SPSS for Macintosh Licenses
SPSS for Macintosh Licenses Overview
Student Options for Mac SPSS
Products Included In License
SPSS on the App2Go Server
License Overview
Conditions Of License
How To Obtain Installation Media
System Requirements
Installing and Licensing SPSS
Patches and Hotfixes (updates)
Uninstalling Mac SPSS
Compatibility and Differences Between Versions
Support For SPSS
SPSS Documentation
SPSS SOFTWARE NAME CHANGES SPSS, Inc., has recently changed the name of many of its software products. For example, SPSS Statistics 17 has been renamed PASW Statistics 17 . The "PASW" is an acronym for "Predictive Analytic Software." The company, itself, is still named SPSS, Inc. Please see Announcing Predictive Analytic Software for more information about these name changes.
SPSS Technical Support has released Patch 17.0.2 for SPSS 17, which, in addition to fixing several known software problems, also renames your software to PASW Statistics 17. Patch 17.0.3 is also available. Please see the section Patches and Hotfixes (updates) below for information about obtaining and installing these patches. |
SNOW LEOPARD NOT SUPPORTED Both SPSS Statistics 16 and PASW Statistics 17 are NOT compatible with and WILL NOT RUN on the new Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" operating system.
The next release, PASW Statistics 18, is compatible with Snow Leopard. This is expected to be available from VCU Technology Services later this fall or in early spring semester. |
SPSS for Macintosh Licenses Overview
VCU Technology Services has purchased a limited number of licenses from SPSS, Inc., to allow VCU faculty and staff to install and use several popular SPSS products for the Macintosh at no cost. The software can only be installed on computers owned by VCU or owned by faculty/staff and can only be used for VCU-related purposes (see additional conditions below). Installation media may be obtained from Technology Services.
Note that an alternate access to SPSS for Macintosh is available, at no cost, to students, faculty, and staff via the App2Go Server.
As noted above, SPSS for Mac cannot be installed on student-owned Macintoshes. In addition, SPSS installed on faculty/staff owned Macs cannot be used for student purposes (coursework, dissertation, etc.).
Students with Macs have two options for obtaining access to SPSS at no charge:
- If the student has a newer Mac that is capable of running Windows applications, obtain and use Windows SPSS. To run Windows applications on a newer Mac, either run the "Bootcamp" program included with the Mac OS, or, for more flexibility, purchase virtualization software, such as Parallels, CrossOver, or VMWare.
- Obtain an account on the App2Go server. SPSS 16 and 17 are available at no charge for student Mac users on the App2Go server.
Note: Version 17 of SPSS is "officially" known as SPSS Statistics 17, instead of just SPSS 17.
Versions of SPSS for Mac that are currently distributed by Technology Services are SPSS Statistics 17 and SPSS 16.
The licenses distributed by Technology Services cover the following SPSS products for the Macintosh:
Instead of installing SPSS on your Mac (or PC), VCU facutly, staff, and students can obtain an account to access SPSS on the App2Go Server. When you use SPSS on this server, it appears to be running on your PC. You can open and save files on your own PC, and you can print on your own printer. There is no charge for App2Go accounts..
All of the SPSS for Mac products listed above are available on App2Go, PLUS the following products:
Amos
SPSS Categories
SPSS Complex Samples
SPSS Custom Tables
SPSS Exact Tests
SPSS Data Entry BuiilderSPSS Forecasting (known as SPSS Trends prior to SPSS Statistics 17)
SPSS Missing Values
You can use SPSS on App2Go from a Macintosh, Windows, or Linux PC. In addition to SPSS, several other applications are available on App2Go.
License Overview
In order to install SPSS on a Macintosh, you must first obtain a license from Technology Services.
Each license allows the installation of one version of SPSS on one Macintosh.
There are a limited number of licenses available for distribution to faculty/staff. If sufficient licenses are available, you may install SPSS on multiple Macintoshes, if needed.
It is possible to install multiple versions of SPSS on the same Macintosh, but each version requires a separate license. Therefore, if you upgrade your SPSS, you are required to remove any old versions of SPSS from your Mac and keep only the latest version. Please see the SPSS removal instructions below.
Conditions Of License
Users must adhere to all of the following conditions concerning these licenses and the software obtained via these licenses:
- The software can only be licensed to VCU faculty/staff members.
- The software can only be installed on VCU-owned computers and on computers owned by VCU faculty/staff (e.g., at home). It cannot be installed on student-owned computers; however, students may use the software on VCU-owned computers on which it has been installed.
- You must register each installation of the software with VCU prior to installation through Technology Services (828-2227).
- The software can only be used for VCU university related purposes (teaching, research, or administrative). It cannot be used for any other purposes, including those of the VCU Medical Center.
