Guided tour on how to continue with a previous EasyReg session

Once you have imported data, EasyReg creates a sub-folder EASYREG.DAT, containing the (binary) random access data files INPUT1.RAN and INPUT2.RAN, a copy INPUT.CSV of the original data file in Excel CSV format, the output text file OUTPUT.TXT, stored picture files (*.BMP), and various temporary files (*.TMP), in the folder where EasyReg has been started up.

The function of the EASYREG.DAT subfolder is threefold:

  1. The subfolder EASYREG.DAT is a container for the data files INPUT1.RAN and INPUT2.RAN. The random access file INPUT2.RAN contains the variable names, the missing value code, and for each variable the location of the actual data in the random access file INPUT1.RAN.
  2. Since EasyReg is chopped up in modules (the EXE files in the EasyReg folder), these modules need to pass-on information to each other. This is done via temporary files (*.TMP), which are created during an EasyReg session, and are deleted when the EasyReg session is ended. Thus, the EASYREG.DAT subfolder is a container for these temporary files.
  3. Each folder containing an EASYREG.DAT subfolder identifies a particular econometric project, which may not yet be completed. If you start-up EasyReg in a folder already containing a subfolder EASYREG.DAT, you can continue the previous session. The output file OUTPUT.TXT will not be overwritten with new output. Instead, new output will be added to OUTPUT.TXT, and identified by the date and time when it was added. EasyReg can also stores picture files (*.BMP) created during a session in EASYREG.DAT. Thus, the EASYREG.DAT subfolder keeps all the output files neatly together.

To continue a previous EasyReg session, open File > Get data > Continue with a previous session. Then the following window appears.

ERDATDIR window 1

Click "Continue". Then the following window appears.

ERDATDIR window 2

This window opens with a list of the last ten (or less) EASYREG.DAT subfolders which you have used before, with the most recent ones listed first. If the EASYREG.DAT subfolders you are looking for is not in this list, you have two options to find it:

  1. If you know where to start-up EasyReg, click "Search manually". Then you can navigate to the folder where you want to continue EasyReg.
  2. Choose a drive, say drive c:, and click "Scan drive C". Then EasyReg will scan drive c: for all folders containing a subfolder EASYREG.DAT, if any. However, the following folders will not be searched:
    • c:\Documents and Setting
    • c:\Program Files
    • c:\Windows
Option 2 will be demonstrated first:

ERDATDIR window 3

However, in this example we are going to start-up EasyReg in folder "d:\Test". Thus, click the "Search manually" button. Then the following window appears.

ERDATDIR window 4

Next, change the drive to d:, and click folder Test. If the folder contains a subfolder EASYREG.DAT (which is the case), the button "Start EasyReg in current folder" will be enabled. Click this button. Then the following window appears.

ERDATDIR window 5

This is the Nelson-Plosser time series data used to demonstrate how to import data files in EasyReg space delimited text format.

If you click "Continue this session", you will jump back to the EasyReg main window, and the data involved will be available. If you click "Cancel" you will jump back to the first window, without changing the start-up folder.

Compatibility with EasyReg 2000 or earlier versions

If the folder EASYREG.DAT is created by a previous version of EasyReg (without "International"), the folder will contain the input files INPUT and DATINFO instead of the random access files INPUT1.RAN and INPUT2.RAN. EasyReg will detect that, and enables you to convert the old input files to INPUT1.RAN and INPUT2.RAN, after confirmation. The old input files INPUT and DATINFO will not be deleted.

This is the end of the guided tour on how to continue with a previous EasyReg session

Back to the guided tour on how to import data.