Thanks very much Reeza! SO based on that, I constructed  my code as below.; But for some reason after the it doesnot show the data under the variable names after this variable- Ninth_condition $ 253-259 . Not sure what that's happening. Theoutput data shows all the columns but no data underneath these last few columns. It has imported all the records too. DATA sbhw.NDIresults;   INFILE "C:\Users\aerande\Documents\Harbor_UCLA\SouthBaydata\text\NDICauses.txt" missover lrecl=438;   INPUT Last_Name $ 1-20 First_Name $ 21-35  Middle_Initial $ 36  SSN $ 37-45 Month $ 46-47 Day $ 48-49 Year 50-53 Father_Surname $ 54-71 Age_at_death 72 Number_of_Age_Units 73-74 Sex $ 75 Race $ 76 Marital_Status $ 77 StResi $ 78-79 StBirth $ 80-81 ID 82-91 Age_1991 92-97 Blank_field 98-100 StDeath $ 101-112 YrDeath 113-116 St_DeathCode $ 117-119 Alias $ 120 DeathCertificateno 121-126 Mon_Death $ 127-128 Day_Death $ 129-130 Year_Death 131-132 FN $ 133-134 MI $ 135 LN $ 136 FS $ 137 LN_FS_userrec $ 138 SSN_1 $ 139-147 Mon_Birth $ 148 Day_Birth $ 149 Year_Birth $ 150-152 Age_death $ 153 Sex1 $ 154 Race1 $ 155 MS $ 156 SR $ 157 SB $ 158 Blank $ 159-164 MatchIndicator $ 165 MatchSeq $ 166-168 PossNDIrecmatches $ 169-171 ProbScore $ 172-176 Classcode $ 177 Statuscode $ 178 Blank1 $ 179 UnderlyingcauseDeath $ 180-183 CauseRecode $ 184-188 CauseRecode1 $ 189-191 Infantcauserecode $ 192-194 Number_Entityaxis 195-196 First_condition $ 197-203 Second_condition $ 204-210 Third_condition $ 211-217 Fourth_condition $ 218-224 Fifth_condition $ 225-231 Sixth_condition $ 232-238 Seventh_condition $ 239-245 Eighth_condition $ 246-252 Ninth_condition $ 253-259 Tenth_condition $ 260-266 Eleventh_condition $ 267-273 Twelvth_condition $ 274-280 Thirteenth_condition $ 281-287 Fourteenth_condition $ 288-294 Fifteenth_condition $ 295-301 Sixteenth_condition $ 302-308 Seventeenth_condition $ 309-315 Eighteenth_condition $ 316-322 Nineteenth_condition $ 323-329 Twentieth_condition $ 330-336 NumberRECaxisconditions $ 337-338 First_condition1 $ 339-343 Second_condition1 $ 344-348 Third_condition1 $ 349-353 Fourth_condition1 $ 354-358 Fifth_condition1 $ 359-363 Sixth_condition1 $ 364-368 Seventh_condition1 $ 369-373 Eighth_condition1 $ 374-378 Ninth_condition1 $ 379-383 Tenth_condition1 $ 384-388 Eleventh_condition1 $ 389-393 Twelvth_condition1 $ 394-398 Thirteenth_condition1 $ 399-403 Fourteenth_condition1 $ 404-408 Fifteenth_condition1 $ 409-413 Sixteenth_condition1 $ 414-418 Seventeenth_condition1 $ 419-423 Eighteenth_condition1 $ 424-428 Nineteenth_condition1 $ 429-433 Twentieth_condition1 $ 434-438 @; RUN; ... View more

I tried using proc import earlier, but it doesnot help. For the item where it asks me to select a delimiter, I am not sure which option i should select. I tried all the options but still it doesnot give me a correct outcome.. I have never worked with formats before, so I am kind of stuck.. It'd be very helpful if you could help me with specifics.. Thanks! ... View more

