Minitab

15 Tips and Tricks

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing Excel Files

In Minitab, choose File > Open Worksheet

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing Excel Files

In the File > Open Worksheet dialog, use Options and Preview before opening file

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing Excel Files

Correctly-formatted sheets open into separate worksheets

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing Data from a Database

In Minitab, choose File > Query Database (ODBC), select Machine Data Source and then your database

Note: Use File > New > Minitab Worksheet to import data into a blank worksheet

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing Data from a Database

Select the tables and fields that you want to import Select Use rows to specify a condition statement

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tally Individual Variables

Use Stat > Tables > Tally Individual Variables to get a list of unique values for a given column Tally will help you easily identify any inconsistencies

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Coding and Conversion Tables

Use Data > Code > Text to Text if you need to code up to 8 values Use Data > Code > Conversion Table to code any number of text or numeric values
To create a conversion table: 1. Use Alt to highlight the column of values > Copy 2. Paste the column into the worksheet 3. Create a column of the new, coded values

2008 Minitab, Inc.

After Data are Coded

Now we can create Pareto charts, get Descriptive Statistics, etc. for the downtime reasons
Pareto Chart of Reason
400 300 100 80 60 200 40 100 0 20 0

x Fi Count Percent Cum %

re tu

ig Al

nm

en

t e ng ha C

er Ov c Re
102 26.5 56.9

te ra lib

na Fi

es lT W

rM fo it a

ia er at

l ht Lig

ai rt Cu

n e ok Br n

ol To

r he Ot

117 30.4 30.4

42 10.9 67.8

33 8.6 76.4

25 6.5 82.9

20 5.2 88.1

18 4.7 92.7

28 7.3 100.0

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Percent

Count

Value Order
Value order determines the ordering of variables Right-click on a column and choose Column > Value Order to define an order
Individual Value Plot of DownTime
50

Individual Value Plot of DownTime

50

40

40

DownTime

20

DownTime

30

30

20

10

10

High

Low
Speed

Medium

Low

Medium
Speed

High

Speeds displayed in Alphabetical Order (default)

Speeds now displayed in a User-Specified Order

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Change Data Type

Suppose you import data and find that a numeric column is incorrectly formatted as text Use Data > Change Data Type > Text to Numeric to change the column format

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Formulas in the Worksheet

Use Calc > Calculator to assign formulas to columns in the worksheet Columns update when data in the worksheet change

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Worksheet and Column Descriptions

Right-click on a column and choose Column > Description to add notes for future reference Right-click on to add a Worksheet Description

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Worksheet Zooming
Use the Control key and your mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the worksheet

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Multiple Undo and Redo

Use the arrows on the toolbar to undo or redo changes made to cells in the worksheet

undo

redo

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Autofill
Use autofill to create patterned data Use the Control key to create repeated patterned data

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Split Graph into Panels

Right-click on a cluttered graph and choose Panel to reduce the clutter
Time Series Plot of Weld Strength
89.5

Time Series Plot of Weld Strength

89.5 89.0

Weld Strength

Weld Strength

89.0

88.5 88.0 1 89.5 89.0 88.5 88.0 10 20 30 40 50

88.5

88.0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

60

70

80

90

Index

Index

Before paneling

After paneling

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Brushing Options
We see strength values that are lower than expected and want to do further investigation Right-click > Brush > right-click > Set ID Variables

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Brushing Options
Brush multiple groups of points using the Shift key The brushing window shows that all lower weld strengths are associated with the third shift

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Brushing Options
The Data Options button for any Graph or Control Chart allows you to include or exclude data based on brushed rows

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Subset Worksheet
Use Data > Subset Worksheet to create a new worksheet based on a condition, brushed rows or specific row numbers

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Graph Annotation Tools Toolbar

Choose Tools > Toolbars to enable the Graph Annotation Tools toolbar The Graph Annotation Tools toolbar is useful for adding text, circles, and arrows to graphs

Select Mode Rectangle Line Polyline

Text

Ellipse

Marker

Polygon

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Graph Editing Toolbar

Choose Tools > Toolbars to enable the Graph Editing toolbar The Graph Editing toolbar is useful for editing graphs and obtaining graph coordinates
Select List Select Crosshair Add List Zoom

Edit

Brush

Plant Flag

Delete

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Graph Editing Toolbar examples

Use the Add List dropdown to add gridlines, reference lines, subtitles and data labels

Use Crosshair mode explore graphs

to

2008 Minitab, Inc.

In-Place Graph Editing

Double-click on the graph components to change fonts, colors, add a date/time stamp, etc. Right-click on the graph to add titles, gridlines, data labels, etc.
Before Editing
Boxplot of Weld Strength
89.5

