Familiarizing Yourself with SAS and SAS/ASSIST Software

The SAS/ASSIST User Interface

To invoke SAS/ASSIST software, follow these steps:

From any SAS window, follow this selection path:Solutions ASSISTIf you have previously invoked SAS/ASSIST software, then the Start window appears; proceed to step 4. If this is the first time that you have run SAS/ASSIST software, then the Welcome window appears.

SAS/ASSIST Welcome Window
Select Continue. The Data Sources window appears.

Data Sources Window

The Data Sources window lists all SAS data libraries that are known to your current SAS session. See SAS Data Libraries for more information on SAS data libraries. The Data Sources window enables you to select the SAS data libraries that are available to you when you perform SAS/ASSIST tasks.
For now, leave the default SAS data libraries selected and select Continue.
The SAS/ASSIST Start window appears.

SAS/ASSIST Start Window
The Start window gives you several options:
- You can choose to use the Cascading menus environment, or you can use the menu system (Block menus) from Version 6 of SAS/ASSIST software.
- You can choose to go directly to the last SAS/ASSIST task that you performed, or you can choose to go directly to the Result Manager to perform one of your saved tasks, or you can choose neither of these options. See Using the Result Manager for details about using the Result Manager.
- You can choose to view your data sources. (After the first time you invoke SAS/ASSIST software, the Data Sources window does not appear unless you select this option.)
- You can choose to suppress the Start window the next time you invoke SAS/ASSIST software by deselecting Show this window at startup.
For now, leave these options as they are and select Continue.
If any tables in your selected data sources are password-protected, then the Table Passwords window appears.

Table Passwords Window

Because none of the examples in this document make use of password-protected tables, you can select Cancel to omit any password-protected tables from use in this SAS/ASSIST session.
The SAS/ASSIST WorkPlace menu appears.

SAS/ASSIST WorkPlace Menu

A button is a graphical shape in a window that, when selected, results in an action. OK and Cancel are examples of buttons. The most commonly used buttons in SAS/ASSIST software are described here:

OK	accepts what you have entered in the window and takes you to additional windows to continue the task. In some cases, OK performs the task.
Cancel	cancels what you have entered in the window and returns to the previous window.
Goback	returns to the previous window.
Help	displays help for the feature that is in use.

Finding Items

If you cannot find the item that you want to use in SAS/ASSIST software, you have two guides to help you:

Use the Tasks menu and its cascading menus to explore the different capabilities of SAS/ASSIST software.
Select Index from the WorkPlace menu to display an alphabetic list of all the tasks and functions that can be performed with SAS/ASSIST software. To access one of the tasks, select it from the Index list. The software takes you directly to the task.

Getting Help

SAS has extensive online help. You can get help for a particular window or general SAS software product help. To access the general SAS help, follow this selection path:Help SAS Help and DocumentationHelp topics are formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and appear in a Help browser or in an HTML browser (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). Various items in the Help browser window are highlighted, underlined, or otherwise emphasized. You can select these items to get more information about them. To access general SAS/ASSIST software help, follow this selection path from the main SAS help screen:SAS Products SAS/ASSIST SAS/ASSIST Online Help

To get help for a particular window, follow this selection path from that window's menu bar:Help Using This WindowHelp for that window appears.

Using SAS/ASSIST Software with This Document

In creating the examples and illustrations in this document, we removed the date and time stamp from all output and disabled the Save Changes dialog box that appears when you exit a task window. We recommend you do the same so that your experience with SAS/ASSIST software will match the descriptions in this document. This section describes how to apply these conditions.

Removing the Date and Time Stamp from Your Output

To remove the date and time from your output, follow this selection path from the SAS/ASSIST WorkPlace menu bar or any task window menu bar:Edit Page Headers Print current date

Note: You must reset this option each time you restart your SAS session. This option is not applicable to graphics output and is not available on graphics task windows. [cautionend]

Disabling the Save Changes Dialog Box

To disable the Save Changes dialog box, the SAS/ASSIST user profile option Confirm changes is set to No. To set this option, do the following:

Follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu bar or any task window menu bar:Tasks Setup Profiles UserThe User Profile window appears.
In the Value field for the Confirm changes option, type no and press ENTER.
Follow this selection path to return to the WorkPlace menu:File Close

If you do not set this option to No, then you will be presented with a Save Changes dialog box every time you exit a task window.