Thanks Reeza! I tried it this way but the data for only 4 variables was correctly placed, Year, Control ID, and Age in 1991. The Last name, firstname, Sex, State of residence are all blank and the control ID is repeated under State of Birth. Not sure why this is happening.. any idea? THe last field is of 3 spaces and is supposed to be blank. filename NDItext 'C:\Users\aerande\Documents\Harbor_UCLA\SouthBaydata\text\SBHW_2014_0051.txt'; data sbhw.SBHWtext3_SAS1; infile nditext LRECL=100 truncover; input @1 Last_Name       @21 First_Name       @36 Middle_Initial       @37 SSN       @46 Month       @48 Day       @50 Year       @54 Father_Surname       @72 Age_at_death       @73 Number_of_Age_Units       @75 Sex       @76 Race       @77 Marital_Status       @78 State_of_Residence       @80 State_of_Birth       @82 Control_ID @92 Age_in_1991               @98 Blankfield; run; ... View more

Yes, it is 3 spaces. When I used 3 spaces in the code. (@98 '   ') , after running the code, the SAS LOG says The minimum record length was 100. The maximum record length was 100. But When I manually counted the spaces in the record twice, they were total 101 positions. So I removed one space from in @98 '   ', and ran the code again, so this time the LOG says, The minimum record length was 99. The maximum record length was 99. And WHen i counted manually (3-4 times), they were 100. SO I am not sure why there is a diff of one space in what the Log says and my manually counting the spaces. I guess I should go by what the SAS log says ? And so i wondered, Is there any way I can get to show the number of positions ... View more

Thanks Jaap! No, theres isn't any hyphen in my code, I just used it here to separate the code from the text. My other question is, if i shoud just go by what the SAS log says after converting the SAS file to text file. The SAS log file indicates that the The minimum record length was 100. The maximum record length was 100. So I think I should just go by what the log says, even though my manual counting shows 101 positions. And as Indicated in the NDI guidelines, the text file should be with 100 postions per record.. ... View more

I used the TERMSTR=LF option, but it placed the records next to each other instead of in a table format. So it doesn't really help. ... View more

I am using a windows machine and I am just counting each charater/space by moving the cursor using arrow key on the keyboard. But let me try the option you've suggested. I also think I sould go by what the SAS LOG says after it generates the TEXT file. If it says record length is 100, then 100 it is, I guess. ... View more

Thanks Tom, the second way (@98 '   ') worked. After running the code, the LOG says The minimum record length was 100. The maximum record length was 100. But When I manually counted twice, they were total 101 positions. So in -@98 '   '-, I removed one space, and ran the code again, , so this time the LOG says, The minimum record length was 99. The maximum record length was 99. And WHen i counted manually (3-4 times), they were 100. Which one should I go by? Is there any way I can get to show the numbe of positions? ... View more

So I used the following code and the text file was created. Now the last issue (hopefully) I am facing here is how to make sure that there are 100 positions per record. Where can I mention that in the code about the number of positions? I counted manually the spaces in the records; they are 99. Any suggestions? filename NDItext 'C:\Users\SBHW\SBHWtext_1.txt'; data _null_; file nditext; set sbhw.SBHW_SAS1; put @1 Last_Name       @21 First_Name       @36 Middle_Initial       @37 SSN       @46 Month       @48 Day       @50 Year       @54 Father_Surname       @72 Age_at_death       @73 Number_of_Age_Units       @75 Sex       @76 Race       @77 Marital_Status       @78 State_of_Residence       @80 State_of_Birth       @82 Control_ID       @92 Age_in_1991    @98 Blank_field; run; ... View more

So I used the following code and the text file was created. Now the last issue (hopefully) I am facing here is how to make sure that there are 100 positions per record. Where can I mention that in the code about the number of positions? I counted manually the spaces in the records; they are 99. Any suggestions? filename NDItext 'C:\Users\SBHW\SBHWtext_1.txt'; data _null_; file nditext; set sbhw.SBHW_SAS1; put @1 Last_Name       @21 First_Name       @36 Middle_Initial       @37 SSN       @46 Month       @48 Day       @50 Year       @54 Father_Surname       @72 Age_at_death       @73 Number_of_Age_Units       @75 Sex       @76 Race       @77 Marital_Status       @78 State_of_Residence       @80 State_of_Birth       @82 Control_ID       @92 Age_in_1991    @98 Blank_field; run; ... View more

