It's not informative that "a respondent has 0 on v1" unless you know what v1 and 0 refer to. Such information - what the data actually represent - is collectively know as the dictionary.

This tutorial merely explains what the SPSS dictionary is. For learning how to modify it properly (that is, by syntax), see Changing Variable Properties 1 - Introduction.

SPSS Dictionary - What is it?

• The SPSS Dictionary is a part of an SPSS data file that holds all metadata. Literally, metadata is "data about the data".
• Metadata describes the real-world meaning of values, variables and files. The best known properties of the SPSS dictionary are probably variable labels and value labels.
• Don't overlook the importance of such information. In many cases, data are worthless in the absence of correct metadata.
• The dictionary also holds more technical information on variables such as variable types and formats.

SPSS Dictionary Commands

• Some commands refer directly to SPSS' dictionary. An important one is DISPLAY DICTIONARY. which is extensively used by Create Dictionary Dataset.
• Another example is APPLY DICTIONARY - which is basically what SPSS Clone Variables Tool does.
• Commands for modifying variable properties also apply to the SPSS dictionary (instead of the actual data). For a handy overview, see our SPSS Dictionary Tutorials.

SPSS Dictionary - Complete Overview

Note: we tried to sort these properties from most to least important. "Optional" indicates whether a property can (technically) be absent.