topic Re: How to mask % and () inside macros in SAS Procedures

How to mask % and () inside macros

DmytroYermak — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 12:59:02 GMT

Hi all,

Could please help to mask the variables Cavg(ss) and AUC_%Extrap_obs in the text of macros:

...
%if &ppfile=pksc %then %do;
  Cavg(ss)
  AUC_%Extrap_obs;
%end;

Thank you!

Re: How to mask % and () inside macros

RW9 — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 09:25:44 GMT

https://v8doc.sas.com/sashtml/macro/z3514str.htm

Seriously though, if your having to use these, do you not think there are better ways of working, because there are, many options. Macro is not a replacement for base SAS, it just makes long winded unmaintainable code which someone has to come in and delete at some point.

Re: How to mask % and () inside macros

Tom — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 13:02:34 GMT

Can you explain what this snippet of code is trying to do?

Cavg(ss) and AUC_%Extrap_obs are not valid variable names. If those a really your variable names you can reference them with name literals.

'Cavg(ss)'n 
'AUC_%Extrap_obs'n

If that is just text then look at macro quoting functions like %STR().

%str(Cavg%(ss%)) 
%str(AUC_%%Extrap_obs)

Re: How to mask % and () inside macros

DmytroYermak — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 17:53:02 GMT

Yes, they are not valid variables names in SAS but they are the names of variables in xlsx file that is read as sas library.

Re: How to mask % and () inside macros

Tom — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 19:02:08 GMT

@DmytroYermak wrote:

Yes, they are not valid variables names in SAS but they are the names of variables in xlsx file that is read as sas library.

So just use name literals to refer to the variable names. Make sure to use single quotes and not double quotes when constructing the name literals so that the macro processor does not try to act on the macro triggers, & or %, that might occur in the variable names.

Re: How to mask % and () inside macros

DmytroYermak — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 06:57:11 GMT

I have found this link: it seems that 'do' cycle is needed as well as double ampersant - https://support.sas.com/resources/papers/proceedings13/005-2013.pdf . In my understanding it is not ordinary task to force SAS to stop re-scan in searching of macrotriggers. Especially if a program have several ones/levels. I have no final decision yet.