Macro Variables Defined by the Macro Processor

When you invoke SAS, the macro processor creates automatic macro variables that supply information related to the SAS session. Automatic variables are global except SYSPBUFF, which is local.

To use an automatic macro variable, reference it with an ampersand followed by the macro variable name (for example, &SYSJOBID). This FOOTNOTE statement contains references to the automatic macro variables SYSDAY and SYSDATE9:

footnote "Report for &sysday, &sysdate9";

If the current SAS session is invoked on December 16, 2011, macro variable resolution causes SAS to receive this statement:

FOOTNOTE "Report for Friday, 16DEC2011";

Automatic macro variables are often useful in conditional logic such as a %IF statement with actions determined by the value that is returned. For more information, see %IF-%THEN/%ELSE Statement.

You can assign values to automatic macro variables that have read and write status. However, you cannot assign a value to an automatic macro variable that has read-only status. The following table lists the automatic macro variables that are created by the SAS macro processor and their read and /write status.

Use %PUT _AUTOMATIC_ to view all available automatic macro variables.

There are also system-specific macro variables that are created only on a particular platform. These are documented in the host companion, and common ones are listed in Writing Efficient and Portable Macros. Other SAS software products also provide macro variables, which are described in the documentation for the product that uses them. Neither of these types of macro variables are considered automatic macro variables.