File|Open|Open Data

The Open Data dialog lets you open a data file for processing. WinCross can process data in ASCII (fixed (*), comma separated *.csv, tab separated *.tab or *.tsv), several versions of Microsoft® Office Excel or SPSS® format.

When WinCross encounters data values that are wider than the declared width of variables when opening an SPSS data file, a "Warning" message is issued denoting the Variable Name, Current Width, and Required Width with options for handling these width discrepancies.

Note: As an alternative to File|Open|Open Data, you can drag a data file from another location and drop it in WinCross. WinCross will launch the Open Data dialog box with the file path pre-filled in the Data file name field. The Drive and Directory will point to the file path and the File type selected will match the file type of the data file when possible.

WinCross permits a maximum record length limited by available memory with up to 800 records per respondent. Each respondent must have the same number of records and all records must be in the same order for all respondents. WinCross does not require a respondent identification number or a record number identifier. Records can be of any length within the available memory.

WinCross has a limit of 1,048,000 records for variable type data files when opening in edit mode. If a variable type data file with more than 1,048,000 records is opened, WinCross will display a warning message that indicates this data file cannot be opened in edit mode and automatically switch to the Data viewing option of Read only displaying only 1000 records in the data grid. If you encounter an "Out of memory" condition when opening your variable data file, try using the Read only and Partial view options of Data viewing options to limit the amount of memory used.

When a file type that uses variable names is opened, the variable names can be used in specifying logic. You can view a list of the variable names at any time using View|Data File Information.

You can only have one data file open in WinCross at a time.

Field length considerations:

When all cells for an entire variable are blank for comma- (*.csv) and tab- (*.tab or *.tsv) separated ASCII files, the default variable width is 12.
SPSS variable labels can have up to 256 characters.

From Local Sources:

Opens your data file from a local or network folder of your choice.
You can choose from the Recent folders dropdown list to locate a desired folder.
Or, select the Drive, Directory and folder that contains the desired data file.
When you select a File type from the dropdown list, only those file types in the selected folder are displayed, with the exception of ASCII fixed (*) which displays all file types.
If you want to manually enter a filename, click anywhere within the File name: field and type the name. You will need to include the full filepath if the data file resides in a folder other than that displayed.

When ASCII fixed (*) is selected as the file type, WinCross will assume the following:

Files with a .csv extension will be opened as an ASCII CSV delimited (*.csv) file type.
Files with a .tab or .tsv extension will be opened as an ASCII tab delimited (*.tab, *.tsv) file type.
Files with an .xls, .xlsx or .xlsm extension will be opened as an MS Excel (*.xls, *.xlsx or *.xlsm) file type.
Files with a .sav extension will be opened as an SPSS (*.sav) file type.

Data viewing options:

IMPORTANT: Opening the data file with the Data viewing option of Partial or None (None is only available for ASCII data files), will help prevent "Out of Memory" error messages and decrease processing time when running tables, frequencies, etc. This is especially important for large data files with many records/variables.

All - displays all records in the file and allows you to edit the file if the Read only check box is not selected.
Partial - displays a portion of the file depending on the number of records specified in Records to view and the file cannot be edited.
Records to view - specifies the number of records to view.

None - displays no records and the file cannot be edited.
Read only (default for ASCII data file types). Data cannot be edited when Read only is selected. (See Editing ASCII fixed (*) data for more information about editing an ASCII data file). Variable data files are opened in edit mode by default. Choose the Read only check box to open your variable data file in read-only mode. Data cannot be edited when Read only is selected. (See Editing variable data for more information about editing a variable data file).

Some file types include an additional option:

Use first row as variable names

For ASCII CSV delimited (*.csv), ASCII tab delimited (*.tab, *.tsv) and MS Excel (*.xls, *.xlsx or *.xlsm) file types, you can use the first row as variable names by enabling the Use first row as variable names option.