Limitations and Restrictions for Importing Local Data Files :: SAS(R) Visual Analytics 6.4: User's Guide

Large Data Files

When you import data files (spreadsheets, SAS data sets, or delimited text files) from your machine, you are limited to files that are 4 GB or less. This constraint is set by the web browser. Because importing large files through the web browser impacts overall performance and because you can experience long wait times, alternate approaches are recommended for importing large files.

Note: Administrators can specify a limit that is less than 4 GB.

As an alternative to importing data files through your web browser, you can transfer files to the machine for the SAS server and use autoload. You can import data from files that are larger than 4 GB. In general, FTP and network file systems transfer data files faster than web browsers.

Importing Data from Spreadsheets

The following list identifies considerations for importing data from spreadsheets:

You can import Excel Workbook (XLSX) files and Excel 97-2003 Workbook (XLS) files. You cannot import XLSM, XLST, or other Excel file types.
When you import a spreadsheet (from your PC) that has multiple worksheets, by default, all of the worksheets are imported. A table is created for each worksheet. You can clear the check boxes for the worksheets that you do not want to import.
Importing pivot tables is not supported.

Table Names, Column Names, and Special Characters

In general, you can import files that use blanks and special characters in the filenames and column names. The following list identifies how table names are handled:

For text files (such as CSV files), the table name is initially set from the filename.
When you import a spreadsheet, the table names are handled as follows:
- If the spreadsheet contains a single worksheet, the table name is initially set from the filename.
- If the spreadsheet contains multiple worksheets, each table name is initially set as a combination of the filename, an underscore, and the name of the worksheet.
After the initial table name is determined, an unsupported special character is replaced with an underscore. These special characters include / \ * ? " < > | : - and the period (.).
Table names are shortened to 32 characters because that is the table name length that is supported by SAS.

For column names, most special characters can be used, including spaces. An unsupported special character is replaced with an underscore. These special characters include / \ * ? " < > | : - and the period (.).

By default, column names are read from the first row of the text file. If you clear the Includes column names check box, the column names are generated for you as follows:

Spreadsheets Column names are assigned A, B, C, and so on.
Text files Column names are assigned VAR1, VAR2, and so on.

The following table identifies how column names that begin with a number, such as 2013sales, or use numbers only, such as 2013, interact with the Includes column names check box:

Source File Column Name	Imported Column Name
`2013sales`	`_2013sales` for XLSX, XLS, and text files.
`2013`	`_2013` for XLSX and text files. For Excel 97-2003 Workbook (XLS) files, a letter such as `A`, `B`, `C`, and so on, is substituted for the column name, depending on the column position in the file.