1pspp-convert(1) PSPP Manual pspp-convert(1)
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9 pspp-convert - convert SPSS data files to other formats
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12 pspp-convert [options] input output
13 pspp-convert --help | -h
14 pspp-convert --version | -v
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17 The pspp-convert program reads input, which may be an SPSS system file,
18 an SPSS/PC+ system file, an SPSS portable file, or an encrypted SPSS
19 syntax file, and writes it to output, performing format conversion as
20 necessary.
21 The format of input is automatically detected, when possible. The
23 character encoding of old SPSS system files cannot always be guessed
24 correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include any indication of
25 their encoding. Use -e encoding to specify the encoding in this case.
26 By default, the intended format for output is inferred from its exten‐
28 sion:
29 csv
31 txt Comma-separated value. Each value is formatted according to its
32 variable's print format. The first line in the file contains
33 variable names.
34 sav
36 sys SPSS system file.
37 por SPSS portable file.
39 sps SPSS syntax file. (Only encrypted syntax files may be converted
41 to this format.)
42 Use -O extension to override the inferred format or to specify the for‐
44 mat for unrecognized extensions.
45 pspp-convert can convert most input formats to most output formats.
47 Encrypted SPSS file formats are exceptions: if the input file is in an
48 encrypted format, then the output file will be the same format (de‐
49 crypted). Options for the output format are ignored in this case.
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52 General Options
53 -O format
54 --output-format=format
55 Specifies the desired output format. format must be one of the
56 extensions listed above, e.g. -O csv requests comma-separated
57 value output.
58 -c maxcases
60 --cases=maxcases
61 By default, all cases are copied from input to output. Specify‐
62 ing this option to limit the number of cases written to output
63 to maxcases.
64 -e charset
66 --encoding=charset
67 Overrides the encoding in which character strings in input are
68 interpreted. This option is necessary because old SPSS system
69 files do not self-identify their encoding.
70 -k var...
72 --keep=var...
73 Drops all variables except those listed as var, and reorders the
74 remaining variables into the specified order.
75 -d var...
77 --drop=var...
78 Drops each var listed from the output.
79 CSV Output Options
81 These options affect only output to .csv and .txt files.
82 --labels
84 By default, pspp-convert writes variables' values to the output.
85 With this option, pspp-convert writes value labels.
86 --no-var-names
88 By default, pspp-convert writes the variable names as the first
89 line of output. With this option, pspp-convert omits this line.
90 --recode
92 By default, pspp-convert writes user-missing values as their
93 regular values. With this option, pspp-convert recodes them to
94 system-missing values (which are written as a single space).
95 --print-formats
98 By default, pspp-convert writes numeric variables as plain num‐
99 bers. This option makes pspp-convert honor variables' print
100 formats.
101 --decimal=decimal
104 This option sets the character used as a decimal point in out‐
105 put. The default is a period (.).
106 --delimiter=delimiter
109 This option sets the character used to separate fields in out‐
110 put. The default is a comma (,), unless the decimal point is a
111 comma, in which case a semicolon (;) is used.
112 --qualifier=qualifier
115 The option sets the character used to quote fields that contain
116 the delimiter. The default is a double quote (").
117 Password Options
119 When the input file is encrypted, pspp-convert needs to obtain a pass‐
120 word to decrypt it. To do so, the user may specify the password with
121 -p (or --password), or the name of a file containing a list of possible
122 passwords with --password-list, or an alphabet of possible passwords to
123 try along with a maximum length with -a (or --password-alphabet) and -l
124 (or --password-length). If none of these options is used, pspp-convert
125 prompts for the password. The password options are:
126 -p password
128 --password=password
129 Specifies the password to use to decrypt the input file.
130 On multiuser systems, this option may not be safe because other
132 users may be able to see the password in process listings.
133 -a alphabet -l max-length
135 --password-alphabet=alphabet --password-length=max-length
136 These options are an alternative to -p or --password. They di‐
137 rect pspp-convert to search for the correct password from the
138 set of all passwords of symbols from alphabet (which may contain
139 character ranges specified with -) and no more than max-length
140 symbols long. For example, -a a-z -l 5 checks all possible low‐
141 ercase alphabetic passwords no more than 5 characters long.
142 When these options are used, -p may additionally specify a
144 starting point for the search.
145 --password-list=file
147 Specifies a file to read containing a list of passwords to try,
148 one per line. If file is -, reads from stdin.
149 Other Options
151 -h
152 --help Prints a usage message on stdout and exits.
153 -v
155 --version
156 Prints version information on stdout and exits.
157
159 Ben Pfaff.
160
162 pspp-output(1), pspp(1), psppire(1).
163PSPP October 2013 pspp-convert(1)