Core Workflow

Import and Review

Recense imports SPSS .sav and CSV files directly in your browser. All parsing, encoding detection, and type inference happen on your machine — your data is never uploaded to any server.

Core Workflow

Supported formats

  • SPSS .sav — full support including compressed files, extended encoding, value labels, missing-value definitions, and weight variables. This is the primary workflow.
  • CSV — auto-detection of delimiters, multi-header rows, and column types. A review step lets you correct types before committing the import.

Core Workflow

How import works

1

Drag a file onto the drop zone, or use the file picker.

Both SPSS .sav and CSV files are accepted.

2

Recense parses the file in your browser.

No data is uploaded — everything happens locally.

3

For SPSS: metadata, variable schema, and all cases load directly.

The import completes immediately with no review step needed.

4

For CSV: Recense shows a review screen.

You can check and override detected column types, delimiters, and header structure before committing.

Core Workflow

What Recense reads from SPSS files

  • Variable names, labels, and print/write formats
  • Value labels (code-to-label mappings)
  • Missing-value definitions (discrete values and ranges)
  • Weight variable designation
  • Question-group structure (where inferrable from naming patterns)
  • File encoding (auto-detected, including legacy encodings)

Core Workflow

Import diagnostics

After import, check for:

  • Variables with no value labels where you'd expect them
  • Unexpected variable types (e.g. a categorical variable detected as numeric)
  • Missing weight variable assignment
  • Question groups that need manual adjustment

Fix early

These are best fixed in the Dataset Explorer before building tables.

Core Workflow

Data stays local

Import happens entirely in your browser. Raw survey data is never sent to Recense servers. Your data stays on your machine at all times.