SAS Error "Width specified for format F is invalid."

I came across the SAS error "ERROR: Width specified for format F is invalid." As that provides absolutely no hint as to what the actual problem is, it took me forever to figure it out.

What I've determined is it's a result of importing a file using proc import. Apparently there is some variable SAS doesn't like in that file (if you know exactly why, I'm all ears).

The solution is to write a "format _all_;" statement in a data step for the file before anything else is done to it. Something like this:

proc import datafile="your file" out=mydataset replace;
run;

data mydataset;
set mydataset;
format _all_;
run;

I hope it helps!

Inspiration

There are so many things I come across where the answers on the internet are either incredibly difficult to find or misleading. Sometimes the answer isn't there at all. So, here is my attempt to share some knowledge with the world. It will be random, from ColdFusion to automotive repair to photography and probably lots more, but hopefully it will be that one answer someone needs.

My inspiration: http://xkcd.com/979/