Concatenate string variables

[ralingh]

Dear all,

I have a SPSS file with 5 string variables. These string variables are:
V1,F2 = string variable (range 01-20)
V2,F4 = string variable (range 2000-2999)
V3,F2 = string variable (range 01-25)
V4,F2 = string variable (range 01-50)
V5,F6 = string variable (range 000000 - 999999)

I would like to combine these variables in a way that I can compose one new variable, for example:
19_20030202000999

I have tried to create this new variable in SPSS (V20.), using 'Compute variable' and the CONCAT function for string variables. However, it doesn't work. I have tried:

CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2),STRING('_'),STRING(V2,F4),STRING(V3,F2),STRING(V4,F2),STRING(V5,F6))

Can someone help me in creating the right function to develop the new variable?

Thanks in advance.

[David Marso]

Please define "it doesn't work"!!!
Error messages?
If these are already string variables then why are you using the STRING function internally.
If numeric then why are you describing them as strings?
Have you used the STRING function to allocate the resulting variable?
PLEASE PASTE THE SYNTAX that is ACTUALLY generated!

STRING resultvar (A17).
COMPUTE resultvar=CONCAT(v1,v2,v3,v4,v5).
FREQ resultvar.
----

ralingh wrote

Dear all,

I have a SPSS file with 5 string variables. These string variables are:
V1,F2 = string variable (range 01-20)
V2,F4 = string variable (range 2000-2999)
V3,F2 = string variable (range 01-25)
V4,F2 = string variable (range 01-50)
V5,F6 = string variable (range 000000 - 999999)

I would like to combine these variables in a way that I can compose one new variable, for example:
19_20030202000999

I have tried to create this new variable in SPSS (V20.), using 'Compute variable' and the CONCAT function for string variables. However, it doesn't work. I have tried:

CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2),STRING('_'),STRING(V2,F4),STRING(V3,F2),STRING(V4,F2),STRING(V5,F6))

Can someone help me in creating the right function to develop the new variable?

Thanks in advance.

[Bruce Weaver]

It would be helpful to see your actual syntax.  When computing a new string variable, you must first initialize it with a STRING command (otherwise SPSS will try to compute a new numeric variable).  E.g.,

STRING NewStringVar (A20).

COMPUTE NewStringVar = CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2), STRING('_'), STRING(V2,F4), STRING(V3,F2), STRING(V4,F2), STRING(V5,F6)).

My guess is you omitted the STRING command.

HTH.

ralingh wrote

Dear all,

I have a SPSS file with 5 string variables. These string variables are:
V1,F2 = string variable (range 01-20)
V2,F4 = string variable (range 2000-2999)
V3,F2 = string variable (range 01-25)
V4,F2 = string variable (range 01-50)
V5,F6 = string variable (range 000000 - 999999)

I would like to combine these variables in a way that I can compose one new variable, for example:
19_20030202000999

I have tried to create this new variable in SPSS (V20.), using 'Compute variable' and the CONCAT function for string variables. However, it doesn't work. I have tried:

CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2),STRING('_'),STRING(V2,F4),STRING(V3,F2),STRING(V4,F2),STRING(V5,F6))

Can someone help me in creating the right function to develop the new variable?

Thanks in advance.

[Richard Ristow]

At 07:09 AM 3/12/2014, ralingh wrote:

>I have a SPSS file with 5 string variables. These string variables are:
>V1,F2 = string variable (range 01-20)
>V2,F4 = string variable (range 2000-2999)
>V3,F2 = string variable (range 01-25)
>V4,F2 = string variable (range 01-50)
>V5,F6 = string variable (range 000000 - 999999)
>
>I would like to combine these variables in a way that I can compose one new
>variable, for example:
>19_20030202000999
>
>I have tried to create this new variable using 'the CONCAT function
>for string variables. However, it doesn't work. I have tried:
>
>CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2),STRING('_'),STRING(V2,F4),STRING(V3,F2),STRING(V4,F2),STRING(V5,F6))

In addition to Bruce Weaver's reminder that you need to declare the
new variable you're creating, the subexpressions like "STRING(V1,F2)"
are invalid. If your variables V1 to V5 really are strings, the
expression you want is

CONCAT(V1,'_',V2,V3,V4,V5)

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[Jon K Peck]

If any of these string field values might occupy less than the full field width, the results might be ambiguous.
In code page mode, the string values would always have full width, but in Unicode mode, string values are blank trimmed on the right.  In that case, the values should be wrapped in the NTRIM function to preserve trailing blanks if the result needs to be unambiguous.  For example,

CONCAT(NTRIM(V1),'_',NTRIM(V2),NTRIM(V3),NTRIM(V4),NTRIM(V5))

Jon Peck (no "h") aka Kim
Senior Software Engineer, IBM
[hidden email]
phone: [phone]




From:        Richard Ristow <[hidden email]>
To:        [hidden email],
Date:        03/19/2014 11:22 AM
Subject:        Re: [SPSSX-L] Concatenate string variables
Sent by:        "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <[hidden email]>

---

At 07:09 AM 3/12/2014, ralingh wrote:

>I have a SPSS file with 5 string variables. These string variables are:
>V1,F2 = string variable (range 01-20)
>V2,F4 = string variable (range 2000-2999)
>V3,F2 = string variable (range 01-25)
>V4,F2 = string variable (range 01-50)
>V5,F6 = string variable (range 000000 - 999999)
>
>I would like to combine these variables in a way that I can compose one new
>variable, for example:
>19_20030202000999
>
>I have tried to create this new variable using 'the CONCAT function
>for string variables. However, it doesn't work. I have tried:
>
>CONCAT(STRING(V1,F2),STRING('_'),STRING(V2,F4),STRING(V3,F2),STRING(V4,F2),STRING(V5,F6))

In addition to Bruce Weaver's reminder that you need to declare the
new variable you're creating, the subexpressions like "STRING(V1,F2)"
are invalid. If your variables V1 to V5 really are strings, the
expression you want is

CONCAT(V1,'_',V2,V3,V4,V5)

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[hidden email] (not to SPSSX-L), with no body text except the
command. To leave the list, send the command
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For a list of commands to manage subscriptions, send the command
INFO REFCARD