You wrote "spreadsheets are not databases". This is true but they have moved closer. Excel has had for some time the feature now called "tables" and previously "lists". This imposes some rules. They can even be linked to real databases. I find them very useful. They have unique names, too. . SAS currently completely ignores Excel tables. Please could SAS recognise and read them. . Read more about Excel tables here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/overview-of-excel-tables-7ab0bb7d-3a9e-4b56-a3c9-6c94334e492c