Question

"I found a variable "v_4" in an old data file and I can't remember how exactly I created it. The syntax I used got a bit messy, I have different files and they're in different folders. Is there an easy way to find out which syntax files contain the expression "v_4"?"

SPSS Search Syntax Files Tool

SPSS Search Syntax Files Tool

• Make sure you have the SPSS Python Essentials installed.
• Next, download and install the SPSS Search Syntax Files Tool. Note that this is an SPSS custom dialog.
• Click Utilities Search Syntax Files.
• Specify a folder, a search expression and a file extension.
• Optionally, specify the first character(s) of the file names you'd like to search.
• Click Paste and run the pasted syntax.
• The full paths to all files containing the search expression are printed back in the SPSS output window.
• Clicking the tool's Help button will take you to this tutorial. We very much appreciate your feedback on it.

Notes

• All files containing plain text can be scanned with this tool. This includes .txt, .html, .csv and .py files.
• Note that MS Word (.doc) and Excel (.xls) files do not contain plain text and therefore can't be scanned by this tool.
• Note that you can copy-paste paths from the SPSS output window into Windows Explorer in order to open files.