SAS tips and tricks

These pages listed here are based on SAS seminars I gave in 1999-2000, aimed at epidemiology doctoral students in my department. I no longer use SAS, and these files are not maintained or updated. The code is based on SAS version 6.

My SAS code for estimating and modelling relative survival can be found here

Index of SAS tips and tricks

• Converting variable types (e.g., char to num)
• Calculating age in completed years
• Calculating age at diagnosis from PNR and diagnosis date
• Customised notes and warnings
• Permanent format catalogues
• Missing values
• The LENGTH statement
• Using AUTOEXEC.SAS to customise your session
• SAS autocall libraries
• FIRST. and LAST. variables
• Categorising a variable into quintiles
• Formats and informats
• Working with SAS dates
• Printing all variables for a single observation
• Referring to variables - ‘Variable lists’
• Sample statistic functions
• Introduction to arrays
• Verifying the check digit on Swedish ID numbers
• Estimating ratios of proportions (risk ratios)

Slides (PDF format) for some SAS-related talks

• Working efficiently with SAS (November 2003)
• Logistic regression in SAS version 8 (October 2003)
• Cox regression in SAS version 9 (May 2005)
• SAS tips and tricks with a focus on data cleaning (April 2003)

Slides (PDF format) from other presenters in the same series

• Working with SAS Formats and SAS Dates, Anna Johansson, Feb 2012
• Intro to PROC SQL, Gustaf Edgren, Oct 2004
• More SQL, Gustaf Edgren, Apr 2006
• SQL pass-through, Gustaf Edgren, Apr 2006
• Intro to PROC SQL, Ninoa Malki, Apr 2012
• Overview of graphs in SAS, Sven Sandin, Dec 2003

Extended index (with short summary of each page)