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- README July 15, 1991
-
- INSTALLING EPI INFO, VERSION 5.01b
-
- If you are upgrading Version 5.01a to Version 5.01b, only the
- ENTER and ANALYSIS programs need to be installed. In the standard,
- four-disk distribution system, they are on the second disk. Install
- these programs as usual and allow them to overwrite those for Version
- 5.01b. Note that ENTER is located on the second disk in Version 5.01b
- but on the first disk in Version 5.01a.
-
- If you do not have a previous Version 5.XX installed, installation of
- Version 5.01b may be done as described in the Epi Info manual in Chapter
- 4. If you have Version 5.00 installed in a directory called \EPI5,
- however, the following tips will make installation easier.
-
- If you have about 2.3 megabytes of disk space free and want to rename
- your old directory to, for example, EPI50, then simply give the new name
- when asked in the INSTALL program and proceed with the installation.
-
- If you prefer to replace your existing Version 5.00 with the new system,
- first run the batch file WIPE_E5.BAT on disk 1 of the system as follows:
-
- Place Disk 1 in Drive A. From the \EPI5 directory containing Version
- 5.00, give the command:
- A:WIPE_E5
-
- This will erase many of the files in Version 5, but will leave all data
- and .QES files intact.
-
- Run the INSTALL program as described in Chapter 4 of the manual. When
- asked for the name of the directory, press <Enter>. This will select
- the \EPI5 directory.
-
- During the installation, you will be asked many times is you want to
- "Overwrite (Y/N)." Unless the file is one you wish to keep in its
- Version 5.00 form, reply "Y." The Y key can be pressed a number of
- times in advance if you are sure you want to overwrite all of the files.
- New files that you have created since receiving Version 5.00 will not be
- harmed; the only hazard is to files with the same name as files
- distributed with the system. If you have enhanced HOUSE.REC to become
- your standard household survey form and have not changed its name, be
- careful not to let it be overwritten by the HOUSE.REC that comes with
- Version 5.01.
-
- When you have finished installation, the new system and your old
- datafiles should peacefully coexist. If you chose the first option of
- the two given above, you may decide to copy the data files out of the
- \EPI50 directory and into the new \EPI5 directory and, when everything
- is working well, erase the files in the \EPI50 directory.
-
- Use EPED to print out the file called README on disk 1. This provides
- updated documentation if your manual is not dated November 1990 or
- later. Try out the new system, and verify that bugs you may have
- noted are gone.
-
-
- WHAT'S NEW IN EPI INFO, VERSION 5.01 and 5.01a and 5.01b?
-
- More than 10000 copies of Epi Info, Version 5.00, have been distributed
- in 77 countries since its release in May 1990. As with any software
- product, widespread use has produced a number of suggestions and bug
- reports. The following improvements have been made in Version
- 5.01.
-
- GENERAL
- *The visibility of menus in several programs on monochrome screens has
- been enhanced.
-
- EPED
- *Prompts for type styles in EPED are now correct.
- EPED *.* from command line functions properly.
- *Running of EPED and CONVERT from another directory using a path setting
- is now possible.
-
- ENTER and CHECK
- *Cursor movement in CHECK has been corrected.
- *Searching for records in ENTER is now smoother, and a prompt to save the
- record appears if changes have been made.
- *Unexpected deletion of related records in ENTER has been corrected.
- *The program MAKEHELP.EXE is not supplied with Epi Info. The HELP
- function in .CHK files that displays messages from help files is not
- available. The manual should be changed to reflect this (see
- below).
- *AUTOSEARCH in .CHK files now works properly.
- *Comments are allowed at the beginning of a checkfile.
- *In ENTER, when a field is exited with the<down arrow> key, "Write data
- to disk (Y/N)?" now saves what appears on the screen.
- *Repeat fields far down in questionnaire produced garbled data in
- version 5.00. This has been corrected.
- *The screen no longer shifts up or down a line in ENTER.
- *Alt-F to display file names when editing related files in ENTER was not
- described in the manual. See below.
- *Relative screen locations for CHECK commands are now measured from the
- end rather than the beginning of the field in .CHK commands.
- *<Down arrow> no longer allows entry of illegal values in ENTER unless
- " /over" is given as a command-line parameter when running ENTER.
- *The core record is saved automatically if a related record exists in
- ENTER
- *Commands placed in a BEFORE section in a .CHK file are executed before
- the first field is entered. This is useful for setting colors or
- default values of fields.
-
- ANALYSIS
- *The <Esc> key now interrupts programs in ANALYSIS whenever a new line is
- displayed on the screen or sent to the printer.
- *Handling of negative numbers in ANALYSIS and MERGE is now correct.
- *European date handling in ANALYSIS is improved. The command SET
- EURODATE = ON is no longer necessary.
- *WRITE RECFILE in ANALYSIS performs more correctly.
- *Pie charts are now properly displayed on CGA screens.
- *Rounding down of defined variables in ANALYSIS no longer occurs.
- *dBASE IV files are accepted in ANALYSIS and IMPORT.
- *Statements containing NOT operator function correctly.
- *Substrings in date fields work properly.
- *It is no longer possible to ROUTE to the active dataset.
- *In graphs, the horizontal axis is now labeled properly when there are
- more than 20 values on the axis.
- *OUTPUT TABLES and OUTPUT FREQ can now append to an existing file.
- *#USES and #USESSUMS can be used in the same report.
- *Horizontal totals in multipage tables are now correct.
- *Printing of wide tables is improved.
- *Prompts in BROWSE mode no longer include <F6> for Delete.
- *Only correct values are accepted by SET BUFSIZE =.
- *NEWPAGE now works correctly with a wider variety of printers.
-
- Various Programs and Files
- *In CONVERT, SAS cardfile images have been changed to 74 character lines
- to accomodate mainframe editors
- *Handling of missing values in IMPORT and CONVERT is now correct.
- *Importing of boolean fields in dBASE files now produces
- Y/N fields in ANALYSIS.
- *The screen background color in Epi Menu is now 1 digit.
- *A new OSWEGO.RPT file is supplied. The one supplied with Version 5.00
- did not calculate attack rates as described.
- *MERGE sometimes inserted extra bytes at beginning of file. This has been
- corrected.
- *Extreme values in 2X2 table no longer cause STATCALC to lock up.
-
-
- ADDITIONAL CHANGES IN VERSION 5.01a
-
- Version 5.01a incorporates the following changes, in addition to the
- features of Version 5.01:
-
- *A bug in several programs that caused peculiar effects if the
- record length was an exact multiple of 78 characters has been
- corrected.
-
- *The DIV operator was changed to correct a rounding error.
- Unfortunately this introduced an additional bug in DIV and
- RECODE ...BY ... that has been corrected in Version 5.01b.
-
- *SELECT now operates correctly with European dates.
-
- *Missing values are now CONVERTed to blanks in the fixed format (ASCII)
- and SPSS files. Short dates (MM/DD and DD/MM) are CONVERTed to strings
- in DBase files.
-
- *STATCALC's sample sizes are now correct when Power is less than 50%.
-
-
-
-
- ADDITIONAL CHANGES IN VERSION 5.01b
-
- Version 5.01b incorporates the following changes, in addition to the
- features of Version 5.01a:
-
- *ANALYSIS (dated 7-15-91) has 3 new operators:
-
- TRUNC(x) produces the value of x with any fractional portion
- truncated.
-
- FRAC(x) produces the fractional portion of x.
-
- ROUND(x) produces the value of x rounded to the nearest whole
- number. (Rounding is away from 0 in case of ties: 1.5 is rounded
- to 2.0, but -1.5 is rounded to -2.0.) Legal values for rounded x
- are in the range -2,147,483,648 to +2,147,483,647. For x outside
- that range, ROUND(x) produces the unrounded value of x.
