Getting Started
After starting the software, the Title Window will be opened, indicating the title of the software, and showing the IRI banner. The Window title (the very top row of the Window), should indicate the version of the software being used. Further details of the software version are available in the menu bar immediately below the title bar, as described below. There should be four menu items:
From the Title Window, the File menu item offers various options, the most useful of which are: to Open a pre-existing Project File, or to Exit the software. Options ~ Language allows the user to set the language of the interface and graphics text. If the language is changed, the new language will be used as the default the next time CPT is started. There is also an option to set the Expertise_Level ; for new users of CPT and for those who do not have strong skills in statistical methods, it may be helpful to set the expertise level to Beginner. The Options ~ Configure menu item can be used to adjust the main CPT Window if there are problems with font sizes, for example.
Help ~ About gives details about the version of the software, and Help ~ Home provides more general help (these pages). These help pages are available from anywhere within the program.
The most important menu item from the Title Window is View . This item offers a choice of analysis methods:
- Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA)
- Principal Components Regression (PCR)
- Multiple Linear Regression (MLR)
- General Circulation Model calibration and combination (GCM)
- Probabilistic Forecast Verification (PFV)
Any of the first four methods can be used to construct a model for seasonal climate forecasting, while the PFV option can be used to verify independent or previously generated probabilistic forecasts. Once you have selected an analysis method the CPT Window will open, which will prompt you for the various input files and program settings to construct the forecasting model.