Thanks. Can I apply the informat to the dataset like this : data test;     set dataset;     informat a--hv yn;     run; ... View more

Here's the full code : Adding some data: data test;    input a $ b $ c $ d $ e $ f $ g $ h $ i $ j $ k $ l $;    datalines; Y N N N N N Y N N Y N N Y N N N N N Y N N Y N N Y N N N N N Y N N Y N N ; data test2;    set test;    array change a--l;             do over change;             if change= 'Y' then change = 1;             if change = 'N' then change = 0;             end;    run ; proc format; invalue groupfour '1000'=4 '0100'=3 '0010'=2 '0001'=1 ; run; proc sql noprint;      select name, count(*)/4 into : varlist separated by ' ' , :varcount      from dictionary.columns where libname='WORK'           and memname='TEST2'; quit; %let varcount = %left(&varcount); data want; set test2; array group &varlist; array newvar  Var1 - Var&varcount; do I = 1 to &varcount;      base = (I-1)*4;      newvar =  input(cats(group[base+1],group[base+2],group[base+3],group[base+4]),groupfour.); end; drop I base; run; 65   do I = 1 to &varcount;         -         133 ERROR 133-185: A loop variable cannot be an array name or a character variable;  It must be a scalar                numeric. proc transpose data = test2 out = test2_t; run; NOTE: No variables to transpose. NOTE: There were 24130 observations read from the data set WORK.TEST. NOTE: The data set WORK.TEST_T has 0 observations and 24131 variables. NOTE: PROCEDURE TRANSPOSE used (Total process time):       real time           0.21 seconds       cpu time            0.21 seconds Message was edited by: Nikhil Goyal - I have added a little sample data to make the error easy to replicate. ... View more

Hi For some reason some of your output values in the want table are not consistent with the input table. block f1 f2 f3 f4 1 1000 0100 0010 0001 2 0010 1000 0100 0001 3 1010 0100 0001 0000 Correct output: block col1 col2 col3 col4 1 1000 0100 0010 0001 2 0100 0010 1000 0001 3 1000 0100 1000 0010 ... View more

Oh no I corrected that. The error is occurring in the next block - data want; set test; array group &varlist; array newvar  Var1 - Var&varcount; do I = 1 to &varcount;      base = (I-1)*4;      newvar =  input(cats(group[base+1],group[base+2],group[base+3],group[base+4]),groupfour.); end; drop I base; OTE: Line generated by the macro variable "VARCOUNT". 1     Var       2                 -                 22                 200 ERROR: Missing numeric suffix on a numbered variable list (Var1-Var). WARNING: Defining an array with zero elements. ERROR 22-322: Syntax error, expecting one of the following: a name, (, ;, _ALL_, _CHARACTER_,               _CHAR_, _NUMERIC_. ERROR 200-322: The symbol is not recognized and will be ignored. ... View more

Trying another approach: data test;    input a b c d e f g h i j k l;    datalines; 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 ; run; proc transpose data = test out = test_t; run; data test_t; set test_t; retain block; if _n_ = 1 then block = 1; if mod(_n_/4,1) = 0.25 and _n_ gt 1 then block +1; run; This gives me: Name Col1 Col2 Col3 Col4 block a 1 0 0 0 1 b 0 1 0 0 1 c 0 0 1 0 1 d 0 0 0 1 1 e 0 0 1 0 2 f 1 0 0 0 2 g 0 1 0 0 2 h 0 0 0 1 2 i 1 0 1 0 3 j 0 1 0 0 3 k 0 0 0 1 3 l 0 0 0 0 3 Is there a way I can group this by "block" to get something like : block col1 col2 col3 col4 1 1000 0100 0010 0001 2 0100 0010 1000 0001 3 1000 0100 1000 0010 thanks ... View more

I get this error: NOTE: Line generated by the macro variable "VARCOUNT". 1     Var       2                 -                 22                 200 ERROR: Missing numeric suffix on a numbered variable list (Var1-Var). WARNING: Defining an array with zero elements. Though the macro variable &varcount is recognized, a numeric suffix is required it says. ... View more

Thanks Xia, very good approach - I didn;t know the whichn function. Is there a way we can save the keystrokes when creating array ? There are many columns in my dataset - Can we code SAS to go through 4 columns and make arrays out of them? ... View more

Hi BallardW, the format approach is really cool . I have one question through - my original dataset has a lot of columns. Eventually the column names run into AB, AC , AD up to FV. I don't want to type: input(cats(e,f,g,h), groupfour.); input(cats(i,j,k,l), groupfour.); Isn't there someway I can ask SAS to apply groupfour. to successive 4 columns and keep creating new variable names? thanks ... View more

Yes you are right. I am wasting computing resources doing the same calculations again & again. I'll change the order of sub-setting & calculations. ... View more

Okay it was a silly question I think. I've just chosen all the columns i want to keep in the select distinct statement. ... View more

They way I have summarized them, the vals in var6, var7 and var8 are all same for distinct combinations of var1, var2 and var3. So I don't care which value it retains . . ... View more