%INDEX Function

Returns the position of the first character of a string.
Type: Macro function

Syntax

%INDEX (source, string)

Required Arguments

source
is a character string or text expression.
string
is a character string or text expression.

Details

The %INDEX function searches source for the first occurrence of string and returns the position of its first character. If string is not found, the function returns 0.

Example: Locating a Character

The following statements find the first character V in a string:
   %let a=a very long value;
   %let b=%index(&a,v);
   %put V appears at position &b..;
When these statements execute, the following line is written to the SAS log:
V appears at position 3.