Paper 49

"Reproducing the "BEST Format in R

September 24, 2025: 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Foundational Coding Skills (FCS), Breakout Room #8

Authors	Abstract
David Bosak	The "BEST" format is commonly used in SAS programs. This format constrains the display of a numeric value to a specified width. Depending on the characteristics of the numeric value, it may be rounded or not. For very small or large values, the "BEST" format may display the value in scientific notation. If the value has decimals, the number of decimals shown by "BEST" can change depending on the number of integer digits. The rules concerning the "BEST" format are in fact quite complicated. Is there any way to reproduce the "BEST" format in R? This paper will show you how to do it using a recently added feature of the "fmtr" R package.

David Bosak

The "BEST" format is commonly used in SAS programs. This format constrains the display of a numeric value to a specified width. Depending on the characteristics of the numeric value, it may be rounded or not. For very small or large values, the "BEST" format may display the value in scientific notation. If the value has decimals, the number of decimals shown by "BEST" can change depending on the number of integer digits. The rules concerning the "BEST" format are in fact quite complicated. Is there any way to reproduce the "BEST" format in R? This paper will show you how to do it using a recently added feature of the "fmtr" R package.