MS office addin, and PROC IMPORT (with SAS/ACCESS) > DDE ?

[VX_Xc]

Is there a situation where DDE can do MS office addin and PROC IMPORT can't do?

[art297 · Accepted solution]

I hate to keep refering to my own presentations to answer your questions but, in this case, I happen to have one that I can't resist mentioning.  Take a look at the DDE part of the following presentation: http://www.torsas.ca/attachments/File/06112010/Worst_Data.ppt

Proc Import simply doesn't offer the kind of flexibility one can have when one has total control over such transfers.  On the other hand, with such flexibility comes great responsibility.  Oops .. I may be fringing on a copyright violation here.

[VX_Xc]

Again Thanks art. I like your stuff evevnthough I don't understand it totally yet.

[VX_Xc]

PROC IMPORT did what DDE could. Is there a example where DDE could but PROC IMPORT could not?

[art297]

Actually, proc import couldn't.  Only with the help of further manipulations in a datastep.  And then, only with some assumptions.  In the examples I used in my presentation, dde could actually identify the specific formats that were identified in a spreadsheet and not require any guesswork.

While I'm not suggesting that we should all switch to using Excel, there definitely is some metadata in spreadsheets that are not (yet) capitalized on with proc import.

[VX_Xc]

Then with PROC IMPORT and DATA step together will do everything DDE can do?