SAS IF THEN Statement for Range of Columns

Question

I want to create a new column based on a range of columns(GAP1-GAP5). I wanted to use something like this:

IF FIND(GAP1-GAP5,'New Start') THEN FILTER_NewStart=1

but got an error so had to use this:

IF FIND(GAP1,'New Start') OR FIND(GAP2,'New Start') OR FIND(GAP3,'New Start') 
  OR FIND(GAP4,'New Start') OR FIND(GAP5,'New Start') THEN FILTER_NewStart=1;

Do I need to use a loop or can I use a function for a range of columns to achieve this?

An `array` statement will probably work faster than the accepted answer, if speed is of any concern. — AdamO, Mar 07 '19 at 22:10

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 07 '19 at 20:37

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Try concatenating them and using find on the variable instead.

if(find(cat(of GAP1-GAP5), 'New Start') ) then FILTER_NewStart = 1;

answered Mar 07 '19 at 20:37

Stu Sztukowski

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Tom · Answer 2 · 2019-03-08T01:32:28.870

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Sounds like you want to use the WHICHC() function to find the first variable in a list of variables that equals a specific value. If none have it then the result is zero.

FILTER_NewStart=0 ne whichc('New Start',of GAP1-GAP5);

FIND() is for locating a specific substring in a longer string and so cannot work on many variables at once.

edited Mar 08 '19 at 01:32

answered Mar 07 '19 at 22:21

Tom

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score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Mar 08 '19 at 04:37

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@Tom whichc() is a good idea, whereas it doesn't work if GAP1-GAP5 just contain but not equal to 'New Start'. find() would be a better anwser in this situation.

answered Mar 08 '19 at 04:37

whymath

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SAS IF THEN Statement for Range of Columns

3 Answers3