To delete or cut cells, rows or columns

From the Data Editor window, select the Delete command on the Edit menu (ALT, E, D), which functions differently depending upon the current field selection.

Note: The Delete and Cut commands work similarly with the Data Editor, but the Cut command will also copy the information to the Windows Clipboard, so that it may be Pasted into an application. The Cut command will not remove information from the Statistics window

Note: As explained below, when cells are deleted or cut, they must be replaced by adjoining cells. Since this would disrupt the layout of the file when partial rows or columns are removed, the Fill Range option might be better, in which case just fill the range with a blank.

Range of Cells Selected

If a range of cells is currently selected, the Delete dialog box will be displayed. The following options are available:

Shift Cells Left and Shift Cells Up Will delete the cells in the current range and will shift the surrounding cells either left or up to fill the gap.

Entire Rows and Entire Columns Will delete entire rows or entire columns equal in number to the number of rows or columns in the selected range. Note that if you select Entire Rows for variables data sets, the program will check whether the rows that you are deleting will affect the subgrouping of the data and warn you if this is the case.

Range of Columns Selected

If a range of columns is currently selected, the program will confirm that you wish to delete the columns. You will not be able to delete any columns that are referenced by any open analyses.

Range of Rows Selected

If a range of rows is currently selected, the rows will be deleted.

For variables data sets, the program will check whether the rows that you are deleting will affect the subgrouping of the data and warn you if this is the case.