Creating the Sample Tables

In order to perform the exercises in this document, you must create the sample tables. These sample tables are used throughout this document and can be used to learn to use the software. When you are using these sample tables, you can try any of the options in SAS/ASSIST software. You do not need to be concerned about harming the sample data. You can easily re-create the sample tables if, for example, you have altered them so that they no longer correspond to the SAS/ASSIST software documentation and tutorial examples.

To create or re-create the sample tables, follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu: Tasks Setup File Management Sample tablesThe Sample Tables window appears.

Sample Tables Window
Select Create sample tables from the Sample Tables window. The Create Sample Tables window appears.

Create Sample Tables Window
Select the tables you want to create. For the exercises in this document, select all the tables.

Note: If you are re-creating sample tables (rather than creating them for the first time), and you attempt to re-create a table that is the currently active table in one or more SAS/ASSIST tasks, you get an error message because SAS/ASSIST software does not let you re-create an active table. To remove a table from active status, follow the directions in De-Selecting an Active Table.
Select OK. The sample tables are created. When the process is complete, a message appears that indicates that all the tables were created.

Create Sample Tables Message
Select Goback twice to return to the WorkPlace menu.

Deleting the Sample Tables

If you no longer want to use the sample tables, you can delete them.

To delete the sample tables, follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu:Tasks Setup File Management Sample tables The Sample Tables window appears as in Sample Tables Window.
Select Delete sample tables from the Sample Tables window. The Delete Sample Tables window appears.

Delete Sample Tables Window
Select the tables that you want to delete.

Note: You cannot delete a table that is currently the active table in one or more SAS/ASSIST tasks. To remove a table from active status, follow the directions in De-Selecting an Active Table.
Select OK. A message appears that indicates that the selected tables were deleted.

Deleted Sample Tables Message
Select Goback twice to return to the WorkPlace menu.

Frequently Used SAS/ASSIST Operations

This section describes how to perform operations that are common to most SAS/ASSIST tasks. The task examples in this document refer you to this section when these operations are required.

Selecting a Table

When a task example instructs you to select a table, follow these steps:

If you have not already done so, select Table in the task window. The Select Table window appears.

Select Table Window

The Select Table window contains a list of SAS data libraries on the left side and a list of SAS tables on the right. If there is an active table, the table name appears in the Table field as a two-level name. See SAS Files for details about SAS naming conventions.
Use one of the following methods to select a table:
- Type the two-level table name in the Table field.
- Select Table/Column Search. The Table/Column Search window appears, enabling you to locate a table from an alphabetic list of all known tables, or from an alphabetical list of columns in the known tables.
  
  Table/Column Search Window
  
  You can narrow the search by entering the first few characters of the table or column name in the Search Criterion field. Note that wildcard searches are not supported.
- Select the SAS data library name from the Libraries list, and then select the table name from the Tables list. The sample tables used in the examples in this document are all located in the SASUSER library.
  
  If the desired table does not appear in the list of tables, then one of the following conditions is true: the table does not exist, it is not in a library that is known to the current SAS session, or it was added to a library after SAS/ASSIST software was invoked.
  - For sample tables, see Creating the Sample Tables.
  - For tables in undeclared libraries, see Using SAS/ASSIST Software to Assign a New Libref for details about declaring libraries.
  - For newly added tables or libraries, select Refresh to open the Data Sources window. See Selecting Data Sources for more information.
After you have selected the desired table, select OK. The Select table window disappears and the table name appears as the active table in your task.

Selecting Data Sources

To enhance performance, SAS/ASSIST software stores information about only those SAS data libraries that you specify, rather than all SAS data libraries that are known to your SAS session. As a result, the software is required to look in fewer places to find information about tables.

If you declare a new library, or add or modify tables in an existing library, then you must refresh the data sources so that your SAS/ASSIST session will know about the additions or modifications. To refresh the data sources, perform the following steps:

Open the Data Sources window by either
- selecting Refresh from the Select Table window
- selecting Tools Examine Data Sourcesfrom any SAS/ASSIST window.
Data Sources Window

The Data Sources window consists of the following columns:
- Library: lists the known SAS data libraries.
- Type: indicates the type of each library. A type of ASSIST indicates that the library has been prepared for use with SAS/ASSIST software by an administrator; sources of this type cannot be deselected. A type of REMOTE indicates that the library resides on a remote server. Any other type indicates that the library is on the local machine and that the libref is declared with the indicated library engine (for example, V8).
- Path: indicates the physical path to the library.
- No. of Tables: when selected, indicates the number of tables in each library.
Use the check boxes next to the Libraries column in order to select or deselect data sources (libraries) as desired.
To estimate the effect that selecting a library will have on SAS/ASSIST performance, select the No. of Tables check box. The number of tables in each library appears. The fewer tables there are, the better the performance will be.
To deselect all libraries, select Deselect Libraries.
When you are finished selecting libraries, select Continue. SAS/ASSIST software then examines the data sources to collect information about each table.
If any tables are password-protected, then the Table Passwords window appears with a list of password-protected tables. See Specifying Table Passwords for details.

