The Attributes menu allows you to add and delete attributes. To edit existing attributes, click on the Attributes tab if necessary to bring it to the foreground, then click in the cell you wish to change. The Recode and Undo last recode menu items are only enabled when you have data on individuals loaded and an attribute selected in the Attributes tab.
- Brings up a dialog in which you can create a new attribute. In the
dialog, you provide a name and description for the attribute and indicate
its type (label, categorical, numerical or affinity). If it is a label, you can
also indicate whether it should become the new ID attribute. The dialog
has three buttons:
- Records the new attribute and keeps the dialog open.
- Records the new attribute and closes the dialog.
- Closes the dialog without recording the new attribute.
- Deletes any attributes selected in the Attributes tab. Select a single attribute by clicking in the leftmost column of its row. Select multiple consecutive attributes by clicking on the first and then shift-clicking on the last (or vice versa). Select multiple non-consecutive attributes by clicking on the first and then control-clicking on others. You will be asked to confirm the deletion before it occurs. Note that deleting an attribute irrevocably deletes the values of that attribute for all the individuals.
- Creates a new attribute by copying an existing attribute. Select a single attribute by clicking in the leftmost column of its row. Only one attribute can be cloned at a time. You will be asked to provide a name for the new attribute. (The name must not be in use already.) The new attribute inherits all properties of the original attribute, and the value of the new attribute for each individual is the value of the original attribute.
- Recodes selected values of the attribute selected in the Attributes tab. Select a single attribute by clicking in the leftmost column of its row. Only one attribute can be recoded at a time. The recode dialog will present you with a list of values of that attribute on the left and a text entry box on the right. In the left-hand list, select one or more current values that you wish to change to the same new value. You can select multiple adjacent values by clicking the first and shift-clicking the last; you can add non-adjacent values by control-clicking them. If there are individuals with blank or missing values for that attribute, a checkbox on the left will allow you to specify that the new value you are about to specify should replace all blanks and missing entries. Enter on the right the new value you wish to replace the selected value(s) on the left. Note that you are allowed to specify empty or blank new values for labels and affinity attributes, but not for categorical and numerical attributes. The three buttons function the same as the corresponding buttons of the add-attribute dialog (described above). You can recode the same attribute more than once. Recodings are preserved when you save a project to a project file, but not when you save a project as a template (so if you start a new project from the saved template and load new data on individuals, you may need to recode the attributes again).
- Undoes the most recent recoding of the attribute selected in the Attributes tab. Select a single attribute by clicking in the leftmost column of its row. Only one attribute can be reverted at a time. Note that all changes made to an attribute between opening and closing the recode dialog count as a single recoding, and will be undone as a group. For instance, suppose that you select attribute X, click the recode menu item, change values A and B to Q and value C to R, then close the dialog. Later, you again recode X, this time changing value D to S, E to T and F to U. If you subsequently select X and click Undo last recode, the second conversion will be undone, and the values D, E and F will be restored. If you click Undo last recode a second time with X selected, the first conversion will be undone, and values A, B and C will be restored.