-
- *ANALYSIS' DIV operator has been limited to numbers in the range of
- approximately -214,748 to +214,748. Attempts to use larger numbers, and
- DIV operations which result in errors, are signaled as errors. In case
- of error, the value produced is -10E6. (X DIV Y is considered to result
- in an error if ((X / Y) - (X DIV Y) - FRAC(X / Y) > 10E-300).)
-
- *A problem with display of deleted records in ENTER has been corrected.
- This problem occurred only with records with length of exact multiples
- of 78 bytes.
-
- We are happy to note that most of the "bugs" reported by helpful users
- were of the type only noticed in specialized applications by a few
- users, and some only became evident on particular types of computers.
- Please continue to report difficulties to the Epi Info User Hotline
- (404)-728-0545, so that future versions can be even more useful.
- Suggestions for future enhancements should be directed to Andrew G.
- Dean, M.D., DSE, EPO, Mailstop G34, Centers for Disease Control,
- Atlanta, GA 30333, telephone (404) 639-3048, FAX (404) 639-2408.
-
-
-
- CHANGES IN THE EPI INFO, VERSION 5, MANUAL SINCE MAY 1990
-
- If your manual was printed prior to November 1990, some or all of
- the following changes and additions will be relevant.
-
- Installation on floppy disk systems:
- *If you are using INSTALL.EXE on a system without a hard drive, you
- should give the DOS command SET COMSPEC=B:\COMMAND.COM (and press
- <Enter>) before running INSTALL.EXE. You should also have a diskette
- containing COMMAND.COM close at hand.
-
- Documentation for Additional Features:
-
- *In addition to the standard plotter driver, which is for Hewlett Packard
- 7470 compatible plotters, drivers are also provided for the HP7475 and
- HP7550 plotters. If you have one of these plotters the proper setup
- command in ANALYSIS is: SET PRINTER = HP7475 or SET PRINTER = HP7550
- rather than SET PRINTER = PLOTTER, which is for the HP7470 only.
-
- *Adding the parameter /AUTO when running the ENTER program (see page 297)
- causes ENTER to skip automatically to the next record without asking the
- question, "Write data to disk(Y/N)?," after each record is entered.
- This is useful when entering large numbers of small records.
-
- *A menuing program called QUERY.EXE is included. This is illustrated in
- the menus for the RSURV system. Instructions for using the program can
- be seen by typing QUERY from the DOS prompt. RSURV.BAT is a menu
- program constructed using QUERY. Note that the RSURV menus are in color
- and eliminate the need for the many tiny batch files that are necessary
- for the more primitive menuing system in the \SURV directory.
-
- Changes in the HOUSE, PERSON, and VISIT example files and in RSURV:
- *The identification numbers in the HOUSE, PERSON, and VISIT example
- described on page 207 are now supplied automatically; you should make
- appropriate changes in the tutorial instructions on page 207 that refer
- to manual entry of these numbers.
-
- *The files DISEASE1.RPT and DISEASE2.RPT, referred to on page 346, have
- been combined in a single file called DISEASE.RPT.
-
- *The file USMEX.RPT has been removed from the RSURV system, and
- appropriate changes should be made on pages 221-227. The portion of the
- .CHK file printed at the top of page 223 no longer matches the manual,
- and the file GEPI.CHK should be examined instead. The filenames
- GEPI89.REC, HEP89.REC, etc. in this chapter are now simply GEPI.REC,
- HEP.REC, etc., and are understood to contain data from the current year.
-
- *During editing of related records in ENTER, pressing <ALT F> will
- display the filenames and allow selections.
-
- *Special blocks in a .CHK file called BEFORE and AFTER may be used for
- commands that are to be executed before or after all entries have been
- made in the questionnaire.
