Interface and components of the Graphpad Prism

In this article, the basic interface of the GraphPad Prism is demonstrated. The demonstrations will indicate how to get started with the Prism software. In the previous article, a brief introduction to the software was discussed.

Starting with Graphpad Prism 7.03

After downloading the trial version software from the website, and installing it according to the predefined instructions of the software the image underneath appears.

This is the main interface of the GraphPad prism where the pop-up box is the main gateway to the main objectives of the software. One cannot skip the first pop-up box, which actually helps in identifying the type of chart and graph and the dataset required for statistical analysis. Either can one cancel the pop-up box or select the right table of the graph and the model and enter “create” (GraphPad Prism, 2017).

However, one only chooses to cancel if the researcher already has a dataset worked on and not create a new worksheet while create is for analyzing a new datasheet. After cancelling the pop-up button, the main home page of the software looks like this;

After cancelling the pop-up box, it can is seen in the image 2 that except for “file” option in the toolbar, all other options are blocked automatically. Thus, on cancelling, one can only open a pre-existing file or click “new” and re-chose models from the pop-up box (as in image 1). The denominations in the image, where “1” shows the blocked toolbar options, “2” shows the “file” option is only functional for a few tools, “3 and 4” both show the blocked functions from the toolbar (GraphPad Prism, 2017).

Demonstrating the main interface of GraphPad Prism v7.03

The main interface can be divided into 4 parts; Table and graphs, models, samples and cancel create. These four are the main parts of the pop-up interface in GraphPad Prism.

The 1^st is the selecting the type of tables and graphs for the case study in hand or the data in hand. There are six types of table and graphs that can be chosen according to the type of data or the case in hand. Although the image shows only XY, however, selecting every type produces different models and statistical analyses. As mentioned, the 2^nd components of the interface are the sub-models, such as correlations, regressions, and others. Thus, part two defines the type of model for the dataset where either the tutorial data can be selected or manually selecting the variables for X-axis and Y-axis. The 3^rd component consists of “create” and the “cancel” option that is mentioned in the above section. The last components or the 4^th component is the list with “Existing files”, where other professional functions and services of the GraphPad can be achieved but is none of the concern for the current modules. However, one can easily look through the example graphs and plots in the “graph portfolio”.

Quick notes

1. If by mistake one cancels the pop-up box, there is no need to panic or close and reopen; just follow the simple steps. Go to Tools tab> File option> New> New Project file and the pop-up box come up.

2. At the top right corner of Image 3, example graph and datasheet can be viewed by clicking the types of tables and graphs option. Every table and graphs will show different examples and will also help to get an overview of the datasheet before performing the real analysis.

References

• GraphPad Prism. (2017). GraphPad Prism7-Highlights of what’s new. Retrieved September 1, 2017, from http://www.graphpad.com/guides/prism/7/user-guide/index.htm?whats_new_in_prism_6_.htm.