Epi Info™ 6

Epi Info™ 6.04d for DOS

Frequently Asked Questions

	What causes a “Stack Underflow“ message?
	What causes a “Record in Use by Another Program“ message?
	I think something happened during data entry that corrupted a data file. What is it?
	Will Epi Info™ run on a MAC?
	Can Epi Info™ 6 handle dates during and after the year 2000?
	How do I contact Epi Info™ User Support?
	What is Do Epi?
	What causes a “Runtime 200“ message?

What causes a “Stack Underflow“ message? 

This error message usually occurs in Analysis when there is a syntax error in a command that is invoked from a .PGM file (program file).  To fix the problem, you may edit the program file in a word processor (e.g., EPED) and correct the syntax. The syntax error may be generated by something as simple as an extraneous or missing empty space, an extraneous parenthesis, or even an incorrect calculation in a command line. If you are unable to correct the error, you may contact the Epi Info™Technical Support Hotline for further assistance. 

What causes a “Record in Use by Another Program“ message?

If you are using Epi Info™ Version 6.02, or an earlier version, you may encounter a “Record in Use by Another User“ error message when you attempt to enter data on a recently created questionnaire. The error generally occurs when you have a numeric field on your questionnaire. We recommend that you obtain the latest version of Epi Info™ to avoid this error. You may download the latest version from this Website.

If you must continue using an older version of Epi Info™, add a KEY UNIQUE command to the <IDNUM> variable in your .CHK file to correct the problem. To do this, follow the steps below: 

1. Go to the main Epi Info™ menu and open the CHECK module. Enter the name of the .REC file on the main CHECK screen. 
2. Move the cursor to the <IDNUM> field. 
3. Press <F9>. You should see the color of the screen change, and see the variable name for <IDNUM> appear in yellow letters, followed by an END statement. Position the cursor after the <IDNUM> variable name, above the END statement, and press <ENTER>. This will create an empty line above END. 
4. In the new empty line, type the command KEY UNIQUE. Your syntax should look like this: 

• VARIABLENAME
• KEY UNIQUE
• END 

1. When you have finished, press <ESC>. Then press F10, and when prompted to “write data to disk,“ select “Y“. 
2. Test the change in the ENTER module. 

There is a bug in ENTER and ENTERX in version 6.04a that can, rarely, corrupt a data file after a search. This has been fixed in the current version.

You may also upgrade to the current version of Epi Map if you plan to use a digitizer tablet. This version fixes a bug in the digitizer input routines. 

The file corruption bug in ENTER and ENTERX occurs if, while editing a record, you perform a search (FIND) that finds no records matching the search. If another operation causes a record to be saved immediately after this point, the record location to which it is saved is a negative number, causing the record to be written somewhere in the file header. Although the file can be rescued in an editor by pasting on an uncorrupted header, this is not recommended. We greatly regret that anyone experienced this bug. 

In the short term, if you have data entry personnel who may be performing searches in ENTER or ENTERX, you should inform them of the bug. If they perform a search after having gone back to an existing record and no records are found, they should press <Ctrl-N> before proceeding to a new record. In the long term, the
best remedy is to replace Epi Info™ 6.04a, particularly ENTER and ENTERX, with the latest version. 

We are grateful to Jill McCready, epidemiologist in Palau, and Evan Sergeant in Tasmania for reporting this bug, and to Dr. Pedro Arias Bohigas in Madrid and Juan Carlos Fernández Merino in Seville, who described a reliable method of causing it to occur.

Will Epi Info™ run on a MAC? 

Unfortunately, there is no Mac version of Epi Info™ at this time (for DOS or our Windows version). However, you may attempt to use a software, like Virtual PC, or a similar system to use our software. There are no plans at this time to develop a Mac version for the Windows program.

Can Epi Info™ 6 handle dates during and after the year 2000? 

The latest version, 6.04d, available on this site, is year 2000 compliant. 

How do I contact Epi Info™ User Support?

Telephone: (404) 498-6190
Fax: (404) 498-6235
E-mail: epiinfo@cdc.gov

What is Do Epi? 

Do Epi is a series of 12 educational case studies and computer exercises designed to teach both epidemiology and the use of Epi Info™. The exercises are presented in hypertext format using the facilities of Epi Info™. 

The first release of Do Epi contains three outbreaks, a research study, four lessons in advanced Epi Info™ programming, and four surveillance exercises. An instructor's module provides tools for producing additional exercises suited to local teaching needs. 

Do Epi can be downloaded from the Epi Info™ Software page on this web site.

What causes a “Runtime 200“ error message? 

There is a newer version of Epi6 (Epi6.04d) that solves the Runtime 200 error. This error message usually occurs when trying to run Epi Info™ on a Pentium 200 MHz or above processor. This problem is caused by a bug in the Turbo Pascal Compiler that allows a timing loop to overrun the capacity of an integer on a fast machine. 

Please download the three executable files of Epi6.04d from http://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo/epi6/EI6dnjp.htm and follow the directions below: 

1. Save all three to a temporary folder, and once you have all three, then go to Windows Explorer (right-click on Start and choose Explore) to find the folder. 

2. Double-click on all three files (one at a time) to uncompress the files. Once all files have been uncompressed, double-click on the Install.exe file to load the program. Follow the directions on the screen.

3. To create a shortcut for Epi6, find the newly created EPI6 folder from your hard drive. Right-click on the EPI6.exe icon, and select “Create Shortcut.“

4. “Shortcut to EPI6“ will be created in the EPI6 folder. Drag “Shortcut to EPI6“ from Explorer to you desktop. Double click the shortcut to start EPI6.

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This page last reviewed November 19, 2009

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

"Epi Info" is a trademark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).