Systat Software Launches SigmaPlot 10

Systat Software, Inc., a developer and supplier of award-winning scientific software and services, today launched SigmaPlot 10, the latest version of their market-leading scientific graphing and data analysis software package. SigmaPlot 10 provides researchers new features to confidently analyze data and create exact, publication-quality graphs that best present research results for presentation, publication or the web.

"More than 100,000 scientists and engineers have used SigmaPlot worldwide. It has long been the industry standard for graphing and analyzing data in the scientific and engineering community because it plays a key role in enabling researchers to visually communicate important research results," said Richard Mitchell, P.h.D, Senior Scientist at Systat Software, Inc. "We are dedicated to improving upon SigmaPlot's already legendary graphing flexibility and analysis ease-of-use by putting the features requested by users at the forefront of our development priorities."

Unlike spreadsheets, business graphing and other data analysis software packages, SigmaPlot 10 is specifically designed to meet the needs of professional researchers. The latest version contains many workflow efficiency improvements, new enhancements to SigmaPlot's curve fitting engine, and a wider range of graphing options that allow users to easily customize every detail of their graphs for effectively communicating the most important elements of their research.

New SigmaPlot 10 Features, Enhancements and Capabilities

SigmaPlot 10 contains many new features to simplify and streamline the graph creation process - from importing data to publishing research results. Some of the more notable general features include:

• A startup screen that allows both new and power users to quickly jump into their workflow with easy access to recently used documents, the ability to use existing documents as templates for new work, and fast import of Excel and Access documents.
• The Submission Assistant stores an extensible list of publication specifications for 22 leading journals to reduce time spent researching publication graph requirements and limit the number of submissions returned due to poor adherence to guidelines.
• Direct SAS and Minitab data file import to prevent duplicate copies of data.
• Access to real-time feedback of graph coordinates by simply running a cursor over the graph.
• The ability for laboratories to easily track and log changes to notebooks from multiple users, simplifying security and 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.
• A myriad of other features such as the ability to import popular graphic files directly to the SigmaPlot graph page, a new installer and network license manager, and improved graph defaults.

Research scientists and engineers will benefit from many new graphing enhancements for customizing the plot area:

• Easier manipulation of graph elements, even when objects are buried beneath other items.
• New axis scales for two and three-dimensional graphs including Weibull axis scale, Reciprocal axis scales, and Arrhenius scales.
• New 3D mesh plots with contour projections to enhance the visualization of three dimensional data coordinate values.
• An increased number of line types and fill patterns to visually differentiate groups within the data and achieve the desired graphical aesthetic.
• Automatic interpolation and graphing of irregularly spaced three-dimensional data for quick generation of smooth and highly accurate mesh and contour plots from any 3D data sets.

Additional data analysis capabilities deliver even greater control and flexibility to confidently analyze both field and lab data. New capabilities include:

The Dynamic Fit Wizard, which compliments the Regression Wizard by providing hundreds of initial parameter estimates to minimize the squared residual errors, produce individual curve fits for each, and select the best in a matter of seconds - ensuring that the best curve fit was utilized.

A new ROC Curve Analysis Module that helps to determine the best clinical test by creating ROC curves and comparing their areas using paired and unpaired data.

The ability to more easily add confidence and prediction bands to nonlinear regressions.

• Optional chi-square regression weighting, which provides the flexibility to curve fit according to the statistical conventions of the user's research area.
• Twelve new probability functions for performing computations and curve fitting as well as running macros.
• Mathematical transforms are now stored in SigmaPlot notebooks, tying them to specific worksheets, allowing for the building of custom transform libraries, and password and audit log protection to ensure the security of transforms.

"Our lab studies the visual signaling pathway in retinal rod and cone photoreceptors. We use SigmaPlot exclusively for all of our data analysis needs. It has the power to carry out complex curve fitting routines to model the experimental results in terms of the underlying biochemical reaction mechanism," said Rick H. Cote, PhD Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University New Hampshire. "SigmaPlot also provides our lab a user-friendly path for creating visual representations of our results, and allows us to easily prepare figures that are compatible with electronic publication in scientific journals."

Integrate SigmaStat 3.5 Directly into SigmaPlot 10 for Guided Statistical Analysis

Users can access 30 of the most frequently used statistical procedures for analyzing scientific research directly from the SigmaPlot statistics menu simply by integrating SigmaPlot 10 with SigmaStat 3.5®, the easy-to-use, step-by-step guided statistical analysis software package for scientists who are not statisticians. The SigmaStat Advisor Wizard expertly guides users through their data analysis - from using the proper statistical method to avoid the risk of statistical errors, to generating a professional report that interprets the results correctly and in plain English.

Cost and Availability

SigmaPlot 10 and SigmaStat 3.5 are available for purchase at www.systat.com/store or by calling (800) 797-7401. A free fully functional demo version is available for download from the Systat website. SigmaPlot 10 prices (per single user): $699.00 for corporations and $499.00 for academic R&D institutions. SigmaStat 3.5 prices (per single user): $599.00 for corporations and $499.00 for academic R&D institutions. Upgrades, multi-user and government discounts, and special bundle pricing are also available by calling (800) 797-7401.