SEQ= System Option

Specifies the length of the numeric portion of the sequence field in input source lines or data lines.
Valid in: Configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window
Category: Input control: Data processing
PROC OPTIONS GROUP= INPUTCONTROL
Note: This option can be restricted by a site administrator. For more information, see Restricted Options.

Syntax

SEQ= n | MIN | MAX | hexX

Syntax Description

n
specifies the length in terms of bytes.
MIN
sets the minimum length to 1.
MAX
sets the maximum length to 8.
Tip:When SEQ=8, all eight characters in the sequence field are assumed to be numeric.
hexX
specifies the length as a hexadecimal. You must specify the value beginning with a number (0–9), followed by an X.

Details

Unless the S= or S2= system option specifies otherwise, SAS assumes an eight-character sequence field. However, some editors place some alphabetic information (for example, the filename) in the first several characters. The SEQ= value specifies the number of digits that are right-justified in the eight-character field. For example, if you specify SEQ=5 for the sequence field AAA00010, SAS looks at only the last five characters of the eight-character sequence field and, if the characters are numeric, treats the entire eight-character field as a sequence field.

See Also