 key in this dialog) and they can be defined such that the new values of the current variable do not depend on the old values of that variable, but only on values of some other variables in the dataset. Thus, this facility can be used not only to recode existing data, but also to create values of a new variable based on conditions met by other variables (as illustrated in the next topic).

How to create values of a new variable based on conditions met by other variables:
    You can use any of the data transformation facilities: spreadsheet formulas or STATISTICA BASIC. However, often the quickest way to do it would be to use the on-line data recoding facility described in the previous topic, which is accessible at any point from the data spreadsheet (see the spreadsheet Vars toolbar button). As mentioned in the previous topic, the currently highlighted variable does not even have to be included in the text of the recoding conditions. Thus, you can use this facility to create values of a variable based on conditions met by other variables.
    For example, you can add a new (empty) variable to the data file, and then use this facility to create the new values. For instance, the recoding conditions could be used to assign 1's to the new variable for all "male subjects, 18 to 25 years old with cholesterol levels below 200;" 2's -- to "male subjects 18 to 25 years old with cholesterol levels above 200;" and assign the missing data value to all other subjects.

How to verify and "clean" data:
    An interactive data-verification and cleaning facility is provided in the Data Management module. In order to verify data, bring up the Data Management module, and select the option Verify Data Values from the startup panel or the pull-down menu Analysis. The Verify Data dialog which will appear allows you to enter the conditions to be met by the data.
    Follow the standard syntax conventions which are common in STATISTICA to all those procedures which involve any operation of "selecting cases" based on their values. You can also use here Case Selection Conditions that have been previously saved to disk files (either as individual conditions or sets). Pressing the Help button or the F1 key in this dialog will bring up a comprehensive description of all verification options with examples.
    The verification can be as simple as checking whether values in a variable are "legal" (e.g., only 1 and 2 might be allowed for Gender) or whether they fall within allowed ranges of values (e.g., Age must be more than 0 and less than 200). It can also be as complex as checking multiple logical conditions that some values must meet in relation to other values.
    Consider the following example of conditional verification:
    If a person is a male or less than 14 years old, then the number of pregnancies for that person cannot be more than zero.
    In order to apply these conditions, you would specify (for example):
    Invalid if: (v1='MALE' or AGE<14) and PREGN>0
    After you specify the verification conditions, press the OK (Verify) button and the dataset (or the selected range) will be tested sequentially (one case at a time) for its consistency with the set of conditions which you have specified.
    When a case is found which does not meet the conditions, then the respective row of data in the spreadsheet will be brought up and highlighted and the Data Verification dialog will open allowing you to either ignore the inconsistency (and continue or stop the verification) or edit (correct) the case.
    Now you can press Review/Edit the Data (or press Enter) to edit the case which is highlighted in the spreadsheet. Alternatively, you can Ignore and Continue or Ignore and Exit the verification. Note that if you decide to edit the case, then after you are done, pressing the floating Cont (continue) Verify Data button in the lower left corner of the screen will continue the verification.

Custom data verification and cleaning facilities:
    For some (probably less common) applications, you can easily develop interactive data cleaning and verification applications using STATISTICA BASIC. A single statement (PauseAndEdit) can be used to bring up an interactive dialog allowing you to review and edit any variables in the data file.

How to perform a multiple sort:
    Use the Sort option from the startup panel (or the pull-down menu Analysis) of the Data Management module. This will bring up a dialog where you can specify the key variables and the type of sort. If you need to sort based on more than 3 keys, press the More Keys... button to switch to a larger dialog.

How to rank-order values of a variable (replace values with their ranks):
    Select the Rank option by pressing the Vars button on the spreadsheet toolbar to bring up the Rank Order Values dialog, then press the Variables button to select the variables to be ranked. Optionally, you can also specify a subset of cases to be affected by the operation, use case weights, and set a number of options to perform particular (non-default) types of ranking (press the Help button or the F1 key in this dialog to access the Electronic Manual).

How to transpose data (convert cases into variables):
    Use the Transpose option accessible from the data spreadsheet Edit menu. A hierarchical menu will allow you to select either the Block or Data file transposing option.
    Transposing a block of data. The block transposing operation will affect only the contents of cells in the currently selected block highlighted in the data spreadsheet (the block must be square); the variable names and case names will not be affected.
    Transposing a data file. The data file transposing option will restructure the entire file. Note that when you transpose a file, case names become variable names and variable names become case names (for details, press the F1 key to access the Electronic Manual).

