Scripts - System variables

System variables are predefined variables that set options and control program operation. They always start with a $ symbol. System variable names, as other variable names, functions and commands in MedCalc, are case-insensitive.

System variables can be changed, and can be used in calculations, conditional statements, etc.

General system variables

$DecimalSymbol	The character used as decimal symbol (see Regional settings).
$ListSeparator	The character used as list separator (see Regional settings).
$PrecisionInc	The "precision increment" as set in Reports options.
$Chrono	A timer in milliseconds. The timer has a resolution in the range of 10 milliseconds to 16 milliseconds.

System variables that control the spreadsheet

$Century	The default century when entering dates without the century (as set in Spreadsheet options).
$DefaultAlignment	The default alignment in the MedCalc spreadsheet, as set in Format spreadsheet. Possible values: RIGHT \| LEFT \| CENTER.
$DefaultColumnwidth	The default column width of the MedCalc spreadsheet, as set in Format spreadsheet.
$DefaultPrecision	The default precision (number of decimals) of the MedCalc spreadsheet, as set in Format spreadsheet.
$ListSeparator	The character used as list separator (see Regional settings).

System variables used in Custom dialogs:

$DlgVar1 .. $DlgVar4	The variables selected in a custom dialog box.
$DlgFilter	The filter selected in a custom dialog box.
$Covariates[1..24]	The covariates selected in a custom dialog box
$Option1 .. $Option5	Options selected in a custom dialog box.
$Input .. $Input4	Values entered in a custom dialog box.

System variables that control script execution

$Output	When set to MAIN, output, reports, and graphs are displayed in the MedCalc main window. When set to CONSOLE, reports and graphs are displayed in the output frame of the scripts window. When set to OFF, reports and graphs are not displayed. When set to ON, the output setting is reset to its previous state, before OFF (reset to MAIN or CONSOLE).
$Autoload	This variable is set to TRUE by MedCalc during execution of an Autoload script.

System variables that set graph options

$ColorScheme	Possible values: [1..4]
$GraphFont	Font name
$DisplayGrid	possible values: TRUE \| FALSE
$PlotAreaBorderXYonly	possible values: TRUE \| FALSE
$OutsideTickmarks	possible values: TRUE \| FALSE
$Jitter	possible values: TRUE \| FALSE
$Title	Graph title (top) (*)
$XTitle	Text below X-axis (*)
$YTitle	Vertical text left of Y-axis(*)

(*) If $Title is empty, the default title is used. If $Title="NULL" then there will be no title in the graph.

System folders

$DataPath	Folder where data files are stored
$GraphsPath	Folder where image files are stored
$TextPath	Folder where text files are stored
$ScriptsPath	Folder where scripts are stored