Back in March, I posted to Mac Mojo about Excel's Analysis ToolPack add-in and Office 2008. 

For those that don't know, Analysis ToolPak (ATP) is a wildly useful tool that provides 19 different data analysis options to Excel users. If you're looking to do a quick histogram, ANOVA or covariance test, ATP is one of those features that can make you fall in love with Excel all over again.

There's just one problem: while ATP shipped with earlier versions of Office (such as Office 2004), it didn't come with Office 2008. Why? Well, ATP was built on top of Visual Basic. When VB was removed from Office 2008, ATP went with it. That meant the Excel team has had no way to offer these data analysis functions to Office 2008 customers.

Until today, that is.

I'm incredibly pleased to announce the return (and immediate availability!) of a data analysis solution for Excel 2008 customers.

It's called StatPlus:mac LE.

StatPlus:mac LE is a free, downloadable data analysis application for Mac OS X that works with Excel 2008 (12.1.5 or later). It works on Tiger (10.4.11) and Leopard systems (10.5.6), as well as PowerPC and Intel processors. It's available in English, French, German, Italian, Portugese, Russian and Spanish.

StatPlus:mac LE is not an Excel add-in. Like Solver for Excel 2008, it is a full-blown Mac application ("StatPlus.app") that uses AppleScript to communicate with and drive Excel. It provides all the same functions as Analysis ToolPak, which makes it a nice, drop-in replacement for ATP users.

Finally, one of the best things about StatPlus:mac LE is its pedigree. StatPlus:mac LE is a limited-edition version of the professional-grade analysis tool StatPlus:mac from AnalystSoft. AnalystSoft's business is analytics, and they make a family of analytics products for Macintosh and Windows systems. Consequently, StatPlus:mac LE is built from the same, professional-grade engine that StatPlus:mac customers have come to rely on.

The Mac Excel team and AnalystSoft have been working together for the past several months to tailor StatPlus:mac LE to mirror ATP's functions, and meet the needs of ATP users. We're very, very pleased with the result, and we think you will be, too.

So how do you get it?

Obtaining StatPlus:mac LE

We have tried to keep the process of getting, installing and using StatPlus:mac LE as simple as possible. The steps are:

    
1. Download StatPlus:mac LE from the AnalystSoft Web site.
    
2. Unpack StatPlus:mac LE by double-clicking it.
    
3. Double-click on the newly-created "statplusmacle" folder.
    
4. Double-click on the "Install" folder.
    
5. Double-click the "SPM" disk image file to mount it. The "StatPlus:mac" window will appear.
    
6. Move the StatPlus.app file to your /Applications folder (or any other place you like).
    
7. If you plan to use StatPlus:mac LE a lot, drag its icon to your Dock.

That's it!

Using StatPlus:mac LE

Once StatPlus:mac LE is on your machine, you're ready to go. Just do the following.

    
1. Launch Excel 2008.
    
2. Open (or create) the workbook with the data you wish to analyze.
    
3. Click the StatPlus icon in your dock. StatPlus:mac LE will launch.
    
4. Select the analysis function you wish to use from the StatPlus:mac LE menu system, and the relevant interface will appear (see Figure 1, "Linear Regression").
    
5. At this point, you'll select the range of data in Excel you wish to work with, set target values and variables, and perform the analysis much as you would expect.

 

Figure 1 - Linear Regression In StatPlus:mac LE
 

Since ATP and StatPlus:mac LE are different products, the nomenclature is a bit different between the two. If you're an ATP user who is upgrading, you can use the following list to find your favorite function (the ATP function is in bold):

    
• ANOVA - Single Factor
        Statistics >> Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) >> One-way ANOVA (simple)
    
• ANOVA - Two-Factor With Replication
        Statistics >> Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) >> Two-way ANOVA
    
• ANOVA - Two-Factor Without Replication
        Statistics >> Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) >> Two-way ANOVA (Advanced Option)
    
• Correlation
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Linear Correlation (Pearson)
    
• Covariance
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Covariance
    
• Descriptive Statistics
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Descriptive Statistics
    
• Exponential Smoothing
        Statistics >> Time-Series Forecasting >> Exponential Smoothing
    
• F-Test Two-Sample For Variances
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> F-Test For Variances
    
• Fourier Analysis
        Statistics >> Time-Series Forecasting >> Fast Fourier Transform - Direct
    
• Histogram
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Histogram
    
• Moving Average
        Statistics >> Time Series/Forecasting >> Moving Average
    
• Random Number Generation
        Data >> Random Numbers Generation >> Normal Distribution
    
• Rank and Percentile
        Statistics >> Nonparametric >> Rank and Percentile
    
• Regression
        Statistics >> Regression >> Linear Regression
    
• Sampling
        Data >> Random Sample
    
• t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Comparing Means (T-Test)
    
• t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Comparing Means (T-Test)
    
• t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Unequal Variances
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Comparing Means (T-Test)
    
• z-Test: Two Sample for Means
        Statistics >> Basic Statistics and Tables >> Two-Sample z-Test for Means

Finally, as you're using StatPlus:mac LE, you will notice some of the menus are marked with a "PRO" icon (see Figure 2). This designates a function that is available in the commercial StatPlus:mac, but not the free StatPlus:mac LE. If you're in need of a more full-featured analysis solution, consider StatPlus:mac. (It currently has a 30-day trial, and retails for $250; discounts for academic and volume users are available.)

 

Figure 2 - StatPlus:mac LE Menu System
 

So that's the news. Data analysis has returned to Excel 2008, and Mac users who rely on ATP functionality are just a free download away from what they've been missing.

One final note: all of us here on the Mac Excel team are grateful for the help and hard work of the folks at AnalystSoft. They definitely went the extra mile to make this a solid release for the Mac community, and we're incredibly happy with how things came together. Hats off!

Happy analyzing!