How to Extract the Month from CSV Date Imports in SAS

Learn how to extract the month as "Nov" from Excel date values imported via CSV in SAS Enterprise Guide. Follow our step-by-step guide for effective data manipulation.
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Extracting the Month from Date Values in SAS: A Step-by-Step Guide

When working with data imports, particularly from CSV files, you might encounter numeric date representations that can be confusing. One common scenario is when a date value from Excel, such as 44165, represents a specific date. In this case, 44165 corresponds to November 30, 2020. If you've imported such a CSV in SAS Enterprise Guide, you might be wondering how to extract the month (e.g., "Nov") from this numeric representation. This guide will guide you through the solution step-by-step.

Understanding the Issue

The numeric value you see (e.g., 44165) is how Excel represents dates internally. Excel calculates dates as the number of days since a base date (December 31, 1899). Therefore, before you can extract the month, you need to ensure that this numeric value is recognized as a date in SAS.

Common Problems

Date is numeric: If your date variable is numeric, you can directly apply formats to convert it for display.

Date is character: If the variable is character, you might encounter issues with misshaped data that could lead to complications during processing.

Step-by-Step Solution

1. Determine the Data Type

First, assess whether your date variable is numeric or character. You can check the data type directly in SAS. Here are the steps you should take based on its type:

If date is Numeric

If your date variable is numeric, extracting the month is simple. You can format it using the monname3. format which will display the month abbreviation:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

If date is Character

In cases where your date variable is a character type with potentially malformed entries (like "n/a" or "???"), you'll need to convert this to a numeric SAS date value. Here's how to structure your approach:

Convert Excel Date to SAS Date

Define the Excel Epoch: SAS needs to know the base date used by Excel to convert it correctly. The base date for Excel is 31DEC1899.

Use the input Function: To convert a character date to a numeric date, use the input function as shown below:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Explanation of Code:

xls_epoch: Defines the base date for Excel.

sas_date: Converts the character date variable xls_date into a SAS date by adding the Excel Date base.

format sas_date monname.: Formats the numeric SAS date to display the month name in full.

Conclusion

By applying these techniques, you'll be able to extract the month from numeric date representations imported from CSV files in SAS. Whether your instance involves a straightforward numeric entry or a character variable that requires conversion, following these structured steps will ensure you accurately process your date data.

Now you're ready to handle dates in your SAS projects efficiently! If you have more questions about working with dates or data in SAS, feel free to reach out for assistance.

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