Character limits for SPSS exports

For SPSS exports, there are character limits for responses to Open End questions, "Other, specify" answers, and variable names.

Note: When you export data to an SPSS file, the data will be cut off at the point where it exceeds the character limit.
The character limits for responses to Open End questions are:
  • 2000 single-byte characters (for example, ASCII characters)
  • 1000 double-byte characters (for example, Cyrillic characters or characters with accent marks)
  • 500 quadruple-byte characters to 666 triple-byte characters (for example, Chinese or Japanese characters)
The character limits for "Other, specify" answers are:
  • 255 single-byte characters (for example, ASCII characters)
  • 127 double-byte characters (for example, Cyrillic characters or characters with accent marks)
  • 63 quadruple-byte characters to 85 triple-byte characters (for example, Chinese or Japanese characters)
The character limits for variable names are:
  • 63 single-byte characters (for example, ASCII characters)
  • 31 double-byte characters (for example, Cyrillic characters or characters with accent marks)
  • 15 quadruple-byte characters to 21 triple-byte characters (for example, Chinese or Japanese characters)
Note: If a duplicate variable name is detected, a numeric value is appended to the name.