SAS System Options

DMSSYNCHK System Option

In the SAS windowing environment, specifies whether to enable syntax check mode for DATA step and PROC step processing.

Valid in:	configuration file, SAS invocation, OPTIONS statement, SAS System Options window
Category:	Environment control: Error handling
PROC OPTIONS GROUP=	ERRORHANDLING

Syntax
Syntax Description
Details
Comparisons
See Also

Syntax

DMSSYNCHK | NODMSSYNCHK

Syntax Description

DMSSYNCHK: enables syntax check mode for statements that are submitted within the SAS windowing environment.
NODMSSYNCHK: does not enable syntax check mode for statements that are submitted within the SAS windowing environment.

Details

If a syntax or semantic error occurs in a DATA step after the DMSSYNCHK option is set, then SAS enters syntax check mode, which remains in effect from the point where SAS encountered the error to the end of the code that was submitted. After SAS enters syntax mode, all subsequent DATA step statements and PROC step statements are validated.

While in syntax check mode, only limited processing is performed. For a detailed explanation of syntax check mode, see Syntax Check Mode in SAS Language Reference: Concepts.

CAUTION:: Place the OPTIONS statement that enables DMSSYNCHK before the step for which you want it to take effect.
If you place the OPTIONS statement inside a step, then DMSSYNCHK will not take effect until the beginning of the next step.

If NODMSSYNCHK is in effect, SAS processes the remaining steps even if an error occurs in the previous step.

Comparisons

You use the DMSSYNCHK system option to validate syntax in an interactive session by using the SAS windowing environment. You use the SYNTAXCHECK system option to validate syntax in a non-interactive or batch SAS session. You can use the ERRORCHECK= option to specify the syntax check mode for the LIBNAME statement, the FILENAME statement, the %INCLUDE statement, and the LOCK statement in SAS/SHARE.