Changing Variable Type and Format

The Type column displays the current data type for each variable. The most common data types are numeric and string, but many other formats are supported. In the current data file, the income variable is defined as a numeric type.

  1. Click the Type cell for the income row, and then click the button on the right side of the cell to open the Variable Type dialog box.
  2. Select Dollar.
    Figure 1. Variable Type dialog box
    The Variable Type dialog box with Dollar selected as the variable type.

    The formatting options for the currently selected data type are displayed.

  3. For the format of the currency in this example, select $###,###,###.
  4. Click OK to save your changes.

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