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SOFA Statistics Changelog

What's new in SOFA Statistics 1.5.3

Oct 23, 2019
  • Users can no longer select a default database without also completing its connection details
  • Add redirection details message
  • Better handling of Desktop path, esp on Windows
  • Better handle database settings esp mandatory
  • Cope with different error messages from ImageMagick (different versions)
  • Entering data via a text-browse control (e.g. in SQLite project config) no longer crashes SOFA
  • Can open variable details successfully again
  • Fix stats select close layout on Linux
  • Remove deprecated / removed pylab.normpdf dependency
  • Cope with removals of deselect all method (have to loop and do one at a time)

New in SOFA Statistics 1.5.2 (Jul 8, 2019)

  • Improve and extend recode help instructions
  • Give Linux users advice on how to cope with possible inadequate ImageMagick resource levels set by policy.xml which stop image exporting

New in SOFA Statistics 1.5.0 (May 15, 2019)

  • Adds option of worked examples for the following statistical tests:
  • Mann-Whitney U
  • Wilcoxon's Signed Ranks
  • Spearman's Rho
  • Pearson's Chi Square
  • Can choose number of decimal places to show in report tables and charts.
  • Can display counts or percentage separately on pie charts.
  • Better smoothed line displayed for line charts.
  • Easier to run generated scripts for testing (only need to set use_locally boolean).
  • Better visual separation of subtables.
  • Charts can show N.
  • Improvements to darker themes.
  • Add ability to define table to automatically open on startup (using open_on_start setting in projs/default.proj).
  • Ask users if they want to override existing project if adding new project with an already-used name.
  • Upgraded to newer GUI library (wxPython 4.0).
  • Added new safeguards and user feedback when problems converting output to images.
  • Dropped support for xls (xlsx is supported alongside tsv, csv, ods etc)
  • Dropped support for CUBRID (largely because drivers for newer versions of Python are not available)

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.6 (Jan 6, 2016)

  • SOFA line charts and area charts now treat dates as dates in the x-axis which makes it easier to look at time series data.
  • Additional improvements include:
  • Better error message when not enough values in group to run analysis e.g. ANOVA.
  • Better handling of precision in p-value results displayed.
  • Better handling of dates pre-1900.
  • Better messages to user about potentially excessive categories in charts.
  • Add support for float years as date values for time series.
  • Add support for specifying port connecting to postgresql.
  • Allows boxplots when fewer values to display.
  • And there were two other changes:
  • Removed broken google docs integration – just as easy to manually download and import normally.
  • Removed two pop-ups – no longer needed.
  • There are also a number of bug fixes:
  • No longer a missing legend in multiseries scatterplots just because the first scatterplot only had one series of data.
  • Fixed bug with saving database connection details when a number involved (port).
  • Fixed PostgreSQL bug when saving connection without password – now succeeds rather than failing silently.
  • Fixed MySQL bug with adding rows.
  • Fixed bug in Windows with checkboxes not enabling/disabling properly unless panels refreshed.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.5 (Aug 17, 2015)

  • Box plots can be displayed with different outlier and whisker display options.
  • ODS importing can now cope with repeated column names.
  • Better error message when unable to get regression line details because of limited variability.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.4 (May 11, 2015)

  • Mac users can export output in PDF format (and PNG depending on version of OS X).
  • Added new monochrome theme.
  • Chi Square proportions output much easier to interpret successfully.
  • The name of the grouping variable is now displayed when running comparisons of groups e.g. Country if comparing Italy and Germany.
  • Exporting to spreadsheet detects if too many fields for xls output and informs user that only csv will be generated. Also truncates table name so worksheet name not too long.
  • Import dialog only displays file types suitable for importing.
  • Added message to let user know spreadsheet creation being skipped if no report tables to export.
  • More user help on need for raw data (not pre-summarised) and long-format vs wide-format data as appropriate.
  • Code reorganisation to make it possible for SOFA to be called in GUI form by external code GUI code.
  • Scripts are now easier to use for standalone purposes.
  • Added note about treatment of datetime data as categorical by SOFA for purposes of statistical tests.
  • When exporting to spreadsheet and csv changes reserved sofa_id field name to was_sofa_id so it is OK to reimport after changes.
  • More informative for larger range of potential problem e.g. database engine not functioning.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.3 (Dec 12, 2014)

