Below is a brief sample job which, when run, illustrates this procedure, converting v3 to a numeric variable and situating it in the active file where its string counterpart formerly existed. None of this is necessary to make use of the new numeric variable, and need only be done if there is an overriding need to do exactly what the Define Variable menu does when it converts a variable format. If, for whatever reasons, you would like to emulate in SPSS command syntax what the menu option does, you can MATCH the file to itself, specifying the same variable order as found in the current file but substituting the numeric variable name for the original string one, and then execute a RENAME VARIABLES command which converts the numeric variable name to the original string name. If you have no further use for the original string variable, youĬan specify it on a DROP subcommand the next time you execute the SAVE command.

It merely adds the new variable to the end of the file and leaves the original string intact.

This method will not, as does the Define Variable menu option, replace the original string variable with a new numeric variable of the same name. Once numvar is computed through either means, you can use a FORMATS command to format it for display, as does the routine executed via the Define Variable menu. The essential idea underlying importsav is not to interrupt your workflow within Stata. But after that, there is no need of running R at all. Thus, in order to use importsav, you need to install R on your system first. Substitute for 'Fw.d' in the second example the numeric format you want to use to read the string variable. importsav converts SPSS file to Stata with the help of R packages haven, foreign and bit64. You can compute a new numeric variable from the original string variable through SPSS command syntax using either of two routes: It is a 'new' variable in so far as all other dictionary information attached to the previous variable is lost, but it otherwise assumes the position in the file of the previous variable. The FORMATS command is eventually applied to the new variable, but this is the only portion of the process executed via SPSS commands, and hence is the only command that shows up in the log and in the journal file. This process allows SPSS to convert invisibly a variable format while leaving it in the same place in the data file. Lyn works with a diverse range of clients, including senior. She has a passion for helping fellow researchers and has been teaching research methods and software for over 20 years. When SPSS converts a variable from a string to numeric format (or from any format to another) through the Define Variable menu, it executes a process in the Data Editor that is not driven exclusively by SPSS commands. Lyn Lavery is the Director of Academic Consulting, a New Zealand based research company that offers NVivo and SPSS training (along with a range of other services).

Convert spss code to r