Normally, SAS returns an error if the file that it attempts to access is locked. With
the FILELOCKWAIT= system option, you can limit or turn on the amount of time SAS waits
for a locked file to become
available. When you set FILELOCKWAIT= to a value of wait-time,
SAS waits the specified amount of time for the file to become available
before failing. When the time limit is reached, SAS returns a locked-file
error and the DATA step fails. The maximum time that you can set to
wait for a locked file is 10 minutes. When you set FILELOCKWAIT= to
0, SAS immediately fails.
The FILELOCKWAIT system option is used primarily by a system administrator, who can
change the default value of
FILELOCKWAIT= by using the FILELOCKWAITMAX system option. This option can also be
restricted by a system administrator.
You can also use the
FILELOCKWAIT= statement option in the LIBNAME statement to set a time
limit for the files in your library.