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Proc print is a procedure in SAS used to display the observations and variables of a SAS data set in a tabular format. It can be used to view the contents of a data set, as well as to customize the output with options such as changing the column size, suppressing output, and defining a break. To use Proc print, the user needs to specify the dataset, the variables, and any desired options. It can also be used to create a summary report containing counts, sums, and other statistics.
You can use PROC PRINT in SAS to print the rows in a dataset.
Here are some common ways to use PROC PRINT in practice:
Method 1: Print Entire Dataset
/*print entire dataset*/
proc print data=my_data;
Method 2: Print First N Observations in Dataset
/*print only first five rows*/
proc print data=my_data(obs=5);
Method 3: Print Specific Variables in Dataset
/*print rows for team and points variables only*/
proc print data=my_data;
var team points;
run;
Method 4: Print Dataset Grouped by Specific Variable
/*sort rows of dataset by values in team column*/
proc sort data=my_data;
by team;
run;
/*print entire dataset grouped by values in team column*/
proc print data=my_data;
by team;
run;
Method 5: Print Dataset with Title and Footer
/*print dataset with title and footer*/
proc sort data=my_data;
title "First Five Rows of Basketball Dataset";
footnote "2015 Data Source";
run;
The following examples show how to use each method in practice with the following dataset in SAS that contains information about various basketball players:
/*create dataset*/
data my_data;
input team $ position $ points assists;
datalines;
A Guard 14 4
A Guard 22 6
A Guard 24 9
A Forward 13 8
A Forward 13 9
A Guard 10 5
B Guard 24 4
B Guard 22 6
B Forward 34 2
B Forward 15 5
B Forward 23 5
B Guard 10 4
;
run;
Example 1: Print Entire Dataset
We can use PROC PRINT with the following syntax to print every row in the dataset:
/*print entire dataset*/
proc print data=my_data;
Notice that every row in the dataset has been printed.
Example 2: Print First N Observations in Dataset
We can use PROC PRINT with the OBS statement to only print the first five observations from the dataset:
/*print first five rows of dataset*/
proc print data=my_data(obs=5);
Notice that only the first five rows in the dataset are printed.
Example 3: Print Specific Variables in Dataset
We can use PROC PRINT with the VAR statement to only print the team and points variables from the dataset:
/*print rows for team and points variables only*/
proc print data=my_data(obs=5);
var team points;
run;
Notice that only the team and points variables from the dataset are printed.
Example 4: Print Dataset Grouped by Specific Variable
We can use PROC PRINT with the BY statement to print the dataset grouped by unique values for the team variable:
/*sort rows of dataset by values in team column*/
proc sort data=my_data;
by team;
run;
/*print entire dataset grouped by values in team column*/
proc print data=my_data;
by team;
run;
Notice that the first table in the output shows the rows for team A and the second table shows the rows for team B.
Example 5: Print Dataset with Title and Footer
We can use PROC PRINT with the TITLE and FOOTER statements to print the dataset with a title and a footer:
/*print dataset with title and footer*/
proc sort data=my_data;
title "First Five Rows of Basketball Dataset";
footnote "2015 Data Source";
run;
Notice that a title is shown above the dataset and a footer is shown below it.
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common tasks in SAS: