NAME

       pspp-convert - convert SPSS data files to other formats

SYNOPSIS

       pspp-convert [options] input output
       pspp-convert --help | -h
       pspp-convert --version | -v

DESCRIPTION

       The  pspp-convert program reads input, which may be an SPSS system file, an SPSS/PC+ system file, an SPSS
       portable file, or an encrypted SPSS syntax file, and writes it to output, performing format conversion as
       necessary.

       The format of input is automatically detected, when possible.  The character encoding of old SPSS  system
       files  cannot  always  be  guessed  correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include any indication of
       their encoding.  Use -e encoding to specify the encoding in this case.

       By default, the intended format for output is inferred from its extension:

       csv
       txt    Comma-separated value.  Each value is formatted according to its  variable's  print  format.   The
              first line in the file contains variable names.

       sav
       sys    SPSS system file.

       por    SPSS portable file.

       sps    SPSS syntax file.  (Only encrypted syntax files may be converted to this format.)

       Use -O extension to override the inferred format or to specify the format for unrecognized extensions.

       pspp-convert  can  convert  most  input  formats to most output formats.  Encrypted SPSS file formats are
       exceptions: if the input file is in an encrypted format, then the output file will  be  the  same  format
       (decrypted).  Options for the output format are ignored in this case.

OPTIONS

   General Options
       -O format
       --output-format=format
              Specifies  the  desired output format.  format must be one of the extensions listed above, e.g. -O
              csv requests comma-separated value output.

       -c maxcases
       --cases=maxcases
              By default, all cases are copied from input to output.  Specifying this option to limit the number
              of cases written to output to maxcases.

       -e charset
       --encoding=charset
              Overrides the encoding in which character strings  in  input  are  interpreted.   This  option  is
              necessary because old SPSS system files do not self-identify their encoding.

       -k var...
       --keep=var...
              Drops  all  variables  except  those  listed as var, and reorders the remaining variables into the
              specified order.

       -d var...
       --drop=var...
              Drops each var listed from the output.

   CSV Output Options
       These options affect only output to .csv and .txt files.

       --labels
              By default, pspp-convert writes variables' values to the output.  With this  option,  pspp-convert
              writes value labels.

       --no-var-names
              By default, pspp-convert writes the variable names as the first line of output.  With this option,
              pspp-convert omits this line.

       --recode
              By  default,  pspp-convert  writes user-missing values as their regular values.  With this option,
              pspp-convert recodes them to system-missing values (which are written as a single space).

       --print-formats
              By  default,  pspp-convert  writes  numeric  variables  as  plain  numbers.   This  option   makes
              pspp-convert honor variables' print formats.

       --decimal=decimal
              This option sets the character used as a decimal point in output.  The default is a period (.).

       --delimiter=delimiter
              This  option  sets  the  character used to separate fields in output.  The default is a comma (,),
              unless the decimal point is a comma, in which case a semicolon (;) is used.

       --qualifier=qualifier
              The option sets the character used to quote fields that contain the delimiter.  The default  is  a
              double quote (").

   Password Options
       When  the  input file is encrypted, pspp-convert needs to obtain a password to decrypt it.  To do so, the
       user may specify the password with -p (or --password), or the  name  of  a  file  containing  a  list  of
       possible passwords with --password-list, or an alphabet of possible passwords to try along with a maximum
       length with -a (or --password-alphabet) and -l (or --password-length).  If none of these options is used,
       pspp-convert prompts for the password.  The password options are:

       -p password
       --password=password
              Specifies the password to use to decrypt the input file.

              On  multiuser  systems,  this  option  may  not be safe because other users may be able to see the
              password in process listings.

       -a alphabet -l max-length
       --password-alphabet=alphabet --password-length=max-length
              These options are an alternative to -p or --password.  They direct pspp-convert to search for  the
              correct  password  from  the  set  of  all  passwords  of symbols from alphabet (which may contain
              character ranges specified with -) and no more than max-length symbols long.  For example, -a  a-z
              -l 5 checks all possible lowercase alphabetic passwords no more than 5 characters long.

              When these options are used, -p may additionally specify a starting point for the search.

       --password-list=file
              Specifies a file to read containing a list of passwords to try, one per line.  If file is -, reads
              from stdin.

   Other Options
       -h
       --help Prints a usage message on stdout and exits.

       -v
       --version
              Prints version information on stdout and exits.

AUTHORS

       Ben Pfaff.

SEE ALSO

       pspp-output(1), pspp(1), psppire(1).

PSPP                                              October 2013                                   pspp-convert(1)