You can use proc import to quickly import data from an Excel file into SAS.

This procedure uses the following basic syntax:

/*import data from Excel file called my_data.xlsx*/
proc import out=my_data
    datafile="/home/u13181/my_data.xlsx"
    dbms=xlsx
    replace;
    getnames=YES;
run;

Here’s what each line does:

• out: Name to give dataset once imported into SAS
• datafile: Location of Excel file to import
• dbms: Format of file being imported
• replace: Replace the file if it already exists
• getnames: Use first row as variable names (Set to NO if first row does not contain variable names)

The following example shows how to use this function in practice.

Example: Import Data from Excel File into SAS

Suppose we have the following dataset in Excel:

We can use the following code to import this dataset into SAS and call it new_data:

/*import data from Excel file called my_data.xlsx*/
proc import out=new_data
    datafile="/home/u13181/my_data.xlsx"
    dbms=xlsx
    replace;
    getnames=YES;
run;

/*view dataset*/proc printdata=new_data;

The data shown in the SAS output matches the data shown in the Excel file.

Note: We used getnames=YES when importing the file since the first row of the Excel file contained variable names.

Additional Resources

The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in SAS: