Date:         Mon, 7 Apr 1997 12:59:54 -0500
Reply-To:     David Matheson <davidm@SPSS.COM>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         David Matheson <davidm@SPSS.COM>
Organization: SPSS Inc.
Subject:      Re: How to read SAS data sets
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Atk-keskus, neuvonta wrote:
>
> Matheson, David wrote:
> >
> > Bruce,
> > Is this problem still unresolved? I didn't see a response to the request
> > for syntax
> > and an error message. I've read the same SAS port files into SPSS 6.13,
> > 7.0.1,
> > and 7.5. Although I haven't seen your SAS syntax, your general
> > description
> > indicated that you were using the right steps in saving the SAS port
> > file.
> > Other sources of error are:
> > 1. transporting the file (e.g in FTP) in ASCII, rather than binary
> > format. This
> > typically results in a 'file header record not found' message when you
> > run
> > GET SAS in SPSS.
> > 2. Not following the GET SAS command with an EXECUTE command.
> > The GET SAS command is a transformation, meaning that the dictionary
> > of the active file will change, but the data pass will not occur until a
> > procedure is run
> > (EXECUTE or any statistical analysis procedure will work).
> > Omitting the EXECUTE command will not return an error statement, but you
> > will
> > not see any actual data in the data editor - just the new variable
> > names.
> > To run the EXECUTE command through the menus, click on 'Run pending
> > transformations'
> > under the Transform menu.
> > 3. Sometimes people get a 'File rewind error' dialog box after running
> > GET SAS.
> > In cases where they sent me the offending files, I was able to get past
> > the error by
> > clicking on the OK in the dialog box. The data then showed up in the
> > data editor.
> >
> > David Matheson
> > SPSS Technical Support
> >
> > >
> >
>
>  We just discovered the same problem.
>  We got new pc:s with Win95 and our old machines
>  had Win 3.11.
>  In our old PC:s get sas data command worked fine
>  with SPSS 6.1.3.
>  We tried the same command in our new machines
>  with SPSS 6.1.3 and SPSS 7.5 and both
>  gave the error message 'cannot open data file'.
>  It seems to me that the problem is with Win95.
>  Has anybody succeeded in reading SAS datasets to SPSS with Win95 ?.
>
>  ps. WE used SAS proc copy with xport engine for making
>      readable file.
 
As stated in my earlier note, I've successfully read SAS transport files
in 6.1.3, 7.0.1, and 7.5.1., using GET SAS. The 6.1.3 reads were
successful in both Windows 3.11 and Windows 95. The 7.0.1 and 7.5.1
reads were done in Windows 95.
Were the transport files that SPSS failed to read in Win95 the same
sets that were read in win 3.11 or were they new data sets?
If the former, did you send them to the new pc's via FTP or some
other communication package? If so, in ascii or binary mode?
David Matheson
SPSS Technical Support