Duplicate an existing String Column

[rgettys]

I am trying to duplicate a string column. 

in a data step, I am using

oldvar=newvar

but in the output table the newvar comes back as "."

Is there a special option to duplicate the characters in a string variable?

I am on SAS EG 7.13

[Reeza · Accepted solution]

No, there is no extra step required. My guess is 'newvar' isn't actually new but is somehow defined in the dataset already as a numeric field. Ensure that the variable name is new or make sure the types match up when re-assigning data.

[ballardw]

To assign the value to the newvar you need to reverse the order:

newvar = oldvar;

The way you are doing it, using a variable that didn't exist before on the RIGHT side of = means that SAS created one to reference and since there wasn't any definition then the default is a numeric. And then without assigning a value it is initialized as missing.