The following errors occur when data files with permanent formats are used under another operating system:
ERROR: File MYLIB.FORMATS.CATALOG was created for a different operating system.
ERROR: The format MYFMT was not found or could not be loaded.
Although data sets can be used in different directory-based operating systems, the permanent formats assigned to the variables reference user-defined format catalogs that are stored independently from the data sets. If the format catalogs are created in a different operating system, you will encounter the errors above.
For example, an error is generated when you are running SAS® on Microsoft Windows if the format catalog was created in a UNIX operating environment. Similarly, the errors occur in a 64-bit Windows SAS session when the format catalog was created in a 32-bit Windows SAS session.
The quickest method of circumventing the error is to submit the NOFMTERR system option. The NOFMTERR system option causes SAS to ignore the formats and display the underlying data values of the data set.
options nofmterr;
If you have the program containing the PROC FORMAT statements, you can run them to create a catalog native to the operating system. (To make a permanent format catalog, use the LIB= option in the PROC FORMAT statement to specify a different target directory for storage. Or you can first remove the offending format catalog from the current directory in order to avoid generating the error described above.)
If you have access to the operating environment in which the formats.sas7bcat file was created, you can write it out to an intermediary file format, such as a CPORT transport file or CNTLOUT= data set. The transport file or data set serves as an intermediary file that can be used under the target environment to re-create the format catalog. For syntax using the CPORT/CIMPORT procedures, see the Full Code tab in SAS Note 38339. For syntax using the CNTLOUT= option in PROC FORMAT, see SAS KB0039553. (Note that using communications software such as FTP to move a transport file or data set requires using the BINARY transfer mode.)
You can use the program in SAS Note 34443, "Determine the operating system and SAS® release in which a catalog was created," to identify which operating system was used to create the format catalog.