Custom Tables: UI won't let me include Missing values

[Rea Nnual]

https://s28.postimg.org/vu706ac31/spss.jpg

I am trying to use custom tables to set up a table of student dropout rates but I'm unable to include cases with sysmis values (e.g. if students drop out, we don't have graduation dates for them)

I have found the correct setting in the tables 'Categories and totals' dialog but the options to include SYSMIS is always greyed out. I have tried with different data sets, different types of variable, checking the Show Totals box above, changing settings in the the table's Options tab but nothing seems to change it. The option is permanently greyed out with no explanation.

See the linked image for clarification.

I have seen a suggestion to recode the SYSMIS values (temporarily) and I would but seeing as so many of them are dates it makes it a bit tricky to designate a NA value, no? I would have to decide on some date being a fiction (e.g. 11-11-1911) - which doesn't seem like a good solution.

[Ki]

The easiest approach is to change your date into "String". Go to Variable View, in the Type column change Date into String. Make sure that the Measure column is also in Nominal for the variable Date.
Then, go to Ctables, and make the table without worrying about the sysmis values because no dates will comes as empty.

[Ki]

You could do this changes using syntax if you many variables to deal with. Let me know if you need a sample of this syntax.

[Rea Nnual]

Yup, I came upon this as well. Good thing that SPSS allows you to switch back and forth between different variables types without degrading the values. However, computing new separate year and month variables turned out to be the better way to go.

Still don't understand why or in what cases the missing values option unlocks, though.

[Ki]

Yeah, perhaps, someone from IBM/spss like John Peck could answer. It may be related to the "date' which is basically a numeric value in the background, and there is not easy way to set an sysmis value (empty value). No clue in my side.

[Rich Ulrich]

On Fri, 13 Jan 2017 07:29:11 -0800 (PST), Ki <ki.h...@gmail.com>
wrote:

I am still not sure what you are doing, but now I think that
you are, perhaps, mis-using "sysmis". If you know that the variable
(date) is not available because it is Not Applicable (no graduation),
then you should be using a defined Missing value for it. That
does get awkward for the numbers presented in Date-format.

I think that this has probably been discussed before in the SPSSX-L
list. You can search that at Nabble, even without joining the list.
See my posts of this week.


--
Rich Ulrich