FILL Command

Places fill characters beginning at the current cursor position.

Category:

Text editing, command-line command

Syntax

Details

Syntax

FILL <'fill-character'> <n>

Without Arguments

The FILL command displays a message identifying the fill character and the number of its repetitions.

Optional Arguments

'fill-character': specifies a customized character that must be enclosed in single quotation marks. The fill character remains in effect until you change it.

n: specifies the exact number of fill characters. The number remains in effect until you change it.

Details

The FILL command places fill characters beginning at the current cursor position. The fill characters extend to the end of a line, or to the space before the next non-blank character, whichever occurs first. By default, the fill character is usually an underscore or hyphen. If you use the FILL arguments, you can change the fill character and the number of repetitions.

The FILL command is most easily issued with a function key. To place the fill characters at the cursor position, set one of your function keys to issue the FILL command. Move the cursor to a Program Editor field, and then press the function key. The fill characters are displayed.

The following example shows how you can change the default. Issuing the following command makes the default become 10 question marks:

fill '?' 10

The changed fill character is in effect for the duration of your SAS session, or until you change it. You can use the WSAVE command to permanently save the setting.