### 13.2 N OF CASES ¶

    N [OF CASES] num_of_cases [ESTIMATED].

`N OF CASES` limits the number of cases processed by any procedures that follow it in the command stream. `N OF CASES 100`, for example, tells PSPP to disregard all cases after the first 100.

When `N OF CASES` is specified after `TEMPORARY`, it affects only the next procedure (see TEMPORARY). Otherwise, cases beyond the limit specified are not processed by any later procedure.

If the limit specified on `N OF CASES` is greater than the number of cases in the active dataset, it has no effect.

When `N OF CASES` is used along with `SAMPLE` or `SELECT IF`, the case limit is applied to the cases obtained after sampling or case selection, regardless of how `N OF CASES` is placed relative to `SAMPLE` or `SELECT IF` in the command file. Thus, the commands `N OF CASES 100` and `SAMPLE .5` both randomly sample approximately half of the active dataset’s cases, then select the first 100 of those sampled, regardless of their order in the command file.

`N OF CASES` with the `ESTIMATED` keyword gives an estimated number of cases before `DATA LIST` or another command to read in data. `ESTIMATED` never limits the number of cases processed by procedures. PSPP currently does not make use of case count estimates.