This is a complimentary tip available to SPSS Direct subscribers.
QuestionI’ve heard about SPSS’ Output Management System (OMS) capturing my output, but I’m not really sure how it works. How can I use OMS effectively?
AnswerIn SPSS 16.0, OMS provides you with the ability to automatically write selected categories of output to different output files in multiple formats, including SAV, SPV, XML, HTML and text.
To begin using OMS in SPSS 16.0, go to the Utilities menu and choose “OMS Control Panel…” This opens the OMS Control Panel, which is shown below:
From this control panel, you can select your desired output type, choose commands to include, select the types of tables you would prefer, and specify the destination of your output.
OMS captures the output in real time as it is generated. This is in contrast to other methods you may have used, in which output is first generated, and then exported in a separate step.
Think of OMS as a toggle switch. When you flip the switch and turn on OMS, it begins capturing the output as it is generated and continues to do so until you turn the switch off. When OMS is on, you will see a status indicator in the bottom right-hand corner of the SPSS window. If you have an output file which was already generated without using OMS, just turn on OMS and run the analysis again so the output can be captured.
It is important to note that OMS does not actually write the output file until it is turned off or you exit SPSS. After you turn on OMS and run an analysis, be sure to go back into the OMS control panel and click the "End" button. Then your output will be written.
For more information about OMS in SPSS 16.0, please see Chapter 48 in The SPSS 16.0 User Guide.
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