How to automatically fill ranges of data in the spreadsheet:
    In addition to the custom-defined operations of filling specific ranges of data with values, available via the data transformation options, STATISTICA can fill selected blocks with random values, and also supports standard (ms Excel-style) block extrapolation operations, which can be invoked by dragging a border of the block onto the adjacent area of the spreadsheet that is to be filled following the extrapolation rules.
    Random value fill. Select the Fill Random Values suboption of the Fill/Standardize Block option in the spreadsheet flying menu (click the right-mouse-button). The currently highlighted block will be filled with random values (following a uniform distribution) in the range of 0 to 1.
    Extrapolation of values (AutoFill). A selected series of values (consisting of at least two values) will be extended using linear regression to extrapolate values (see also the next topic). If a single value (or a repeated value) is selected, the value will be copied into the extrapolated block; also sequences consisting of names of months, days, or quarters can be automatically extended.
    Fill Down or Right. Finally, simple spreadsheet-style "fill block" (Down or Right) options are available which fill the currently selected block by duplicating the first row or column (respectively) of the block. To use this facility, first, select a block to be filled in the spreadsheet. Then, use the Fill/Standardize Block option accessible from the data spreadsheet Edit menu and the spreadsheet flying menu. A hierarchical menu will allow you to select either the Fill Down or Fill Right option.
    The former will copy (duplicate) the first row of the block to all remaining rows of the block; the latter will copy the first column of the block to the remaining columns of the block. Both options work in a manner similar to ms Excel's Fill Right and Fill Down facility (also available in Excel from the Edit menu).

How does the extrapolation of blocks (AutoFill) work?
    A horizontal or vertical series in a block can be extrapolated by dragging the block Fill Handle (a small, solid square located on the lower-right corner of the block). This is illustrated in the example in the previous topic. STATISTICA can create series of values such as sequential numbers, linear extrapolations and dates (e.g., you can extend a series such as 1, 2, 3 to include 4, 5, 6, ...).
    You can extrapolate a block in the following ways:

• If the initial selection contains repeated values, these values will be duplicated in the extended block.
• Non-identical values are extended by linear regression to compute extrapolated values for the series.
• If the block contains names of days (e.g., MON, TUE, WED, ...), months (e.g., JAN, FEB, ...), or quarters (e.g., Q1, Q2, ...), then STATISTICA will extrapolate the rest of the names in the series (e.g., MAR, APR, MAY, ..., DEC; THR, FRI, SAT, SUN; Q3, Q4, respectively).
• If the block contains other text values, then the text value of the last cell will be copied into the extended block.

How to standardize values in a block:
    Highlight a block of values in the spreadsheet, then from the spreadsheet flying menu (click the right-mouse-button) select either Standardize Rows or Standardize Columns. The standardized values are computed as follows:
    Std. Value = (raw value - mean of highlighted row/column) / std. deviation
    You can also standardize selected variables via the option Standardize Variables in the Data Management module (that procedure works independent of the currently selected block but takes into account the current case selection conditions and weights).

I have noticed that when I use an ArcSin transformation in a STATISTICA spreadsheet formula, the results are given in radians, not degrees. Is there anyway I can change this?
    While there is no option which allows toggling between the two types of results, multiplying the spreadsheet formula by 180/Pi will convert the radians into degrees.

Analyses, On-line Statistics

How to select variables for an analysis:
    Every analysis definition dialog in STATISTICA contains at least one Variables button which allows you to specify variables to be analyzed. You can click on it (or press V). If you forget to specify variables and press OK to start the analysis, STATISTICA will ask you for the variables to be analyzed. The Variable Selection window which will appear supports various ways of selecting variables and it offers various shortcuts and options to review the contents of the data file.

Can variables be selected for analyses by highlighting them in the spreadsheet?
    Yes, this shortcut method is supported. If you select a block in the data spreadsheet, then the variables included in the block will automatically become pre-selected for the next analysis. Note that this shortcut is designed to limit the chance of producing unintended results in the following ways:
    The pre-selection of variables by marking a block in the spreadsheet works only as long as you have not selected a specific list of variables for the analysis (i.e., it will never overwrite your previous choices; STATISTICA will remember your previous choices).
    Also, if the variables from the block are not what you intend to analyze, you do not need to "undo" the selection: When you enter the Variable Selection window, the list of pre-selected variables will be highlighted, thus, the first click of the mouse will de-select the previous range (unless you keep the CTRL key pressed). If you prefer to use the keyboard to specify the list, then the first (non-cursor moving) key you press will delete the previous entry in the variable selection edit field.

How to select a subset of cases (observations) to be included in an analysis:
    Before an analysis begins (i.e., before the data are processed), you can instruct the program to select only cases (i.e., rows in the spreadsheet) which meet some specific selection criteria. A facility to define and manage such Case Selection Conditions can be accessed from the pull-down menu Options, by pressing F8, or simply by double-clicking on the status bar field Sel: OFF which normally shows the current status of the Case Selection Conditions (when disabled, the field reads Sel: OFF, when enabled, the field reads Sel: ON). For a complete reference, access the Electronic Manual when the Case Selection Conditions window is displayed.

