.TH pspp\-convert 1 "October 2013" "PSPP" "PSPP Manual"
.
.SH NAME
-pspp\-convert \- convert SPSS system and portable files to other formats
+pspp\-convert \- convert SPSS files to other formats
.
.SH SYNOPSIS
\fBpspp\-convert\fR [\fIoptions\fR] \fIinput\fR \fIoutput\fR
\fBpspp\-convert \-\-version\fR | \fB\-v\fR
.
.SH DESCRIPTION
-The \fBpspp\-convert\fR program reads SPSS system or portable file
-\fIinput\fR and writes it to \fIoutput\fR, performing format
-conversion as necessary.
+The \fBpspp\-convert\fR program reads \fIinput\fR, which may be an
+SPSS system file, an SPSS/PC+ system file, an SPSS portable file,
+or an encrypted SPSS syntax file,
+and writes it to \fIoutput\fR, performing format conversion as
+necessary.
.PP
-The format of \fIinput\fR is automatically detected, except that the
-character encoding of old system files cannot always be guessed
-correctly. Use \fB\-e \fIencoding\fR to specify the encoding in this
-case.
+The format of \fIinput\fR is automatically detected, when possible.
+The character encoding of old SPSS system files cannot always be
+guessed correctly, and SPSS/PC+ system files do not include any
+indication of their encoding. Use \fB\-e \fIencoding\fR to specify
+the encoding in this case.
.PP
By default, the intended format for \fIoutput\fR is inferred from its
extension:
.IP \fBpor\fR
SPSS portable file.
.
+.IP \fBsps\fR
+SPSS syntax file. (Only encrypted syntax files may be converted to
+this format.)
+.
.PP
Use \fB\-O \fIextension\fR to override the inferred format or to
specify the format for unrecognized extensions.
.
+.PP
+\fBpspp\-convert\fR can convert most input formats to most output
+formats. Encrypted system file and syntax files are exceptions: if
+the input file is in an encrypted format, then the output file must
+be the same format (decrypted).
+.
.SH "OPTIONS"
+.SS "General Options"
.
.IP "\fB\-O format\fR"
.IQ "\fB\-\-output\-format=\fIformat\fR"
interpreted. This option is necessary because old SPSS system files
do not self-identify their encoding.
.
+.SS "Password Options"
+When the input file is encrypted, \fBpspp\-convert\fR needs to obtain
+a password to decrypt it. To do so, the user may specify the password
+with \f\-p\fR (or \fB\-\-password), or the name of a file containing a
+list of possible passwords with \fB\-\-password\-list\fR, or an
+alphabet of possible passwords to try along with a maximum length with
+\fB\-a\fR (or \fB\-\-password\-alphabet\fR) and \fB\-l\fR (or
+\-\-password\-length\fR). If none of these options is used,
+\fBpspp\-convert\fR prompts for the password. The password options
+are:
+.
+.IP "\fB\-p \fIpassword\fR"
+.IQ "\fB\-\-password=\fIpassword\fR"
+Specifies the password to use to decrypt the input file.
+.
+.IP
+On multiuser systems, this option may not be safe because other users
+may be able to see the password in process listings.
+.
+.IP "\fB\-a \fIalphabet \fB\-l \fImax-length\fR"
+.IQ "\fB\-\-password-alphabet=\fIalphabet\ \fB\-\-password-length=\fImax-length\fR"
+These options are an alternative to \fB\-p\fR or \fB\-\-password\fR.
+They direct \fBpspp\-convert\fR to search for the correct password
+from the set of all passwords of symbols from \fIalphabet\fR (which
+may contain character ranges specified with \fB-\fR) and no more than
+\fImax-length\fR symbols long. For example, \fB\-a a-z \-l 5\fR
+checks all possible lowercase alphabetic passwords no more than 5
+characters long.
+.IP
+When these options are used, \fB\-p\fR may additionally specify a
+starting point for the search.
+.
+.IP "\fB\-\-password\-list=\fIfile\fR"
+Specifies a file to read containing a list of passwords to try, one
+per line. If \fIfile\fR is \fB\-\fR, reads from stdin.
+.
+.SS "Other Options"
.IP "\fB\-h\fR"
.IQ "\fB\-\-help\fR"
Prints a usage message on stdout and exits.
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