Decimal vs. Comma

The following does not apply to PASS 11 and NCSS 8 or later.

NCSS 2007, PASS 2008, and GESS 2006 were programmed in an English version of Windows. We have found that some non-English versions of Windows treat the decimal point differently in that they use the decimal comma rather than the decimal point. For example, in some non-English versions of Windows, 1,234 means 1 and 233 thousandths. In the English version, this would number is treated as 1234 (one-thousand two-hundred thirty four). Obviously, this inconsistency in dealing with the decimal point can cause strange results. We have made every effort to allow the decimal comma to be used. However, some anomalies can occur. We suggest that when you experience problems or strange results ("subscript out of range", "value of 0 is out of range", etc.) you set your Windows language option to English when using NCSS 2007, PASS 2008, or GESS 2006.

Changing the Windows Language Setting to English

To change your computer's Windows language setting to English, do the following:
  1. Choose Start then Control Panel then Regional and Language Options.
  2. Change the current language format to English (United States).
Some users have also reported problems with transformations (i.e. strange transformation results for some functions such as cum() and sequence()) even when the language setting is set to English. The problem stems from Windows non-Unicode program language setting. To solve this problem, do the following:
  1. Choose Start then Control Panel then Regional and Language Options.
  2. Click on the Advanced tab.
  3. Change the "Language for non-Unicode programs" to English (United States).

I have been using NCSS in my high school class room for 22 years. I find it very easy to use and my students use it to calculate their results for their lab reports, science fair projects, and now they are using it for AP Research projects. It can be used for everything from the basics to the most advanced statistics. NCSS is very affordable for any high school budget.

David Buncher, High School Teacher, Miami, FL

"The NCSS software is and has always been the best solution for my work as an assessor. I have been exposed to many other analytical and statistical software applications and have found there is no other product on the market that can match the ease of learning, comprehension of function, and the frugality of price the NCSS product offers..."

Michael Ireland, CAE, Assessor