Yes, i checked and fixed those. But now one error still shows up; which is- Not sure what this means.. ERROR: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\SBHW_text.txt. ... View more

and the log shows the following notes.. NOTE: Invalid data for Social_Security_Number in line 23 37-45. NOTE: Invalid data for Year_of_Birth in line 23 50-53. NOTE: Invalid data for Control_ID_number in line 25 1-10. NOTE: Invalid data for Age_in_1991 in line 26 1-6. Brown Oliver 453406806 06 18 1928        . 1 0   .2                 . .     La         .      . RULE:      ----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7----+----8----+ 26  CHAR   Estrada.Maria..587375041.10.27.1917....F...CA..10003.72                             ZONE   47776660467660033333333303303303333000040004400333330332222222222222222222222222     NUMR   53421419D12919958737504191092791917999969993199100039720000000000000000000000000 NOTE: Invalid data errors for file CARDS occurred outside the printed range. 2                                        The SAS System           15:31 Tuesday, August 19, 2014 NOTE: Increase available buffer lines with the INFILE n= option. Last_Name=Brown Oliver 453406 First_Name=806 06 18 1928 Middle_Initial= Social_Security_Number=. Month_of_Birth=1 Day_of_Birth=0 Year_of_Birth=. Father_Surname=2 Age_Unit_at_death_=. Number_of_Age_Units_death=. Sex=  Race=  Marital_Status=  State_Residence= State_Birth=La Control_ID_number=. Age_in_1991=. _ERROR_=1 _N_=1 NOTE: Invalid data for Social_Security_Number in line 27 37-45. NOTE: Invalid data for Year_of_Birth in line 27 50-53. NOTE: Invalid data for Control_ID_number in line 29 1-10. NOTE: Invalid data for Age_in_1991 in line 30 1-6. Smith Rupert 499129756 07 31 1919        . 1 0   .1                 . .     Wi         .      . RULE:      ----+----1----+----2----+----3----+----4----+----5----+----6----+----7----+----8----+ 30  CHAR   Jones.Emily..616387121.10.07.1922....F...CA..10012.68                               ZONE   46667046667003333333330330330333300004000440033333033222222222222222222222222222     NUMR   AFE5395D9C9996163871219109079192299996999319910012968000000000000000000000000000 NOTE: Invalid data errors for file CARDS occurred outside the printed range. NOTE: Increase available buffer lines with the INFILE n= option. Last_Name=Smith Rupert 499129 First_Name=756 07 31 1919 Middle_Initial= Social_Security_Number=. Month_of_Birth=1 Day_of_Birth=0 Year_of_Birth=. Father_Surname=1 Age_Unit_at_death_=. Number_of_Age_Units_death=. Sex=  Race=  Marital_Status=  State_Residence= State_Birth=Wi Control_ID_number=. Age_in_1991=. _ERROR_=1 _N_=2 NOTE: Invalid data for Social_Security_Number in line 31 37-45. NOTE: Invalid data for Day_of_Birth in line 31 48-49. NOTE: Invalid data for Year_of_Birth in line 31 50-53. NOTE: Invalid data for Control_ID_number in line 33 1-10. NOTE: Invalid data for Age_in_1991 in line 34 1-6. Richard Stachowski 102262143 09 22        . . .   .0016 56           . .     Ki         .      . 34  CHAR   Rivera.Aurora..564341130.11.13.1928....F...CA..10022.62                             ZONE   56767604776760033333333303303303333000040004400333330332222222222222222222222222     NUMR   2965219152F219956434113091191391928999969993199100229620000000000000000000000000 NOTE: Invalid data errors for file CARDS occurred outside the printed range. NOTE: Increase available buffer lines with the INFILE n= option. Last_Name=Richard Stachowski First_Name=102262143 09 22 Middle_Initial= Social_Security_Number=. Month_of_Birth=. Day_of_Birth=. Year_of_Birth=. Father_Surname=0016 56 Age_Unit_at_death_=. Number_of_Age_Units_death=. Sex=  Race=  Marital_Status=  State_Residence= State_Birth=Ki Control_ID_number=. Age_in_1991=. _ERROR_=1 _N_=3 NOTE: Invalid data for Social_Security_Number in line 35 37-45. NOTE: Invalid data for Year_of_Birth in line 35 50-53. NOTE: Invalid data for Control_ID_number in line 37 1-10. NOTE: Invalid data for Age_in_1991 in line 38 1-6. Ogden Martha 243600388 08 09 1934        . 1 0   .1                 . .     Ra         .      . 38 ... View more

