Within WinSPC's Variable Analyzer (WinSPC 8.2 and above) and Attribute Analyzer (WinSPC 9 and above) you have the ability to make changes to Annotations (Assignable Causes/Corrective Actions/Notes) across multiple subgroups, all at once.  This is a quick and easy way to annotate a range of subgroups with just a few clicks of the mouse.

1. Log in to WinSPC as the Admin user or a user that has Administration permissions to the Variable or Attribute Analyzer.
2. In the Administrator window, expand the Parts/Processes node in the Tree pane, and locate the characteristic to be annotated.
3. Right-Click on the characteristic and select Query, to open the Analyzer window.
4. Click on the Chart tab to view the chart.

To Add an annotation to a range of subgroups (Figure 1), use the following steps:

1. Right-click and hold inside the chart area of the Analyzer window.
2. Drag to the right, selecting the range of subgroups to be annotated.  Release the mouse button.
3. From the popup menu, select Add Assignable Cause…, Add Corrective Action…, or Add Note…
4. Type the assignable cause, corrective action, or note to add to the selected subgroups and click OK (see Figure 1a).  If annotations are linked to the Part or Collection Plan, then a annotation can be selected from the drop-down box.  Annotated subgroups will be denoted by a yellow diamond with a black “N” marker below the subgroup.
5. In the Confirm prompt, click OK

NOTE:

Annotated subgroup markers only appear if the characteristic is in its Default Subgrouping State.  The Default Subgrouping State button, when active, will automatically return a characteristic's data to its default subgrouping state. When the Default Subgrouping button is activated (icon will have a blue background, depending on display settings), the characteristic is in its default subgrouping state. Whenever a change is made which has the potential to cause a characteristic's data to leave its default subgrouping state, the button is deactivated (icon will have a gray background, depending on display settings).

To Remove an annotation from a range of subgroups, use the following steps:

1. Right-click and hold inside the chart area of the Analyzer window.
2. Drag to the right, selecting the range of subgroups to be annotated.  Release the mouse button.
3. From the popup menu, select Add Assignable Cause…, Add Corrective Action…, or Add Note…
4. Clear the assignable cause, corrective action, or note box to remove the annotation from the selected subgroups and click OK.
5. In the Confirm prompt, click OK.

To Add an annotation using the Ctrl key to define an X-axis & Y-axis selection, use the following steps:

1. Press and hold the Ctrl key down on the keyboard.
2. Right-click and hold inside the chart area of the Analyzer window.
3. Drag to the right, selecting the range of subgroups to be annotated.  Release the mouse button and Ctrl key.
4. From the popup menu, select Add Assignable Cause…, Add Corrective Action…, or Add Note…
5. Type the assignable cause, corrective action, or note to add to the selected subgroups and click OK (see Figure 1a).  If annotations are linked to the Part or Collection Plan, then a annotation can be selected from the drop-down box.
6. In the Confirm prompt, click OK

To Remove an Annotation using the Ctrl key to define an X-axis & Y-axis selection, use the following steps:

1. Press and hold the Ctrl key down on the keyboard.
2. Right-click and hold inside the chart area of the Analyzer window.
3. Drag to the right, selecting the range of subgroups to be annotated.  Release the mouse button and Ctrl key.
4. From the popup menu, select Add Assignable Cause…, Add Corrective Action…, or Add Note…
5. Clear the assignable cause, corrective action, or note box to remove the annotation from the selected subgroups and click OK.
6. In the Confirm prompt, click OK

To Add or Remove an annotation to a single subgroup of data, use the following steps:

1. Left-click on the subgroup to be annotated inside the chart area from within the Analyzer window (can also be done from the Data Collection screen).
2. In the Data Point Viewer (Figure 2), add or remove desired annotations.
3. Click OK to exit Data Point viewer.