topic Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp. in SAS Programming

Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

wbaker0621 — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 02:45:37 GMT

Greetings All, I am working through the "User’s Guide Customizing the Kaplan-Meier Survival Plot" text and trying to run the code to establish macros. The code below was taken straight from the text. When I run the code, I get an error: "Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp." and I cannot figure out how to resolve it. Any and all advice is welcome.

Thanks

Bill (novice, but learning SAS user)

data _null_;
%let url = //support.sas.com/documentation/onlinedoc/stat/ex_code/131;
infile "http:&url/templft.html" device=url;
file 'macros.tmp';
retain pre 0;
input;
if index(_infile_, '</pre>') then pre = 0;
if pre then put _infile_;
if index(_infile_, '<pre>') then pre = 1;
run;
%inc 'macros.tmp' / nosource;

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

ballardw — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:18:41 GMT

Place the full path of the folder you would like to have the output on the FILE statement. If you do not then you are defaulting to the drive where SAS is executing from, in this case the system folder, which is very likely locked down against casual writing.

You file statement should look more like:

File "C:\somefolder\output\macros.tmp";

Your %include would have to have the same path referenced.

It is a "best practice" to always place full paths from a drive (windows) or mount point in other file system.

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

Shmuel — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 04:20:15 GMT

The error message relates to next line:

%inc 'macros.tmp' / nosource;

%INC stands for %include, that's to load a code file, in this case

load file 'macros.tmp' from a default root, resulted as C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

This file probably holds macro programs code and need be included for compilation before use.

Look at the documentation, where from to download it to your PC and adapt the path

to this file, as in:

%include "<path to file>/macros.tmp"; /* use either single or double quotes */

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

Kurt_Bremser — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 07:10:18 GMT

For such temporary storage (as it seems to be needed only for downloading and then including the code), one can always use a temporary file reference:

%let url = //support.sas.com/documentation/onlinedoc/stat/ex_code/131;

filename macrotmp temp;

data _null_;
infile "http:&url/templft.html" device=url;
file macrotmp;
retain pre 0;
input;
if index(_infile_, '</pre>') then pre = 0;
if pre then put _infile_;
if index(_infile_, '<pre>') then pre = 1;
run;

options source2;

%inc macrotmp;

I set options source2 to verify that the code was actually loaded.

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

wbaker0621 — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 09:49:12 GMT

Yes, that worked. Thank you so much.

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

wbaker0621 — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 09:49:52 GMT

Yes, that was the problem. Thanks so much for the quick reply.

Re: Help with Error: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\macros.tmp.

wbaker0621 — Fri, 17 Apr 2020 09:51:22 GMT

Thank you so much.