SAS Data Set Options

REPLACE= Data Set Option

Specifies whether a new SAS data set that contains data can overwrite an existing data set that has the same name.

Valid in:	DATA step and PROC steps
Category:	Data Set Control
Restriction:	Use with output data sets only.
Restriction:	This option is valid only when creating a SAS data set.

Syntax
Syntax Description
Comparisons
Example
See Also

Syntax

REPLACE=NO | YES

Syntax Description

NO: specifies that a new data set with a given name does not replace an existing data set with the same name.
YES: specifies that a new data set with a given name replaces an existing data set with the same name.

Comparisons

The REPLACE= data set option overrides the REPLACE system option for the individual data set.
The REPLACE system option only applies to permanent SAS data sets.

Example

Using the REPLACE= data set option in this DATA statement prevents SAS from replacing a permanent SAS data set named ONE in a library referenced by MYLIB:

 data mylib.one(replace=no);

SAS writes a message in the log that tells you that the file has not been replaced.