Keyword TO

You can establish names for a set of variables or refer to any number of consecutive variables by specifying the beginning and the ending variables joined by the keyword TO.

To establish names for a set of variables with the keyword TO, use a character prefix with a numeric suffix.

• The prefix can be any valid name. Both the beginning and ending variables must use the same prefix.
• The numeric suffix can be any integer, but the first number must be smaller than the second. For example, ITEM1 TO ITEM5 establishes five variables named ITEM1, ITEM2, ITEM3, ITEM4, and ITEM5.
• Leading zeros used in numeric suffixes are included in the variable name. For example, V001 TO V100 establishes 100 variables--V001, V002, V003, ..., V100. V1 TO V100 establishes 100 variables--V1, V2, V3, ..., V100.

The keyword TO can also be used on procedures and other commands to refer to consecutive variables on the active dataset. For example, AVAR TO VARB refers to the variables AVAR and all subsequent variables up to and including VARB.

• In most cases, the TO specification uses the variable order on the active dataset. Use the DISPLAY command to see the order of variables on the active dataset.
• On some subcommands, the order in which variables are named on a previous subcommand, usually the VARIABLES subcommand, is used to determine which variables are consecutive and therefore are implied by the TO specification. This is noted in the description of individual commands.