In reply to Peter Lancashire.

Peter,

You have raised a good point. SAS offers many ways to access Excel files, and they each have advantages and disadvantages.

The second example in this blog uses the RENAME= data set option. So some data set options DO work with the XLSX LIBNAME engine, but not all. The disadvantage of the EXCEL LIBNAME engine is that it may not work if you are mixing 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

When we were writing The Little SAS Book Sixth Edition, I talked to SAS developers and asked if they are likely to add options to the XLSX LIBNAME. The response I got was that they did not expect to add any features. However, SAS Institute has always been responsive to customer requests. I was going to suggest that you submit your request to the SASware Ballot, but I see you have already done that. Good for you! That is the best way to get what you want. https://communities.sas.com/t5/SASware-Ballot-Ideas/Add-DBSASTYPE-or-similar-option-to-XLSX-engine-to-force-variable/idc-p/631215#M4065

regards,
Susan Slaughter