1pspp-convert(1) PSPP Manual pspp-convert(1)
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6 pspp-convert - convert SPSS data files to other formats
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9 pspp-convert [options] input output
10 pspp-convert --help | -h
11 pspp-convert --version | -v
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14 The pspp-convert program reads input, which may be an SPSS system file,
15 an SPSS/PC+ system file, an SPSS portable file, or an encrypted SPSS
16 syntax file, and writes it to output, performing format conversion as
17 necessary.
18 The format of input is automatically detected, when possible. The
20 character encoding of old SPSS system files cannot always be guessed
21 correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include any indication of
22 their encoding. Use -e encoding to specify the encoding in this case.
23 By default, the intended format for output is inferred from its exten‐
25 sion:
26 csv
28 txt Comma-separated value. Each value is formatted according to its
29 variable's print format. The first line in the file contains
30 variable names.
31 sav
33 sys SPSS system file.
34 por SPSS portable file.
36 sps SPSS syntax file. (Only encrypted syntax files may be converted
38 to this format.)
39 Use -O extension to override the inferred format or to specify the for‐
41 mat for unrecognized extensions.
42 pspp-convert can convert most input formats to most output formats.
44 Encrypted SPSS file formats are exceptions: if the input file is in an
45 encrypted format, then the output file will be the same format
46 (decrypted). Options for the output format are ignored in this case.
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49 General Options
50 -O format
51 --output-format=format
52 Specifies the desired output format. format must be one of the
53 extensions listed above, e.g. -O csv requests comma-separated
54 value output.
55 -c maxcases
57 --cases=maxcases
58 By default, all cases are copied from input to output. Specify‐
59 ing this option to limit the number of cases written to output
60 to maxcases.
61 -e charset
63 --encoding=charset
64 Overrides the encoding in which character strings in input are
65 interpreted. This option is necessary because old SPSS system
66 files do not self-identify their encoding.
67 -k var...
69 --keep=var...
70 Drops all variables except those listed as var, and reorders the
71 remaining variables into the specified order.
72 -d var...
74 --drop=var...
75 Drops each var listed from the output.
76 CSV Output Options
78 These options affect only output to .csv and .txt files.
79 --labels
81 By default, pspp-convert writes variables' values to the output.
82 With this option, pspp-convert writes value labels.
83 --no-var-names
85 By default, pspp-convert writes the variable names as the first
86 line of output. With this option, pspp-convert omits this line.
87 --recode
89 By default, pspp-convert writes user-missing values as their
90 regular values. With this option, pspp-convert recodes them to
91 system-missing values (which are written as a single space).
92 --print-formats
95 By default, pspp-convert writes numeric variables as plain num‐
96 bers. This option makes pspp-convert honor variables' print
97 formats.
98 --decimal=decimal
101 This option sets the character used as a decimal point in out‐
102 put. The default is a period (.).
103 --delimiter=delimiter
106 This option sets the character used to separate fields in out‐
107 put. The default is a comma (,), unless the decimal point is a
108 comma, in which case a semicolon (;) is used.
109 --qualifier=qualifier
112 The option sets the character used to quote fields that contain
113 the delimiter. The default is a double quote (").
114 Password Options
116 When the input file is encrypted, pspp-convert needs to obtain a pass‐
117 word to decrypt it. To do so, the user may specify the password with
118 -p (or --password), or the name of a file containing a list of possible
119 passwords with --password-list, or an alphabet of possible passwords to
120 try along with a maximum length with -a (or --password-alphabet) and -l
121 (or --password-length). If none of these options is used, pspp-convert
122 prompts for the password. The password options are:
123 -p password
125 --password=password
126 Specifies the password to use to decrypt the input file.
127 On multiuser systems, this option may not be safe because other
129 users may be able to see the password in process listings.
130 -a alphabet -l max-length
132 --password-alphabet=alphabet --password-length=max-length
133 These options are an alternative to -p or --password. They
134 direct pspp-convert to search for the correct password from the
135 set of all passwords of symbols from alphabet (which may contain
136 character ranges specified with -) and no more than max-length
137 symbols long. For example, -a a-z -l 5 checks all possible low‐
138 ercase alphabetic passwords no more than 5 characters long.
139 When these options are used, -p may additionally specify a
141 starting point for the search.
142 --password-list=file
144 Specifies a file to read containing a list of passwords to try,
145 one per line. If file is -, reads from stdin.
146 Other Options
148 -h
149 --help Prints a usage message on stdout and exits.
150 -v
152 --version
153 Prints version information on stdout and exits.
154
156 Ben Pfaff.
157
159 pspp-output(1), pspp(1), psppire(1).
160PSPP October 2013 pspp-convert(1)