Stat Computing > FAQ

How do I use a SAS data file in Stata?

1. Using SAS software

If you are a SAS user and you need to use Stata for some analysis, for example, you can use proc export to convert your data to Stata format as shown below. By specifying the file extension as .dta, SAS understands that the SAS data file mydata in the work directory will be converted to a Stata file. In the process of conversion, SAS will automatically convert the variable labels and value labels as well.

proc export data=mydata outfile= "C:\data\newdata3.dta";
run;

2. Using Stat/Transfer

If you have Stat/Transfer or have access to Stat/Transfer converting SAS to Stata is fairly straightforward, if no conversion of value labels are involved. If you need to convert value labels as well using a SAS format library, see our page on How do I convert SAS files with formats to Stata for more details.

Note: If the file being transferred has more than 2,047 variables and you are going to use Stata/SE, the data file should be converted to Stata/SE, in which case you will need to select Output File Type: Stata/SE.

3. Using a SAS XPORT (*.xpt) file

Stata is able to read SAS XPORT data files (*.xpt) made with the XPORT engine using the fdause command such as in the example code below. Here is the link to Stata's help file on fdause if you need more information.

fdause "C:\data\hsb2.xpt"

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