Text File
SpaceStat can import data in the GeoEAS text file format. These files can be viewed or edited in a text editor and may have any file extension. An example is shown below.
Text file header
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The first line is informational, a dataset title or metadata. This information can be viewed in the geography properties after import.
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The second line is the number of data columns in the file. For point data, you will need to include the x and y coordinates (see example above). For files that include datasets that will be linked to an existing point or polygon geography, you will need to have a column that allows you link the new information with locations in the geography.
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The next lines list the dataset names, one name to a line. If the names are more than one word, SpaceStat will use the first word of the phrase as the name and then place extra information into the dataset properties. If you want to use a two word name, link the words with an underscore ("male_rate").
Data
Below the header the data should be organized in rows, with individual values delimited by spaces, commas, or tabs. Delimiters at the beginning of a data row are ignored. The rows are interpreted in the order of dataset names in the header (so the first set of characters or numbers is the data for the first column, then a delimiter, then the data for the second column, etc.). Note that your file must consistently use the same delimiter throughout the file (e.g., files with a mixture of spaces and tabs separating columns will not import correctly).
Missing values
SpaceStat will lump multiple spaces, so to specify missing values in a space-delimited text file, you will need to use a missing value code.
In contrast, SpaceStat will not lump multiple tabs or commas, so two commas or tabs will indicate a missing value in between.
Comments
Use quotes around text data that includes the delimiter. This may come in handy when you want to import a comment field that includes spaces in a space-delimited file, or a comma in a comma delimited file.