Sounds like you used DLM= instead of DLMSTR= and that you also specified DSD. You could try NOT specifying DSD in the INFILE.  That would eliminate the empty columns.  But it would also shift values to the left if you do have actual empty cells in the input. ... View more

Well, in that case, provided you with the correct answer. It can be written more conventionally as : PROC SQL; CREATE TABLE RES AS SELECT DISTINCT CUSTOMERNUM, PATIENTID, GROUPEND FROM HELLO GROUP BY CUSTOMERNUM, PATIENTID HAVING GROUPEND = MAX(GROUPEND); QUIT; You don't need the DISTINCT option if the groupend dates are unique for each value of patientid and customernum. PG ... View more