- If installed on a personally owned computer, the software cannot be used for student related purposes (course work, dissertation, etc.).
- Additional copies of the software can only be made for backup purposes or to facilitate installation in a VCU lab.
- You cannot allow any other person, organization, etc., to obtain the software or its authorization codes unless you are authorized to do so by Technology Services.
- If your faculty/staff affiliation with VCU ends, or if your need to use the software ends, you agree to immediately do ALL of the following:
- Notify Technology Services of that change; AND,
- Destroy or return to Technology Services ALL copies of this software that you have obtained or created, or contact Technology Services to transfer ownership of such software to another VCU faculty/staff member of your department; AND,
- Un-install this software from all non-VCU-owned computers on which it has been installed by you or by your authorization; AND,
- Un-install this software from all VCU-owned computers on which it has been installed by you or by your authorization, or contact Technology Services to transfer ownership of this software to another VCU faculty/staff member of your department.
How To Obtain Installation Media
As noted earlier, VCU Technology Services has only a limited number of licenses available for VCU faculty and staff. If a license is available, the installation media for the SPSS products covered under these licenses may be requested by e-mailing softwarelic@vcu.edu. Please indicate the SPSS version you are requesting (SPSS 16 or SPSS 17). (Students should see Student Options for Mac SPSS.)
The installation media consists of one CD. There is no charge for the installation CD, however you must provide a blank CD-R disk (16X speed or higher, no CD-RWs or DVDs) to exchange for the installation CD. (Due to state policy, we cannot give away state property.)
The installation CD contains the software for SPSS Statistics Base, SPSS Advanced Statistics, and SPSS Regression Models.
System Requirements
SPSS Statistics 17 for Macintosh minimum requirements:
- Mac OS X 10.4 (WILL NOT RUN on Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard")
- Intel processor
- 512 MB RAM or more
- 800 MB Hard Drive space
- CD-ROM drive
- Super VGA or higher resolution monitor
- Safari 1.3.1 or higher, or Firefox 1.5 or higher, or Netscape 7.2 or higher
- Java Standard Edition 5.0 (J2SE 5.0)
SPSS 16 for Macintosh minimum requirements:
- Apple© Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger" or 10.5 "Leopard" (WILL NOT RUN on Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard")
- PowerPC or Intel processor
- RAM: 512MB RAM; 1GB recommended
- 800 MB of available hard-disk space
- CD-ROM drive
- Super VGA (800x600) or a higher-resolution monitor
- SafariT 1.3.1 or higher, Mozilla® Firefox® 1.5 or higher, or Netscape® 7.2 or higher
- Java Standard Edition 5.0 (J2SE 5.0)
Installing and Licensing SPSS
Below are links to instructions for installing and licensing SPSS for Macintosh:
After installing SPSS, you are strongly advised to install any patches that are available for your version of SPSS, as described in the next section.
Patches and Hotfixes (updates)
CURRENT PATCHES The following patches (software updates) are currently available for SPSS 16 and SPSS 17. They correct many problems that have been identified since the SPSS software was released, and you are strongly advised to obtain and apply them: For SPSS 16: Patch 16.0.2
For SPSS Statistics 17: Patch 17.0.2
Patch 17.0.2 will correct many known problems with SPSS 17. It will also correct all problems that were addressied by an earlier 17.0.1 patch. It will also rename your software from SPSS Statistics 17 to PASW Statistics 17. For SPSS Statistics 17: Patch 17.0.3
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As with all software, SPSS will usually contain a few "bugs" (problems) that were not known when the software was shipped. Over time, as these problems are identified, SPSS Inc. will release patches and hotfixes that will fix these problems.
A patch usually addresses several problems, whereas a hotfix usually addresses a single problem. In general, you should install any patches that become available for your version of SPSS. Hotfixes usually need only be applied if you experience the particular problem which the hotfix addresses.
SPSS Inc. Technical Support provides patches and hotfixes at no charge on their SPSS Macintosh Client Patches website. At that site, you will see a listing of the patches and hotfixes that are available for various versions of SPSS, along with links to information describing what problems they correct, how to download them, and how to install them. For each patch, you may see both an “Interactive” version and an “Unattended/Silent” version – you will want the “Interactive” version.
Patches and hotfixes are numbered. Those having numbers beginning with 17 are for SPSS Statistics 17, those beginning with 16 are for SPSS 16, etc. Do not apply a patch or hotfix unless it is for your particular version of SPSS.
To determine if you need a particular patch, launch SPSS on your PC and display the Help menu, then select About. In the window that opens, you should see a release number. For example, for SPSS Statistics 17 you may see Release 17.0.0. On the above SPSS Macintosh Client Patches website, if you see a patch for your version of SPSS that has a higher number (such as 17.0.1) than your displayed release number, you should apply that patch.
