Execs Overview
    

Execs are stored commands that you will use over and over, so you do not have to retype them each time. You can even write an interactive Exec, which pauses during execution, prompts the user for information, then continues with execution. Execs are useful for many things:

·    repeating a block of commands many times-useful for simulations

·    looping through columns of the worksheet, doing the same analysis on each block of columns

·    looping through rows of the worksheet, doing the same analysis on each block of rows

·    performing complex operations not provided as stand-alone commands

How Execs are different from global and local macros

Earlier releases of Minitab supported only Execs. Minitab now has a more robust programming language that allows you to create global and local macros, sometimes grouped under the term %macros. %Macros are more powerful and flexible than Execs. Here are some of the other differences:

·    Exec, with a default extension of MTB, is invoked by typing the command EXECUTE or by choosing Files > Other Files > Run an Exec

·    %Macro, with the default file extension of MAC, is invoked by entering the symbol % followed by the macro file name: for example, %SALES invokes the macro SALES.MAC

If you have Execs that were written using previous releases of Minitab, you may continue to use them with no change-unless, of course, the Execs use obsolete commands.