Fill in values for variable where there are blanks

[JediApprentice]

Here is some sample data:

data have;
  infile datalines;
  input ClaimNumber CLIENT $2. ID $2.;
  datalines;
. TX B
1    B
2    B
3    C
. FL C
1    K
2    D
3    B
;;
run;

And this is what I want to end up with:

data want;
  infile datalines;
  input ClaimNumber CLIENT $2. ID $2.;
  datalines;
. TX B
1 TX B
2 TX B
3 TX C
. FL C
1 FL K
2 FL D
3 FL B
;;
run;

The Client changes each time we hit a "." and the value of Client is there for that first line as you can see in the first sample, I just need to fill in the rest until we reach a new client and so on. Thanks.

[Reeza · Accepted solution]

data want;
set have;

retain newClient;

if not missing(Client) then newClient=Client;

run;

[Chinu]

Thanks