One of the first tasks in data analysis is ensuring you have a complete and valid data file. This is especially important when working with data files that do not contain information about their own record layout.
You can use commands such as Count, Total, and Verify to ensure that:
| • | Your files contain the correct number of records |
| • | The numeric totals match the control totals provided by the data owner |
| • | The fields contain only valid data |
This command counts the number of rows in the current table or only those that meet a specified scope or test condition. If a global filter has been applied to a View, Count returns the number of rows that meet the filter criteria.
For more information on the Count command see Count.
Total returns the arithmetic sum of the specified numeric data or computed fields in the current table. It is typically used to ensure that the data is complete and to produce control totals.
For more information on the Total command see Total.
Verify tests data to ensure that it conforms to the table layout and reports any errors encountered. For example, Verify tests character fields for numeric data or unprintable characters. It tests numeric fields for non-numeric data, improper data such as multiple ‘+’ or ‘-’ signs or multiple decimal points.
You can choose to have Analyzer verify data during processing and stop whenever it encounters invalid data or continue processing and display invalid data with blanks or zeros. For more information, see Verify Data.
Analyzer also has a VERIFY() function for filtering data errors in individual fields.
For more information on verifying data see VERIFY() and Verify.