ENCRYPT= Data Set Option

Specifies whether to encrypt an output table.

Valid in:	DATA and PROC steps
Category:	Data Set Control
Restriction:	Use with output tables only.
Supports:	SAS data set

Syntax

Details

Example

Syntax

ENCRYPT=YES | NO

Syntax Description

YES: encrypts the file. The encryption method uses passwords. At a minimum, you must specify the READ= or the PW= data set option at the same time that you specify ENCRYPT=YES. Because the encryption method uses passwords, you cannot change any password on an encrypted data set without re-creating the data set.

CAUTION:

Record all passwords.

If you forget the password, you cannot reset it without assistance from SAS. The process is time-consuming and resource-intensive.

NO: does not encrypt the file.

Details

Encryption requires approximately the same amount of CPU resources as compression.
When a SAS data set is encrypted, all associated indexes are also encrypted.
You cannot use PROC CPORT on encrypted files.

Example: Using the ENCRYPT=YES Option

This example creates an encrypted SAS data set:

data myfiles.salary (encrypt=yes);
   input name $ yrsal bonuspct;
   datalines;
Muriel    34567  3.2
Bjorn     74644  2.5
Freda     38755  4.1
Benny     29855  3.5
Agnetha   70998  4.1
;