CHAPTER 11

OUTPUT NAVIGATOR - THE BASICS

When you run FREQUENCIES or other statistical procedures, the results appear in the Output Navigator
window. Within this window you can "navigate" or move to different parts of the output. One of the
enhancements included in recent versions of SPSSWIN is the creation of report-quality tables. The tables
can be edited and then printed out, inserted into another document, or saved as a Navigator document.
Overview
When an SPSSWIN statistical procedure is run, the results are routed to the Output Navigator -- the
beginning of the results are displayed (older versions of SPSSWIN showed the end or last results and the
user had to scroll up to the top). The Output Navigator window has two components or "frames" (you may
hear these also referred to as window "panes." The left frame is an outline view of the output (a "table of
contents"). It lists each element of the output in order. The right frame is the results view (also referred to
as the "output pane") which contains the various tables requested by a particular procedure. The order of
tables in the results frame is identical to the order in the outline frame.
Output Navigator
Outline Frame

Results Frame

A good way to follow the description of the Output Navigator is to have it open while reading this chapter.
Open the 1991 U.S. General Social Survey. In SPSSWIN click on FILE OPEN and click on the 1991
GSS survey file. Next, run the FREQUENCIES procedure. Click on ANALYZE DESCRIPTIVE
STATISTICS FREQUENCIES. In the left variables box click and drag to highlight the first five variables:
SEX to LIFE. Click on the > button to move these five variables to the right variable box. Then click on
"OK." The results of the FREQUENCIES procedure will appear in the Output Navigator window. Refer to
this window while reading the following material on the Output Navigator.
Outline frame
NOTE: Output from the 1991 U.S. General Social Survey will be referred to simply as "GSS."
The outline frame for GSS shows a hierarchy of:

Output
Frequencies
Title
Notes
Statistics
Frequency Table
Title
Respondent's Sex
.
.
.
Is Life Exciting or Dull

You can make alterations to the tables (in the results frame) by making changes to elements in the outline
view. Try making these changes using the GSS output:
"Hide" results (e.g., hide a table without deleting it)
Do this in the
Outline Frame

Effect on the
Results Frame

Double click on the "book" icon to

the left of the table title.
The book icon is then closed.

Table no longer appears

Click once on the table title. Then

click on the "closed book" icon on
the lower toolbar.

Table no longer appears

Click once on the table title. Then

click on VIEW HIDE from the
pulldown menus.

Table no longer appears

"Show" a hidden table

Repeat any of the steps above, this time "opening" the "book" or clicking on "show."
To hide all results from a procedure:
1.

Click on the box to the left of the procedure name (the box with a negative sign). In the GSS
example, click on the box to the left of the word FREQUENCIES.

2.

To again show all the results, click on the box with the positive (+) sign to the left of the procedure
name.

3.

Alternatively, click on the procedure name. From the pulldown menus, click on VIEW
COLLAPSE. To undo this, click on the procedure name and then click on VIEW EXPAND.

Delete a portion of the output (e.g., a table)

Do this in the
Outline Frame

Effect on the
Results Frame

Click on the table name to be

deleted. Press the delete key.

Table is deleted.

Click on the table name to be

deleted. Then click on
EDIT DELETE.

Table is deleted.

Moving portions of output (changing order of output)

Do this in the
Outline Frame

Effect on the
Results Frame

Click on the element to be moved.

Drag it to its new position. Release
the mouse button just above the
point where you want it to appear.

Element appears in its new position

 Shortcut Buttons
A set of buttons are located just above the output pane. The three buttons to the right are used to insert
headings, titles and text into the output pane. For instance if you click on the button for Insert Text, you
will see "SPSS Text" in the Outline Frame. In the Results Frame you will be able to enter text such as
comments to remind you later of why you chose a certain analysis or that you selected only certain
respondents for a particular analysis, etc.
Results frame (Output Pane)
Much of the output from the SPSSWIN procedures that we will be using in this course is in the form of
"pivot" tables. In pivot tables rows, columns and layers can be rearranged. The following is meant as an
introduction to pivot tables. Discussion of the rearrangement of pivot tables is found in the chapter on the
CROSSTABULATIONS procedure (Chapter 12).
Note: You can use the scroll bars to the right and below the results frame to see more of the tables
contained in the output.
Editing output tables
To edit a pivot table, position the pointer on a table and then double click. You will then notice the
following:
1.

