I caught the end of Toy Story over the weekend, which is definitely one of my all-time favorite children’s movies. Now—unfortunately or fortunately—I can’t get Randy Newman's theme song,“You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” out of my head!
It's also got me thinking about the nature of friendship, and how "best friends forever" are supposed to always be there when you need them. And, not to get too maudlin about it, but just like Woody and Buzz eventually realize their friendship, all of us hope the professionals who use our software also realize that “you’ve got a friend” in Minitab.
Now what do I mean by all this “BFF” business? I’m talking about our free technical support services (online and by telephone), as well as the plethora of free documentation that’s available online for each of our products. We’re here for you!
Be sure to visit the Support section of our website to browse the individual support sections that are available for each of our product offerings. From there, you can access the latest software downloads, documentation, and tutorials, and find the answers to all of your questions about software use, statistics, and quality improvement. In fact, there's a lot of great information there even if you're not using our software yet!
And for our latest and greatest release, Minitab 17 Statistical Software, we’ve expanded our online support offerings. Be sure to check out the following:
1. Getting Started with Minitab 17
Getting Started is our user guide that introduces you to some of the most commonly used features and tasks in Minitab—including how to explore your data with graphs, conduct statistical analyses and interpret the results, assess quality using control charts and capability analysis, and design an experiment.
The guide also includes shortcuts and tips for customizing Minitab.
2. Topic Library
The Minitab 17 Topic Library is a compilation of content from Help, StatGuide™, and Glossary—all of which are also available within the software itself. The library is arranged by statistical area so that you can easily find relevant topics, such as Basic Statistics and Graphs, Quality Tools, and Modeling Statistics (ANOVA, regression, DOE, etc.).
3. Data Sets
We took the best data sets from Minitab 17 Help and made them accessible online. We also made them even more realistic, so you can practice performing analyses and interpretation, explore alternate data layouts, and investigate statistical tools commonly used in your industry.
4. Macros Library
Our Macros Library includes many macros that allow you to automate, customize and repeat an analysis of your choice. You can download the .mac file for each macro we offer.
5. Technical Papers
Access technical papers that describe the research conducted to develop the methods and data checks used in the Assistant, as well as the methodology and supporting researching underlying two new analyses in Minitab 17.
6. Installation and Licensing FAQs
Browse our troubleshooting solutions to the most common error messages, installation issues, and activation/licensing topics.
The Personal Touch
If you've checked the website and still need help, know that we’re here whenever you need us (a real, live person I might add!). Access unlimited phone or online support from experts in statistics, quality improvement, and computer systems by visiting http://www.minitab.com/support/.
You really do have a friend in Minitab Support!