FEXIST Function

Verifies the existence of an external file that is associated with a fileref.

Category:	External Files
See:	FEXIST Function: Windows in SAS Companion for Windows
	FEXIST Function: UNIX in SAS Companion for UNIX Environments
	FEXIST Function: z/OS in SAS Companion for z/OS

Syntax

FEXIST(fileref)

Required Argument

fileref

is a character constant, variable, or expression that specifies the fileref that is assigned to an external file.

Restriction	The fileref must have been previously assigned.
Windows specifics	In some operating environments, you can specify a fileref that was assigned with an environment variable. For details, see the SAS documentation for your operating environment.

Details

FEXIST returns 1 if the external file that is associated with fileref exists, and 0 if the file does not exist. You can assign filerefs by using the FILENAME statement or the FILENAME external file access function. In some operating environments, you can also assign filerefs by using system commands.

Comparisons

FILEEXIST verifies the existence of a file based on its physical name.

Example

This example verifies the existence of an external file and writes the result to the SAS log:

  %if %sysfunc(fexist(&fref)) %then
      %put The file identified by the fileref
         &fref exists.;
   %else
      %put %sysfunc(sysmsg());