topic Re: Every time I try to make a permanent data set I get a library does not exist message in SAS Studio

Every time I try to make a permanent data set I get a library does not exist message

oldeks — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:12:29 GMT

I am working in SAS on demand.

This is the code I used. I have tried many different cases for the library and data set names, and nothing seems to work. I briefly got it to work yesterday, and I could see the data set in the mydata library, but then it disappeared this morning and I can't seem to make anything work. Is it just not possible to save data sets in SAS on demand?

LIBNAME mydata 'C:\MYDATA';

data mydata.trial;
input name $ sex $ age;
label name = "first name"
sex = "birth sex";
cards;
kristin 2 54
stacy 1 56
;
run;

proc print data= mydata.trial label;
run;

Re: Every time I try to make a permanent data set I get a library does not exist message

PaigeMiller — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:56:32 GMT

Are you running this in SAS/Studio? If so, SAS/Studio cannot access files or folders on your local computer's hard drives.

You have to create libraries on the server where SAS/Studio is running. You mentioned SAS On Demand, here is how I use the LIBNAME statement

libname mydata "/home/paige.miller3";

data mydata.class;
	set sashelp.class;
run;

Of course, you would have to use a different folder than PAIGE.MILLER3, it has to be a folder the exists in your SAS On Demand.

Re: Every time I try to make a permanent data set I get a library does not exist message

Kurt_Bremser — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:22:38 GMT

With SAS On Demand, the actual SAS process (which you access through the SAS Studio web application) runs on a Linux-based cloud server. You must use UNIX-style syntax for file and path names. UNIX does not have drive letters, but a single directory tree which starts at "root", symbolized by a slash. You "own" your home directory, and the system provides a shortcut to it, symbolized by a tilde. So if you created a directory/folder called mydata in your home folder in the Studio navigation tab, in your code you would use

libname mydata "~/mydata";

Also note that UNIX operating systems are case sensitive, mydata and Mydata would be different objects.

In the future, always post the complete log of code that fails by copy/pasting the text into a window opened with this button:

The log is our primary diagnostic tool, see Maxim 2.

Re: Every time I try to make a permanent data set I get a library does not exist message

BillyVelasq — Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:18:54 GMT

I am working in SAS on demand.
This is the code I used. I have tried many different cases for the library and data set names, and nothing seems to work. I briefly got it to work yesterday, and I could see the data set in the mydata library, but then it disappeared this morning and I can't seem to make anything work. Is it just not possible to save data sets in SAS on demand?

LIBNAME mydata 'C:\MYDATA';
data mydata.trial;
input name $ sex $ age;
label name = "first name"
sex = "birth sex";
cards;
kristin 2 54
stacy 1 56
;
run;

proc print data= mydata.trial label;
run;

It sounds like SAS is having trouble with the library assignment rather than the dataset itself. If the data can be created in WORK but fails when you try to save it permanently, I'd double-check that the library path exists and that you have write access to that location. I've run into similar errors before where the libref appeared in the session, but it wasn't actually pointing to a valid writable folder. Looking at the full log around the LIBNAME statement might provide a more specific clue.