The `ods excel close;` statement in SAS (Statistical Analysis System)...

The ods excel close; statement in SAS (Statistical Analysis System) programming is used to close an active Excel output destination. It finalizes and closes the Excel file that was being created by the ODS EXCEL statement. Until this command is executed, any data or output sent to the Excel file remains open and may not be properly written or saved.

In essence:

• If you use the ODS EXCEL statement to start writing output to an Excel file, the ods excel close; statement ensures the file is completely written, closed, and is ready for use outside of SAS. It also stops any further output from being added to that file.

Example:

ods excel file="output.xlsx";
proc print data=sashelp.class;
run;
ods excel close;

In this example:

1. The ods excel statement opens an Excel file named output.xlsx.
2. The proc print procedure writes a dataset to the file.
3. The ods excel close; command ensures the file is saved and properly closed after data is written.