Insert file option in output file

[Maguin, Eugene]

This is a v25 patched question.

In the output file editor i used the Insert File option under the Insert dropdown to insert a short text file into the output file. Although the insert worked fine, i noticed that spaces between two pairs of columns were destroyed. The text file was written using the write outfile command 

write outfile='X:\EVQmEMA\Random\EventTimes\Instances.24Plus records.txt'/ 

   respondent_id instance_id recnum question_code item_id answer_value 

   page_visible(f5.0,f11.0,f3.0,1x,a28,f8.0,2f11.0). 

The problems were between question_code (a28) and item_id (f8.0), and between answer_value (f11.0) and page_visible (f11.0). The length of the question_code text varied between 5 and 28. The length of answer_value was 1 digit except for one case were it was 11 digits. The column alignment was destroyed because the excess characters in both question_code and answer_value were collapsed to 1 character. I edited the text block and realized i could use the tab key to put in tabs to get the alignment back but the tabs were likewise collapsed to a (second) single character. I then tried manually adding characters to get aligment. These too were destroyed. 

So, this v25, which is now past. However is there anything i can do/could have done differently with respect to the insert file function so that it works as, i think, any one would expect it to work. (Of course, i could have used either list or print to write the records directly to the output file.) 

Gene Maguin

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[Jon Peck]

I have never used the Insert File feature in the Viewer, but playing with it in combination with WRITE did not show any problems such as  you describe.  You might want to start by looking at the WRITE output in a text editor to see whether the WRITE specifications or the Viewer insert is the problem.  Also, check to be sure that the font for the inserted text block is a monospaced font (Edit > Options > Viewer Text Output Font.  By default, that font is monospaced.

Note also that you can insert a literal blank (' ') in the WRITE variable list to ensure a blank between fields.

On Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 9:32 AM Maguin, Eugene <[hidden email]> wrote:

This is a v25 patched question.

In the output file editor i used the Insert File option under the Insert dropdown to insert a short text file into the output file. Although the insert worked fine, i noticed that spaces between two pairs of columns were destroyed. The text file was written using the write outfile command 

write outfile='X:\EVQmEMA\Random\EventTimes\Instances.24Plus records.txt'/ 

   respondent_id instance_id recnum question_code item_id answer_value 

   page_visible(f5.0,f11.0,f3.0,1x,a28,f8.0,2f11.0). 

The problems were between question_code (a28) and item_id (f8.0), and between answer_value (f11.0) and page_visible (f11.0). The length of the question_code text varied between 5 and 28. The length of answer_value was 1 digit except for one case were it was 11 digits. The column alignment was destroyed because the excess characters in both question_code and answer_value were collapsed to 1 character. I edited the text block and realized i could use the tab key to put in tabs to get the alignment back but the tabs were likewise collapsed to a (second) single character. I then tried manually adding characters to get aligment. These too were destroyed. 

So, this v25, which is now past. However is there anything i can do/could have done differently with respect to the insert file function so that it works as, i think, any one would expect it to work. (Of course, i could have used either list or print to write the records directly to the output file.) 

Gene Maguin

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

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