Hi:
The times I have used the Absolute_Column_Width sub-option I have explicitly changed all my columns. For example, if I do this:
[pre]
data calif;
set sashelp.prdsale;
Area_Name= Country;
High_Level_Definition = Region;
run;
ods tagsets.excelxp file='calif2.xml' style=sasweb
options(absolute_column_width="30,10,7,7");
PROC TABULATE data=calif;
CLASS Area_Name / order=freq;
CLASSLEV Area_Name ;
CLASS High_Level_Definition / order=freq;
CLASSLEV High_Level_Definition ;
Table (Area_Name ALL='Decision Total'*[style=
]),
(ALL='Area Total'*[style={background=vpapb}] High_Level_Definition=" ")*(N=' ' *f=comma6.)
/ BOX={label='Area by Reasons'} NOCONTINUED indent=3 ;
KEYWORD ALL / style=[background=vpapb];
run;
ods _all_ close;
[/pre]
Then for my output, using SASHELP.PRDSALE, I see that the first column is significantly wider than the last 2 columns.
I am not exactly sure how column width works. In Excel, if I look at informatiion about column width settings, Excel says that (from the Excel help):
On a worksheet, you can specify a column width of 0 (zero) to 255. This value represents the number of characters that can be displayed in a cell that is formatted with the standard font (standard font: The default text font for worksheets. The standard font determines the default font for the Normal cell style.). The default column width is 8.43 characters. If a column has a width of 0 (zero), the column is hidden.
Then, on this Microsoft site, there's more information about column width:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/214123
I don't exactly know how ODS deals with the numbers you send via the Absolute_column_width sub-option -- I surmise (but don't know for sure) that somehow the cell font is taken into account by ODS along with the absolute column width and it is some changed value that is being sent to Excel in XML form.
Personally, I don't stress over what ODS is doing. I take the "control freak" approach: and specify absolute column widths for EVERY column and change the numbers I send to ODS until what I see in Excel is what I want.
If it is essential for you to understand -exactly- how ODS is dealing with the absolute_column_width sub-option, then your best resource is to contact Tech Support. I only know that when I use the absolute_column_width sub-option with TAGSETS.EXCELXP, I can always get Excel to render the columns showing a width that I am happy with.
cynthia