The pushbuttons at the top of the Output Navigator window are no longer visible.

2.

The pulldown menus at the top of the Output Navigator window are grey -- deactivated.

3.

Formatting Toolbar appears.

4.

Pivoting Trays box appears.

Try This: In the GSS output, double click on the table for the first variable, Respondent's Sex. Double
click on the percentage of males and then the percentage of females. You can see the actual percentage
that has been rounded to one decimal place. Next, double click on the value label "male." Edit the label
to read "male respondents." Then click once elsewhere in the table. What happens to the label you
edited? The word "respondent" is now broken between two rows. To fit the label "male respondents" into
one row, move the pointer the vertical line to the right of the value labels and drag the line to the right until
the label fits on one row of the table.
You can edit the table by clicking on various elements and making desired changes. Alternatively, you can
use the pivot table editor pulldown menus as well as the Formatting Toolbar.
Try This: In the GSS output, double click on the table for the second variable, Race of Respondent.
Next, click on the column heading "Frequency." The pulldown menus are once again activated. From
the pulldown menus, click on INSERT FOOTNOTE. Footnote "a" now appears at the bottom of the
table and in the column label "Frequencya."
Formatting Toolbar
The Formatting Toolbar allows the user to control the following aspects of the table:
1.

Open or close the Pivoting Trays box

2.

Change the font type and size

3.

Change text and numbers to Bold, Italics, Underlined, or a Color

4.

Change alignment of text and numbers

5.

Request a chart (graph)

Pivoting Trays Box

The use of the Pivoting Tray Box will be discussed in Chapter 12.
Pivot table editor pulldown menus
It is possible to edit an output table (alter its appearance) by either changing various default format
settings or by using the TableLooks option. TableLooks offers the user numerous predesigned tables,
each with its own "look." The following are some of the menu choices for editing pivot tables:
Insert
1.

INSERT CAPTION
Insert a caption below the table.

1.

INSERT FOOTNOTE
Insert one or more footnotes tied to specific labels or values in a table.

Format
Click on the FORMAT pulldown menu and then click on the following:
CELL PROPERTIES

Control characteristics for individual cells of a table. Properties that can

be changed include alignment, margins and shading. These changes
only affect selected cells and not the table as a whole. Margins is used
to create more space separating particular rows or columns in a table.

TABLE PROPERTIES

Control general characteristics of a table including type of footnote,

format, alignment and shading of cells in the table, type of border, etc.

TABLELOOKS

Choose a style of table from an array of different "looks." A chosen

TableLook can be edited to customize its appearance.

FONT

Change the font in individual cells of a table. This can also be done from
the Formatting Toolbar.

FOOTNOTE MARKER

Allow the user to change the character used for footnotes (e.g., instead
of a letter of the alphabet, using a symbol).

SET DATA CELL WIDTHS

Set the width for all data cells in a table. Used to set all data cells to the
same width.

AUTOFIT

Shrink table to fit page.

ROTATE INNER COLUMN

LABELS

Changes horizontal column labels to vertical (and thus narrowing width

columns).

Note: A "cell" is the area of a table containing a numeric value. In the table below, the area in which the
value 12.34 appears is a cell.

12.34

Pasting a Navigator Output table into a Word document

You can copy a table from the output and paste it into a Word document.
1.

In the Output Navigator click once on the table you wish to copy.

2.

From the editor menus click on EDIT COPY OBJECTS

3.

