problems with proc append force option

[ilikesas]

Hi,

I am appending data sets using the proc append with the force option, but I notices the following:

When I append my first file, the variable "stock" has length $3. Then I append the second file where "stock" has lengh $4, but when it gets appended its length is trimmed to $3 - so does it mean that proc append with the force option "forces" all the subsequent tables' variables' lengths conform to the first table's variables' lengths? Because I thought that when using the force option proc append will choose the longest variable length as the new length in the new base dataset.

If this is so, then how is it possible not to lose variable length?

Thank you

[SASKiwi]

The documentation states that the attributes of the BASE dataset prevail over the APPEND dataset when using FORCE:

http://support.sas.com/documentation/cdl/en/proc/70377/HTML/default/viewer.htm#n19kwc3onglzh2n1l2k4e...

Note that to change the attributes of the BASE dataset, it would need to be completely reprocessed which is not how APPEND works in the first place. APPENDs are done without processing the BASE by design.

If you want the attributes of the APPEND dataset to prevail use a DATA step SET statement instead with the APPEND table first:

data want;
  set APPEND_TABLE
      BASE_TABLE;
run;

[Ksharp]

Use SQL insteand.

proc sql;
create table want as
 select *
  from one

union all corr

 select *
  from two ;
quit;