Date:         Mon, 7 Sep 1998 13:42:43 -0500
Reply-To:     etverdek@spss.com
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Edward Tverdek <etverdek@SPSS.COM>
Organization: SPSS Inc.
Subject:      Re: Sort Variables
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Guido,
 
The MATCH FILES command has a KEEP subcommand which would allow you
to match the file to itself and specify the exact order you would like
for the variables, but this would involve enumerating them.  If you
just want to sort your variables in alphabetical order, you can flip
the file to transpose variables and cases, sort in ascending order on
the case label (case_lbl) variable that SPSS creates in the process
(comprised of your original variable names), and flip again, specifying
case_lbl as the variable whose values will constitute the "new" variable
names with the NEWNAMES subcommand.  This can all be done with a few
lines:
 
FLIP.
SORT CASES BY case_lbl.
FlIP / NEWNAMES=case_lbl.
 
I hope these suggestions help,
 
Ed Tverdek
SPSS Technical Support
 
 
 
 
Guido Tiemann wrote:
>
> Hi!!
>
> My task is either totally simple or completely impossible: I
> would like to sort a huge SPSS-File according to the
> alphabetical VAR-Names. This means changing the columns, not
> the lines.
>
> Does anyone know how to do that??
>
> Greetings
>
> Guido
>
> tiemanng@mathematik.uni-marburg.de