The FSLIST Procedure

FSLIST Command

The FSLIST command provides a handy way to initiate an FSLIST session from any SAS System window. The command allows you to use either a fileref or a filename to specify the file to browse. It also allows you to specify how carriage-control information is interpreted.

FSLIST Command Syntax
The general form of the FSLIST command is

FSLIST <*|?| file-specification <carriage-control-option <overprinting-option>>>
where carriage-control-option can be CC, FORTCC, or NOCC and overprinting-option can be OVP or NOOVP.

Note: OVP is ignored if NOCC is in effect. [cautionend]

FSLIST Command Arguments
You can specify one of the following arguments with the FSLIST command:

*

opens a dialog window in which you can specify the name of the file to browse, along with various FSLIST procedure options. In the dialog window, you can specify either a physical filename, a fileref, or a directory name. If you specify a directory name, a selection list of the files in the directory is displayed, from which you can choose the desired file.

?

opens a selection window from which you can choose the external file to browse. The selection list in the window includes all external files that are identified in the current SAS session (all files with defined filerefs).

Note: Only filerefs defined within the current SAS session appear in the selection list. Under some operating environments, it is possible to allocate filerefs outside of the SAS System. Such filerefs do not appear in the selection list that is displayed by the FSLIST command. [cautionend]
To select a file, position the cursor on the corresponding fileref and press ENTER.

Note: The selection window is not opened if no filerefs have been defined in the current SAS session. Instead, an error message is printed, instructing you to enter a filename with the FSLIST command. [cautionend]

file-specification

identifies the external file to browse. file-specification can be one of the following:

'external-file'

the complete operating environment file specification (called the fully qualified pathname under some operating environments) for the external file. You must enclose the name in quotation marks.

If the specified file is not found, a selection window is opened showing all available filerefs.

fileref

a fileref previously assigned to an external file. If you specify a fileref that is not currently defined, a selection window is opened that shows all available filerefs. An error message in the selection window indicates that the specified fileref is not defined.

If you do not specify any of these three arguments, a selection window is opened that shows the available filerefs (as if you had used the ? argument). The selection window is not opened if no filerefs have been defined in the current SAS session. Instead, an error message is printed that instructs you to enter a filename with the FSLIST command.

FSLIST Command Options
If you use a file-specification with the FSLIST command, you can also use the following options. These options are not valid with the ? argument, or when no argument is used:

CC FORTCC NOCC

indicates whether carriage-control characters are used to format the display. You can specify one of the following values for this option:

CC	uses the native carriage-control characters of the host operating environment.
FORTCC	uses FORTRAN-style carriage control. See the discussion of the PROC FSLIST statement's FORTCC option for details.
NOCC	treats carriage-control characters as regular text.

If the FSLIST procedure can determine from the file's attributes that the file contains carriage-control information, then that carriage-control information is used to format the displayed text (the CC option is the default). Otherwise, the entire contents of the file are treated as text (the NOCC option is the default).

OVP NOOVP

indicates whether the carriage-control code for overprinting is honored. OVP causes the overprint code to be honored; NOOVP causes it to be ignored. The default is NOOVP. The OVP option is ignored if NOCC is in effect.

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