dBASE (SAVE TRANSLATE command)

Variables in the active dataset become fields, and cases become records in the database file.

  • Characters that are allowed in variable names, but not in dBASE field names, are translated to colons in dBASE II and underscores in dBASE III and dBASE IV.
  • Numeric variables containing the system-missing value are translated to **** in dBASE III and dBASE IV and 0 in dBASE II.
  • The width and precision of translated numeric variables are taken from the print format—the total number of characters for the number is taken from the width of the print format, and the number of digits to the right of the decimal point is taken from the decimals in the print format. To adjust the width and precision, use the PRINT FORMATS command before using SAVE TRANSLATE. Values that cannot be converted to the given width and precision are converted to missing values.
  • A maximum of 65,535 cases and 32 variables can be saved to dBASE II, a maximum of one billion cases (subject to disk space availability) and 128 variables can be saved to dBASE III, and a maximum of one billion cases (subject to disk space availability) and 255 variables can be saved to dBASE IV.

Variable formats are translated to dBASE formats as follows:

Table 1. Format conversion for dBASE files
IBM® SPSS® Statistics dBASE
Number Numeric
String Character
Dollar Numeric
Comma Numeric