How are the Case Selection Conditions stored/saved?
    Currently-specified Case Selection Conditions (definitions of subsets of data) are automatically stored by STATISTICA when you change modules. You can also save and open them (and maintain libraries of Case Selection Conditions) by using the Open or Save As buttons in the Case Selection Conditions dialog. The list of supplementary files associated with the current dataset (maintained in the Workbook dialog) offers easy access to those libraries, and the list is accessible from every Open/Save dialog.
    Note that the saved Case Selection Conditions can also be used in all STATISTICA facilities which allow you to define subsets of cases. For example, the same conventions apply to the data Recoding facility (available by pressing the spreadsheet Vars toolbar button), data verification facilities (available in the Data Management module), or all procedures which allow you to custom-define multiple subsets of data (such as frequency tables, or multiple-subset scatterplots).

What is the quickest way to review basic descriptive statistics for a variable?
    You can either use the Quick Basic Stats option accessible from the flying menu in all spreadsheets and Scrollsheets, or the data listing option Values/Stats in the Quick Stats Graphs menu in the following manner. Highlight any cell in the desired variable in the spreadsheet (or Scrollsheet), then press the toolbar button Quick Stats Graphs to bring up the menu of statistical graphs and options. Alternatively, press the right-mouse-button and select Quick Stats Graphs from the flying menu. Then double-click on the Values/Stats of... option (or highlight this option and press Enter). The resulting window will display information about the selected variable, a sorted list of its values, and descriptive statistics. The descriptive statistics can be copied to the Clipboard by pressing the Copy button (see the lower part of the window).
    Note that a more extensive selection of descriptive statistics and other basic statistics (correlations, frequency tables, distributions, analyses by..., etc.) can be requested from the Quick Basic Stats menu available from the toolbar button or right-mouse-button flying menus in all spreadsheets and Scrollsheets and from all pull-down Analysis menus.
    For information about a facility to produce descriptive statistics for columns or rows of the currently selected block of values, see Block Stats.

What is the quickest way to review ordinal descriptive statistics (median, quartiles) for a variable in the spreadsheet or Scrollsheet?
    You can either use the Quick Basic Stats option accessible from all toolbars, or the flying menu in all spreadsheets and Scrollsheets, or the option Box-Whisker in the Quick Stats Graphs menu. The latter method will also visualize the statistics in a graph. Highlight any cell in the desired variable in the spreadsheet (or Scrollsheet), then press the toolbar button Quick Stats Graphs. Alternatively, press the right-mouse-button and select Quick Stats Graphs from the flying menu which will pop up. Either method will bring up the menu of statistical graphs and options.
    Depending on what kind of descriptive statistics you would like to review, select one of the Box-Whisker of... options for a single variable (e.g., to review ordinal descriptive statistics and the range, select the option Median/Quart/Range): The graph will appear on the screen, including the specific values of the respective descriptive statistics.
    For a more complete description of the distribution of the variable, you can paste into the graph the basic descriptive statistics (copied from the dialog described in the previous topic). Note that many other statistical graphs of distributions of variables (e.g., a large selection of user-defined, univariate and multivariate box and whiskers plots with outliers) can be requested from the Stats Graphs menu (available in the pull-down menu Graphs).

What is the quickest way to review a sorted list of all values of a variable?
    Make sure that the cursor is (anywhere) on the desired variable in the spreadsheet (or Scrollsheet). Press the Quick Stats Graphs button on the toolbar. From the Quick Stats Graphs menu (see the previous two topics), select the Values/Stats of... option. A sorted list of all numeric- and corresponding text-values (if there are any) for that variable will appear.
    Note that the assignments between the numeric and text values for the variable can be edited in the Text Values Manager. To produce a frequency table of values, use the Quick Basic Stats facility (see the next topic).

What are Quick Basic Stats?
    The Quick Basic Stats options are available from either the spreadsheet or Scrollsheet toolbar button, the right-mouse-button flying menu, or from the Analysis pull-down menu of any module of STATISTICA. Quick Basic Stats can be invoked at any point of your data analysis (e.g., to provide supplementary information when you review output from any STATISTICA module).
    These procedures include a selection of basic statistics which can be performed on long lists of variables (e.g., correlation matrices for all variables in the dataset), and all analyses can be performed by groups, for every value (i.e., code) of a selected grouping variable.
    One of the advantages of this facility is that usually you do not have to select variables for Quick Basic Stats analyses via dialogs; instead, the variables are automatically selected from the currently highlighted block in the spreadsheet or Scrollsheet.
    For more information, press the Help button or the F1 key to access the Electronic Manual; see also the next topic.

