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SPSS® 12.0 Command Syntax Reference

SPSS® 12.0 Command Syntax Reference

SPSS® 12.0 Command Syntax Reference

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APPLY DICTIONARY 137<br />

• The applied file information includes variable and multiple response sets, documents, file<br />

label, and weight.<br />

• APPLY DICTIONARY can apply information selectively to variables and can apply selective<br />

file-based dictionary information.<br />

• Individual variable attributes can be applied to individual and multiple variables of the<br />

same type (strings of the same character length or numeric).<br />

• APPLY DICTIONARY can add new variables but cannot remove variables, change data, or<br />

change a variable’s name or type.<br />

• Undefined (empty) attributes in the source data file do not overwrite defined attributes in<br />

the working (target) data file.<br />

Basic Specification<br />

The basic specification is the FROM subcommand and the name of an SPSS-format data file.<br />

The file specification may vary from operating system to operating system, but enclosing the<br />

filename in apostrophes generally works.<br />

Subcommand Order<br />

The subcommands can be specified in any order.<br />

<strong>Syntax</strong> Rules<br />

• The file containing the dictionary information to be applied (the source file) must be an<br />

SPSS-format data file or the working file.<br />

• The file to which the dictionary information is applied (the target file) must be the<br />

working data file. You cannot specify another file.<br />

• If a subcommand is issued more than once, APPLY DICTIONARY will ignore all but the last<br />

instance of the subcommand.<br />

• Equal signs displayed in the syntax chart and in the examples presented here are required<br />

elements; they are not optional.<br />

Matching Variable Type<br />

APPLY DICTIONARY considers two variables to have a matching variable type if:<br />

• Both variables are numeric. This includes all numeric, currency, and date formats.<br />

• Both variables are string (alphanumeric).<br />

FROM Subcommand<br />

FROM specifies an SPSS-format data file or the working file as the source file whose<br />

dictionary information is to be applied to the working file.

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