topic Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set in SAS Procedures

How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

filippo_kow — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:33:35 GMT

Hi guys,

I have a quite simple problem, but I don't have a clue how can I solve it.

I have a macrovariable that contains quotes and ampersand (I need it for the excel file). Take a look at this code:

%macro x;

	/* ... */

	%let string = "This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string";
	%put &=string;

	data x;
		a=&string;
	run;

%mend;
%x;

But the problem is that I don't know how can I add such a string into data set (data x in my sample code). Does anyone have any idea?

Thanks!
Filip

Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

yabwon — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:42:13 GMT

a=symget('string');

Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

data_null__ — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:42:59 GMT

SYMGET

49         %let string = "This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string";
50         %put &=string;
STRING="This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string"
51         
52         data a;
53            x = symget('STRING');
54            put 'NOTE: ' x=;
55            run;

NOTE: x="This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string"

Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

Kurt_Bremser — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:43:10 GMT

Use the SYMGET function:

data x;
a = symget("string");
run;

If you don't want a length of 200 for your new variable, use a LENGTH statement before the assignment.

Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

filippo_kow — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 13:53:53 GMT

Hi all,

Thanks a lot for your replies, that works perfectly! 🙂

Best,

Filip

Re: How to insert macrovariable with quotes into data set

Quentin — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 14:39:23 GMT

An aleternative to using symget (a DATA step function that will execute once per iteration of the loop), would be to use a macro quoting function, such as %superq, e.g.:

1    %let string = "This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string";
2    %put &=string;
STRING="This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string"
3
4    data x;
5      a="%superq(string)";
6      put a= ;
7    run;

a="This is sample string" & char(10) & "This is second line of sample string"
NOTE: The data set WORK.X has 1 observations and 1 variables.