Non-missing Blank Found In Data File At Record M Plus Software 13 __exclusive__

If you see white spaces after your last column, use a find-and-replace to remove them or re-export your data ensuring "Fixed Format" isn't adding unnecessary padding. Step 3: Define Your Missing Value Flag

To the uninitiated, the phrase "Non-Missing Blank" sounds like a contradiction. How can something be blank and yet not missing? To understand this, we must look at how software defines "nothing."

This message, where "m" and "n" are numeric placeholders (e.g., "at record 104"), appears immediately when Mplus tries to read an ASCII or text-based data file. It stops the execution before any model estimation begins. The keyword "non-missing blank" is a classic Mplus 13 (and earlier versions) warning that points to a pure —not a model specification problem. If you see white spaces after your last

DATA: FILE IS mydata.dat; FORMAT = free; RECORDS = 2;

Replace all blanks in your dataset with a numeric code (e.g., -999 ). To understand this, we must look at how

Open the file in a hex editor or use:

You told Mplus the data is "Fixed Format," but it is actually "Free Format" (delimited by tabs or commas). DATA: FILE IS mydata

If your data is comma-separated or tab-separated, it is . If your data relies on specific character positions (e.g., Variable 1 is always characters 1-3), it is Fixed Format .

The “non-missing blank found in data file at record 13” is not merely a technical obstacle. It is a pedagogical event. It teaches that in quantitative analysis, . Every cell must be either something or explicitly marked as nothing. The blank—that intuitive, human-friendly absence—is the enemy of reproducibility. By forcing us to hunt down and destroy these invisible spaces, Mplus reminds us that data integrity is not a given. It is a vigilance. And record 13 will always be waiting, silent and blank, for the researcher who forgets to look.