# Editing

Abstract

Program EDITFL has numerous features to help you edit curve fitting data files, but program EDITMT should be used for statistics data files. Program SIMPLOT can read in plotting files to create graphs which you can edit interactively until the visual appearance is correct before saving the temporary file with the editing. Program EDITPS is able to edit the size, shape, angle of rotation, offsets, titles, etc. in PostScript files but it is also able to collect them into collages.

Details

SIMFIT has a set of easy-to-use editors that are specially designed for editing data files and manipulating PostScript graphics files, that is, .eps files.

Of course you can use any editor to edit your files, but in so doing you may unwittingly make changes that alter the meaning of your data or make the file unreadable. For instance, you may erase lines of data or add new lines and forget to alter the value of the header representing the number of data elements.

If your data are held in a spreadsheet file you would be advised to select the columns of interest, copy them to the clipboard and then paste them into the special editor program MAKSIM to transform them into files that are formatted according to the SIMFIT convention, before analysing or editing the data.

Use EDITFL if the file is for curve-fitting functions of one variable or preparing calibration curves. EDITFL has special facilities for changing measurement units, altering standard errors, checking/rearranging data, etc. before curve-fitting.

Use EDITMT with column vectors for inverse predictions from calibration curves, for data files for fitting functions of more than one variable, for editing matrices for statistical analysis or for preparing header and tail free (ASCII) files. EDITMT also has facilities for matrix manipulations.

Both editors create new files and leave originals unchanged.

Recommended ways to use MAKFIL and EDITFL

- Use MAKFIL to make a main master file, with your x and y values, not means, and set s = 1.
- Keep replicates in the natural order to avoid bias in the run test.
- To change values, units of measurement, delete points, add new data, etc. input the main master file into EDITFL.
- If you have single measurements (or less than 5 ?) replicates try fitting the main master file with every s = 1 and compare the result with s = 7%|y| say obtained using EDITFL.
- If you have sufficient replicates (more than 4 ?) at each x value input the main master file into EDITFL to generate a file with all s = sample standard deviations. For smoothed out weighting use the weighting options in EDITFL.
- For files with means and std. dev. of means, or means +/- 95% con. limits use EDITFL on the main master file.

Recommended ways to use MAKMAT and EDITMT

- Use MAKMAT to make a main master file, with your single column (vector) of data or set of columns (matrix) of data.
- If you have small data sets it is best to type in all the data at once, but with large data sets you may be better off making files with small sub-sets of data which can be joined together subsequently using EDITMT.
- Program MAKMAT gives advanced users the ability to prepare special matrices with fixed background, diagonal, row or column values where appropriate, e.g. creating an identity or design matrix.
- Keep values in the natural order if you intend to do tests that rely on pairing such as correlation analysis or paired t tests.
- To change values, units of measurement, delete points, add new data, etc. input the main master file into EDITMT.
- Note that EDITMT can do matrix arithmetic to transform data, e.g. before plotting or doing statistics but most of the variance stabilising, curve-fitting and graphical transformations used in data analysis can be done interactively from the SIMFIT programs, e.g. creating a Hill or Scatchard plot after fitting binding data.

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