Overview (DATASET CLOSE command)

The DATASET commands (DATASET NAME, DATASET ACTIVATE, DATASET DECLARE, DATASET COPY, DATASET CLOSE) provide the ability to have multiple data sources open at the same time and control which open data source is active at any point in the session. Using defined dataset names, you can then:

• Merge data (for example, MATCH FILES, ADD FILES, UPDATE) from multiple different source types (for example, text data, database, spreadsheet) without saving each one as an external IBM® SPSS® Statistics data file first.
• Create new datasets that are subsets of open data sources (for example, males in one subset, females in another, people under a certain age in another, or original data in one set and transformed/computed values in another subset).
• Copy and paste variables, cases, and/or variable properties between two or more open data sources in the Data Editor.

The DATASET CLOSE command closes the named dataset.

• If the dataset name specified is not the active dataset, that dataset is closed and no longer available in the session.
• If the dataset name specified is the active dataset or if an asterisk (*) is specified and the active dataset has a name, the association with that name is broken. The active dataset remains active but has no name.
• If ALL is specified, all associations with datasets are broken. All the datasets except the active dataset and their data windows are closed and no longer available in the session. This includes datasets that have been declared (DATASET DECLARE) but have not been used yet. The active dataset remains active but has no name.

Basic Specification

The only specification for DATASET CLOSE is the command name followed by a dataset name, an asterisk (*), or the keyword ALL.