VARLABEL Function

Returns the label that is assigned to a SAS data set variable.

Category: SAS File I/O

Syntax

VARLABEL(data-set-id,var-num)

Required Arguments

data-set-id

specifies the data set identifier that the OPEN function returns.

var-num

specifies the number of the variable's position in the SAS data set.

Tips This number is next to the variable in the list that is produced by the CONTENTS procedure.
The VARNUM function returns this number.

Details

If no label has been assigned to the variable, a blank string is returned.

Comparisons

VLABEL returns the label that is associated with the given variable.

Example

This example obtains the label of the variable NAME in the SAS data set MYDATA.
Obtaining the Label of the Variable NAME
%let dsid=%sysfunc(open(mydata,i));
%if &dsid %then
   %do;
      %let fmt=%sysfunc(varlabel(&dsid,
                       %sysfunc(varnum
                               (&dsid,NAME))));
      %let rc=%sysfunc(close(&dsid));
   %end;

See Also