You likely need to add the library to the FMTSEARCH path. By default SAS looks for formats in a very few locations. If you create formats in a different Library then you add them to  the search path with the OPTIONS statement.   Example: options append=(fmtsearch=Yrbs); would append the Formats catalog in the YRBS library to the current path. This would need to be done only once per session that wants to use the formats there. If for some reason the formats were stored in another catalog you would use the Libname.Catalog syntax to reference it. You can check on the current value of your FMTSEARCH path using: Proc options option=fmtsearch; run; The Log will show something like (I have more libraries in mine) SAS (r) Proprietary Software Release 9.4 TS1M7 FMTSEARCH=(WORK USER SASHELP FP IPP PEDNSS BRFSS) Formats will be searched for in order. So if I attempt to use a format $somecustomfmt. SAS first looks in the WORK library , then the User, then FP .... until it is found or the list exhausted. Knowing this order is important because you may want to test a format by placing it in the WORK library (proc format library=work ; value etc).  Which wouldn't replace the one in the YRBS library but would be used instead. Think debugging code or a temporary change that means you don't need to change the code in multiple places already using that format.   Very strong suggestion: Run Proc format to create a data set of the format definitions. Catalogs are very version dependent and may not work every where. If you have a data set you can use that recreate the formats on another system easier. Proc format library=yrbs cntlout=yrbs.yrbs_fmtcntlout; run; will create data set named Yrbs_fmtcntlout in the Yrbs library of formats in that library. Used with the Cntlin= option of Proc format it can recreate the formats. I have some formats that started under SAS 8 that I have had to upgrade 4 times and this data set approached saved me a lot work. Though keeping the code is a very good idea but it sounds like you likely did not receive the source code file to create the formats. ... View more

@StudyBeane wrote: Yes, thank you, I am extremely new to SAS and didn't realize I had to use use data/set. In R don't you have to provide some data source before creating a new variable based on existing values?   Pretty much the case in any of the 20+ "programming languages" I have used over the years. No input data = no meaningful output data. The principles wont change but approach will change based on the language used.  Such  as how to point to the existing data: Set statement for a SAS data set or DATA= for almost every other SAS procedure, and where to put the output: Data statement with the Data step code. Other approaches in  other procedures but OUTPUT or OUT= are fairly common but the syntax can vary based on the procedure.   SAS will default to the last created data set as input for many procedures but the Data step still needs a SET statement to do such even if no data set name is provided. ... View more