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>Gretl Manual: Gnu Regression, Econometrics and Time-series
Library</TH
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>Chapter 2. Getting started</TD
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><DIV
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><H1
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><A
NAME="menus"
></A
>The main window menus</H1
><P
> Reading left to right along the main window's menu bar, we find
the File, Utilities, Session, Data, Sample, Variable, Model and
Help menus.
</P
><P
><IMG
SRC="figures/menubar.png"
ALIGN="center"></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>File menu</SPAN
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Open data</SPAN
>: Open a
native <TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> data file or
import from other formats. See <A
HREF="c607.html"
>Chapter 4</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Save data</SPAN
>: Save
the currently open native
<TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> data
file.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Save data as</SPAN
>:
Write out the current data set in native format, with
the option of using gzip data compression or storing the
data in binary format. See <A
HREF="c607.html"
>Chapter 4</A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Export data</SPAN
>:
Write out the current data set in Comma Separated Values
(CSV) format, or the formats of GNU R or GNU Octave. See
<A
HREF="c607.html"
>Chapter 4</A
> and also <A
HREF="a3715.html"
>Appendix D</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Clear data set</SPAN
>:
Clear the current data set out of memory. Generally you
don't have to do this (since opening a new data file
automatically clears the old one) but sometimes it's
useful (see <A
HREF="x676.html"
>the Section called <I
>Creating a data file from scratch</I
> in Chapter 4</A
>).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Browse databases</SPAN
>:
See <A
HREF="x649.html"
>the Section called <I
>Binary databases</I
> in Chapter 4</A
> and
<A
HREF="x676.html"
>the Section called <I
>Creating a data file from scratch</I
> in Chapter 4</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Create data set</SPAN
>:
Initialize the built-in spreadsheet for entering data
manually. See <A
HREF="x676.html"
>the Section called <I
>Creating a data file from scratch</I
> in Chapter 4</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Save last graph</SPAN
>:
Just as it says.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>View command log</SPAN
>:
Open a window containing a record of the commands
executed so far.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Open command
file</SPAN
>: Open a file of
<TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> commands, either one
you have created yourself or one of the practice files
supplied with the package. If you want to create a
command file from scratch use the next item,
<SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>New command
file</SPAN
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Preferences</SPAN
>: Set
the paths to various files
<TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> needs to access. Choose
the font in which gretl displays text output. Select or
unselect <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"expert mode"</SPAN
>. (If this mode is
selected various warning messages are suppressed.)
Activate or suppress <TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
>'s
messaging about the availability of program updates.
Configure or turn on/off the main-window
toolbar.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Exit</SPAN
>: Quit the
program. If expert mode is not selected you'll be
prompted to save any unsaved work.</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Utilities menu</SPAN
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Statistical
tables</SPAN
>: Look up critical values for
commonly used distributions (normal or Gaussian,
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>t</I
></SPAN
>, chi-square,
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>F</I
></SPAN
> and
Durbin–Watson).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>p-value finder</SPAN
>:
Open a window which enables you to look up p-values from
the Gaussian, <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>t</I
></SPAN
>, chi-square,
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>F</I
></SPAN
> or gamma distributions. See also
the <TT
CLASS="command"
>pvalue</TT
> command in <A
HREF="c1375.html"
>Chapter 9</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Test statistic
calculator</SPAN
>: Calculate test statistics
and p-values for a range of common hypothesis tests
(population mean, variance and proportion; difference of
means, variances and proportions). The relevant sample
statistics must be already available for entry into the
dialog box. For some simple tests that take as input
data series rather than pre-computed sample statistics,
see <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Difference of means"</SPAN
> and
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Difference of variances"</SPAN
> under the Data
menu.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Gretl console</SPAN
>:
Open a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"console"</SPAN
> window into which you can
type commands as you would using the command-line
program, <TT
CLASS="application"
>gretlcli</TT
> (as opposed
to using point-and-click). See <A
HREF="c1375.html"
>Chapter 9</A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Start Gnu R</SPAN
>:
Start <TT
CLASS="application"
>R</TT
> (if it is installed
on your system), and load a copy of the data set
currently open in <TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
>. See
<A
HREF="a3715.html"
>Appendix D</A
>.
</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Session menu</SPAN
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Icon view</SPAN
>: Open a
window showing the current
<TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> session as a set of
icons. For details see <A
HREF="x560.html"
>the Section called <I
>The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"session"</SPAN
>
concept</I
> in Chapter 3</A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Open</SPAN
>: Open a
previously saved session file.
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Save</SPAN
>: Save the
current session to file.
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Save as</SPAN
>: Save the
current session to file under a chosen name.
</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Data menu</SPAN
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Display values</SPAN
>:
pops up a window with a simple (not editable) printout
of the values of the variables (either all of them or a
selected subset).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Edit values</SPAN
>: pops
up a spreadsheet window where you can make changes, add
new variables, and extend the number of observations.
(The data matrix must remain rectangular, with the same
number of observations for each
series.)</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Graph specified
vars</SPAN
>: Gives a choice between a time
series plot, a regular X–Y scatter plot, an
X–Y plot using impulses (vertical bars), an
X–Y plot <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"with factor separation"</SPAN
>
(i.e. with the points colored differently depending to
the value of a given dummy variable) and boxplots.
