--- title: 'The column that is not in the table' description: 'Derived variables give the EDIT screen columns that do not exist in the table - computed on every read, never stored, and filterable like any other column. The full story is in the article.' date: '2026-10-27 09:00:00' author: 'Data Controller' authorLink: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/data-controller-for-sas tags: - Announcements - Features previewImg: './derived-fx.png' --- # The column that is not in the table Every reporting team has a version of this request, and it always sounds like a five minute job: "can we have a region column? It is just the state, mapped. And a line value - quantity times price. We do not need it stored, we just need it on the screen." It is never a five minute job - so Data Controller now does the obvious thing instead. You write the expression, and the EDIT screen shows the column: computed on every read, never stored, marked `fx` and read-only, so nobody has to wonder whether it is locked or simply has nothing to edit. The part that took the thinking is that they filter like any other column. That needed a DATA step view rather than a data step, and the reasoning is worth reading: [Derived variables: computed columns you can filter on](/derived-variables/). Reference: [Derived Variables](https://docs.datacontroller.io/derived-variables/). If a table of yours has been waiting for "just one more column", we would love to [hear from you](/contact).