NOTE: Unable to open parameter catalog: SASUSER.PARMS.PARMS.SLIST in update mode. Temporary paramete

[slolaysas]

Hi

I am getting two different messages using PROC IMPORT (attached log). 

I have tested both and I get different messages based on if it a csv or xlxs file in the proc import. When I use a csv file I get the following note: 

                                       NOTE: Unable to open parameter catalog: SASUSER.PARMS.PARMS.SLIST in update mode.                                            Temporary parameter values will be saved to WORK.PARMS.PARMS.SLIST.

If I run the code using xlsx file as the input into the proc import it works ok. 

Any ideas?

Thanks

[Kurt_Bremser · Accepted solution]

The NOTE is issued when a DATA step is created and executed, something that does not happen with spreadsheet files. It is just a consequence of the fact that the SASUSER library is not writable nowadays. You can safely ignore it.

[slolaysas]

Thanks

[Tom]

It is a design bug in the tool that PROC IMPORT uses to analyze the CSV file and guess how to generate a data step to read it.  For some strange unexplained reason it is attempting to store something into that  SASUSER.PARMS.PARMS.SLIST object even when you are running with the RSASUSER option.  And even more strangely it feels a need to tell you about it  instead of just silently using the WORK library instead.

It does not cause any actual problems, just the annoying message.

If you want to avoid the message do not use PROC IMPORT to read CSV files.  Either write your own data step to read them.  Or use some other tool to analyze the CSV file and guess how to read it.  https://github.com/sasutils/macros/blob/master/csv2ds.sas