System Options for Macros

MVARSIZE= System Option

Specifies the maximum size for macro variable values that are stored in memory.

Valid in:

Configuration file

OPTIONS window

OPTIONS statement

SAS invocation

Type:

System option

PROC OPTIONS GROUP=

MACRO

Syntax
Details

Syntax

MVARSIZE= n | nK | nM | nG | MAX

n	specifies the maximum memory available in bytes.
nK	specifies the maximum memory available in kilobytes.
nM	specifies the maximum memory available in megabytes.
nG	specifies the maximum memory available in gigabytes.
MAX	specifies the maximum memory of 65534.

Details

If the memory required for a macro variable value is larger than the MVARSIZE= value, the variable is written to a temporary catalog on disk. The macro variable name is used as the member name, and all members have the type MSYMTAB.

The value you specify with the MVARSIZE= system option can range from 0 to 65534. A value of 0 causes all macro variable values to be written to disk.

The value of MVARSIZE= can affect system performance. If this option is set too low and the application frequently creates macro variables larger than the limit, then disk I/O increases. Before you specify the value for production jobs, run tests to determine the optimum value.

Note: The MVARSIZE= option has no affect on the maximum length of the value of the macro variable. For more information, see Introduction to Macro Variables. [cautionend]

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