# Written by Francis Smart [econometricsbysimulation.com]
# a. First install R (http://www.r-project.org/)
# b. Next install the package foreign from the Package Menu by selecting "Install Packages" [Packages>Install Package(s)>Select Closest Mirror>foreign].
# Now the following code should work:
# First load the foreign package
library(foreign)
# Set working directory (directory or super-directory (opposite of sub?) in which sav files can be found)
setwd("c:/*my_directory1*/*my_directory2*/")
# In R you must specify directories with either / or \\
# You must replace *my_directory* with the directory where to look for the sav files.
# Create a list of all of the sav files in the directory
dta_list<-dir(pattern = ".sav$", recursive=T, ignore.case = T)
# The default in this code is to look for files recursively (meaning within sub-directories).
# If you only want to look within the specific directory turn recursive to equal F.
# Loop through each member of the list
for(self in dta_list){
# Display what file will be read
cat("Reading file ", self, "\n")
# Import the data as a dataframe (a class of objects in R intended for spreadsheet type data)
data <- as.data.frame(read.spss(self, use.value.labels=TRUE, max.value.labels=Inf, to.data.frame=TRUE))
# Save the file substituting the sav extension for the dta extension
write.dta(data, sub(".sav",".dta",self))
# dta files will be saved to the same directory as the orignal files
}
# I do not know how to correct the displayed error.
# If you have any suggestions, please email me.
# Note this loop could easily be modified to accommodate many file formats since the "foreign" package can handle many different types of file formats.