After Editing
Boxplot of Weld Strength
February 26 - March 30

1 89.0 Weld Strength

Shift 1 2 Shift 3

88.5

88.0

88.0

88.5 Weld Strength

89.0

89.5

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Extract from Date/Time

Suppose we want to create the same boxplot, but use weekday instead of shift Use Data > Extract from Date/Time to create a weekdays column using the existing date column

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Make Similar Graph

Use Editor > Make Similar Graph to create a similar graph using different variables

Boxplot of Weld Strength

February 26 - March 30 Sun 1 Mon

Boxplot of Weld Strength

February 26 - March 30

Weekday
88.0 88.5 89.0 89.5

Tue Wed Thu Fri

Shift

3 Sat 88.0 88.5 89.0 89.5

Weld Strength

Weld Strength

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Layout Tool
To combine multiple graphs into one window, choose Editor > Layout Tool
Boxplot of Weld Strength
F ebruary 26 - M arch 30 1 Shift

3 88.0 88.5 Weld Strength 89.0 89.5

S un M on Weekday Tue Wed Thu F ri S at 88.0 88.5 Weld Strength 89.0 89.5

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Updating Graphs
Available for core graphs and Control Charts Right-click on icon in upper left corner to update graph
Automatic Updates sets graph to automatically update anytime data in worksheet change Update Graph performs one-time update
Core Graphs and Control Charts Graph is up-to-date Data used to create graph have changed On-hold, some condition prevents auto-update All Other Graphs Graph is up-to-date, but cannot be updated

Data used to create graph have changed, and graph cannot be updated

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Options

Use Tools > Options to set default preferences For example, specify a default file location that Minitab will go to when using File > Open Project

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Options > My Footnote

To easily keep track of which worksheet was used to create each graph, set a footnote to automatically display the worksheet name

Boxplot of Weld Strength

89.5

Weld Strength

89.0

88.5

88.0

Shift Worksheet: Initial Study

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Options > Descriptive Statistics

Select the statistics you need when using Stat > Basic Statistics > Display Descriptive Statistics

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Options > Capability Analysis

Display Benchmark Zs by default instead of Cp and Pp

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Options > Residual Plots

Display the Anderson-Darling Normality Test results on normal residual plots for regression, ANOVA and DOE

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Exec macros
If you need to conduct the same analysis on a regular basis, you can create an Exec macro to easily re-run the same analysis Click to go to the History window and highlight the desired commands

2008 Minitab, Inc.

To save an Exec
To save the commands as an Exec, right-click on the highlighted History commands and choose Save As

Save the *.MTB file to your hard-drive

2008 Minitab, Inc.

To run an Exec
Run the Exec at any time using File > Other Files > Run an Exec > Select File and browse to your *.MTB

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Customize

Use Tools > Customize to: Move, add, edit, or delete any item on a toolbar or menu Create a new toolbar or menu Set custom keystrokes for frequently used commands Add a button to call your Exec file

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Customize to move or add

To move or add toolbar or menu items, choose Tools > Customize and then click and drag

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Customize to create new toolbars

To create a new toolbar, use the Toolbars tab > New To add functions to a new toolbar, use the items available under the Commands tab

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Tools > Customize to create new menus

To create a new menu, use the Commands tab > New Menu To add items to a new menu, click and drag the items available under the Commands tab

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Creating a Profile
To save all of your customizations, create a profile Click to create a new profile Use Tools > Manage Profiles to import or export a profile

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Importing and Manipulating Data Worksheets Graphics Customizing Minitab Additional Tips

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Using the ReportPad

Use the ReportPad to write a report Right-click on a graph and choose Append Graph to Report Right-click on Session output and choose Append Section to Report Click on the toolbars to open the ReportPad

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Saving and Exporting the ReportPad

Save Report As saves the report as a .RTF or .HTML Move to Word Processor moves the ReportPad contents to your default word processor (i.e. cut and paste) Copy to Word Processor copies the ReportPad contents to your default word processor (i.e. copy and paste)
2008 Minitab, Inc.

Help
Help includes a glossary, methods and formulas, and examples Access Help from the Help menu, the toolbar, or from the Help button found in every dialog box 1 2

2008 Minitab, Inc.

StatGuide
StatGuide provides examples and their interpretation Access StatGuide from the Help menu or the toolbar

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Number 1 Tip of All

Free technical support offered by phone and online Phone +1-814-231-2MTB (2682) Web http://customer.minitab.com/ Answers Knowledgebase provides a collection of the most frequently asked questions and their answers http://www.minitab.com/answers

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Minitab Training
Want to learn more about how to use Minitab? We offer:
Public Training On-site Training e-Learning (Quality Trainer)

For more information, contact us:

+1-800-448-3555 x236 or +1-814-238-3280 x236 training@minitab.com Or, visit http://www.minitab.com/contacts for contact information

2008 Minitab, Inc.

Contact Information

+1.800.448.3555 +1.814.238.3280 sales@minitab.com

2008 Minitab, Inc.