Sometimes source files can contain non numeric values that represent information about the data, e.g. data is not available for that datapoint. This information can be loaded into the table using missing values.
To add a missing value
- Before the table has been built: choose Table Options from the Data menu. The Table Options dialog box appears
- Select either Table Initialized to Missing Values or Table Initialized to Zero Values, and then click OK.
Table Initialized to Missing Values - Cells will contain missing values, - by default, unless the source file contains a number for the cell
Table Initialized to Zero Values - Cells will contain zeros unless the source file contains a number of missing value for the cell - At any time: From the Edit menu, select Missing Values. The Define Missing Values dialog box appears with the default missing value, -.
- Click Add. The Add Missing Value dialog box appears.
- Enter an indicator and a description for one of the missing values you want to add.
- Click OK. Repeat for all the missing value indicators you want to add to the table.
- From the Source menu, choose Set Field Information. The Set Field Information dialog box appears.
- Highlight the name of a source field that contains missing values and click Add. The Add Source File Missing Value dialog box appears. It contains the indicators and descriptions you added in steps 3 and 4, above.
- In Source File Code, type the character or symbol that is used in the source file to denote the missing value. (Sometimes this is a blank space.)
- In Missing Value Type, highlight the missing value indicator you want to assign to the missing value in your table, and then click OK.
The missing value indicator and its description are added to the table’s database. When you build the table the cells that contain this missing value will show the indicator, and when users point at a cell that contains the indicator the missing value description will pop up.
This table was built from a file that looked like this:
Or in Notepad:
