The following error messages might be generated when the PRELOADFMT option is used in summary procedures such as MEANS, SUMMARY, REPORT, or TABULATE:

ERROR: The "other" format range for variable x is unreachable.
ERROR: A format range for the variable x could not be pre-loaded.

The error messages are generated when all of the following occur:

• The PRELOADFMT option is specified in a procedure that uses the summary object.
• The OTHER= keyword is used with PROC FORMAT to capture missing values.
• The LOW and HIGH range keywords are also used with PROC FORMAT.

If any value other than a missing value can be included as part of the OTHER category, the error messages do not occur.

To circumvent the problem, do one of the following:

• Remove the PRELOADFMT option.
• Specifically assign a missing value in PROC FORMAT instead of using the OTHER= category.

Click the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.

Operating System and Release Information

A fix for this issue for Base SAS 9.3_M2 is available at:

A fix for this issue for Base SAS 9.21_M3 is available at: