>I am using getexpr to create a character variable with a date. When I enter the data, it must have quotes around it. But when I try to do CTOD with the variable all I get is dashes. I think it is because of the quotes around my data in the variable. I am not sure how format my data in the expression builder so I don't get the quotes. Help!

You need to format it the way your set("date") requires. IOW, the problem is in the CTOD(), which conforms to the current date setting. You may set the date format to whatever you want before getting into the expression builder, and keep it at least until your CTOD() hasn't returned a non-empty date.

Keep in mind that Set Date is scoped to the current data session. So, check what it is before you Getexpr To your variable. It would also be nice to restore the setting when you're done.