The rows are cases, and the columns are variables. To change this size, choose Edit from the Main menu and select Save Preferences. Performance improves when the worksheet is the size you need, not the maximum your system supports. A case contains information for one unit of analysis, e.g., a person, an animal, a product, and so on.
Variables are information collected for each case, such as name, score, and age.
In the chart below, there are two cases and four variables. A numeric variable will only have numbers as values. Upper and lower case character values in a variable are differentiated. If you want to use alpha data in a place where only numeric data are supported, you can use the Convert command in the Manip menu to convert alpha values into numeric values. The numbers stored in numeric variables can have up to 8 digits.