Date: Fri, 20 Jun 2003 09:31:36 -0400
Reply-To: Mike Rhoads <RHOADSM1@WESTAT.COM>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Mike Rhoads <RHOADSM1@WESTAT.COM>
Subject: Re: ODS to Excel: formatting text fields
Content-Type: text/plain
Ben,
AFAIK, the definitive reference on using ODS to create Excel files is
Chevell Parker's SUGI 28 paper, available online at
http://www2.sas.com/proceedings/sugi28/012-28.pdf. He discusses this issue
extensively and suggests a number of possible solutions, depending on the
underlying file type you want to use, version of Excel, etc.
Good luck!
Mike Rhoads
Westat
RhoadsM1@Westat.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Powell [mailto:ben.powell@CLA.CO.UK]
Sent: Friday, June 20, 2003 8:42 AM
To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: ODS to Excel: formatting text fields
I use ODS to export various reports and would like to use it in another way
but there is a problem. I'm exporting ISBNs which can contain an X check
digit so must be treated as text. However Excel considers them to be numeric
when there is no X. I can use DDE and preformat the column as text to
resolve this but I can't get ODS to achieve the same thing. If I import the
html into excel having preformatted the column that doesn't work, and if I
ODS directly to an xls file that doesn't work. The result is the leading
zeros are trimmed. As the file can contain ISSNs as well I have no idea what
the number was to start with.
Does any one have a work around for this sort of problem, or know of an
option I can use (in SAS or Excel)?
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