Data files created from multiple tables

When multiple tables are routed to the same data file, each table is added to the data file in a fashion that is similar to merging data files by adding cases from one data file to another data file (Data menu, Merge Files, Add Cases).

• Each subsequent table will always add cases to the data file.
• If column labels in the tables differ, each table may also add variables to the data file, with missing values for cases from other tables that don't have an identically labeled column.
• If any tables do not have the same number of row elements as the other tables, no data file will be created. The number of rows doesn't have to be the same; the number of row elements that become variables in the data file must be the same. For example, a two-variable crosstabulation and a three-variable crosstabulation contain different numbers of row elements, because the “layer” variable is actually nested within the row variable in the default three-variable crosstabulation display.