Open a .sav file online, free.
See the variable view and the first rows before you decide what to convert it to. No SPSS, no upload, no signup.
What you can check before converting
Drop a file above and switch between two views: "Preview rows" shows the first several rows of actual data with value labels already resolved, and "Variable view" lists every variable — its name, its descriptive label, whether it is numeric or text, and the full value-label lookup table if it has one.
When this is enough on its own
If you just need to confirm what's inside a .sav file someone sent you — how many variables, what the coded fields mean, whether it's the version you expected — the viewer alone answers that without you needing to download anything. Converting is one click away once you know what you're looking at.
Questions
Can I open a .sav file without SPSS installed?
Yes — that is what this viewer is for. It reads the .sav binary format directly in your browser, so you can inspect the variable list, labels, and the first rows of data without SPSS, PSPP, or any other statistics software installed.
What is "variable view" showing me?
For each column in the dataset: its short name, its longer descriptive label (if the file has one), whether it is numeric or text, and the full set of value labels defined for it (e.g. 1 = Male, 2 = Female). This mirrors what SPSS's own Variable View tab shows, without needing SPSS.
Does viewing a file upload it anywhere?
No. The file is read and parsed locally in your browser tab. Its contents, its variable names, and the values inside it are never sent anywhere. Like most sites we log anonymous usage events (e.g. that a file was opened or a conversion finished) to see how the tool is used — see the privacy policy — but never the file itself or anything derived from what's inside it.
What's the difference between the viewer and the converter pages?
They are the same tool. Every conversion page shows this exact preview once you drop a file — the viewer page just leads with it, for when inspecting the file is all you need to do today.