7. Writing Field-developed Applications › 7.5 MSI Definition Notes › 7.5.2 Resolving Data Element Type Conflicts

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7.5.2 Resolving Data Element Type Conflicts


As MSI reads the variable definitions from the model SAS
data set, it verifies the information against known common
data elements.  If a match is found, MSI will verify that the
type and length of the SAS variable matches the common
data element definition.  If a type mismatch occurs, MSI will
make the data element non-common and use the definition from
the SAS data set.

While a type conflict does not trigger an error (warning
messages are issued), this condition should be avoided since
it can prevent the merging of information.

To properly resolve these conflicts, it is recommended that
the SAS variable be renamed (using the MSI RENAME statement).