Importing/Exporting Data
Data can be imported and exported by using the standard copy and paste operations common to PC-based operating systems. Highlight the group of cells and select copy from the Edit menu or right-click in the highlighted area to select “Copy” (Ctrl-C). Go to the program you want to paste to and select paste from the second programs Edit menu (Ctrl-V).
Data sets can be imported from a spreadsheet using copy and paste. A design (usually historical) must be set up in Design-Expert to receive it. Make sure that each factor’s levels, ranges and order match the existing data set. Duplicate or Delete rows in the design layout screen to get the desired number of rows. Select the first cell in each factor and response column (and sometimes Run column) and then paste the existing data set into the design layout.
Designs can be exported from Design-Expert to tab delimited text files. These files can be edited to enter responses and then re-imported by Design-Expert.
The steps for using this feature are…
- Create design in Design-Expert.
- Save the design.
- Export the design as a text file.
- Open the text file using a third party text editing software.
- Enter the response data using the third party software.
- “Save as” a tab delimited text file from the third party software.
- Open theo *.dxpx file saved above.
- Import the text file with the responses included.
As of version 9, the files created by Design-Expert are XML formatted text files. With XML parsing these files can be directly edited. Several scripting languages and Excel® can correctly parse XML files.
The export/import and XML features are most often used with automated experiment equipment.
Analyzing historical data (data mining)
Data gathered without a designed experiment can be evaluated and analyzed using Design-Expert® software. A “design” must be created in Design-Expert to hold the existing data set.
Historical “designs” are available for response surface and mixture data sets. Enter the minimum and maximum settings for each factor, and the number of rows in the existing data set. Copy and paste the data set into the historical design.
Use the evaluation node to explore the aliasing structure, correlation of the factors and the fraction of design space on the graphs tab. If everything looks okay, continue with the analysis.
Follow this link to our free webinar on the subject of analyzing historical data for some details about the things that can go wrong with historical data analysis.
View alias structure for pre-existing design
Working with existing data sets can be tricky. If it proves difficult to get useful analysis or warning messages about aliased terms appear, click on the Evaluation node on the left side of the screen.
Stat-Ease recommends evaluating the two-factor interaction (2FI) order first as this is where most of the important model terms will come from. Click the Results tab. If it shows no aliasing, then go back to the model tab and increase the order. Repeat until aliased terms appear (if any) to determine the capability of the design.
Fitting more than one model to a response
Only one model may be fit to each response.
If it is necessary to compare two models for the same data,
- right-click on the response column header and insert a response;
- left-click on the original response column and copy the data; and
- left-click on the new response and paste in the data.
With two (or more) columns of the same data, a different model can be fit to the response and the analyses compared at each step.
Journaling
All reports and graphs can be exported to Microsoft Office® programs Word® and PowerPoint®. Select the section of the report or click on the graph that is to be exported, right-click, and select the export method.
Make sure to click on a cell containing text or select the whole report (ctrl + a) to export every section. For graphs just make sure to click on the graph before exporting.
The annotation on the Evaluation and ANOVA is not exported via the journal. Annotation can be copied and pasted separately.
If Word® is already open, the exported object will be inserted at the cursor position. If exporting to PowerPoint® a new slide will be added to the presentation. If the selected program is not open, a new document will be created.
If multiple sections of a report are exported they will be in separate tables and/or on separate pages as necessary to maintain a readable font size.