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).