  • Can import tab-delimited data.
  • More options for attractive charts and reports. Three new themes available – sky, prestige (screen), and prestige (print).
  • Better support for automation (i.e. headless, running without GUI) esp in international context.
  • Exporting to spreadsheet now relies on more robust code library (xlwt)
  • Easy to select or deselect lots of row stats measures at once.
  • Faster opening in many cases.
  • And the bug fixes:
  • Minor tweak to PostgreSQL plug-in to handle timestamps without timezone.
  • Resolved bug when SQLite numbers are stored in a non-numeric field and processed for Chi Square test.
  • Importing csvs now copes better when only missing vals in sample of a field. Gives user the choice.
  • Fixed bug when doing a Row Stats table with a rows variable e.g. by Gender and some of the fields can’t be calculated for some of the row categories.
  • Headless importing now works in the event of inconsistent data types in fields.
  • Headless importing now reads entire dataset rather than a sample to avoid need for (human) decisions.
  • Scripts no longer rely on translated arguments. Much safer to use on other machines with different locales.
  • Fixed circular import bugs which only became visible when other bugs occurred.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.2 (Feb 10, 2014)

  • Can export results as high-resolution images (PNG), PDFs, and tabular output as spreadsheets without needing plug-in extension (doesn't work for Macs currently - very sorry :-( ).
  • Can export data tables to spreadsheet without needing plug-in extension.
  • Can backup SOFA data and settings without needing plug-in extension.
  • Variable details content (vdt files) is now sorted which makes it much easier to read and search for items when checking things.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.1 (Feb 1, 2014)

  • Scatterplots now have option of displaying regression line with slope and intercept details.
  • Export output plug-in (proprietary add-on) now gives option of exporting tabular data to spreadsheet.
  • Better positioning of legend in scatterplots made by matplotlib.
  • Tweaked algorithm for getting optimal min and max axis values so more sensible when no variation.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.4.0 (Dec 16, 2013)

  • Ease of use is one of SOFA’s main goals (along with “learn as you go”, and “beautiful output”). Unfortunately, as new options were added to SOFA for exporting data, the simplicity of the output section of the user interface suffered slightly. New buttons were squeezed in one by one and the interface was getting more and more crowded. Something was going to have to change. And in version 1.4.0 it finally has! – I hope you like the change. It not only removes two interface items but it also adds room for more export options in the future. And there is more horizontal space in the drop-down control to describe each option more clearly and distinctly.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.5 (Oct 14, 2013)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug in histogram output when limited data spread. Error caused by miscalculation of significant decimal points required for display.
  • Fixed bug stopping late-added title details appearing when exporting output. The demo output is refreshed first so the source file is forced to be up-to-date. Probably needs a proper tidy-up some day but this works well in the mean time.
  • Fixed bug in exporting to desktop folder in fix_pdf - need to strip end off folder name when no AM/PM under localisation used.
  • Fixed various bugs associated with exporting output. When copying output, message about keeping form open now names form it means (to reduce confusion).
  • Fixed bug when using a project after it has just been deleted (by pressing cancel in select projects dialog after having deleted the currently active project).
  • Fixed bug which meant "Show Results" and "Add to report" options were displayed when setting up a project.
  • Fixed bug when cancelling a variable details selection in a project.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.4 (Jul 23, 2013)

  • Can make more complex charts and larger series of charts. It is now possible to override the conservative limits on charts e.g. the maximum number of series or charts or clusters. A warning is shown that you may not necessarily produce a viable chart or set of charts. But often it will work so now you get to try and see.
  • Importing now copes with excessively long fieldnames by shortening them automatically (without risking duplicates).
  • MS SQL Server views can now be analysed, not just tables.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.3 (Apr 6, 2013)

  • Improved statistics output footnotes.
  • Borders on bar-type charts are now optional. This can be useful when bars are very short.
  • Chi square clustered bar charts can cope with higher default limits for number of values.
  • Importing field names with more than 90 characters prohibited at the point of import rather than causing problems later.
  • The group by max number of values is now controlled by a single my_globals setting (making it easier to override).
  • The default settings for some remaining max values have been increased.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.2 (Jan 28, 2013)

  • Can backup SOFA data, reports, and variable and project details, via extension plug-in.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.1 (Jan 10, 2013)

  • Adding sum as an option for charting e.g. a line chart showing total income per month by product.
  • Matplotlib scatterplots now have optimal min and max settings calculated for their x-axis.
  • Added footnote to Wilcoxon output explaining that different statistics packages may report the test statistic differently.
  • Misc fixes to chart layout including left margin offset.
  • Easier to add new variable definition files from within dialog for choosing them.
  • Modified recode column labels and help content to reduce confusion about which columns to enter range information into.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.3.0 (Nov 5, 2012)

