System Options under OpenVMS

XSYMBOL System Option: OpenVMS

Specifies that global symbols are passed to the subprocess that is spawned by an X statement or X command.

Default:	XSYMBOL
Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window, VMS_SAS_OPTIONS DCL symbol
Category:	Environment control: Initialization and operation
PROC OPTIONS GROUP=	EXECMODES
OpenVMS specifics:	all

Syntax
Details
See Also

Syntax

XSYMBOL | NOXSYMBOL

XSYMBOL: passes the global symbols to the subprocess.
NOXSYMBOL: does not pass the global symbols to the subprocess.

Details

The XSYMBOL system option specifies whether to pass the global symbols to the subprocess that is spawned by an X statement or X command.

Local symbols are not passed to a subprocess that is created using the X 'DCL-command' form of the X statement or X command. Thus, if you define a process-level symbol, MYSYMBOL, before you invoke SAS, and then you issue the following X statement during your SAS session, SAS cannot find MYSYMBOL:

x 'show symbol mysymbol';

To see the value of MYSYMBOL, issue the following X statement, and then issue the SHOW SYMBOL MYSYMBOL command at the SAS_$ prompt:

x '';

This option takes effect only after a subprocess is spawned. For information about when a subprocess is spawned, see XTIMEOUT= System Option: OpenVMS.