What are Block Stats?
    Statistics for each row or column in a selected block may be computed and added to the spreadsheet or Scrollsheet (i.e., appended at the end) by selecting the desired Block Stats from the flying menu (or from the Edit pull-down menu). The selected statistics will be added to the end of the data file or Scrollsheet as additional rows or columns. The variable name will contain the name of the selected statistic and the long name will include the range description.
    If you select Block Stats/Columns, the results of the selected statistic will be appended as a new case and the case name will contain the name of the selected statistic and the range description.
    In addition, Block Stats Graphs are also available from this flying menu to produce statistical graphs for the values in each row (if Block Stats/Rows was selected) or each column (if Block Stats/Columns was selected) of the currently highlighted block in the spreadsheet.

Can matrix data (e.g., correlations or covariances) instead of raw data be used for input?
    Yes, STATISTICA supports a variety of matrix-file types as input data (e.g., for Regression, Factor Analysis, Reliability, and other modules). Matrix files can be edited in the spreadsheet (as if they were raw data files), however, in order to be properly interpreted as matrices by the program, they need to meet specific content and format conditions (depending on the matrix type). STATISTICA also supports the multiple matrix data file format for input in procedures (such as Structural Equation Modeling) which support matrix data for groups.
    Refer to the respective module of STATISTICA for details on matrix file input (press the Help button, the F1 key, or use the Electronic Manual for specific descriptions of the matrix file formats supported by STATISTICA).

How do I create a control chart for a data file where each column represents an observation in a sample? For example, I have 20 samples, each of size 5, so my data file has 20 rows and 5 columns.
    You can use the Block Stats/Rows option by right mouse clicking on the desired row to compute columns of means and standard deviations. Add a column using the Vars toolbar button and fill in the sample size with a spreadsheet formula (e.g. =5). Then use the means, standard deviations, and sample sizes as the input instead of the raw data.

Import, Export, DDE

How to access data from Excel and other foreign data files:
    Clipboard. The quickest, and in many cases easiest way to access data files from other Windows applications (e.g., spreadsheets) is to use the Clipboard, which in STATISTICA supports special Clipboard data formats generated by applications such as ms Excel or Lotus for Windows. For example, STATISTICA will properly interpret formatted cells (such as 1,000,000 or $10) and text values.
    File import facilities. Data files from a wide variety of Windows and non-Windows applications can also be accessed and translated into the STATISTICA format using the file import facilities which also include access to virtually all databases (via STATISTICA's flexible ODBC support) and options to access formatted and free format text (ASCII) files.
    The main advantages of using the file import facilities (over the Clipboard) are that:

• They allow the user to specify the exact way in which the translation is to be performed (e.g., access named ranges in the foreign data files, decide whether or not to import variable names, text values, and case names, and how to interpret them); and
• They allow the user to access types of data which are not (or not easily) accessible to Clipboard operations (such as long value labels and special missing data codes).

How to export data from STATISTICA to Excel and other foreign data files:
    The Clipboard and data file translation facilities described in the previous topic in the context of importing foreign file formats can also be used to export data from STATISTICA to other formats. The same selection of formats and data types is supported when importing data to and exporting them from STATISTICA (see the previous topic).

Can STATISTICA access data from mainframe databases?
    Yes, a flexible ODBC interface (including options to combine fields from multiple tables) is provided via the Import Data facilities, available in the File pull-down menu in every module.

Does STATISTICA support ODBC?
    Yes, via the Import Data facilities, available in the File pull-down menu in every module. The STATISTICA ODBC interface includes options to combine fields from multiple tables and provides flexible access to a wide variety of database management files, including both mainframe and microcomputer formats (e.g., dBASE for Windows, Paradox, Sybase, Oracle, SAS, etc.).

How to set up DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) links between STATISTICA and files created by other Windows applications:
    You can establish DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) links between a "source" (or server) file (e.g., a ms Excel spreadsheet) and a STATISTICA data file (the "client" file), so that when changes are made to the data in the source file, the data will be automatically updated in the respective part of the STATISTICA spreadsheet (client file).
    A common application for dynamically linking two files would be in industrial settings, where the STATISTICA data file would be dynamically linked with a measurement device connected to the serial port (e.g., in order to automatically update specific measurements hourly).
    DDE links can be established using the quick, "paste-like" Paste Link option in the spreadsheet pull-down menu Edit, or by entering a definition of the link into the Long name (label, formula, link): field of the Variable Specifications dialog. When a link is established, it can be managed using the Links Manager (accessible via the Links... option in the spreadsheet pull-down menu Edit).
    Refer to the Electronic Manual (accessible by pressing the Help button or the F1 key from either of the two options) for details and examples. There are also other applications for the DDE data integration facilities in STATISTICA; see the Electronic Manual on DDE for details.

