I can't believe that your programs can not produce ascii data files. I think with the old fortran like column oriented input facilities and with input programs you can read virtually any kind of data into SPSS. If you have always files of the same structure or with the same variables you have to write only one setup procedure and use it every time. ODBC import fom ACCESS looks more comfortable, but the old way is indeed very flexible. With the WRITE and PRINT statement you can produce formatted ASCII output from SPSS, that a programm like ACCESS or EXCEL with flexible text reading facilities should read. It is only a question of the amount of initial work. If your task is repetitive things become rather easy. Reading mainframe data should not post problems to the old mainframe dinosaur SPSS. It once was designed to read CARD INPUT!!! (I saw this working). Gerald Newman schrieb in Nachricht <35570124.C5C78453@earthlink.net>... Say, I really sympathize with your problemIn my work I've had to use large, 500,000 record, data files downloaded from an IBM AS-400 that would not produce any file format that SPPS would read. Any ideas that readers can come up with will be appreciated. Maybe I can start to use SPSS again.