  • Added Mode as an option to Row Stats report tables.
  • Line and area charts can show major labels only as an option.
  • Pie charts now have option of displaying count and percentage (not just in the tooltips as at present).
  • Histograms use consistent bins when charted by a second variable.
  • Better placement of y-axis title when wide labels.
  • Pie charts keep consistent colours even if sorted by count rather than value or label.
  • Better message when adding new reports if required subfolder with javascript and background images is missing. Only show message now if a problem.
  • When trying to export report, SOFA checks for expected subfolder as well (otherwise dojo fails for any charts and export fails).
  • SOFA prevents attempt to export report if no report file (yet).
  • No longer displays View or Export Report buttons on Projects dialog.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.2.2 (Sep 20, 2012)

  • Can import from xlsx.
  • Normality analyses can be included in reports, saved as output etc.
  • Support for CUBRID databases. CUBRID is an open source relational database highly optimized for Web Applications.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.2.1 (Aug 29, 2012)

  • Able to export data to spreadsheet (via a plug-in).
  • Much easier selection of multiple variables when making report tables.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.2.0 (Aug 18, 2012)

  • Now able to export output as PDFs and images (if export_output plug-in installed - Windows and Linux only so far)
  • Scatterplots can have more than one series e.g. different coloured male and female dots on same plot.
  • Can now sort by individual columns within a data display report table.
  • Report tables of summary statistics e.g. mean, median, sd, now show the measures across columns instead of down rows. Easier to compare results and notice difference.
  • The demonstration tables displayed when configuring report tables now use real data instead of random data if the data source is small enough to make updating fast.
  • The "Show Results" button becomes "Add to Report" when report tables are able to use live data for examples (and the "Add to report checkbox" is hidden).
  • Add to report now defaults to False and remembers the last setting throughout the user session.
  • Repositioned some standard GUI items to increase logic of placement and speed of use.
  • Added IQR (Inter-Quartile Range) to the Row Stats Table.
  • Can now do a boxplots of a single variable (not requiring a variable for it to be By).
  • Now save and show cropped matplotlib charts.
  • Scatterplots are a better size.
  • Excel importing copes with faulty dates better and tells the user where the problem is.
  • Filter dialog now checks if user wants to apply a filter when the settings haven't been changed. Prevents inadvertent filtering to null.
  • Better font sizes in auxiliary clustered bar charts (matplotlib).
  • GUIs no longer update if the user selects the same database as is already selected.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.7 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • Can do series of clustered bar charts and multi-line charts.
  • When a data type mismatch is encountered when importing SOFA now reports on the first faulty cell (row, cell value, and expected type) to make it easier for users to clean their data and/or trust SOFA's assessment of the data.
  • Now able to run multiple single line charts. And multiple line charts have a consistent y-axis for role as trellis charts.
  • SOFA now guesses whether an xls or ods spreadsheet has a header row or not when importing and sets the default buttons accordingly.
  • Tighter and more flexible spacing of x-axis title according to number of lines in x labels. Now show legend title before legend and only show legend if multiple series.
  • Smarter column resizing.
  • CSV importing correctly identifies if file has a header more accurately if only one column (and thus no delimiter identified initially).
  • Adjusted chart sizings to be more rational and less magic.
  • Better width settings for dojo histogram output when lots of bins (prevents x-axis labels bunching up).
  • Row stats tables show "Not calc" instead of nan (not a number) when appropriate.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.6 (Jun 22, 2012)

  • Added ability to chart percentages as well as frequencies.
  • Chart series now all have consistent y-axes (trellis style).

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.5 (May 28, 2012)

  • Charts now have the option of rotated (vertical) x-axis labels. This can be useful for longer labels.
  • Scatterplots now focus on the data better by starting axes just below the minimum x and y values of the data unless the value is close enough to 0 to make it worth using 0 anyway.
  • Numeric values are right justified in data tables.
  • Kurtosis values in the normality test include the Fischer adjustment (subtracting 3).
  • Duplicated field names in imports are given unique suffixes and allowed (now that they are unique).
  • Excel importing now handles times without dates.
  • More date formats are accepted when importing data.
  • Better guidance on data preparation before importing data.
  • More robust handling of variable definition files if corrupted.
  • Note: if upgrading on Linux, the two user folders (sofastats and sofastats_recovery) may be shifted from inside your home folder to a better location e.g. "/home/username/Documents" if free desktop standards are supported. After upgrading you may wish to manually replace the contents of the new folders with the contents of the old ones.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.3 (Dec 19, 2011)

  • Better support for non-English translations and much better, smaller and simpler installers for Windows and Mac OS X.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.2 (Nov 24, 2011)

  • Installation onto non-English environments should now work without any problems.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.1 (Oct 10, 2011)

