The DATASETS Procedure

FORMAT Statement

Permanently assigns, changes, and removes variable formats in the SAS data set specified in the MODIFY statement.

Restriction: Must appear in a MODIFY RUN group

Featured in: Modifying SAS Data Sets

FORMAT variable-list-1 <format-1>
<...variable-list-n <format-n>>;

Required Arguments

variable-list

specifies one or more variables whose format you want to assign, change, or remove. If you want to disassociate a format with a variable, list the variable last in the list with no format following. For example:

   format x1-x3 4.1 time hhmm2.2 age;

Options

format: specifies a format to apply to the variable or variables listed before it. If you do not specify a format, the FORMAT statement removes any format associated with the variables in variable-list.

Note: You can use shortcut methods for specifying variables, such as the keywords _NUMERIC, _CHARACTER_, and _ALL_. See Shortcuts for Specifying Lists of Variable Names for more information. [cautionend]

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Restriction:	Must appear in a MODIFY RUN group
Featured in:	Modifying SAS Data Sets