-
- *The first part of page 297 should read as follows:
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------_
- Chapter 35
-
- ENTER and CHECK Commands
-
-
- ENTER Parameters
-
- The commands in ENTER are described in Chapter 8. Running ENTER from
- DOS or from the EPI menu with parameters allows quick entry without
- having to specify file names within ENTER. It also allows running ENTER
- from other programs or batch files that are not normally part of the Epi
- Info system. The available parameters are as follows:
-
- ENTER <.REC file name> {<.QES file name>} {/WS} {/CONF} {/AUTO} {/OVER}
-
- /WS turns on a filter that removes non-ASCII characters in questionnaire
- files as a .REC file is made. Questionnaires made in WordStar should be
- processed with the /WS parameter to filter out the non-ASCII characters
- contained in WordStar files.
-
- /CONF stands for CONFIRM. If this parameter is present, the cursor
- does not leave an entry field until <Enter> is pressed. This is useful
- when a questionnaire contains a mixture of long and short fields.
-
- /AUTO causes ENTER to skip automatically to the next record without
- asking the question, "Write data to disk (Y/N)?," at the end of each
- record.
-
- /OVER allows the cursor to escape from MUSTENTER fields with the <down
- arrow> key and will permit entering exceptions to legal values or codes
- with this key.
-
- If a .QES file name is given and the .REC file exists the .REC file is
- revised according to the .QES file. The .REC file is renamed to <File
- name>.OLD.
-
-
- General Features of CHECK Programs
-
- .CHK files are arranged in blocks. A block begins with a field name and
- ends with the word END. All commands must be within a field name block.
- Comments, preceded by an asterisk ("*") may be placed between, but not
- within the blocks.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-
- Errata:
-
- *The initials of the authors in the citation at the bottom of the
- title page should be corrected to agree with those at the top of
- the page.
-
- *On page 85, the subtitle should list <F8> as the key for automatic
- coding rather than <F6>.
-
- *On page 200, the DISEASE.RPT file on the disk differs slightly from the
- sections printed in the manual. The file is correct.
-
- *On page 205, the file OSWEGO.RPT has been rewritten. The file on the
- disk is correct, and the version in the manual should be disregarded.
-
- *The portion of the GEPI.CHK file displayed on pages 223 and 224 is not
- quite correct. Consult the actual file for the correct version.
-
- *Chapter 37 discusses Epi Info help files and states that the utility
- program MAKEHELP is included on the Epi Info diskettes. Because MAKEHELP
- is commercial, copyrighted software, and not freely distributable, it
- was not possible to include it with the Epi Info distribution.
-
- *The HELP command section on pages 304 and 305 should be replaced by the
- following:
-
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------
- HELP
-
- Syntax:
- HELP "<Text>" <Col> <Row> {KEYS="<Chr(s)>"}
-
- The HELP command displays text specified in the command within a window
- at the location specified on the screen. Pressing the <Esc> key will
- restore the screen to its previous state. If KEYS are specified, any of
- the specified keys may be pressed. The standard variable RESULT is set
- equal to the number of the character in the sequence of KEYS. Thus, is
- the KEYS are "ABCD" and "C" is pressed, RESULT will be equal to 3. The
- value of RESULT may be tested for use in IF statements that follow.
-
-
-
- Example:
- IF MED = "TETRACYCLINE" AND (PREGNANT="Y") THEN
- HELP "Caution: This drug is contraindicated in pregnancy\nAre
- you sure(Y/N)?" KEYS="YN"
- (Note: The two lines above must be all on one line.)
- IF RESULT = 1 THEN
- GOTO DOSE
- ELSE
- CLEAR MED
- GOTO MED
- ENDIF
-
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- *On page 339, the last two lines should be:
- RECODE LVALUE TO LVALUE LO-79=HYPO\
- 80-200=INTERMED 201-HI=HYPER
-
- *On page 340, the "+" signs in the REGRESS command should be replaced by
- spaces (although either will work).
-
-