Date:         Wed, 21 Dec 2005 14:58:50 -0500
Reply-To:     Mahbub Khandoker <Mahbub_Khandoker@camh.net>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Mahbub Khandoker <Mahbub_Khandoker@camh.net>
Subject:      Re: Data Entry File
Comments: To: "Marks, Jim" <Jim.Marks@lodgenet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

I think you need to insert "Begin data End data" in two lines after the
first line of the syntax.
Cheers!
Mahbub

 -----Original Message-----
From:   SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]  On Behalf Of
Marks, Jim
Sent:   December 21, 2005 2:41 PM
To:     SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject:        Re: Data Entry File

Howie:

DATA LIST can be used to create a blank file. For example:

DATA LIST FREE /id (f8.0) name (a20) var1 TO var5 (5f8.2).
VARIABLE LABEL id 'the id nbr' /name 'YOUR NAME'.
VALUE LABEL var1 TO var5 0 'Not a data point' 1 'A data point' 99
'miss'.

A side note--When I run this, I get a blank data file, and the status
message "Transformations pending". The first manual data entry produces
a warning-- "Data changes not permitted while trans are pending. Run
trans now?"

You can avoid the message by including

CLEAR TRANSFORMATIONS.

in the syntax.

Anyone know why DATA LIST generates this warning?

--jim

-----Original Message-----
From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Howie Harshaw
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2005 12:03 PM
To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Data Entry File

Hi Folks,

I suspect that this question has a simple answer.  I am in the process
of creating multiple blank data entry files (e.g. *.sav) so that people
can enter some survey data.  Of course, I can do this with the GUI, but
I was hoping to do this with a syntax file, so that people entering the
data would just have to run a syntax file to get a new data entry file.

I am comfortable using the "VARIABLE LABELS", "VALUE LABELS", FORMATS",
"VARIABLE LEVEL", and "MISSING" commands, but do not know how to
identify the variable name in the first place.  I have played around
with the "DATA LIST" command, but I suspect that it was not made for
creating blank data files.

Is there a way to do this in syntax?

Thanks for any suggestions.

- Howie

--
_______________________________

Howard Harshaw
Post Doctoral Fellow
Forest Resource Management
Faculty of Forestry
University of British Columbia

Tel: (604) 786-3141
E-mail: harshaw@interchange.ubc.ca
Web: www.Harfolk.ca