EViews workfile functions provide information about each observation of a workfile based on the structure of the workfile.

These functions may be viewed in two ways. First, they may be thought of as virtual series available within each workfile that can be used wherever a regular series may be used. Alternatively, they may be thought of as special functions that depend on two implicit arguments: the workfile within which the function is being used, and the observation number within this workfile for which to return a value.

Since workfile functions are based on the structure of a workfile, they may only be used in operations where a workfile is involved. Workfile functions may be used in statements that generate series in a workfile, in statements that set the workfile sample, and in expressions used in estimating an equation using data in a workfile. These functions may not be used when manipulating scalar variables or vectors and matrices in EViews programs.