ACCESS Procedure

ASSIGN Statement

Indicates whether SAS variable names and formats are generated

Default: NO
Interactions: FORMAT, RENAME, RESET, UNIQUE
applies to access descriptor

Syntax

ASSIGN <=> YES | NO;

Required Arguments

YES

generates unique SAS variable names from the first eight characters of the DBMS column names. If you specify YES, you cannot specify the RENAME, FORMAT, RESET, or UNIQUE statements when you create view descriptors that are based on the access descriptor.

Alias Y

NO

lets you modify SAS variable names and formats when you create an access descriptor and when you create view descriptors that are based on this access descriptor.

Alias N

Details

The ASSIGN statement indicates how SAS variable names and formats are assigned:

  • SAS automatically generates SAS variable names.
  • You can change SAS variable names and formats in the view descriptors that are created from the access descriptor.

Each time the SAS/ACCESS interface encounters a CREATE statement to create an access descriptor, the ASSIGN statement is reset to the default NO value.

When you create an access descriptor, use the RENAME statement to change SAS variable names and the FORMAT statement to change SAS formats.

When you specify YES, SAS generates names according to these rules:

  • You can change the SAS variable names only in the access descriptor.
  • SAS variable names that are saved in an access descriptor are always used when view descriptors are created from the access descriptor. You cannot change them in the view descriptors.
  • The ACCESS procedure allows names only up to eight characters.
Last updated: February 3, 2026