Beginning with SAS® 9.3, SAS data sets (and associated indexes, if any) are interoperable between Microsoft Windows 64-bit and Microsoft Windows 32-bit operating systems. Prior to SAS 9.3, Cross-Environment Data Access (CEDA) processing was the underlying technology used by SAS to process Windows 32-bit data files in a Windows 64-bit SAS session.

Similarly, CEDA processing is not required to process Windows 64-bit data files in a Windows 32-bit SAS session. Customers using Windows data sets on either 32 or 64-bit operating systems do not need to do anything to benefit from this functionality, other than to use SAS 9.3 software.

This is the result of a change implemented in the underlying SAS code and how SAS data files are determined to be compatible with the processing environment at open time. Removing CEDA restrictions allows for better performance and use of indexes on these files. There will be no change in how PROC CONTENTS reports the data representation. You will see the data representation field displayed by PROC CONTENTS as Windows_64 when the data file is created in Windows 64-bit, and Windows_32 when it is created in a Windows 32-bit SAS session.

Note that SAS catalogs are unaffected by this change. Regardless of the release of SAS, catalogs must be native to the operating system in which they are used. Thus, catalogs created in a 32-bit Windows environment still require migration or conversion in order to use them in the 64-bit Windows environment, and catalogs created in a 64-bit Windows environment must be recreated in a Windows 32-bit environment.

For a related SAS Note about removing CEDA processing restrictions prior to SAS 9.3 as well as converting catalogs to a 64-bit operating system, see SAS Note 38339, "SAS file compatibility when upgrading from 32-bit to 64-bit Microsoft Windows". For help troubleshooting CLI and ODBC errors in SAS 9.3, see SAS KB0036239.

Operating System and Release Information

Catalogs are unaffected by this change and require migration or conversion.