DDE with Excel 7.0: Troubleshooting
    The statement defining the link for Excel 5.0 is specified as application, file, and range, and as part of the range you can specify in which sheet the data are located. However, the Excel 7.0, DDE server may produce a nonstandard statement (it includes a different specification of the sheet, and the link cannot be established; i.e., the Paste Link option in the Edit menu does not produce a working DDE link).
    The first fix is to edit the statement (generated by Excel 7.0) that defines the link (in STATISTICA) by deleting out the nonstandard specification of the sheet. For example, if the DDE server creates the following link,
@Excel|C:\EXCEL\[DATA.XLS]Sheet1!R1C1:R11C1
you will need to delete the reference to Sheet1 in order for the link to be established. The link would then be
@Excel|C:\EXCEL\DATA.XLS!R1C1:R11C1
    You can edit links in the Current Specs dialog (accessible by double-clicking on the name of the variable, to which the link is to be established), the All Specs dialog (accessible via the All Specs spreadsheet toolbar button) or the Link Manager dialog (available by selecting Edit..Links from the Edit pull down menu.
    The limitation here is that you can only create a link with the first sheet in any Excel 7.0 file. If your data are in sheet one, this is not a problem. If the data are not in sheet one, you would need to link the data to a new Excel 7.0 file and place them in sheet number one.

Why do I get an error message when trying to import a Paradox (.db) file?
    The STATISTICA Quick Import facility does not support files from Paradox, release 5.0. The file must first be saved as either an earlier version Paradox file or as a .dbf (dBase) file. However, the ODBC interface may be used to import data from Paradox 5.0 directly.

Why do I get strange values for my date variable when I import a SPSS portable file into STATISTICA?
    STATISTICA stores date values in the standard Julian format while SPSS uses a different format. To resolve the problem after importing the SPSS portable file into STATISTICA convert the values into the standard Julian format. Enter the following: =(v1-10010304000)/86400+1 into the Long Name section of the Variable Specs dialog for the date variable.

I am unable to use the ODBC option with ms Access 7.0. What do I do?
    Windows95 is shipped without an installation facility for ODBC drivers. You must obtain a special installation disk from ms. This file is also available from their BBS under the filename GE1263.exe. After you’ve extracted this file, you may use the following procedure to use your ms Access ODBC driver with STATISTICA functions.

1. First, make sure that you have installed the ODBC drivers that come with your STATISTICA software.
2. Reboot your computer.
3. Select the setup command associated with the ODBC program you extracted by executing GE1263.exe. You may do this through Windows Explorer (95) or File Manager (3.1).
4. Follow the installation procedure and finish it by selecting the Close button.
5. Again, reboot your computer.
6. You should now be ready to use 32-bit ODBC Access drivers from within STATISTICA.

I am trying to import a large ASCII file via Quick Import and the import fails.
    Quick Import is limited to data files of small to moderate size. For large data files, you should use the Import Data—More option which is available only in the Data Management module.

I am trying to establish a DDE link with another dataset and I get a "DDE Init Failed" error message. The link is not established.
    One of the steps in the DDE procedure is to ask the source to give up the data.
    STATISTICA cannot wait for ever for a reply in case there is a problem because this would hang the system so there is a time limit. The default for this is 1 second.
    On a fast computer this is not a problem, but on slower machines such as a 75MHz, sometimes (especially when STATISTICA is still loading in the background on start-up) the computer has not linked in that first second.
    The solution is to go into STATIST.INI and add the following...
        in the [Statistica] section:
        DDEDelay=5000
    where 5000 = 5 seconds because it is in milliseconds (use another number as necessary).

General

What are Workbooks?
    Workbooks help to organize sets of supplementary files (e.g., Scrollsheets, graphs, text/graphics reports, user programs, recodes, etc.) which have been created or used (e.g., reviewed) during the analysis of a dataset. The STATISTICA Workbook facility maintains a list of all files used with the current dataset.
    An updated list of these files is automatically saved with the data file. Selected files in the list can be marked Auto Open, they will then be automatically brought up whenever you open the current dataset.

Can I open more than one input data file simultaneously?
    Different data files can be used simultaneously for input in different modules (as mentioned before, different modules can process the same or different data files). From the File Manager, data files may be opened directly (into the STATISTICA File Server application, see below) by double-clicking on them. Each data file will be opened into a separate File Server application window (see the next topic); in this manner, you may simultaneously open as many data files as you wish.
    In one module, only one file (i.e., Workbook) at a time can be used as the main input data file and reside in the data spreadsheet; other files can be opened simultaneously in one module for reference only, thus, they can be opened only as Scrollsheets (if they were previously saved into Scrollsheet files). Refer to the section on differences between spreadsheets and Scrollsheets for more information.
    Multiple Megafile Manager files can be opened simultaneously in the Data Management module, allowing you to easily move data from standard STATISTICA data files to different aggregated (or archival) databases, or to create STATISTICA data files from data stored in various Megafile Manger databases.

