This enables you to
directly read, write, or extract PC files data into a SAS data set.
The descriptor files are compatible with SAS 6. The ACCESS procedure
can be used with Microsoft Excel (4, 5, 95), Lotus 1-2-3 (WK1, WK3,
WK4), DBF, and DIF file formats.
CAUTION:
The ACCESS
Procedure for PC Files is obsolete.
These procedures are
generally not used anymore and are not supported. They are documented
here for the sake of completeness. You are encouraged to rely on more
recent functionality to produce similar results.
The ACCESS procedure
enables you create access descriptors, view descriptors, and SAS data
files. Descriptor files describe PC files data to enable you to directly
read, update, or extract PC files data while working within a SAS
program.
CAUTION:
Altering
a PC file might invalidate defined descriptors.
Altering the format
of a PC file that has descriptor files defined for it might cause
the descriptors to be out-of-date or invalid. If you add a column
to a file and an existing access descriptor is defined for that file,
the existing access descriptor and view descriptors do not show the
new column. To show and select the new column, you can recreate the
descriptors.
The are compatible
with SAS 6. The view descriptor saves a column name with up to eight
characters in uppercase. Any column name longer than eight characters
is truncated. When duplicate names occur after truncation, a unique
name is generated with a number appended to it. The view descriptor
saves full column names as is in the label fields. Full column names
are read from the SAS data set variable labels.