Starting with SAS^® 9.4M4 (TS1M4), you can create a new .xlsx file when you export data with the SAS PC Files Server.

However, although the .xlsx file is created successfully and the data exports without any issue, a blank sheet that is named "_SAS_empty_" is added to the file. At this time, there is no way to prevent this sheet from appearing in the .xlsx file when the file is created during an export procedure.

If the presence of this sheet is a problem, use one of the following workarounds:

• Create an .xlsx file before the export. This file can be blank, but the file itself needs to exist before you export data.
• Use an .xlsb extension and export the data to a new .xlsb file. That file can then be saved as an .xlsx file after the export completes.
• Use the DBMS=XLSX option to export data to a new .xlsx file.