What is the STATISTICA File Server?
    This small, rapidly-loading module of STATISTICA provides facilities for accessing and modifying all STATISTICA files, including data files (file name extension *.sta), Scrollsheets (*.scr), graphics (*.stg), and STATISTICA BASIC files (*.stb). STATISTICA files may be opened from the Windows File Manager by simply double-clicking on the file name. One of the advantages of using the STATISTICA File Server application is that you may have as many instances of the File Server open at once as your operating system will allow, permitting you to review many data files at one time (see the previous topic).
    In addition, the STATISTICA File Server application provides OLE support for STATISTICA files in other applications (if there is not any other module of STATISTICA currently running).
    Custom-designed, new modules of STATISTICA. The File Server can also be used as a foundation to develop new STATISTICA modules (using STATISTICA BASIC) with their own startup panels, and Scrollsheet and graph output.

Does STATISTICA support Drag-and-Drop opening of data files and graphs?
    Yes. In the Windows File Manager you may simply drag any STATISTICA data file (file name extension *.sta), Scrollsheet file (file name extension *.scr), or graphics file (file name extension *.stg) onto the icon for a STATISTICA module in order to automatically open the file in the respective STATISTICA module.

How much disk space is necessary to perform database management operations?
    In order to allow the user to revert back to the original data file after file editing, STATISTICA creates temporary and backup files. Thus, in order to edit a data file, the program will need at least twice as much free disk space as the size of the file to be edited. More disk space is necessary if you perform large-scale editing operations (e.g., changing large blocks) on very large data files: to allow for the Undo function, STATISTICA will then need to store multiple copies (up to 16) of the modified sections of data. Some operations (e.g., import/export) use intermediate scratch files, thus they may need additional space.

In what circumstances does STATISTICA issue the "Disk full" message?
    STATISTICA uses the disk drive which is designated for temporary files in your Windows configuration for its temporary files. On some systems, this disk may be a RAM drive of a relatively small size. The limited space on that drive may be quickly used up (by STATISTICA and other Windows applications) and the Disk full message issued even though there is still free space on some other drive. To check the current setting, look for the SET TEMP= line in your autoexec.bat file (in the root directory of the boot disk). To remedy the situation, set the location for temporary files to your largest disk.
    Note also that because the ms Windows system and various Windows applications use large temporary disk files, the actual amount of disk space effectively available to an application may be much smaller than the amount reported by File Manager immediately after starting the computer.

What are the differences between the data management options accessible in every module and the Data Management module?
    Most of the commonly-used data management facilities are integrated with the spreadsheet and available from the data spreadsheet in every module (either from the toolbar, pull-down menu Edit, or the flying menus). These commonly-available facilities include all spreadsheet operations on cases and variables, transposing data, data transformations through the spreadsheet formulas, the STATISTICA BASIC programming language, and the on-line recoding facilities, ranking, filling ranges, shifting, DDE, management of text values, date values, long value labels, and many other options (including direct import/export functions and import via ODBC).
    The Data Management module includes all of these options and additional, specialized data management facilities such as relational merge, interactive data verification and cleaning, specialized import/export facilities (e.g., allowing import/export of double notation of values to file formats which normally do not support double notation), and others.
    Access to Megafile Manager facilities. In addition, the Data Management module of STATISTICA provides access to all facilities of the Megafile Manager database system (see the next topic), which offers options to access and process data in unusual data formats (e.g., data organized into extremely large records or data with very long text values). A unique feature of Megafile Manager is that it can process data with extremely long records (up to 8 megabytes per record). Megafile Manager also can be used as an archival data base system to store data combined from various sources (preserving their original formats). Easy to use (one step) and flexible facilities are provided in the Data Management module to move data in and out, between STATISTICA data files and archival Megafile Manager databases.

What is Megafile Manager?
    Overview. Megafile Manager is a specialized data base management system accessible from the Data Management module of STATISTICA (see the previous topic). Its unique feature is that it can manage and directly process types of data which need to be transformed, aggregated, extracted, or cleaned before they can be directly accessed by any STATISTICAl or graphics procedures of STATISTICA (e.g., data organized into very long records or data embedded inside very long text values).
    Megafile Manager can process extremely large records of data (rows): up to 32,000 columns with up to 255 characters each (up to 8 megabytes per row). Data organized in such long records can, for example, be produced by some automated quality control measurement devices or other data acquisition or monitoring equipment. Also, such files are sometimes useful in maintaining integrated, large archival data banks consisting of numerous merged or concatenated files.
    Megafile Manager and other STATISTICA facilities. Most likely, the majority of common data processing needs can be easily addressed with the standard procedures available in every module of STATISTICA. Therefore, Megafile Manager will typically be used only when there is a need for facilities to handle very unusual data importing, management, and pre-processing needs, for example, in order to maintain very large databases, or perform pre-processing of imported long text values, etc. Note that the standard procedures (offered in every module of STATISTICA) can also handle large size and very complex tasks; for example:

