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1.5 JMP Launch Dialog Windows
Throughout this book, each set of instructions used to create a graph or an analysis is prompted by a launch window that follows a consistent format and execution. To launch a window, however, you must first open a data table.
For purposes of illustration, we will open the Equity.jmp data table:
1. Select Help Sample Data Library Equity.jmp.
2. Select Analyze Distribution (see Figure 1.23).
Figure 1.23 Selecting the Distribution Platform
3. This generates the Distribution window with the columns (variables) from the Equity.jmp data table populated in the Select Columns list (see Figure 1.24).
Figure 1.24 The Distribution Launch Window
Most JMP launch windows consist of three main elements, organized from left to right (see Figure 1.25):
Figure 1.25 Launch Window Basics
• Available columns (or variables) of data to analyze from your data table. These appear on the left under Select Columns.
• Roles that you want to place (or cast) on the column(s). In this area, you see buttons and empty areas under Cast Selected Columns into Roles. Within these empty areas, you are given a hint in italics about which columns are required and which are optional to run the analysis.
• Action buttons to execute commands.
To use this Distribution window or almost any other in JMP, click on a column and select the role (or click and drag the column into that role’s empty space). Once you are satisfied with your selections, select OK.
Almost every analysis and graph window in JMP appears in this way. Now that you have learned this format, you are ready to handle just about any command window in JMP.
| Note |
| The Y, Columns role refers to what column you want to place on the vertical, or y, axis. In other windows, such as Fit Y by X, you also have an X role to select that corresponds to the horizontal, or x, axis. The Weight, Freq, and By roles are more specialized, but can streamline your analyses often without the requirement of reshaping your data (For more information, see Help JMP Documentation Library Using JMP Get Started Launch Windows). |
1.6 The Excel Add-In (Optional)
We find that many new users of JMP are often Microsoft Excel users too. JMP can easily import Excel data, which we will describe in greater detail in Chapter 2, but one feature that Excel power users might appreciate is the JMP add-in for Excel. The Excel add-in is a convenient Windows-only way to launch JMP platforms from within the Excel environment. If Excel is installed on your Windows computer and you then install JMP, the add-in should appear as a new tab along the top of your Excel window. (See Figure 1.26.) If it does not, go to “Add-ins” within Excel and select the check box next to the JMP add-in item.
Figure 1.26 The JMP Add-In Tab in Excel
Selecting the JMP tab will reveal a JMP ribbon providing a good selection (but not all) of the commonly used JMP platforms (see Figure 1.27).
Figure 1.27 The JMP Ribbon in Excel
Because the JMP environment offers dynamic and visual exploration of your data, each JMP platform option will launch JMP, convert your Excel worksheet into a JMP data table, and set up the corresponding launch window within the JMP environment. Let’s briefly summarize their functions.
1. Preferences helps bring your data to JMP in the right format. Here, you can specify the number of header rows in your Excel worksheet and whether to bring over hidden rows or columns.
2. Data Table automatically converts your Excel worksheet into a JMP Data Table. Note that it will use the preferences that you have set. If your data does not transfer correctly, change your preferences accordingly or use the Excel Import Wizard discussed in Chapter 2.
3. Graph Builder is an easy-to-use data visualization platform. Selecting this option will convert your worksheet into a JMP data table, launch the Graph Builder platform, and populate the dialog box with your variables or columns so that you are ready to visualize your data.
4. Distribution, Fit Y by X, Fit Model, Time Series, and Control Chart will convert your worksheet into a JMP data table and launch the corresponding platform with your variables ready to be assigned into roles.
5. Create/Edit Model and Run Model enable you to visualize your spreadsheet models using JMP’s profiler. If you are interested in performing “what-if” analysis on your spreadsheet models, the profiler enables you to do so visually. This is a great tool for presenting models because you can interact with the model and immediately visualize the effect of change. It also contains Monte Carlo simulation to explore how uncertainty will affect your model and fine-tune it to achieve desired results. (See Figure 1.28.)
Figure 1.28 The Excel Profiler
1.7 JMP Preferences
JMP’s Preferences determine the way JMP appears or behaves on your machine. JMP has been carefully crafted to support the workflow of the data analyst. Its defaults have been selected to reflect common use, which we use in this book. However, JMP also provides options to customize the software to corporate standards or individual tastes. In this section, we will explore how one can customize the look, feel, and options that appear in JMP. Preferences (File Preferences on Windows; JMP Preferences on Mac) are the primary means of setting or changing the defaults in JMP that you will see each time you operate the software – think global settings here. Virtually any function in JMP can be set as a default, including specific tests within any platform, the look of graphs, color schemes, font sizes and styles, and how JMP works with other products such as SAS.
To view the preferences, choose File Preferences or JMP Preferences on a Mac. (See Figure 1.29.)
Figure 1.29 Accessing Preferences from the File Menu
This opens the Preferences window (see Figure 1.30), containing 22 main categories on the left and options within those categories on the right. You can change preferences by checking or unchecking the boxes within the categories on the right or by selecting items from drop-down menus. Changing preferences can affect such things as the graph or result format, the font, the location of a file, and much more, each and every time you use those features in JMP. If you are unsure about making a change to the preferences, we recommend that you wait until you have a need to do so.
Figure