Serves up a dialog box where you specify the variables
to graph. The simplest way to fill out the dialog entry
is to refer to the variables by their ID numbers (shown
in the leftmost column of the main data window). Thus,
having chosen the scatter plot option, an entry of
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"2 3"</SPAN
> will plot variable number 2 (here,
consumption) against variable number 3 (income). The
last referenced variable will be on the
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>x</I
></SPAN
> axis. Gnuplot is used to render
the graph (except for the boxplots
option).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Multiple
scatterplots</SPAN
>: Show a collection of (at
most six) pairwise plots, with either a given variable
on the <SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>y</I
></SPAN
> axis plotted against
several different variables on the
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>x</I
></SPAN
> axis, or several
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>y</I
></SPAN
> variables plotted against a given
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>x</I
></SPAN
>. May be useful for exploratory
data analysis.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Read info</SPAN
>,
<SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Edit header</SPAN
>: <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Read
info"</SPAN
> just displays the header file information
for the current data file; <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Edit header"</SPAN
>
allows you to make changes to it (if you have permission
to do so).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Summary
statistics</SPAN
>: shows a fairly full set of
descriptive statistics for all variables in the data
set.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Correlation
matrix</SPAN
>: shows the pairwise correlation
coefficients for the variables in the data
set.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Difference of
means</SPAN
>: calculates the
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>t</I
></SPAN
> statistic for the null hypothesis
that the population means are equal for two selected
variables and shows its p-value.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Difference of
variances</SPAN
>: calculates the
<SPAN
CLASS="emphasis"
><I
CLASS="emphasis"
>F</I
></SPAN
> statistic for the null hypothesis
that the population variances are equal for two selected
variables and shows its p-value.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Add variables</SPAN
>
gives a sub-menu of standard transformations of
variables (logs, lags, squares, etc.) that you may wish
to add to the data set. Also gives the option of adding
random variables, and (for time-series data) adding
seasonal dummy variables (e.g. quarterly dummy variables
for quarterly data). Includes an item for seeding the
program's pseudo-random number
generator.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Refresh window</SPAN
>
Sometimes <TT
CLASS="application"
>gretl</TT
> commands
generate new variables. The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"refresh"</SPAN
> item
ensures that the listing of variables visible in the
main data window is in sync with the program's internal
state.</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Sample menu</SPAN
></P
><P
></P
><UL
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Set range</SPAN
>: Select
a different starting and/or ending point for the current
sample, within the range of data available.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Restore full
range</SPAN
>:
self-explanatory.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Set frequency,
startobs</SPAN
>: Impose a particular
interpretation of the data in terms of frequency and
starting point. This is primarily intended for use with
panel data; see <A
HREF="c794.html"
>Chapter 5</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Define, based on
dummy</SPAN
>: Given a dummy (indicator)
variable with values 0 or 1, this drops from the current
sample all observations for which the dummy variable has
value 0.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Restrict, based on
criterion</SPAN
>: Similar to the item above,
except that you don't need a pre-defined variable: you
supply a Boolean expression (e.g. <TT
CLASS="literal"
>sqft >
1400</TT
>) and the sample is restricted to
observations satisfying that condition. See the help for
<TT
CLASS="command"
>genr</TT
> in <A
HREF="c1375.html"
>Chapter 9</A
> for details on the Boolean operators
that can be used.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Drop all obs with missing
values</SPAN
>: Drop from the current sample all
observations for which at least one variable has a
missing value (see <A
HREF="x762.html"
>the Section called <I
>Missing data values</I
> in Chapter 4</A
>).
</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Count
missing values</SPAN
>: Give a report on
observations where data values are missing. May be
useful in examining a panel data set, where it's quite
common to encounter missing values.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Add case markers</SPAN
>:
Prompts for the name of a text file containing
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"case markers"</SPAN
> (short strings identifying
the individual observations) and adds this information
to the data set. See
<A
HREF="c607.html"
>Chapter 4</A
>.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Interpret as time
series</SPAN
>: Opens a dialog box which
enables you to set a time-series interpretation for data
that were read in as undated.</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Interpret as
panel</SPAN
>: Opens a dialog box which
enables you to fix the interpretation of a panel data
set as either stacked time series or stacked cross
sections (see <A
HREF="c794.html"
>Chapter 5</A
>).</P
></LI
><LI
STYLE="list-style-type: dash"
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenuitem"
>Restructure
panel</SPAN
>: Allows the conversion of a panel
data set in stacked cross-section form into stacked
time series. (Unlike the previous item, this one
changes the organization of the data.)
</P
></LI
></UL
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Variable menu</SPAN
> Most items
under here operate on a single variable at a time. The
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"active"</SPAN
> variable is set by highlighting it
(clicking on its row) in the main data window. Most options
will be self-explanatory. Note that you can rename a
variable, and can edit its descriptive label. You can also
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Define a new variable"</SPAN
> via a formula (e.g.
involving some function of one or more existing variables).
For the syntax of such formulae, look at the online help for
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Generate variable syntax"</SPAN
> or see the
<TT
CLASS="command"
>genr</TT
> command in
<A
HREF="c1375.html"
>Chapter 9</A
>. One simple example:
<PRE
CLASS="programlisting"
>
foo = x1 * x2</PRE
> will create a new variable
<TT
CLASS="varname"
>foo</TT
> as the product of the existing
variables <TT
CLASS="varname"
>x1</TT
> and <TT
CLASS="varname"
>x2</TT
>.
In these formulae, variables must be referenced by name, not
number.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Model menu</SPAN
> This is introduced
in
<A
HREF="c149.html"
>Chapter 2</A
>. For details on the various
estimators offered under this menu please consult
<A
HREF="x3276.html"
>the Section called <I
>Estimators and tests: summary</I
> in Chapter 9</A
> and <A
HREF="c1375.html"
>Chapter 9</A
> below, and/or the online help under
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Help, Estimation"</SPAN
>.</P
></LI
><LI
><P
><SPAN
CLASS="guimenu"
>Help menu</SPAN
> Please use this as
needed! It gives details on the syntax required in various
dialog entries.</P
></LI
></UL
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