• to compute descriptive statistics or correlation matrices for very many variables (e.g., over 1,000) in a single run, use the Quick Basic Stats facilities available in every module via the Analysis pull-down menu or the toolbar Quick Basic Stats button;
• to perform complex recoding and aggregation of data, extensive operations on text values, or complex cleaning and verification of data, use STATISTICA BASIC, available in every module of STATISTICA from the Analysis pull-down menu;
• to import large files from other applications (e.g., Excel, Lotus, Quattro Pro, Paradox, etc.), use the Import options available from the pull-down menu File in every module of STATISTICA;
• to perform sequential, hierarchical, or relational merging of files, use the Merge option from the Analysis pull-down menu in the Data Management module, or use the functions available in STATISTICA BASIC for accessing external files (and then use the available powerful STATISTICA BASIC functions to merge data via simple or complex user-defined algorithms).

Can I Undo editing operations?
    When you click the Undo toolbar button or select Undo from the spreadsheet Edit pull-down menu, you will be able to undo most operations such as editing, moving or copying blocks, random fill, recoding or ranking variables, etc. Multi-level undo is supported (with 16 buffers), so you can undo up to 16 of the most recent spreadsheet operations.

How to restore an inadvertently overwritten data file:
    When you are overwriting an existing data file (while performing the Save As... operation), STATISTICA will give you an option to create a backup (under the same file name but with the file name extension *.bak). As long as you do not use Save As... twice in a row (which will overwrite the backup), you can return to the file as it was before being saved by using the backup.

What is the difference between the Output header and the File headers?
    Output header. The output header is an optional one line of text which you can enter into the Output Header field of the Page/Output Setup dialog. The text can be used to identify the current project or stage of data analysis and it will appear in the running head of your reports. It will be in effect as long as you do not change it (even after you turn off the computer). It can be automatically included in title areas of graphs and used in other procedures.
    File headers. The file One-line Header (an optional one-line summary title or other identification of the dataset) as well as File Information/Notes (a paragraph of comments) are stored along with the data file and can be entered or edited in the Workbook Info dialog, accessible from the Workbook Info option in the spreadsheet pull-down menu Edit (or by double-clicking on the title field of the spreadsheet displaying the header).
    The one-line header is automatically used in reports and graphs produced from the respective dataset. For example, it is included in printed reports if the selected report style is set to at least the Short setting. The header is also transferred to the title field of custom graphs created from the spreadsheet; it can also be automatically included in the title fields of all graphs created using the Stats Graphs facilities (in the pull-down menu Graphs).
    The File Information/Notes can be reviewed in the dialog shown above (accessible by double-clicking on the title field of the data spreadsheet) and printed, if requested, in the data printing options dialog.

Since STATISTICA uses Julian format for dates, will there be any problems with the dates in the year 2000?
    No, STATISTICA is year 2000 compliant (by design, and confirmed in an extensive set of internal tests). In fact, they are "Year 3000 Compliant" and "Year 4000 Compliant" also.
    In addition to "Year 2000 Compliance", we have worked to enhance handling of date variables in STATISTICA by allowing the user to custom define the default behavior of the program when ambiguous dates are entered. Specifically, as was common in Spreadsheet style packages, STATISTICA by default took a two digit number xx to be 19xx when converting to a year. The 100 year range for which only two digits are required is now under the control of each user. For example, by default the cut-point has been moved to 1920 and therefore typing '00' will be displayed as 2000, '19' will be 2019 while '20' remains 1920. This default cut-point year (1920) can be set to any value between 1900 and 1999, by entering the following line:
        DateCutOffYear=19yy
into the "[Statistica]" section of the STATIST.INI file (where 19yy is the new cut-point year).

When I execute my SCL program, I get the following error message: "SCL syntax error: Declared file does not exist?"
    Before executing the SCL program, STATISTICA will check to make sure files referenced in the program exist (except those specified as part of the SAVEAS command). If the goal of the program is to import and save a file, and then perform various analyses on that file, the file will not exist before the program is executed. To disable the "file checking", go to the Options pull-down menu and de-select "Check Files".

SCROLLSHEETS (Scrollable Tables with Results)

What are Scrollsheets?
    In STATISTICA, all numeric and text output is displayed in spreadsheet-like windows called Scrollsheets. Their content can be anything from a short line to megabytes of output, and they offer a variety of options to facilitate reviewing the results and visualizing them in predefined and custom-defined graphs.

