SAS Macro Language: Reference

Summary of Macro Quoting Functions and the Characters They Mask

Different macro quoting functions mask different special characters and mnemonics so the macro facility interprets them as text instead of as macro language symbols.

Summary of Special Characters and Macro Quoting Functions divides the symbols into categories and shows which macro quoting functions mask which symbols.

By Item
Summary of Special Characters and Macro Quoting Functions
Group Items Macro Quoting Functions

A + -- */<>=¬^|~;, blank AND OR NOT EQ NE LE LT GE GT all

B &% %NRSTR, %NRBQUOTE, %SUPERQ, NRQUOTE

C unmatched' "() %BQUOTE, %NRBQUOTE, %SUPERQ, %STR*, %NRSTR*, %QUOTE*, %NRQUOTE*

***Summary of Special Characters and Macro Quoting Functions***
Group	Items	Macro Quoting Functions
A	+ -- */<>=¬^\|~;, blank AND OR NOT EQ NE LE LT GE GT	all
B	&%	%NRSTR, %NRBQUOTE, %SUPERQ, NRQUOTE
C	unmatched' "()	%BQUOTE, %NRBQUOTE, %SUPERQ, %STR, %NRSTR, %QUOTE, %NRQUOTE

By Function

Function Affects Groups Works at

%STR A, C* macro compilation

%NRSTR A, B, C* macro compilation

%BQUOTE A, C macro execution

%NRBQUOTE A, B, C macro execution

%SUPERQ A, B, C macro execution (prevents resolution)

%QUOTE A, C* macro execution. Requires unmatched quotation marks and parentheses to be marked with a percent sign (%).

%NRQUOTE A, B, C* macro execution. Requires unmatched quotation marks and parentheses to be marked with a percent sign (%).

*Unmatched quotation marks and parentheses must be marked with a percent sign (%) when used with %STR, %NRSTR, %QUOTE, and %NRQUOTE.

Function	Affects Groups	Works at
%STR	A, C*	macro compilation
%NRSTR	A, B, C*	macro compilation
%BQUOTE	A, C	macro execution
%NRBQUOTE	A, B, C	macro execution
%SUPERQ	A, B, C	macro execution (prevents resolution)
%QUOTE	A, C*	macro execution. Requires unmatched quotation marks and parentheses to be marked with a percent sign (%).
%NRQUOTE	A, B, C*	macro execution. Requires unmatched quotation marks and parentheses to be marked with a percent sign (%).
*Unmatched quotation marks and parentheses must be marked with a percent sign (%) when used with %STR, %NRSTR, %QUOTE, and %NRQUOTE.

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