ezSAS

The key to understanding the difference is to be clear about the where the macro variables are created and what "territory" they would have their "power".

A governor elected in MA has no administrative power outside of MA. He is "local".

However, once he is elected as the "president" of the United States, even though he is from MA (he was made in MA ), he will still have the power over the states other than MA. The procedure of election made him "global".

In SAS, it is much simpler: you type "%global var1". Then it will be availabe for you outside the macro you are writing---outside of Massachussets.