Overview for Recode

Use Recode to change values in one or more columns to new values. You can recode ranges of values, a set of individual values, or a single value. There are four recode commands: Recode to Numeric, Recode to Text, Recode to Date/Time, and Use Conversion Table.

Recode to Numeric

Recode numeric, text, or date/time values to numeric values. For example, in the following worksheet, gender (text data) is recoded to numbers: Female to 1 and Male to 2.

C1-T	C2
Gender	Recoded Gender
Female	1
Female	1
Male	2
Male	2
Female	1

Recode to Text

Recode numeric, text, or date/time values to text values. For example, in the following worksheet, numeric test scores are recoded to letter grades.

C1	C2-T
Scores	Recoded scores
93	A
78	C
88	B
65	D

Recode to Date/Time

Recode numeric, text, or date/time values to date/time values. For example, in the following worksheet, the names of holidays are recoded to dates.

C1-T	C2-D
Holiday	Date
March Equinox	March 20, 2016
June Solstice	June 20, 2016
September Equinox	September 22, 2016
December Solstice	December 21, 2016

Use Conversion Table

Recode when you have a conversion table in the worksheet. For example, in the following worksheet, the names of the states are recoded to abbreviations using a conversion table. The conversion table is in the State and Abbreviation columns. The column to recode is Location.

C1-T	C2-T	C3-T	C4-T
State	Abbreviation	Location	Recoded Location
Alabama	AL	New Mexico	NM
Arkansas	AR	Arkansas	AR
Alaska	AK	Pennsylvania	PA
Arizona	AZ	Ohio	OH
...	...

Where to find these commands

To recode data, choose one of the following:

Data > Recode > To Numeric
Data > Recode > To Text
Data > Recode > To Date/Time
Data > Recode > Use Conversion Table