  • Excel can be imported from Mac and Linux as well as Windows.
  • ODS importing now copes with single 'divider' columns - i.e. columns with no field name in the header.
  • CSV importing now autofills blank columns with field numbers such as Var018.
  • More informative if locale issues.
  • More informative if unable to connect to MySQL on Mac.
  • Changed standard deviation in report tables from population sd to sample sd.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.1.0 (Aug 22, 2011)

  • Much easier access to data - can now open data table from anywhere the table can be selected e.g. charts, report tables, stats analyses.
  • Importing from Google Doc spreadsheets now automatically starts import process if downloading was successful.
  • Easier importing from spreadsheets - SOFA now shows user first 4 rows of spreadsheets so user can decide whether has a header or not.
  • Windows users can install into any folder now, not just one with sofastats in the name.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.0.7 (Jul 28, 2011)

  • Improvements:
  • Much easier and quicker data entry. Return key now functions like Tab in data entry tables. Deleting a cell automatically inserts the appropriate value.
  • Much faster importing of csv files with lots of fields. Now has option of quickly checking field names collectively (in batches under the surface) rather than individually.
  • Improved feedback to user if problem in early stages starting SOFA. Program now makes an error text file on the user desktop as well.
  • All field or table name checks in SQLite now return the SQLite error text as well.
  • Better message to user if installation of wx backend for matplotlib missing.
  • If cancel process of changing file used to define variable config, report table display no longer reverts to random demo.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed bug in chi square when no labels set for numerical variables. Needed to convert value to unicode before using as label.
  • Fixed bug when importing datetimes with ‘T’ as the separator between date and time.
  • Fixed bug caused by SQLite queries sometimes returning strings instead of floats when extracting REAL (numeric) data. Fixed it where it affected Row Stats medians and std devs; and statistical tests.
  • Fixed bug when uwhisker and lwhisker not set. Also copes better when no boxes are displayed in boxplot.
  • Handling Python 2.6 unicode keyword bug.
  • Replaced pprint.pformat where it messes up unicode e.g. user paths with non-ascii characters. Misc other changes to fix internal issues.
  • Fixed bug allowing None to be displayed in Val A and Val B drop-downs under Group by e.g. ANOVA.
  • Config dialog in Report Tables widened slightly when needed to display title.
  • Fixed bug when decimal entered into value label list for an integer field.
  • Fixed CSV import bug when trying to guess whether a header or not.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.0.6 (Jun 5, 2011)

  • Attractive and dynamic Box and Whisker plots added.
  • SOFA provides warning about need to include sofa_report_extras subfolder to see charts.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.0.5 (May 16, 2011)

  • Other improvements include:
  • Tab and Enter now work in a more intuitive way when in a settings grid. New rows which are incomplete produce a useful warning to the user.
  • Better support for Right-to-Left language locales.
  • Regression line intercept and slope included in Pearson’s Correlation output as well as a better regression line on the scatterplot.
  • A number of bugs have been fixed as well:
  • Fixed bug occurring when user selects a google docs spreadsheet and clicks on download after manually selecting a spreadsheet but without manually selecting a worksheet.
  • Fixed bug with report tables which occurred sometimes when a field value was the same as a field name.
  • Fixed bug when pie chart label has new line characters in it.
  • Adjusted y-axis placement on bar charts so not truncated in some cases.
  • When importing ODS data without a header, and responding to a data type inconsistency with Cancel, the progress bar is now reset to the start.
  • Fixed bug when saving projects in Windows with different name (albeit the same name if case insensitive). Would not appear in the Project Selection list and would be unable to reopen the Project Selection dialog.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.0.3 (Mar 21, 2011)

  • Report quality histograms now have optional normal distribution curves.
  • Single line charts now have option of a trend line and data smoothing (weighted rolling average).
  • Histograms display better when lots of bins - wider chart and smaller font for x-axis.
  • Simplified layout of project selection form and changed preferences form.
  • More clear labels when users are selecting a range of groups rather than discrete groups e.g. in ANOVA.
  • Added medians etc to the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks output.
  • An early error message directs the user to the help page on "SOFA Won't Start". It also includes connection details in the error message if unable to connect to the default database.
  • Only delays next "What's up" connection date if it successfully gets through.