What are the differences between Scrollsheets and spreadsheets?
    All differences between these two--on the surface very similar--main types of "documents" in STATISTICA are related to the difference in their contents: Scrollsheets are used to display results from analyses, whereas spreadsheets hold input data files. Both types of tables look similar and they offer very similar facilities, including the graphics options (both Custom and Stats graphs are available from Scrollsheets and from spreadsheets). Also, both offer easy access to Quick Basic Stats facilities and Block Stats facilities.
    However, each of them offers specialized features and options which are applicable to their respective contents. For example, data spreadsheets feature integrated data management, restructuring, transformation and recoding facilities, whereas Scrollsheets offer specialized graphs related to the types of statistical output they contain or integrated facilities to identify cells or rows containing results which meet particular statistical criteria (e.g., significance level).
    Drag-and-Drop facilities. The standard (ms Excel-style) Drag-and-Drop facilities (moving, copying, clearing, inserting, duplicating, and extrapolating series) are supported in spreadsheets; moving, copying, clearing, duplicating and extrapolating of selected blocks are supported in Scrollsheets.
    Toolbars, flying menus. These differences and similarities are reflected in the appearance of the toolbars which accompany each of the two types of document-windows, as well as in the contents of the flying menus which can be brought up by clicking the right-mouse-button on individual cells.
    Note that these two types of documents can easily be converted into one another (see the next two paragraphs).
    Converting data spreadsheets into Scrollsheets. The Convert to Scrollsheet... option (see the spreadsheet File menu; keyboard shortcut is the F11 key) can be used to convert the data file or the currently highlighted block of data into a Scrollsheet; an intermediate dialog will allow you to select options. A data file saved this way into a Scrollsheet can later be opened (e.g., for reference) at any point of the data analysis without affecting the main data file residing in the data spreadsheet and used as input data (the default file name extension for Scrollsheet files is *.scr).
    Converting Scrollsheets into standard data files (spreadsheets). The Save as Data... option (see the Scrollsheet File menu) can be used to convert the contents of the current Scrollsheet or the currently highlighted block into a standard STATISTICA data file. A data file created this way can later be opened for input as a regular data file, thus allowing you to submit output from one analysis as input for another.

What is the Scrollsheet queue?
    Queues of Scrollsheets (and graphs) Statistical analyses may produce large amounts of output. Scrollsheets offer flexible ways to organize the output regardless of its size. New Scrollsheets are generated by subsequent analyses in a "queue," where older Scrollsheets are closed automatically as new ones are created (to avoid having too many open windows at once). The Scrollsheets are closed on a first-in-first-out basis, and the default length of the queue is 3. In other words, when the fourth Scrollsheet is created, then the first one is closed (with no warning unless you have edited or customized it). The same queue conventions apply to graph windows.
    Note that an option is provided to automatically print (or send to the output file and/or the on-screen Text/output Window) each Scrollsheet which is generated on the screen (see below).
    Auto-report (Automatically Print All Scrollsheets). In order to create a log of all Scrollsheets, select the Automatically Print All Scrollsheets (and optionally graphs) option(s) in the Page/Output Setup dialog (accessible in the pull-down menu File or by double-clicking on the Output field on the status bar at the bottom of the STATISTICA window).
    In the same dialog, you will be able to specify where to direct the output: to the printer, a disk text output file, or the scrollable Text/output Window, and adjust other output settings.
    The length of the queues. In some instances, you may want to increase the length of this queue. Use the Scrollsheet Manager in the pull-down menu Window to temporarily change the length of the queue for the current session (the setting will return to the default length when you close the current module of STATISTICA). In addition, the Scrollsheet Manager dialog (see above) can be used to "lock" specific Scrollsheets (see the next two topics).
    The pull-down menu Options can be used to adjust the queue length permanently (the default length of the Scrollsheet queue is 3 windows):

How to keep a Scrollsheet from being replaced in the queue:
    Regardless of the length of the queue, you can "lock" individual windows (i.e., "remove" them from the queue; use the Scrollsheet Manger accessible from the pull-down menu Window, shown in the previous topic), so that they will not be automatically closed as long as you do not exit the program. Locked Scrollsheets are marked with the @ character appended to the Scrollsheet name in the title bar.

What is the difference between locking and saving Scrollsheets?
    Locking a Scrollsheet (see the previous topic) will preserve the Scrollsheet as long as you do not close the current module. Saving Scrollsheets (see below) allows you to preserve them across analyses (e.g., in different modules or sessions), because saved Scrollsheets can be opened again at any point of the analysis in any STATISTICA module. Also, saved Scrollsheets (file name extension *.scr) can be printed in batch using the Print Files... facility (in the pull-down menu File).

How to save a Scrollsheet:
    Saving Scrollsheets in a Scrollsheet format. Use the option Save (SHIFT+F12) or Save As...