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Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Worksheet Format

Overview

Sigma Magic worksheet is formatted into four areas: header area, input area, output area (which consists of notes and graphs), and temp area. Note that in some tools, the input and output areas may be combined into one. For other tools, if no input is required, then only an output area may be present.

Work Areas
1
Header Area: The header contains information about the analysis being performed. Any comments or error messages from the analysis are also output to the header area. The header area is the first row of the worksheet. The first row contains an area for output/comments from the analysis. The second row contains the main header and a logo, which stores default worksheet information as described below.
2
Input Area: The input area is the location where raw data for the analysis can be input into the analysis. Note that some data may also be entered into the analysis through dialog boxes. Not all worksheets may have an input area as well, and you will need to use the Analysis Data or Paste functionality to specify the data for the analysis.
3
Notes Area: The output area usually contains two sections: Notes and Graphs. Any text output is sent to the Notes area. The notes area contains a summary of the analysis being performed, any assumption checks that are completed, the results of the analysis, and conclusions, if any. These results are cleared and updated when you click on Compute Outputs
4
Graphs Area: The output area usually contains two sections: Notes and Graphs. Any graphical output is sent to the Graphs area. Note that there may be multiple graphs that are generated for any analysis depending on the analysis you are performing. You can use the standard Excel functionality to make changes to these graphs. These results are cleared and updated when you click on Compute Outputs
5
Temp Area: The temp area contains data that is used to plot any graphs. The temp area is usually hidden on a worksheet. It is recommended that users don't use this area to store any results as they are cleared from time to time.
Ideally, you should not insert or delete any rows or columns in this tool as Sigma Magic is expecting to find data in certain areas of the worksheet. You may safely use the area to the right border to save any info on this worksheet. However, writings into the input, temp, or output area may be lost when Sigma Magic analysis is run. The following section describes how Sigma Magic finds the information it is looking for. If you modify the format, use it at your own risk.

Format

The worksheet format information is stored in the Sigma Magic logo located in the top right area of the header. Do not delete this logo - if you do, then Sigma Magic software will not run on this worksheet. To look at the worksheet format, right-click on the Sigma Magic logo and then select "Format Picture," and then select "Alt Text." A dialog box such as the one shown below will then be displayed. User Data Information in this text box is stored in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format. This format is similar to XML format but has fewer disadvantages than an XML format. For more information about JSON, refer to the website: http://www.json.org. Data is stored in objects and string-value pairs. An object is an unordered set of name/value pairs. An object begins with a { and ends with a }. Each name-value pair is separated by a semi-colon. Multiple name/value pairs are separated by commas. Here is a description of the name-value pairs for the worksheet layout. All Sigma Magic worksheets should have a worksheet layout that contains information about where Sigma Magic can find the input cells, output cells, temp area, etc.

KeywordDescription
NameName of the analysis that is stored in the worksheet. This name tells the software what analysis to run on this worksheet. Each tool has a unique name associated with it.
VersionVersion number of the worksheet. This is used to manage multiple versions of the worksheet.
LogoThe location of the logo on the worksheet.
InputThe location of the input cells
OutputThe location of the output cells (specifically notes section)
GraphThe location of the output cells (specifically graph section)
CommentsThe location to display any comments from the analysis (default: B1)
HeadingThe header locations (used to set background colors)
PrintThe print area of the worksheet. Used to print or export to PPT format
ClearThe area that should be cleared when you click on the Clear button
TempThe area that stores temporary graph data.

In addition to the worksheet layout, information is also stored about any dialog box selections. These options correspond to the dialog box picks and are numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. Any selections you make in the dialog box are used to update the corresponding locations in the Sigma Magic user data. Finally, any conclusions from the analysis are stored in this format.

FAQ

This section contains some frequently asked questions. If you have other questions about this module, please contact technical support.
Can I modify the worksheet format?

If you modify the format, then the software will use the new locations specified in this file to update the worksheet. However, unless you fully understand how to use this feature, we recommend that you do not change the format string. If you want the changes to apply to all future worksheets, then you need to modify the appropriate tool located in the tools folder in the Sigma Magic installation directory.