New in SOFA Statistics 1.0.1 (Feb 3, 2011)

  • More netbook-friendly - the start dialog and the statistical test selection dialog now have special versions for smaller screens.
  • Importing (and recoding) now accepts field names with dots.
  • Better feedback to user when too few values in sample for analysis.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.25 (Jan 24, 2011)

  • Changing folder locations from sofa to sofastats. If you are reinstalling SOFA and wish to keep previous settings, rename your existing username/sofa folder to username/sofastats first.
  • More useful version upgrade checking. Auto-checking for any version upgrades is now the default. Users can disable this feature by selecting the "No checking" option, or only auto-check for major upgrades. This feature only reads the contents of a small text file on the sofastatistics.com domain containing the latest version number.
  • SOFA suggests names more likely to be valid when user selects a file for importing.
  • Can now import csv files with a txt extension.
  • MySQL and PostgreSQL can now accept blank passwords.
  • Better message for user if comtypes problem.
  • Windows and Mac versions will no longer accept being launched with Python 2.7 and will give useful messages about fixing the problem. For Windows, the importance of installing the site-packages to python26 rather than python27 is explained.
  • Mac version uses new, easier-to-install library to connect to MySQL databases.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.24 (Dec 23, 2010)

  • On-line help now integrated with all statistical tests.
  • Added additional tips to help users choose a statistical test.
  • Password fields now hide passwords.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.23 (Dec 14, 2010)

  • Better importing of imperfect data e.g. number fields with occasional text like "no data", or incorrectly formatted dates.
  • Much more reliable method of identifying and extracting date data from ods (OpenOffice Calc, Gnumeric, Google Docs spreadsheets).
  • If no change to table design when clicking Update, get a message that there was no change instead of no response.
  • When opening data tables, the read only checkbox is ticked or unticked according to whether showing the demonstration table or not when in the default sofa database.
  • When run in console, SOFA produces much more useful input on progress during initial stages and on any error encountered.
  • Height setting algorithm for data editing/display grid now copes with taller e.g. double height, taskbars in Windows.
  • More reliable method used for identifying the folder location of SOFA.
  • Now handles PostgreSQL databases with different schemas.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.21 (Oct 30, 2010)

  • SOFA Statistics now lets you make a series of charts by a selected variable. For example, if you have Pie Charts of user satisfaction you can make one for each region automatically. All chart types can be made into series apart from scatter-plots.
  • Several of the help images on the main form have also been improved.
  • Other improvements include:
  • Better printing of output reports through web browsers e.g. Firefox.
  • Imports numeric fields in csv files as numbers even if using commas as decimal separator (e.g. as in Germany).
  • Shifted Help button to top left of main dialogs.
  • Removed Export button (from view).
  • Changed text in Run button to Show Results.
  • Mann-Whitney U now explicitly says it is one-tailed.
  • To assist with the promotion of SOFA Statistics, a discreet “sofastatistics.com” text is now added to edge of each chart.
  • Additionally there have been some important bug fixes:
  • Fixed page break problem when printing.
  • Major bug fix for Windows users with certain user names. Fixed bug in Windows version when username combined with a backslash equals a character e.g. \admin. The bug affected css files and all charts and stats tests.
  • Fixed bug when database engine returns non-integers for frequencies e.g. 2l (for long number type) instead of 2.
  • Fixed vertical positioning problem for report table and stats select dialogs on 768 high resolutions (Windows at least).
  • Fixed bug providing user feedback when problems with css files.
  • Fixed y-axis title bug.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.20 (Oct 11, 2010)

  • Legend closer to charts and outer background colour now covers the x-axis labels.
  • Better placement of y-axis titles.
  • SOFA warns user if not enough suitable variables for an analysis - e.g. paired t-test - and suggests a likely cause and solution.
  • Default sofa_db row in projects is read-only.
  • Better message to user if attempting to connect to an empty SQLite database.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.18 (Sep 27, 2010)

  • Beautiful histograms and scatterplots were added.
  • Support charts for statistical tests are now themable like main output charts.
  • Tool tips now display arrows (with border color controlled by the selected theme).
  • The charting dialog now devotes more space to displaying chart output.
  • The interface design was simplified.
  • Charts now give a sensible message if there is no data (perhaps because of filtering).
  • X axis labels are used for clustered bar charts and multiple-line line charts where the legend doesn't provide the same label.
  • Pie charts were made slightly wider (especially on Windows, which truncates over-width labels).

