Date:         Thu, 7 Apr 2005 15:09:29 -0300
Reply-To:     Hector Maletta <hmaletta@fibertel.com.ar>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Hector Maletta <hmaletta@fibertel.com.ar>
Subject:      Re: Output
Comments: To: John Norton <jnorton@lumc.edu>
In-Reply-To:  <s2552864.031@GWMAIN.luhs.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Trying EXPORT in HTML format is better than cut and paste to get output into
Excel. However, I have noticed that a proportion reported in SPSS in
percentage form translates into the percentage figure, not the proportion,
so applying Excel percentage format gets it wrong. For instance, suppose in
SPSS you have 50.3%. This goes into Excel as 50.3, with Excel cell format
set to "General" by default. If the Excel format is changed to "Percentage"
you get 5030.00%, which is not exactly what you wanted. In Excel the
percentage format applies to proportions, not to percentages.

To get things right, that is transforming 50.3 back into 50.3%, one has to
(a) write the % sign manually, quite out of the question; or (b) copy the
whole table to another location in the spreadsheet, and define cells as
old-table/100, then format as percentage; or (c) obtain SPSS in absolute
numbers, then export to Excel and compute the percentages there (practical
sometimes, but certainly not always). All in all the best solution is
usually (b).

Hector


> -----Original Message-----
> From: SPSSX(r) Discussion [mailto:SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]
> On Behalf Of John Norton
> Sent: Thursday, April 07, 2005 2:32 PM
> To: SPSSX-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: Output
>
>
> Hi Mahbub,
>
> If you are copying the object from the SPSS Navigator, and in
> Excel you are pasting with Edit > Paste, then neither
> application is misbehaving. However, you still don't get the
> results you desire.  To get Excel to paste properly, use Edit
> > Paste Special > Text..  and this ought to work.
>
> HTH,
>
>
>
> John Norton
> Biostatistician
> Oncology Institute
> Loyola University Medical Center
>
> (708) 327-3095
> jnorton@lumc.edu
>
> "Everything that can be counted isn't worth counting,
> and everything that is worth counting isn't always countable."
>  - Einstein
>
>
>
> >>> Mahbub Khandoker <Mahbub_Khandoker@camh.net> 04/07/05 12:25 PM >>>
> Most often I use the spss output in excel.
> But when I paste the output in excel the percentages are
> become number. So I have to format the number into percentage
> in excel. I don't know whether it is an excel problem or not.
> Is there any way in spss by which the percentages are
> remaining as percentages when pasted in excel? Or is it an
> excel matter? Thanks for your time. Mahbub
>
> Mahbub Khandoker
> Analyst
> IMG-Decision Support
> Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
> 1001 Queen Street West
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> M6J 1H4
> Phone: 416 535 8501 X 6534
>
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