The FORMS Procedure

PROC FORMS Statement

PROC FORMS <option(s)>;

To do this Use this option

Specify the input data set DATA=

Identify an external file for PROC FORMS to write to FILE=

Control the dimensions of a form

Specify the number of lines in a form unit LINES=

Specify the number of columns across the form unit WIDTH=

Control the placement of the forms

Specify the number of form units to print across the page ACROSS=

Specify the number of spaces to print between form units BETWEEN=

Specify the number of lines to skip on a page before printing the first form unit DOWN=

Specify the number of spaces to indent before printing the first form unit in each row INDENT=

Specify the number of form units to print down the page NDOWN=

Specify the number of lines on a page of forms PAGESIZE=

Specify the number of lines to skip between form units SKIP=

Control the number of each form unit that PROC FORMS prints

Specify the number of form units to produce for each observation in each set of form units COPIES=

Specify the number of sets of form units to produce SETS=

Control the placement of page eject characters CC

Specify the number of lines of dummy form units to print ALIGN=

To do this	Use this option
Specify the input data set	DATA=
Identify an external file for PROC FORMS to write to	FILE=
Control the dimensions of a form
	Specify the number of lines in a form unit	LINES=
	Specify the number of columns across the form unit	WIDTH=
Control the placement of the forms
	Specify the number of form units to print across the page	ACROSS=
	Specify the number of spaces to print between form units	BETWEEN=
	Specify the number of lines to skip on a page before printing the first form unit	DOWN=
	Specify the number of spaces to indent before printing the first form unit in each row	INDENT=
	Specify the number of form units to print down the page	NDOWN=
	Specify the number of lines on a page of forms	PAGESIZE=
	Specify the number of lines to skip between form units	SKIP=
Control the number of each form unit that PROC FORMS prints
	Specify the number of form units to produce for each observation in each set of form units	COPIES=
	Specify the number of sets of form units to produce	SETS=
Control the placement of page eject characters	CC
Specify the number of lines of dummy form units to print	ALIGN=

Options

ACROSS=form-units-per-line

specifies the number of form units to print across the page. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	A=
Default:	1
Range:	1-200
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

ALIGN=number

controls the number of alignment form units that print before the actual data values. Use the alignment form units, which consist solely of Xs, to check printer alignment.

Default:	8 with FILE=; 0 without FILE=
Interaction:	If you use ACROSS=, the number of dummy form units that print is the product of the values of ACROSS= and ALIGN=.
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

BETWEEN=spaces-between-form-units

specifies the number of spaces to print between form units. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	B=
Default:	1
Range:	1-200
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

CC

in continuous mode, writes a page-eject character at the top of the first page. In page mode, if you also specify FILE=, CC writes a page-eject character at the top of each page. (CC has no effect if you omit FILE=.) For a discussion of page mode and continuous mode, see Modes of Operation .

Tip:	If you omit CC, PROC FORMS issues blank lines to go to the next page. We recommend that you always use CC with page-mode operation.
Featured in:	Printing Two Sets of Mailing Labels

COPIES=number

specifies the number of form units to produce for each observation in each set of form units. All copies of an observation appear together.

Alias:	C=
Default:	1
Featured in:	Writing Multiple Copies of a Label within a Single Set of Labels

DATA=SAS-data-set

identifies the input SAS data set.

DOWN=top-margin

specifies the number of lines to skip on a page before printing the first form unit. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	D=
Default:	1
Range:	1-200
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

Note: When PROC FORMS writes to the procedure output file, it uses one line for each TITLE statement and leaves a blank line beneath the last title. Counting for the top margin begins at the next line. Thus, if you have two TITLE statements and specify DOWN=5, PROC FORMS begins printing the first form unit on each page on line 9. [cautionend]

FILE=fileref

identifies an external file for PROC FORMS to write to. Use the FILENAME statement to associate an external file with a fileref (see SAS Language Reference: Concepts).

Alias:	DDNAME=, D=
Default:	If you omit FILE=, PROC FORMS writes to the procedure output file and selects page mode.
Interaction:	If you use FILE= and do not specify the ALIGN= option, PROC FORMS uses ALIGN=8.
Interaction:	When you use FILE=, PROC FORMS honors DOWN= only on the first page of form units.
Interaction:	If you use FILE= with NDOWN= or PAGESIZE= or both, you select page mode. Otherwise, you select continuous mode.
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

INDENT=left-margin

specifies the number of spaces to indent before printing the first form unit in each row. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	I=
Default:	0
Range:	0-200

LINES=form-unit-length

specifies the number of lines in a form unit. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	L=
Default:	the largest number used with the LINE statement
Range:	1-200

NDOWN=form-units-per-page

specifies the number of form units to print down the page and selects page-mode operation. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	ND=
Default:	FLOOR((PAGESIZE-DOWN+SKIP)/(LINES+SKIP)) where FLOOR is a SAS function that returns the largest integer less than or equal to the value of the argument.
Interaction:	If NDOWN= specifies a number of form units that is less than PAGESIZE= allows, PROC FORMS honors NDOWN=. If NDOWN= specifies a number of form units that is greater than PAGESIZE= allows, PROC FORMS adjusts the value of NDOWN= downwards to accommodate the page size.
Featured in:	Printing Two Sets of Mailing Labels

PAGESIZE=lines-per-page

specifies the number of lines on a page of forms after allowing for TITLE statements and a blank line following the titles. (See Sample Placement for Forms .) It also selects page-mode operation.

Alias:	PS=
Default:	the system page size (with FILE=); inferred from the characteristics of the procedure output file and from title information (without FILE=)
Range:	the value of DOWN= plus the value of LINES=, up to 10,000
Interaction:	When you write to the procedure output, if the page size that you specify is greater than the page size specified by the SAS system option PAGESIZE=, PROC FORMS adjusts the PROC FORMS page size to accommodate the system page size.
Interaction:	If the page size allows for more form units than NDOWN= specifies, PROC FORMS honors the NDOWN= option. If the page size does not allow for as many form units as NDOWN= specifies, PROC FORMS adjusts the value of NDOWN= to accommodate the page size.

SETS=number

specifies the number of sets of form units to produce. In page-mode operation, PROC FORMS starts each set on a new page.

Default:	1
Featured in:	Printing Two Sets of Mailing Labels

SKIP=lines-between-form-units

specifies the number of lines to skip between form units. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	S=
Default:	1
Range:	1-200
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

WIDTH=form-unit-width

specifies the number of columns across the form unit. PROC FORMS truncates values that do not fit in the specified width. (See Sample Placement for Forms .)

Alias:	W=
Default:	width of the widest line
Range:	1-255
Featured in:	Printing a Single Form Unit for Each Observation

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