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.17 (Sep 20, 2010)

  • Beautiful Line and Area Charts with dynamic eye candy.
  • Smaller javascript file for faster loading of charts.
  • Added y-axis labelling to charts.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.16 (Sep 13, 2010)

  • Beautiful Pie Charts and Clustered Bar Charts with dynamic eye candy.
  • Themes can be applied to charts e.g. Grey Spirals, Pebbles.
  • Added percentages to tooltips of Bar Charts.
  • More improvements to installation process, especially on top of existing installations.
  • More robust CSV and ODS importing.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.15 (Aug 30, 2010)

  • Beautiful bar charts with dynamic eye candy
  • Better installation process, especially on top of existing installations.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.14 (Aug 12, 2010)

  • Added min, max, and range to row stats tables.
  • Report tables are much easier to read when there are multiple row variables. Added pale line between row variables in left-most column.
  • CSV importing has been substantially improved. User gets option of confirming or changing auto-identified csv file delimiter and encoding. Confirming presence of a header is also integrated and the first 20 rows are displayed in a table with visible cell borders. The import is more forgiving of some faults e.g. missing items at the end of a row. These are automatically filled with empty strings. When errors are encountered in csv import SOFA tells user the relevant line number. Also made other minor improvements to (error) messages from csv importing.
  • Added Filter button next to Table dropdown to make filtering functionality of SOFA more accessible.
  • Much simpler installation for Ubuntu/Linux Mint users. No additional steps required now that SOFA has started using gtk-webkit.
  • ANOVAs and similar group by analyses now cope with massive tables when selecting unique values to show in group by drop downs.
  • Appropriate messages are shown to users when large tables underlying analyses are about to be run. The user can opt out.
  • Changed default for Anova from precision to speed.
  • Better messages when chopping group by values shown.
  • If SOFA has been opened by an incompatible version of Python it will give a useful message and leave a helpful text file behind with instructions for fixing the problem.
  • Better messages when Chi Square warnings about number of rows, cols, or cells.
  • Better tool tip for setting MS SQL Server host e.g. my-svr-01, 1433.
  • Added minor improvement to tool tips for data tables. It now always shows labelled value if possible and read only status as suffix as appropriate.
  • Created more robust startup process with better error messages. Users also able to run test code (e.g. sent by the SOFA developer) and get result. Great for diagnosis.
  • Overhauled start code so checks version if possible, updates version, and makes a recovery folder if not current.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.12 (Jun 28, 2010)

  • Integrated online help.
  • Now able to look at and manipulate your SOFA data using free and open source tools like Sqlite Database Browser (http://sqlitebrowser.sourceforge.net/).
  • Improvements for connecting to Google Docs spreadsheets.
  • Major improvements to usability around data entry.
  • Now able to edit variable details from the table config dialog.
  • Much more useful help when errors encountered importing csv files.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.11 (Jun 14, 2010)

  • Can import data from Google Docs Spreadsheets.
  • More intuitive handling of read-only columns and missing values in data tables.
  • More helpful example of flexible filtering techniques

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.10 (Jun 2, 2010)

  • MySQL plugin now works with older versions of MySQL e.g. 4.1.
  • MySQL now allows port details e.g. for remote connections.
  • All database plugins allow empty default database or table configuration details (in which case they'll use the first).
  • Easier to fill in connection details in project. Tooltips (with examples) have been added to database configuration controls to make it more clear what is required from the user.
  • Better placement of dialogs on smaller screens so nothing off-screen.
  • Problems with connection details raise useful message for users.
  • SOFA gives useful message if the SOFA application path is not found because of an unexpected folder name e.g. 'sofa stats' rather than 'sofa'. The Windows installer was also upgraded to give better guidance.
  • Better error messages if anything goes wrong with loading of initial images when starting SOFA.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.9 (Apr 25, 2010)

  • Added 3 attractive output styles - grey_spirals, lucid_spirals, and pebbles. These include background images.
  • Styles can be selected and changed much more easily.
  • Crosstabs with column totals and row percentages get a frequency in the total column even if frequency is not selected.
  • Customised waiting message when making report tables according to what is required e.g. "Add and configure column".
  • Configuration settings (e.g. preferred output style) persist across all dialogs.
  • The last configured row summary measures are the default for any new variables added to the row summary report table.
  • The Expand button opens a much larger window to view content in.
  • Better display of html messages in report tables dialog.
  • Simplified standard names e.g. "SOFA_Default_db" became "sofa_db".
  • Can resize some dialogs smaller than initial display size.
  • Application gives a useful error message, even if it fails very early.
  • Faster production of report tables by avoiding duplicate queries.
  • When adding row or col vars, can double click selections except for raw display tables or rows of row summary tables where still multichoice selections.
  • Removed windows manager close buttons from dialogs so program close buttons used instead
  • Windows installer now installs Python 2.6.5 instead of 2.6.2.
  • Misc UI changes to make setting up MS connection details easier.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.5 (Mar 10, 2010)

