Selecting Observations (1)

Creating List Reports

Selecting Observations

By default, a PROC PRINT step lists all the observations in a data set. You can control which observations are printed by adding a WHERE statement to your PROC PRINT step.

General form, WHERE statement:
WHERE where-expression;

where where-expression specifies a condition for selecting observations. The where-expression can be any valid SAS expression.

For example, the following WHERE statement selects only observations where the value of Age is greater than 30:

     proc print data=clinic.admit;
        var age height weight fee;
        where age>30;
     run;

Here is the procedure output from the PROC PRINT step with the WHERE statement:

Obs Age Height Weight Fee

2 34 66 152 124.80

3 31 61 123 149.75

4 43 63 137 149.75

5 51 71 158 124.80

7 32 67 151 149.75

8 35 70 173 149.75

9 34 73 154 124.80

10 49 64 172 124.80

11 44 66 140 149.75

14 40 69 163 124.80

15 47 72 173 124.80

16 60 71 191 149.75

17 43 65 123 124.80

20 41 67 141 149.75

21 54 71 183 149.75

Obs	Age	Height	Weight	Fee
2	34	66	152	124.80
3	31	61	123	149.75
4	43	63	137	149.75
5	51	71	158	124.80
7	32	67	151	149.75
8	35	70	173	149.75
9	34	73	154	124.80
10	49	64	172	124.80
11	44	66	140	149.75
14	40	69	163	124.80
15	47	72	173	124.80
16	60	71	191	149.75
17	43	65	123	124.80
20	41	67	141	149.75
21	54	71	183	149.75

Specifying WHERE Expressions
A variable specified in the WHERE statement can be any variable in the SAS data set, not necessarily one of the variables specified in the VAR statement. The WHERE statement works for both character and numeric variables. To specify a condition based on the value of a character variable, you must

enclose the value in quotes
write the value with lower and uppercase letters exactly as it appears in the data set.

You use the following comparison operators to express a condition in the WHERE statement:

Symbol Meaning Example

= or eq
equal to
where name='Jones, C.';

^= or ne
not equal to
where temp ne 212;

> or gt
greater than
where income>20000;

< or lt
less than
where partno lt "BG05";

>= or ge
greater than or equal to
where id>='1543';

<= or le
less than or equal to
where pulse le 85;

Symbol	Meaning	Example
= or eq	equal to	where name='Jones, C.';
^= or ne	not equal to	where temp ne 212;
> or gt	greater than	where income>20000;
< or lt	less than	where partno lt "BG05";
>= or ge	greater than or equal to	where id>='1543';
<= or le	less than or equal to	where pulse le 85;