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SAS password protected file to spss data file

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Martn Sherman

SAS password protected file to spss data file

Dear list: I recently had a colleague forward me an email about her problem in converting a SAS password protected data file into a SPSS data file. She has been unsuccessful and asked me to look into it. Since the file can open be opened by recipient from a Federal Department I am unable to try to work some magic. Below is her comments to me. Any suggestions? Thanks, martin sherman

We tried to transfer it over to SPSS. Many different ways – all of them unsuccessful.

Everything from trying to just trying to open it up as a SAS file in SPSS, to using the export option in SAS, to even trying to use the trial sample of Stat/Transfer (I'm not sure if the last one failed due to my lack of proficiency with the program or the fact the datafile is password protected.)

Several times it would look like we had gotten the file open OK (minus the value labels). For instance, with the first option listed above we were able to even recode some variable and save the file -- only to have it perform in ways I have never seen an SPSS file perform when we tried to work with it some more a few days later. At that second point we were unable to save anything to the file -- receiving a series of error messages ranging from file read errors to catastrophic processor errors.

<image.png>

It seems clear to me that we need to go back to the original SAS file and start again. I don’t know if either of you have any SAS proficiency and could direct me towards any SAS to SPSS sources that might help me because I am clearly floundering in getting this dataset over to SPSS.

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

===================== 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

Jon Peck

Re: SAS password protected file to spss data file

If the file is password protected, Statistics should not be able to open it. That would be a security breach. I don't know if Stat Transfer has any password support, but Statistics only supports passwords for its own file formats except with GET CAPTURE

Otherwise, Statistics should be able to read the file.

As for value labels, for SAS ...

SAS value formats that assign value labels are read from the dataset specified on the FORMATS
subcommand. The SAS value labels are then converted to IBM SPSS Statistics value labels in the
following manner:
• Labels assigned to single values are retained.
• Labels assigned to a range of values are ignored.
• Labels assigned to the SAS keywords LOW, HIGH, and OTHER are ignored.
• Labels assigned to string variables and non-integer numeric values are ignored.

However, you may need to specify a FORMATS file with GET SAS.

On Tue, May 12, 2020 at 6:39 PM Martn Sherman <[hidden email]> wrote:

Dear list: I recently had a colleague forward me an email about her problem in converting a SAS password protected data file into a SPSS data file. She has been unsuccessful and asked me to look into it. Since the file can open be opened by recipient from a Federal Department I am unable to try to work some magic. Below is her comments to me. Any suggestions? Thanks, martin sherman

We tried to transfer it over to SPSS. Many different ways – all of them unsuccessful.
Everything from trying to just trying to open it up as a SAS file in SPSS, to using the export option in SAS, to even trying to use the trial sample of Stat/Transfer (I'm not sure if the last one failed due to my lack of proficiency with the program or the fact the datafile is password protected.)

Several times it would look like we had gotten the file open OK (minus the value labels). For instance, with the first option listed above we were able to even recode some variable and save the file -- only to have it perform in ways I have never seen an SPSS file perform when we tried to work with it some more a few days later. At that second point we were unable to save anything to the file -- receiving a series of error messages ranging from file read errors to catastrophic processor errors.
<image.png>

It seems clear to me that we need to go back to the original SAS file and start again. I don’t know if either of you have any SAS proficiency and could direct me towards any SAS to SPSS sources that might help me because I am clearly floundering in getting this dataset over to SPSS.

Thanks for any ideas you might have.

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

===================== 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

Jon K Peck
[hidden email]