  • SOFA now detects screen resolution and sizes height of dialogs/controls accordingly to better handle both netbooks and larger screens.
  • Now able to delete rows in data entry/editing and configuration tables using the delete key.
  • Added hyperlinks to main form for main project website and community website.
  • The project configuration window can be completely resized making it easier to see all settings.
  • The read-only default project form now has an OK button at the bottom right so it can be closed the same way as every other form.
  • Added preliminary chart configuration form. Output charting still under development.
  • Hovering over image buttons now shows a different cursor in Ubuntu so users know that they are buttons they can click.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.4 (Feb 7, 2010)

  • Paired t-test output includes a histogram of differences.
  • Kruskal Wallis output now includes table for each group with median, n, min etc.
  • Mann Whitney output now includes medians.
  • If using assistance to select statistical test, the normality help dialog varies according to whether or not paired data is selected. If paired, then two variables must be chosen and the normality of the differences is analysed and displayed.
  • When a cell edit fails validation, the cursor returns to the end of the text if possible, ready to edit immediately.
  • Users receive a useful message if there are no values to report in an analysis e.g. the data is over-filtered.
  • The Chi Square test provides useful messages if too few values in either row or column variables.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.3 (Feb 2, 2010)

  • Chi Square output includes clustered bar charts to display proportions and frequencies for the two variable selected.
  • Dropdowns default to the most recently used database and table.
  • More helpful messages if trying to use variables with too many values for Chi Square.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.2 (Jan 23, 2010)

  • ANOVA output now includes histograms for each sample with superimposed normal distribution curves. It also shows kurtosis, skew, and an omnibus measure of normality for each sample as well as the O'Brien homogeneity of variance test. Explanatory footnotes have been added to the output.
  • Spearman's and Pearson's correlation output now includes scatterplots and lines of best fit.
  • All html reports are portable along with their images (stored in a subfolder of the same name).
  • When the titles or subtitles are being changed, the example report table stays the same (apart from the title and subtitles).
  • Redundant Clear button removed from Statistical Test dialogs.
  • Hourglass when opening statistics tests and report tables for the first time in case a brief delay on first use.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.1 (Jan 18, 2010)

  • All output now displays inside design dialogs. In the case of report tables, there is an option to expand output (esp important for displaying larger tables on netbooks).
  • Independent t-test output now includes two histograms with superimposed normal distribution curves. It also shows kurtosis, skew, and an omnibus measure of normality for each sample as well as the O'Brien homogeneity of variance test. Explanatory footnotes have been added to the output.
  • Guidance given on need to assess normality of each sample when more than one (part of test selection process).
  • Hovering over cells in the data entry/editing grid displays appropriate value labels.
  • Can update variable details from within data editing/entry grid by right clicking on column labels. Signalled by tooltips.
  • Date format (e.g. US) now extracted from OS rather than user prefs. Prefs now sets reporting explanation level (still not operational).

New in SOFA Statistics 0.9.0 (Jan 5, 2010)

  • When selecting statistical test to use, user can examine the normality of a variable visually and with a test of kurtosis and skew.
  • When opening the project selection dialog it defaults to the version last selected during session.
  • Opening the data selection dialog uses the last database and table selected during session.
  • Information on filter used also displayed in immediate output.
  • The values displayed in tests like the ANOVA take any filtering into account.
  • When exporting script, user reminded where it is being appended.
  • When editing variable details, user is reminded where the changes are being saved.
  • Useful message to user if using deprecated project file format.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.15 (Dec 24, 2009)

  • Can now apply filtering to data tables. If you're only interested in data for one nation, for example, you can add a filter so reports are derived from that nation’s subset of the data. It is now easy to add, remove, and alter filters to individual tables.
  • Now able to set data entry preferences for dates, e.g. if you wish to use US-style mm/dd/yy date formats for data entry instead of dd/mm/yy.
  • New layout of main menu form to accommodate preferences button and put Exit button on bottom right as is standard elsewhere.
  • Default data table now has a datetime field to experiment with.
  • More tooltips and misc usability improvements.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.14 (Dec 10, 2009)

  • Can modify the design of tables in the default SOFA database (variable names, types, order, table names).
  • Able to insert and delete rows when editing value labels.
  • Can delete tables in the default database.
  • The sofa id field is now read only when designing tables and the user gets useful messages if they try to delete it or insert a new field before it.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.13 (Dec 1, 2009)

  • Better support for inconsistent data and missing values.
  • The user is informed what happens to files being imported.
  • The user has the option of halting a large raw data table report.
  • CSV importing now asks user if file has header and offers to clean up files with mixed line separators.
  • New projects have the default SOFA database preconfigured ready to save tables to.
  • Program now returns useful message if SQLite table with median or std dev fails because of non-numeric values (in purportedly numeric field).
  • Attempts to make new tables without a connection to the default database now receive a useful message.
  • Users are given the opportunity to pull out of opening a large data table.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.12 (Nov 22, 2009)