Specifying Table Passwords

If SAS/ASSIST software attempts to access password-protected tables while it is examining data sources, then the Table Passwords window appears.

Table Passwords Window

[Table Passwords Window]

In the Table Passwords window, you can do the following:

Enter the password in the Password field for each table. Contact your system administrator or your site's SAS Support Consultant if you do not know the passwords.
Omit a table from use in this SAS/ASSIST session by clearing the Selected check box for that table.
Omit all password-protected tables from use in this SAS/ASSIST session by selecting Cancel.
Store the passwords and use them whenever you refresh the data sources by selecting the Store and reuse passwords check box. The passwords are stored in an encrypted file. Note that if you make this selection, then the Table Passwords window does not appear again unless new, password-protected tables are added, or the passwords for the existing tables change.
Bypass the attempt to read password-protected tables for all future SAS/ASSIST sessions by selecting the Skip read-protected data check box.

When you are finished making selections in this window, select OK.

Selecting a Column

When a task example instructs you to select a column, follow these steps:

If you have not already done so, select the appropriate button (for example, Columns, Chart column, or Analysis column) in the task window. The Select Table Variables window appears with the available columns in the Available list. (Note that "variable" is another word for "column.")

Select Table Variables Window

The number of columns that you can select is indicated above the Available list. In certain contexts, not all of the active table's columns are listed. For instance, when the software performs an action that requires numerical data, only numerical columns are listed.
Select the desired column name from the Available list.
Select the right arrow. The column name disappears from the Available list and appears in the Selected list.

Note: In certain tasks, you can select more than one column at a time; in others, you can select only one column. If you can select only one column, then the Select Table Variables window disappears when you select the right arrow, and the column name appears in the task window. In this case, you do not need to go any further in this procedure.

To de-select a column, select it in the Selected list and select the left-arrow button to move it back to the Available list.
Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each desired column.

Note: If you want to select all of the available columns, then you can select the double right arrow to select them all at once instead of selecting them one at a time If selecting all columns would select more columns than the task allows, then the double right arrow is disabled.
Select OK. The Select Table Variables window disappears.

De-Selecting an Active Table

You can clear task window selections by selecting File New However, this action does not clear the Active Table selection or the Subset Data selection. The reason for this feature is that many users want to use the same subset of the same data for multiple tasks. To clear the Active Table and Subset Data selections, follow these steps. To clear only the Subset Data selection, see the instructions in Clearing a Subset Data Selection.

Use the Tasks menu to go to the desired task window.
Select Table. The Select table window appears.
Erase the table name in the Table field, and then select OK. The task window reappears with the Table field cleared.

Note: These steps also clear the other window selections. [cautionend]

Clearing a Subset Data Selection

You can clear task window selections by selecting File NewHowever, this action does not clear the Active Table selection or the Subset Data selection. To clear only the Subset Data selection, follow the steps in this section. The reason for this feature is that many users wish to use the same subset of the same data for multiple tasks. To clear both the Subset Data selection and Active Table, see the instructions in De-Selecting an Active Table.

Use the Tasks menu to go to the desired task window.
Select Subset data. The Subset Data window appears.
Select the subsetting method you want to clear (BY columns, WHERE clause, or Restrict rows). The selection window for that method appears.
Select Reset. The default value for that method is restored.
Select OK. The Subset Data window reappears.
Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each desired subsetting method.
Select Goback. The Subset Data window disappears.

Exiting a Task

When you are finished with a task, you can either return to the WorkPlace menu or go on to another task:

To return to the WorkPlace menu, follow this selection path: File Close
To go on to another task, select Tasks, and then select the desired task.

Exiting SAS/ASSIST Software

To exit SAS/ASSIST software, return to the WorkPlace menu and select Exit. The SAS/ASSIST window disappears.

Exiting SAS

To exit SAS, use one of the following methods:

From the SAS Explorer window, Editor window, Results window, or SAS Environment window, select File ExitA prompt confirms that you want to exit.

SAS Exit Prompt When Using the Menu Bar

Select OK to exit SAS.
In the SAS ToolBox command window, or at a Command ===> prompt, type BYE and press ENTER. The SAS session terminates without further prompting.

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