Question 1

Is weddingseatchart really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Converting and viewing .sav files costs nothing and needs no account. See the pricing page for the optional Buy Me a Coffee tip jar — there is no paid tier today.

Question 2

Do I need to create an account?

Accepted Answer

No. There is no signup anywhere on this site. You open a page, drop a file, and download the result.

Question 3

Is my data uploaded anywhere?

Accepted Answer

No. The .sav file is read and parsed entirely in your browser using JavaScript. It is never sent to a server, which is also why there is no fixed file-size cap — you are limited by your device, not by an upload limit.

Question 4

Does this work on a file with sensitive research data?

Accepted Answer

Because nothing is uploaded, this tool avoids the "is it safe to send my data to a random website" question entirely — the file never leaves the browser tab it was opened in. That said, always follow your own institution's data-handling policy for anything covered by an IRB or similar.

Question 5

What formats can I convert a .sav file to?

Accepted Answer

CSV, Excel (.xlsx), and JSON today. Writing the other direction (CSV/Excel/JSON back into .sav) is a planned Phase 2 feature, not shipped yet.

Question 6

What happens to value labels (like 1 = Male, 2 = Female)?

Accepted Answer

You choose: export the resolved text labels (the default), the original numeric codes, or both in separate columns. This applies the same way across CSV, Excel, and JSON output.

Question 7

Is there a file size limit?

Accepted Answer

No fixed cap enforced by this site — since parsing happens in your browser, not on a server, the practical limit is your device's available memory rather than an arbitrary number like the 16MB many server-side converters enforce.

Question 8

Which SPSS versions does this work with?

Accepted Answer

The .sav system file format has stayed backward-compatible across SPSS versions for a long time, so files from most modern SPSS versions should read correctly. Files using ZLIB compression ($FL3 header) aren't supported yet — you'll get a clear error rather than a silent failure or wrong output.

Question 9

Do you support .sav files exported from other tools (PSPP, R, Python)?

Accepted Answer

If the file follows the standard SPSS system file format — which PSPP, R (via haven), and Python (via pyreadstat) all write when exporting to .sav — it should read the same way. Report an issue via GitHub if you hit one that fails to parse.

Question 10

Can I convert multiple files at once?

Accepted Answer

Not yet — batch/multi-file conversion is on the roadmap as a Phase 2 feature, alongside writing back to .sav. Today you convert one file at a time.

Question 11

Why is this site called weddingseatchart if it also exports to Excel and JSON?

Accepted Answer

CSV is the most requested single conversion — the domain name reflects the primary use case, not the only one. The tool has always supported CSV, Excel, and JSON output.