topic Re: Libref not assigned in SAS Programming

Libref not assigned

leeleelee — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 08:20:16 GMT

%macro file_yr (year=year);

libname e "C:Location\Folder";

%let e_file = C:Location of data\Folder of data;

data e.nameoffile;

infile "e_file\nameoffile.txt" 

%mend;

proc sql;
select count(*) as N from e.nameoffile;
Quit;

log:
ERROR: File e.nameoffile.DATA does not exist.

Hello, how do I make sure this runs?

Re: Libref not assigned

tarheel13 — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:06:04 GMT

You are missing a semicolon after your file path on infile statement

Re: Libref not assigned

Patrick — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:18:14 GMT

and your paths don't look right as well.

Re: Libref not assigned

Astounding — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 09:36:19 GMT

To refer to the macro variable in the INFILE statement, refer to &efile, not efile.

Re: Libref not assigned

leeleelee — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 20:52:52 GMT

The lack of a semicolon does not matter in my case, I'll provide more code/context:

%macro file_yr (year=year);
libname e "C:\Location\Folder";
%let e_file = C:\Location of data\Folder of data;

data e.nameoffile;

infile "&e_file.\nameoffile.txt" 
firstobs = 2 dlm = "|" lrecl=32767 missover truncover dsd;
/* inserted input and format for headers here*/
%mend;

proc sql;
select count(*) as N from e.nameoffile;
Quit;

/* record count check*/
proc sql;
create table e_cnts as
select
count (*) as Num_Records
from nameoffile
;
quit;

proc export
data=e_cnts
dbms=xlsx
outfile="C:\location_of_output"
replace;
run;

log:
ERROR: libref e is not assigned
ERROR: File WORK.nameoffile.DATA does not exist.
ERROR: File Work.e_cnts.DATA does not exist

Re: Libref not assigned

tarheel13 — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 21:09:09 GMT

Have you tried running any of this code outside of a macro first? Did you get the folder path right? I'm just trying to think of reasons why the library isn't getting assigned.

Re: Libref not assigned

leeleelee — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 21:25:58 GMT

Hi, the folder path is right, and I'm new to sas so not sure what running the code outside of the macro means.

Thank you!

Re: Libref not assigned

tarheel13 — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 21:28:58 GMT

Normally, when people begin writing a macro, they first get the code working outside a macro before macrotizing it. I mean to try running the libname statement by itself and not between %macro and %mend.

Re: Libref not assigned

andreas_lds — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 05:37:00 GMT

The terms "new to sas" while having %macro-statement in the code is something that does not fit. Start learning SAS by not using macro-variables and macros at all.

The message "libref not assigned" has always one of two reasons:

The path does not exist.
The path exists, but is not accessible by your sas-process.

If you want to use a path on your computer, sas needs to be running on the very same machine.

Re: Libref not assigned

Kurt_Bremser — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 06:19:52 GMT

@leeleelee wrote:

... and I'm new to sas ...

Then you positively should NOT try your hand at macro coding now. Spend lots of time first getting acquainted with the basic elements of SAS coding (data step and the most often applied procedures, including REPORT and SQL) before you try to make code dynamic through macros.

Personal experience: I had three weeks of programming courses in Heidelberg before I attended the macro course.

Re: Libref not assigned

Kurt_Bremser — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 06:24:58 GMT

You define a macro, but you never call it.

And you define a macro parameter (year) which you never use in the macro.

Remove the %MACRO and %MEND statements, and rerun your code. (this means "outside of a macro")

Then copy/paste the whole log into a </> window.