How to Flatten Variable Sets Structured as Grids

By default, when crossing a Grid-type variable set with another variable set (or a Banner), the table can become very wide and difficult to read. An alternative way to look at Grid-type variable sets in crosstabs is to flatten them. This process will treat the column headings as spans in the rows of your table, effectively turning a "wide" table into a "long" one.

Consider a table created from a Grid-type variable set (in this case, a Nominal Grid) crossed with a Nominal variable set. The example shows a grid consisting of brands and respondents' preferences for those brands, crossed with a gender variable.

We'll go from the above table format to a table that makes it a "long" table instead of a "wide" one, like this:

There are two methods to consider: one specifically for Grid-type variable sets crossed by another variable set (as in the above example) and another for creating a new variable set with the same "long" structure, but without necessarily having to create a crosstab.

Method 1 - Crosstabs of Grids and Other Variable Sets

1. Drag your Binary - Grid, Nominal - Grid, or Number - Grid variable set onto the Page (or into the Report tree).
2. Add another variable set to the Columns of your table to create a crosstab.
3. Select the Grid-type variable set under Data Sources.
4. In the object inspector under Data > Properties, check the box labeled Structure as ... in crosstabs.

Method 2 - Convert a Grid-type Variable Set to Binary - Multi

This method will generate a new variable set under Data Sources, which will convert a Grid-type variable set to a Binary - Multi variable set. When tabulated, it will go from a Grid, like this:

To a single column of data, like this:

1. Under Data Sources, select the Grid-type variable set you want to convert.
2. Hover nearby and click + > Convert To > Binary/Multi > Flatten Nominal/Ordinal Multi (previously called Flatten Variable Set(s)).

This will create a new variable set in the Data Sources tree, which, when used in a table, will give the "long" version above.

Note that this is the same as the function  Anything (+) > Data > Variables > New > Convert To > Binary/Multi > Flatten Nominal/Ordinal Multi.

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How to Create New Binary Variable(s)