Thanks for the explanation. Very succinct and clear.
“Decimal places can be changed by the FORMATS command. Just note that the first number refers to the width of the entire variable (including decimals) so the second number (decimals) should always be smaller.”
“Also, keep in mind that the actual data values will not change because of using FORMATS. They are merely displayed differently.”
SOURCE: https://www.spss-tutorials.com/changing-variable-properties-4-width-and-decimals/
For example, the correct display format in SPSS for these numbers are:
F4.2 = 12.00
F3.2 = 1.00
F6.2 = 1234.00
NB: the number immediately after F refers to the total width of the number / variable.
"For numeric variables, 'width' refers to how many digits should be displayed. However, SPSS will often override the specified width is it's insufficient. If not, FORMATS
can be used for increasing it."
See also: