User Guide

672
Chapter 47
Routing O utp
ut to SPSS Data Files
An SPSS data
file consists of variables in the columns and cases in the rows, and
that’s essentially how pivot tables are converted to data files:
 Columns in the table are variables in the data file. Valid variable names are
constructe
d from the column labels.
 Row labels
in the table become variables with generic variable names (Var1,
Var2 , Va r3 , and so on) in the data file. The values of these variables are the
row labels in the table.
 Three table-identifier variables are automatically included in the data file:
Command_,
Subtype_,andLabel_. All three are string variables. The first two
correspond to the command and subtype identifiers. For more information,
see “Command Identifiers and Table Subtypes” on p. 663. Label_ contains
the table t
itle text.
 Rows in th
e table become cases in the data file.
Example: Single Two-Dimensional Table
In the simplest case—a single, two-dimensional table—the table columns become
variable
s and the rows become cases in data file.