News | May 12, 2006

Cranes Software Launches SigmaPlot 10, The Leading Scientific Graphing And Data Analysis Package For The Scientific Research Community

Version 10 Improves Upon Legendary Graphing Flexibility and Data Analysis Ease-of-Use

Bangalore, India - Cranes Software International Limited, a global scientific and engineering software solutions provider, announced the launch of 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.

"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."

Speaking on the occasion, Asif Khader, Managing Director, Cranes Software International said, "Cranes is committed to maintaining the cutting edge of its software portfolio that supports scientific research activities. We have seen the post acquisition contribution expand across our software portfolio. We expect the new version of SigmaPlot to gain greater mindshare within end user segments and deliver strong returns on our continued investments in R&D."

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Sr. Vice President, Cranes Software International Ltd. said, "The concept of "data visualisation" is gaining high recognition among the Indian Scientific & Engineering and Business community. With SigmaPlot 9.0, Cranes Software pioneered the concept in this category in the Indian market. SigmaPlot 10 further extends our expertise and commitment towards providing the Indian Research and Development community with high end and world class tools for graphing and analyzing data."

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.

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(R), 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.

SOURCE: Cranes Software International Limited