Jaap, I tried this way too, and the SAS output file that get, is still the same as the 2nd PDF file attached to the original post. The data is not under the respective columns.. ... View more

So Tom, after importing when I ran the code, my log shows me following errors. I am attaching the PDF too to the original post, just to make ot easy to read the log... 1          ;*';*";*/;quit;run; 2          OPTIONS PAGENO=MIN; 3          %LET _CLIENTTASKLABEL='sbhw2'; 4          %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATH='C:\Users\aerande\Documents\Project4.egp'; 5          %LET _CLIENTPROJECTNAME='Project4.egp'; 6          %LET _SASPROGRAMFILE=; 7          8          ODS _ALL_ CLOSE; 9          OPTIONS DEV=SASEMF; 10         GOPTIONS XPIXELS=0 YPIXELS=0; 11         ODS LISTING GPATH=&sasworklocation; 12         FILENAME EGHTML TEMP; 13         ODS HTML(ID=EGHTML) FILE=EGHTML ENCODING='utf-8' STYLE=Analysis 13       ! STYLESHEET=(URL="file:///C:/Program%20Files/SASHome/x86/SASEnterpriseGuide/4.3/Styles 13       ! /Analysis.css") GPATH=&sasworklocation; NOTE: Writing HTML(EGHTML) Body file: EGHTML 14         FILENAME EGPDF TEMP; 15         ODS PDF(ID=EGPDF) FILE=EGPDF STYLE=printer SAS; NOTE: Writing ODS PDF(EGPDF) output to DISK destination "EGPDF", printer "PDF". 16         FILENAME EGSR TEMP; 17         ODS tagsets.sasreport12(ID=EGSR) FILE=EGSR STYLE=Analysis 17       ! STYLESHEET=(URL="file:///C:/Program%20Files/SASHome/x86/SASEnterpriseGuide/4.3/Styles 17       ! /Analysis.css") GPATH=&sasworklocation ENCODING=UTF8 options(rolap="on"); NOTE: Writing TAGSETS.SASREPORT12(EGSR) Body file: EGSR 18         19         data _NULL_; 20           set sbhw.SBHW_SAS; 21           file 'SBHW_text.txt' lrecl=97 ; 22           put @1  Last_Name 23               @21 First_Name 24               @36 Middle_Initial 25               @37 Social_Security_Number 26               @46 Month_of_Birth 27               @48 Day_of_Birth 28               @50 Year_of_Birth 29               @54 Father_Surname 30               @72 Age_Unit_at_death_ 31               @73 Number_of_Age_Units_death 32               @75 Sex 33               @76 Race 34               @77 Marital_Status 35               @78 State_Residence 36               @80 State_Birth 37               @82 Control_ID_number 38               @92 Age_in_1991 39         ; 40         run; NOTE: Variable Last_Name is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable First_Name is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Middle_Initial is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Social_Security_Number is uninitialized. 2                                        The SAS System           15:31 Tuesday, August 19, 2014 NOTE: Variable Month_of_Birth is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Day_of_Birth is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Year_of_Birth is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Father_Surname is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Age_Unit_at_death_ is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Number_of_Age_Units_death is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Marital_Status is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable State_Residence is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable State_Birth is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Control_ID_number is uninitialized. NOTE: Variable Age_in_1991 is uninitialized. ERROR: Insufficient authorization to access C:\Windows\system32\SBHW_text.txt. NOTE: The SAS System stopped processing this step because of errors. NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):       real time           0.05 seconds       cpu time            0.00 seconds       41         42         %LET _CLIENTTASKLABEL=; 43         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTPATH=; 44         %LET _CLIENTPROJECTNAME=; 45         %LET _SASPROGRAMFILE=; 46         47         ;*';*";*/;quit;run; 48         ODS _ALL_ CLOSE; NOTE: ODS PDF(EGPDF) printed no output.       (This sometimes results from failing to place a RUN statement before the ODS PDF(EGPDF)       CLOSE statement.) 49         50         51         QUIT; RUN; 52         ... View more