Language Reference

PACKAGE HELP Statement

PACKAGE HELP packagename<(collection )>;

This statement is supported only by the IML procedure.

If an installed package provides documentation, the PACKAGE HELP statement displays the documentation. The documentation often includes the syntax and purpose of the SAS/IML modules that the package defines. For more information about packages, see Chapter 10, Packages.

You must specify the following argument:

packagename: specifies the name of the package.

You can also specify the following option in parentheses:

collection: requests that only the specified collection be searched. Valid values for collection are PRIVATE, PUBLIC, and SYSTEM. For more information about collections, see the PACKAGE statement.

The following statement displays the help file for the AboveBelow package, which is installed in the SYSTEM collection:

package help AboveBelow;

The following statement searches only the SYSTEM collection:

package help AboveBelow(system);

If a package is named Pkg1, then valid names for the help files are Pkg1.pdf, Pkg1.txt, index.htm, and index.html. The help files are stored in the help subdirectory for the package. The IML procedure echoes the file Pkg1.txt to the Log.

Last updated: May 07, 2026