To: Lab Technicians in Math Dept labs, ITFD labs, and Learning Labs
From: Mary Parker mparker@austincc.edu
Date: Last updated August 10, 2009
Versions | Configuration | Data
for our text |
What students see and help for students
|
Why both versions? |
Versions: The main version we use is Version 14, which is served to the computers via the network, where it is monitored by a license manager. We also keep available Version 12, which is installed on each machine. There are a few things we do for which this works better. Please put both on each of the machines in the labs.
Please label the icons MINITAB14 and MINITAB12.
Here is a zip file of ALL the folders that should go into the Data folder in the installation of the MINITAB program. There are five folders in this zip file. Folders of data
I believe that, when you install MINITAB, it has a folder called Data. When you open MINITAB and choose File > Open Worksheet, then I believe the Data folder is what shows up first. If not, and if you can make that true, please do so. I'd prefer for students not to have to "hunt around" for the folder. Please wipe out everything that is in that Data folder and replace it with the contents of this zip file. That means there will then be five folders under Data.
This will need to be done separately for for MINITAB 14 and for MINITAB 12, with a complete copy of this data folder in each.
We need for the data folders to be set up as Read-only folders. That has not been completely true in the past for the MINITAB 14 folders, because they have accumulated extra files in them, and some of the files have been written over with incorrect files. It appears to me that some computers did not have access to writing in these, but others did. I don't know why that would be true for MINITAB 14, since that is provided from the server.
We continue to want both MINITAB 12 and MINITAB 14 on all the computers. MINITAB 14 is run from the network because those need to go through a license manager. MINITAB 12 is not run from the network.
It is crucial that our users find it easy to use the commands. That means that, in the Session Window, there is a prompt
MTB>
The default settings for both MINITAB 14 and MINITAB 12 do not do that.
For MINITAB 14, we have had trouble getting that to happen each semester. I have not ever been told exactly what the problem is. I understand that just enabling it on the main server is not adequate, but it must also be done at the local level. I don't know whether it is enough to put it in the image that you put onto the computers or whether it must be done on individual machines.
In MINITAB 14,
In MINITAB 12, after you install it, in the Edit menu, go to Preferences (at the bottom usually). Then choose the Session Window. In one place here, there is a part called Command Language. Choose Enable. (In this version, the default is Disable.) After you do this, then in the Session Window, the MTB> prompt should appear.
What students see and help for students:
Also, we have information available for the students, including help for students with the types of problems in our particular course, at http://www.austincc.edu/mparker/minitab/ Please make an icon to lead them to that web page. Call that "ACC Help with MINITAB." (Of course, if it is on a computer from which students can't access the Internet, then you won't want to include this.)
If it is convenient for you to put all four icons (MINITAB 12, MINITAB 14, and ACC Help with MINITAB) in one easily accessible place, that would be great. If that doesn't work, please try to put them close enough together that a student who finds one of these but needs another can easily find it.
While we have been using MINITAB 14 for several semesters, there are some situations where students can't use MINITAB 14.
We need to keep our current copies of Version 12 installed so that these can be used if any problems arise using the networked software, including the possibility that we need more copies open than our license for MTB 14 allows. We expect to keep them working for the foreseeable future.
All labs should continue to keep their Version 12 software working. Please label the icon for that software Minitab12. It is still a perfectly acceptable version -- it just doesn't match their Manual very well in the first chapter. Even though we have Version 14, please don't discard the licenses for Version 12. It is very useful to have the extra licenses. If you don't usually keep old software, please contact me and I'll save them. Please contact me BEFORE you delete the software. The serial numbers are the most important thing and I can get that directly from the installed software.
Even if your lab doesn't seem to need the Version 12 copies, we may need to move some of those copies to outlying sites where access to the network version will not work as well. We can't do that if we can't prove we own them. Please help ACC save money overall by not discarding these licenses.
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Last updated August 10, 2009 . mparker@austincc.edu.