Sort cases

This dialog box sorts cases (rows) of the active dataset based on the values of one or more sorting variables. You can sort cases in ascending or descending order.

• If you select multiple sort variables, cases are sorted by each variable within categories of the preceding variable on the Sort list. For example, if you select gender as the first sorting variable and minority as the second sorting variable, cases will be sorted by minority classification within each gender category.
• The sort sequence is based on the locale-defined order (and is not necessarily the same as the numerical order of the character codes). The default locale is the operating system locale. You can control the locale with the Language setting on the General tab of the Options dialog box (Edit menu).

To Sort Cases

1. From the menus choose:

   Data > Sort Cases...

2. Select one or more sorting variables.

   Optionally, you can do the following:

   Index the saved file. Indexing table lookup files can improve performance when merging data files with STAR JOIN.

   Save the sorted file. You can save the sorted file, with the option of saving it as encrypted. Encryption allows you to protect confidential information stored in the file. Once encrypted, the file can only be opened by providing the password assigned to the file.

   To save the sorted file with encryption:

3. Select Save file with sorted data and click File.
4. Select Encrypt file with password in the Save Sorted Data As dialog box.
5. Click Save.
6. In the Encrypt File dialog box, provide a password and re-enter it in the Confirm password text box. Passwords are limited to 10 characters and are case-sensitive.

Warning: Passwords cannot be recovered if they are lost. If the password is lost the file cannot be opened.

Creating strong passwords

• Use eight or more characters.
• Include numbers, symbols and even punctuation in your password.
• Avoid sequences of numbers or characters, such as "123" and "abc", and avoid repetition, such as "111aaa".
• Do not create passwords that use personal information such as birthdays or nicknames.
• Periodically change the password.

Note: Storing encrypted files to an IBM® SPSS® Collaboration and Deployment Services Repository is not supported.

Note: Encrypted data files and output documents cannot be opened in versions of IBM SPSS Statistics prior to version 21. Encrypted syntax files cannot be opened in versions prior to version 22.