Defined Inputs (simulation)

The Defined Inputs dialog allows you to define new inputs and set properties for targets.

• If an input to be used in an equation does not exist in the active dataset, you must define it before it can be used in the equation.
• If you are simulating data without a predictive model, you must define all simulated inputs that do not exist in the active dataset.

Name. Specify the name for a target or input.

Target. You can specify the measurement level of a target. The default measurement level is continuous. You can also specify whether output will be created for this target. For example, for a set of coupled equations you may only be interested in output from the target for the final equation, so you would suppress output from the other targets.

Input to be simulated. This specifies that the values of the input will be simulated according to a specified probability distribution (the probability distribution is specified on the Simulation tab). The measurement level determines the default set of distributions that are considered when finding the distribution that most closely fits the data for the input (by clicking Fit or Fit All on the Simulation tab). For example, if the measurement level is continuous, then the normal distribution (appropriate for continuous data) would be considered but the binomial distribution would not.

Fixed value input. This specifies that the value of the input is known and will be fixed at the known value. Fixed inputs can be numeric or string. Specify a value for the fixed input. String values should not be enclosed in quotation marks.

Value labels. You can specify value labels for targets, simulated inputs and fixed inputs. Value labels are used in output charts and tables.

To access the Defined Inputs dialog

1. In the Equation Editor, click Edit under the Target text box or click New under Defined Inputs.

   Or:

2. From the Model tab, click New when Create simulated data without a model is selected.