ACCESS Procedure Reference

BYKEY Statement (Optional)

Designates one or more items as sort keys.

Applies to:

access descriptors and view descriptors

Syntax

BYKEY variable-identifier = YES|NO <...variable-identifier-n= YES|NO>;

Details

The BYKEY statement designates one or more items as BY keys and, in a view descriptor, also selects them for the view.

The BYKEY statement cannot be used to change the BYKEY value in a view descriptor if ASSIGN= YES is specified in the access descriptor from which the view descriptor is derived.

variable-identifier can be one of the following:

the current SAS name for the data item

Note: Any name on the left side of the equal sign (=) must be a SAS name, not a SYSTEM 2000 name. In an access descriptor, if the ASSIGN statement is omitted, you must enter the item number or component number (C-number) on the left side of the equal sign (=).
a positional equivalent, which is the number that represents the item, as specified in the LIST statement
the SYSTEM 2000 C-number of the database item

For example, if you want to make the third item a BY key, submit the following statement:

bykey 3=y;

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