3.6 Comma-Separated Value Output Options
To produce output in comma-separated value (CSV) format, specify
-o file on the pspp command line, optionally followed
by any of the options shown in the table below to customize the output
format.
- -O format=csv
- Specify the output format. This is only necessary if the file name
given on -o does not end in .csv.
- -O separator=field-separator
- Sets the character used to separate fields. Default: a comma
(‘,’).
- -O quote=qualifier
- Sets qualifier as the character used to quote fields that
contain white space, the separator (or any of the characters in the
separator, if it contains more than one character), or the quote
character itself. If qualifier is longer than one character,
only the first character is used; if qualifier is the empty
string, then fields are never quoted.
- -O titles=boolean
- Whether table titles (brief descriptions) should be printed. Default:
on
.
- -O captions=boolean
- Whether table captions (more extensive descriptions) should be
printed. Default: on.
The CSV format used is an extension to that specified in RFC 4180:
- Tables
- Each table row is output on a separate line, and each column is output
as a field. The contents of a cell that spans multiple rows or
columns is output only for the top-left row and column; the rest are
output as empty fields.
- Titles
- When a table has a title and titles are enabled, the title is output
just above the table as a single field prefixed by ‘Table:’.
- Captions
- When a table has a caption and captions are enabled, the caption is
output just below the table as a single field prefixed by
‘Caption:’.
- Footnotes
- Within a table, footnote markers are output as bracketed letters
following the cell's contents, e.g. ‘[a]’, ‘[b]’,
... The footnotes themselves are output following the body of
the table, as a separate two-column table introduced with a line that
says ‘Footnotes:’. Each row in the table represent one footnote:
the first column is the marker, the second column is the text.
- Text
- Text in output is printed as a field on a line by itself. The TITLE
and SUBTITLE produce similar output, prefixed by ‘Title:’ or
‘Subtitle:’, respectively.
- Messages
- Errors, warnings, and notes are printed the same way as text.
- Charts
- Charts are not included in CSV output.
Successive output items are separated by a blank line.