Macro Statements

The following macro statement has behavior specific to Windows:

%SYSEXEC

• executes operating environment commands immediately and places the return code in the SYSRC automatic macro variable. The %SYSEXEC statement is similar to the X statement that is described in 'Running Windows or MS-DOS Commands from within SAS' on page 25. You can use the %SYSEXEC statement inside a macro or in open code. The %SYSEXEC statement has the following syntax:

  • %SYSEXEC < command >;

• The command argument can be any operating environment command or any sequence of macro operations that generates an operating environment command. You can also use the command argument to invoke a Windows application such as Notepad.

  Omitting the command argument launches a command prompt subprocess, which is interactive. To return to your SAS session, type EXIT at the command prompt and press ENTER. The SYSRC automatic variable is set to 0 if you omit the command argument in the %SYSEXEC statement.

  Here is a simple example of %SYSEXEC:

   %sysexec time; 

  This statement launches a command prompt session that displays the following lines:

   The current time is: 16:32:45.16  Enter new time: 

  Note: The %SYSEXEC statement uses the XSYNC and XWAIT system option values just like the X statement and X command do. For more information about these system options, see 'XSYNC System Option' on page 576 and 'XWAIT System Option' on page 577.