Extract text from SPSS database queries (SPQ)
To convert SPQ queries to another format, you need IBM SPSS Statistics or other Database software.
To convert other file formats to the "SPSS Database Query" file type, you need software like IBM SPSS Statistics or a similar tool.
A .spq file is an SPSS Database Query File used by IBM SPSS Statistics. It stores database connection parameters and query instructions designed to extract specific subsets of data from relational databases directly into the SPSS environment for statistical analysis.
The primary software used to generate and process these files is IBM SPSS.
The biggest disadvantage of the .spq format is its strictly proprietary nature. Executing the query file natively requires an expensive, active IBM SPSS software license. A common real-world frustration is that users confuse this file with an actual data file (like a SAV file); an .spq file does not contain the dataset itself, only the instructions on how to fetch it.
When users need to bypass SPSS, the best target formats for conversion are SQL or TXT. By extracting the raw SQL text, you can copy the logic into standard database managers like DBeaver or SQL Server Management Studio.
This file format is exceptionally difficult for standard online converters to process. Most converters assume the file contains tabular data, but because an .spq file holds proprietary XML or binary-wrapped metadata, generic tools fail and return errors. If our analysis detects embedded query strings, we can help you extract the readable SQL commands without needing the original software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your SPQ file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert SPQ file to DB, SQLITE, SQLITE3, MDB, ACCDB, DBF, ODB, FDB, GDB, MYD, FRM or SQL, you can use IBM SPSS Statistics or similar software from the "Database Query Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert NDF, SQLITE3, BAK, RDB, SQL, DB4, MDF, MDB, LDF, DB, DB3 or SQLITE files to SPQ, try IBM SPSS Statistics or another comparable tool in the "Database Query Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our SPQ converter.