  • More flexible installation options on Windows e.g. installing to D:Program Files rather than C:Program Files.
  • Better support for international text and unicode - e.g. René, Identität, François etc - in project, variable details, html report files, and css files.
  • Better interface behaviour when configuring a project.
  • Better feedback when errors with missing or malformed files.
  • For Galician speakers, a version of SOFA Statistics in their own language now works on Windows.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.11 (Nov 9, 2009)

  • Fixed major bug preventing interaction with data on Vista/Windows 7.
  • Better support for international text and unicode e.g. René, Identität, François etc.
  • Better feedback when errors saving data to database tables.
  • For Galician speakers, a version of SOFA Statistics in their own language (works in Ubuntu).

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.10 (Oct 21, 2009)

  • Users can now view the design of tables in the default SOFA database.
  • More netbook-friendly design of projects form.
  • Misc improvements to interface esp when selecting data.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.9 (Oct 14, 2009)

  • A significant maintenance release.
  • Important bug fixes:
  • The process of creating new tables directly into SOFA Statistics has been significantly improved.
  • Numerous interface bugs affecting settings tables have been fixed.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.8 (Oct 5, 2009)

  • Users are now able to add data directly to SOFA Statistics by configuring new tables in the default SQLite database and adding data directly to them.
  • An important bug was fixed for PostgreSQL when making report tables.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.7 (Sep 8, 2009)

  • Dialogs for making report tables and for configuring statistical tests now have close buttons in bottom right like elsewhere. Plus other minor UI improvements.
  • Important bug fixes for PostgreSQL and MS Access and MS SQL Server.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.6 (Aug 25, 2009)

  • Added support for PostgreSQL databases.
  • Each item of output now has a preceding display line and a description of its data source (database and table) and when it was created.
  • Improved layout of exported scripts.
  • Added unit tests for main statistical algorithms used.
  • Better handling of timestamp and autonumber fields in data entry/editing.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.5 (Aug 17, 2009)

  • ANOVA now has option of precision or speed. Precision passes hardest NIST test and is the default.
  • ANOVA displays more information in output to enable comparison with known results.
  • HTML output can now display multiple styles for different tables.
  • Importing now requires alphanumeric names for tables.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.4 (Jul 31, 2009)

  • Users can explicitly set variables to Nominal, Ordinal, or Quantity. These settings are used to limit the variables displayed in various tests to those which are of the appropriate type.
  • Pearson's Chi Square now has a contingency table with both observed and expected values.
  • The one-way ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis H now provide more information in the output e.g. average rank per group.
  • Variables can be configured from a right click when running statistical tests (as is already possible when making report tables).
  • Can select statistical tests by double clicking. These are also sorted alphabetically to make direct selection faster.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.3 (Jul 19, 2009)

  • Supports direct connection to MS SQL Server databases.
  • Previous selections become the defaults when configuring statistical tests.
  • Labels are consistently updated in the statistical test dialogs if a new label file is selected.
  • Plus lots of important bug fixes and usability improvements.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.2 (Jul 10, 2009)

  • Added one-way ANOVA.
  • Added Kruskal-Wallis H.
  • Added Pearson's Chi Square.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.1 (Jul 4, 2009)

  • Added 4 new tests - the Mann Whitney U, the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks, Pearson's Correlation, and Spearman's Correlation.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.8.0 (Jul 2, 2009)

  • Now includes both the independent samples t-test and the paired samples t-test.
  • Option of assistance when selecting a statistical test.
  • Random quotations on statistics are shown when hovering over the Statistics button.
  • Minor layout and label changes to increase usability.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.7.4 (Jun 20, 2009)

  • Now able to import from Excel spreadsheets
  • Importing can now be cancelled
  • There is a progress bar while importing CSV importing gives the option of fix and continue if import has problems
  • Bug fix - can now cope with CSV files with more columns
  • Bug fix - now able to create projects even if default project selected
  • Bug fix - can now select database files without file extensions e.g. SQLite databases

New in SOFA Statistics 0.7.3 (Jun 15, 2009)

  • Added ability to import from csv files.
  • Fixed misc data table editing bugs.
  • Additional error trapping in summary report tables.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.7.1 (May 27, 2009)

  • Improved the Windows installation process and removed misc small bugs.

New in SOFA Statistics 0.7.0 (May 26, 2009)

  • Minor bug fixes.