Overview (OUTPUT SAVE command)

The OUTPUT commands (OUTPUT NEW, OUTPUT NAME, OUTPUT ACTIVATE, OUTPUT OPEN, OUTPUT SAVE, OUTPUT CLOSE) provide the ability to programmatically manage one or many output documents. These functions allow you to:

  • Save an output document through syntax.
  • Programmatically partition output into separate output documents (for example, results for males in one output document and results for females in a separate one).
  • Work with multiple open output documents in a given session, selectively appending new results to the appropriate document.

The OUTPUT SAVE command saves the contents of an open output document to a file.

Basic specification

The basic specification for OUTPUT SAVE is the command name followed by a file specification for the destination file.

NAME keyword

Use the NAME keyword to save an output document other than the designated one. Provide the name associated with the document.

TYPE keyword

Use the TYPE keyword to specify the format of the output file--SPV for standard output files.

LOCK keyword

Use LOCK=YES to prevent editing of Viewer documents in IBM® SPSS® Smartreader (a separate product for working with Viewer documents). If a Viewer document is locked, you can manipulate pivot tables (swap rows and columns, change the displayed layer, etc.) but you cannot edit any output or save any changes to the Viewer document in IBM SPSS Smartreader. This setting has no effect on Viewer documents opened in IBM SPSS Statistics. The default is LOCK=NO.

STOREMODEL keyword

The STOREMODEL keyword applies only when there are model viewer items in the output document that require auxiliary information to enable some of the interactive features. The default is STOREMODEL=YES, which specifies to store the auxiliary information with the output document. Storing this information with the output document might substantially increase the document size. If you choose not to store this information, you can still open these output items but the specified interactive features will not be available. You can view the affected model viewer items and interactive features by clicking More Info on the Save Output As dialog.

Syntax rules

  • An error occurs if a keyword is specified more than once.
  • Keywords must be spelled in full.
  • Equals signs (=) used in the syntax chart are required elements.

Operations

  • By default, the designated output document is saved. The designated output document is the one most recently opened (by OUTPUT NEW or OUTPUT OPEN) or activated (by OUTPUT ACTIVATE).
  • If the specified file already exists, OUTPUT SAVE overwrites it without warning.
  • An error occurs if you specify a nonexistent output document.
  • An error occurs if the file specification is invalid.
  • OUTPUT SAVE saves the document but does not close it. Use OUTPUT CLOSE to close the document.
  • OUTPUT SAVE honors file handles and changes to the working directory made with the CD command.

Limitations

  • OUTPUT SAVE is not supported in the IBM SPSS Statistics Batch Facility (available with IBM SPSS Statistics Server).

Example

OUTPUT OPEN FILE='/examples/output/Q1Output.spv'.  
GET FILE='/examples/data/March.sav'.
FREQUENCIES VARIABLES=ALL.
OUTPUT SAVE OUTFILE='/examples/output/Q1Output.spv'.
  • OUTPUT OPEN opens the Viewer document /examples/output/Q1Output.spv. The document contains summaries for the months of January and February.
  • GET opens a file containing new data for March.
  • FREQUENCIES produces frequencies for March data, which are appended to the designated output document.
  • OUTPUT SAVE saves the contents of the designated output document to /examples/output/Q1Output.spv, which now contains results for the entire first quarter.