From: David L Cassell on
vanwamelen(a)GMAIL.COM wrote:
>
>Is there a way to make a copy of an external files from SAS (without
>using SYSTEM or X)?
>
>I want to "proc import" an excel file even if the user already has it
>open. The idea is to first copy it to C:\temp (OK not very portable...)
>and then "proc import" the copy. I can do it with "system" and the
>noxwait option, but that pops up that ugly window, very distracting. I
>see I can do things like
> rc=rename('d:\temp','d:\testfile','file');
>but is there an equivalent for "copy"? I can't find it anywhere!
>
>Any help would be greatly appreciated!
>
>Paul

It is simply not possible to access all files regardless of the current
availability of the file. The whole point of a lot of OS software is
to prevent such a thing. If anyone can access a file while others
are accessing it, there is the chance of file corruption, generation
mix-ups, etc. It is generally considered A Bad Thing.

So I would re-think the problem first. If someone else has the
file open, you should stop the process. Perhaps you should send
them a note (an email or a pop-up window or ...) asking them
to close the file for your process. But don't copy files while
other people are working on them.

And finally, SAS is not designed as a systems administration tool.
The SAS Metadata Server and some other components are designed
for such issues, but the SAS data step is not for this. I would
recommend a more robust method, using a more robust language
that can do a much better job of the error-handling that you need
in a process like this. I would go with Perl, but that's just my personal
preference. Others might recommend C# or Python or VB or ...

HTH,
David
--
David L. Cassell
mathematical statistician
Design Pathways
3115 NW Norwood Pl.
Corvallis OR 97330

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