In Word (at the place you want the table to appear) click on EDIT PASTE

Creating a Report-Quality Table

Try this: Create a Frequency table using the data file PUBLIC.SAV. Request a Frequency for V18. Then,
edit the table following the instructions below.
Here is the frequency table for V18 after editing:

Highest priority for federal funding

Frequency
272

Percent
36.9

Valid
Percent
40.9

Cumulative
Percent
40.9

Medicare/Medicaid

77

10.5

11.7

52.5

Fighting crime

43

5.9

6.5

59.0

Veterans' benefits

44

5.9

6.6

65.6

Fighting drugs

25

3.5

3.8

69.4

Social security

85

11.5

12.8

82.2

Health insurance for the poor

118

16.0

17.8

100.0

Total

664

90.2

100.0

72

9.8

737

100.0

Education

Missing
Total

Derived from a 1998 statewide survey of Florida residents. The question: Which one of the following
areas should have the highest priority of funding from the federal government?

Here is the above table before editing:

Highest priority for federal funding

Valid

Missing
Total

Education
Medicare/Medicaid
Fighting crime
Vets' benefits
Fighting drugs
Social security
Health insur. for poor
Total
9

Frequency
272
77
43
44
25
85
118
664
72
737

Percent
36.9
10.5
5.9
5.9
3.5
11.5
16.0
90.2
9.8
100.0

Valid Percent
40.9
11.7
6.5
6.6
3.8
12.8
17.8
100.0

Cumulative
Percent
40.9
52.5
59.0
65.6
69.4
82.2
100.0

Here are the steps that were followed in editing the table in the SPSSWIN Ouput window:
1.

Double click on the table

2.

Click on Format TableLooks and select Academic 2

3.

Double click on the word "Valid" and delete it

4.

Double click on the 9" (to the right of the word Missing) and delete it

5.

Click on the label Vets benefits and edit it to match the finished table

6.

Click on the label Health insur. for poor and edit to match the finished table

7.

You will notice that the label Health insurance for the poor now takes up two lines. The width of
the column containing the labels must be increased. Click on any of the row labels. Click on the
right edge of the label box (you should see a double arrow ) and drag it to the right until the
label fits on one line.

8.

Click on EDIT SELECT TABLE and, using the Formatting Toolbar, change the font to Arial
10 pitch.

9.

Click on the Pulldown Menu for Insert and then click on Caption. Replace the words Table
Caption with the appropriate caption. If the caption is not in the correct font, change it to Arial 10
pitch.

Copying multiple tables from SPSSWIN to Word

To copy two or more tables from SPSSWIN output to Word:
1.
In the Output Navigator hold down the shift key and click once on each table to be
copied.
2.

From the editor menus click on EDIT COPY OBJECTS

3.

In Word (at the place you want the tables to appear) click on EDIT PASTE

4.

Note: Alternatively, you can highlight multiple tables in the Outline Frame and then click on
EDIT COPY OBJECTS

Note: Copying a chart or charts from SPSS to Word follows the same copy-and-paste procedures as
outlined above. Also, data from a pivot table can be copied and pasted into a spreadsheet program (e.g.,

Excel). Objects from other programs can be pasted into the output. Finally, pivot tables can be saved in
HTML format.
Printing output
If you wish to print out the contents of the results frame of the Output Navigator simply click on FILE
PRINT.
Saving your output
To save the results of your analysis within the Output Navigator click on FILE SAVE. This will bring up
the SAVE AS Dialog box. The default format in which the file will be saved is a Navigator file (a file name
you supply followed by the extender ".spo"). Accept the default. Also, if you wish to change the location of
the file from the SPSS folder to another folder, you can do this in the SAVE AS Dialog box. When you
have made your selections, click on OK.
Navigator Options
If you do not want to have a portion of the results appear whenever you run an analysis, use the EDIT
OPTIONS NAVIGATOR to change the "initial output state" in the Navigator settings. For example, if
you want the "notes" to not appear in the results frame, click on the "Notes" icon and then click on
"Contents are initially hidden." You can always change this to "Shown" if later you want the notes to
appear in your output.