proc princomp : labels

[SASdevAnneMarie]

Hello Experts,

Is it possible in proc princomp to show the labels ?

Thank you for your help!

[Kathryn_SAS]

From the PROC PRINCOMP documentation:

The ID statement labels observations by using values from the first ID variable in the principal component score plot.

If you have additional questions, please include the code you are currently using.

[PaigeMiller]

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@SASdevAnneMarie wrote:

Is it possible in proc princomp to show the labels ?

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Do you mean labels of the variables (which is what I think you are asking), or labels on the observations? Please state clearly what you mean.

If you mean labels on the variables, then the documentation does not list any option to display the labels on the plots. If you mean labels on the observations, @Kathryn_SAS has answered that.

[SASdevAnneMarie]

Thank you. I would like to display the labels of variables.

[PaigeMiller · Accepted solution]

The SAS documentation does not show an option to display labels of the variables.

[sbxkoenk]

Rick is labeling observations AND variables!
@Rick_SAS 

Comparing flavor characteristics of Scotch whiskies: A principal component analysis

By Rick Wicklin on The DO Loop February 23, 2026

Ciao,

Koen

[PaigeMiller]

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@sbxkoenk wrote:

Rick is labeling observations AND variables!

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Sorry, no, those are variable names. They are not variable labels. 

Now Rick was smart and chose variable names that are easily understood, rather than something like this title: tvar=volcsum_t, which is something that I actually saw on someone's plot. Although I would note that some applications may not have such easy to understand variable names ... which is why labels are needed in some reports and such for those applications.

So the answer to @SASdevAnneMarie would be to rename the variables if possible.

[sbxkoenk]

@PaigeMiller 

You're right. I missed the point (labels of variables and not names of variables).

Koen

[SASdevAnneMarie]

Thank you!

[Rick_SAS]

It's hard to tell from the image you posted, but it looks like you want a "Pattern Plot" (somtimes called a "loadings Plot").  Try imitating this code:

ods graphics on;ods graphics on;
proc princomp data=sashelp.iris plots=pattern(vector circles=25 50 75 100);
var _numeric_;
run;

If you need a refresher on how to interpret a pattern plot, see https://blogs.sas.com/content/iml/2019/11/04/interpret-graphs-principal-components.html

[Rick_SAS]

Ah! Thanks @PaigeMiller for pointing out that the OP wants to plot variable LABELS, not names.  I agree that there is no built-in option to make the ODS graphics from PROC PRINTCOMP use labels. The OP will need to use the VALIDVARNAME=ANY option to rename variables as n-literals. Here is an example:

/* What are the labels for the variables? */
proc contents data=sashelp.iris varnum;
   ods select Position;
run;

/* create a copy of the data and use VALIDVARNAME=ANY to rename the 
   variables to their label values */
option validvarname=ANY;
data Iris;
   set sashelp.iris;
   rename 
   PetalLength = 'Petal Length (mm)'n
   PetalWidth  = 'Petal Width (mm)'n
   SepalLength = 'Sepal Length (mm)'n
   SepalWidth  = 'Sepal Width (mm)'n;
run;

/* run PCA on the new data set */
ods graphics on;
proc princomp data=Iris
     plots=pattern(vector circles=25 50 75 100);
var _numeric_;
run;

I assume this is a one-time task, but if you need to incorporate it into a process, you can write a macro that uses the output of PROC CONTENTS tp automatically create the new variable (with long n-literal names) as copies of the original variables. See 35973 - Display variable labels instead of variable names in procedure results