BLANKS Subcommand (SET command)

BLANKS specifies the value that the program should use when it encounters a completely blank field for a numeric variable. By default, the program uses the system-missing value.

• BLANKS controls only the translation of numeric fields. If a blank field is read with a string format, the resulting value is a blank.
• The value that is specified on BLANKS is not automatically defined as a missing value.
• The BLANKS specification applies to all numeric variables. You cannot use different specifications for different variables.
• BLANKS must be specified before data are read. Otherwise, blanks in numeric fields are converted to the system-missing value (the default) as they are read.