Use a similar procedure to identify appropriate hotfixes, but remember that a hotfix usually need only be applied if you have encountered the particular problem that the hotfix corrects, as described on the hotfix website.
Uninstalling Mac SPSS
To uninstall SPSS 16 and SPSS Statistics 17:
- Login on the Mac using the same account with which you installed SPSS 16.
- Browse to the SPSS installation directory.
- Open the _uninst subdirectory.
- Double-click uninstaller.command.
- Follow the instructions that appear in the uninstallation program
To uninstall SPSS 13:
- Login on the Mac using the same account with which you installed SPSS 13.
- Before uninstalling, be sure to move all of your own data, syntax, output, etc., files out of the folder that you installed SPSS 13 into.
- Grab the folder that you installed SPSS 13 into (the default folder name is SPSS 13 for Mac OS X), and drag it onto the Trash icon.
- Go to the directory <user>:Library:Preferences. If it contains any folders whose names begin with SPSS, drag those folders into the Trash. By <user> we mean the name of the account on your Mac to which you are logged in.
- Go to the directory <user>:Library:Fonts. If it contains any folders whose names begin with SPSS, drag those folders into the Trash.
- Empty the Trash.
To uninstall SPSS 11:
- Login on the Mac using the same account with which you installed SPSS 11.
- Before uninstalling, be sure to move all of your own data, syntax, output, etc., files out of the folder that you installed SPSS 11 into.
- Grab the folder that you installed SPSS 11 into (the default folder name is SPSS 11), and drag it onto the Trash icon.
- Go to the directory <user>:Library:Preferences. If it contains any folders whose names begin with SPSS, drag those folders into the Trash. By <user> we mean the name of the account on your Mac to which you are logged in.
- Go to the directory <user>:Library:Fonts. If it contains any folders whose names begin with SPSS, drag those folders into the Trash.
- Empty the Trash.
Compatibility and Differences Between Versions
Added features: To see features that have been added in the latest versions of SPSS, visit the SPSS Software Version Comparison web page. Select a version of SPSS Base from the drop-down list, then click the New features in SPSS Statistics button to see features that have been added since that version.
Removed features: Features that have been removed or replaced in SPSS Statistics 17
File compatibility:
SPSS data files: Data files (.sav files) are generally forward and backward compatible among all versions 7.5 through 17. For example, if you save a data file with SPSS 13, you will be able to read it with SPSS 17, and vice-versa. Note, however, that SPSS 11 and earlier require variable names to be no longer than 8 characters, whereas SPSS 12 and later allow up to 64 characters. If a data file is created in a later version of SPSS and contains variable names longer than 8 characters, those variable names will be truncated if the file is opened in SPSS 11 or earlier.
SPSS output files:
- Backward compatibility: Output files (.spo and .spv files created when you save your Viewer window) are generally NOT backward compatible. That is, if save the contents of your Viewer window into a file, you will NOT be able to open that file in an earlier version of SPSS.
- Forward compatibility: Output files are generally forward compatible among versions 7.5 through 15 and among versions 16 and 17. For example, an output file created with SPSS 13 can be opened with SPSS 15, and an output file created with SPSS 16 can be opened with SPSS 17. HOWEVER, output files created with version 15 or earlier cannot be opened with version 16 or later. If you use version 16 or later and need to open an earlier version output file, SPSS Technical Support has provided a free Legacy Viewer program which you may download and install. This Legacy Viewer will allow you to open and display output files that were created in versions 15 and earlier.
SPSS syntax files: Syntax files (.sps files) are generally forward and backward compatible, except that some syntax commands have been updated or removed in later versions. Such commands may not work as expected in different versions of SPSS; check the command documentation to be sure.
For additional details about file compatibility between versions, please see:
(To view the above two links, you will be prompted for a username and password for the SPSS Technical Support website. To obtain a username and password, visit the SPSS Technical Support website, click the registration link, and provide the information requested.)
Support For SPSS
For local assistance with installing or using SPSS, please contact the Technology Services Help Desk.
Technical support is also available from SPSS Inc. on their SPSS Technical Support website. To be able to use this site, you must have a username and password for the site. If you already have these, click the sign in link. If not, you may obtain them by clicking the registration link and providing the requested information. After you sign in, various support links will be available.
Technology Services provides statistical and programming consultation for using this product. To request a consultation appointment, contact statconsult@vcu.edu or see the statistical onsultating web site.
SPSS Documentation
SPSS documentation is available from several sources, including the following:
- Documentation is available within the Help menu of the SPSS program.
- SPSS tutorials and reference manuals (in PDF format).
- Printed SPSS reference manuals (available from SPSS Web store).
