Hi Sarah To avoid a step joining to datasets, you could just do the two infiles in one step... like

%let file = c:\lmp\data\finalize\MSS_7020030728205502_0X.0_28-JUL-2003_16_55.lmpsolved ; filename solve1 "&file" lrecl =3000; filename solve2 "&file" lrecl =3000;

data new_lmps_0( label="read from &file" ); infile solve1 firstobs=4 ; input @37 udscaseid $19. // @38 lmpcaseid $16. ;

do until( eof ); infile solve2 firstobs=1 ; input @1 datatype $1. @72 PNODE_TYPE $1. @;

if datatype="D" and PNODE_TYPE in ("H" "I" "Z") then do; input @29 date date11. @41 time time5. @48 pnode_name $15. @80 lmp 9.2 @118 loss 8.2 @127 cong 8.2 ; format date date. time time.; output; end /* handling datatype D*/ ;

end /* handling a record from SOLVED2 */ ; stop; /* end of file on solved2 */ run;

Comment: instead of 2 data steps to read the data, I used 2 infile statements This provides 2 streams of data in the data step. Rather than have to bypass handling the SOLVE1 file on all data step iterations after the first, I put a do until( eof ); loop around the reading of data from SOLVE2 It doesn't add a lot. Just the "end=eof" on the infile, an output statement, and a stop statement to avoid having the data step iterate a second time.

welcome to the wonderful data step

Good Luck

Peter Crawford Crawford Software Consultancy Limited UK >

"Sarah Whittier" <swhittier@ISO-NE.COM> wrote in message news:200309121818.h8CII6t09161@listserv.cc.uga.edu... > I have a problem related to reading data from flat files into SAS. I am > using Windows, and the files are text files. The files are essentially > hierarchical files, however, the rows with the header data that I want are > not easily identified (i.e., they don't have a consistent datatype > identifier). > > I want to read certain key values from the 4th and 6th rows of the file and > have these values on each row of the data values in the output SAS > dataset. I can achieve this by using two data steps with input statements, > and then a third to set them together. I would prefer to do this in just > one data step, which I hope will make it easier to set up a program to read > in the 30 or so files that I have. Does anyone have a suggestion for > modifying the program below to use just one data step? I hope this is > sufficiently clear without including data. > > > filename solved "c:\lmp\data\finalize\MSS_7020030728205502_0X.0_28-JUL- > 2003_16_55.lmpsolved"; > > data new_lmps_id; > infile solved firstobs=4 obs=6; > > input @37 udscaseid $19. > // @38 lmpcaseid $16. ; > run; > > data new_lmps; > infile solved; > > input @1 datatype $1. @72 PNODE_TYPE $1. @; > > if datatype="D" and PNODE_TYPE in ("H" "I" "Z") then do; > input @29 date date11. > @41 time time5. > @48 pnode_name $15. > @80 lmp 9.2 > @118 loss 8.2 > @127 cong 8.2 ; > format date date. time time.; > output; > end; > run; > > data new_lmps_2; > set new_lmps; > if _n_ = 1 then set new_lmps_id; > run; > > > Thank you, > > Sarah Whittier > ISO-NE