How do you define the width of a format value name?

[cosmid]

Hi,

Example, if you have the following format:

proc format
  value $test 
    'a' = 'Access'
    'd' = 'Decline';
run;

format example $test.;

This will provide the format name $test with a width of 6. If there is a value in the var example such as 'abcdefgh', then it'll be displayed as 'abcdef' and 'gh' will be truncated. How do you set the width of $test or did I misunderstand PROC FORMAT completely when it comes to width?

Thanks!

[sbxkoenk · Accepted solution]

Optional argument on the VALUE statement :

DEFAULT=length

specifies the default length of the format.
The value for DEFAULT= becomes the length of the format if you do not give a specific length when you associate the format with a variable.

Default	The length of the longest label that is assigned to the right of the equal sign
Range	1–32767
Tip	As a best practice, always specify the DEFAULT= option if you specify a format as a label.

Koen

[cosmid]

Thank you Koen!