Familiarizing Yourself with SAS and SAS/ASSIST Software

The SAS User Interface

To invoke SAS, follow these steps:

Log on to your operating environment.
Enter the command (for example, SAS ) or use the mouse to access SAS. Contact the SAS Support Consultant at your site for the specific command or selection path that is used at your site to access SAS.

Depending on your operating environment and the SAS system configuration at your site, some or all of the following windows appear:
- Output window
- Log window
- Editor window
- Program Editor window
- SAS Explorer window
- Results window
- ToolBox (or tool bar)
SAS Windowing Environment

Note that some windows may be "hidden" beneath others. To see the other windows, use one of the following methods, depending on your operating environment:

Use the View menu to select other windows by name.
Use the PREVWIND and NEXT function keys to bring windows into view.
Use your mouse to click on the desired window.
Select the window's button on the SAS task bar.

To get more information about any of these windows, select Help from the window's menu bar, and then select Using This Window.

Selecting Items

When instructions in this document direct you to "select" an item, use any of the methods listed below according to your operating environment:

If you have a mouse, point to the item and click on it.
Press TAB or BACKTAB to move the cursor to the item, and then press ENTER.
Use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the item, and then press ENTER.

Entering Commands

You can enter commands within SAS by using one of three methods:

selecting from menus
using function keys
typing the commands at the Command ===> prompt or in the ToolBox command window.

Menus and function keys are described in the following sections. Typing commands at the Command ===> prompt or in the ToolBox command window is not discussed in this document. Contact the SAS Support Consultant at your site for further information about using SAS commands.

Note: This document uses menus for all examples. [cautionend]

Using Menus

A menu is a list of functions, actions, or commands. Pull-down menus appear below items that you select in the menu bar at the top of a screen. Pop-up menus can appear anywhere in a screen. In SAS/ASSIST software, you activate pop-up menus by selecting the buttons in the WorkPlace menu. Each menu has items that you can select to perform certain actions.

Note: Some actions are also available through the function keys. You can use either the menus or the function keys to perform these actions, whichever you prefer. Performing an action using function keys often requires fewer keystrokes than performing the same action using menus. See Using Function Keys for further information about function keys. [cautionend]

To use menus, do one of the following:
- If you have a menu bar at the top of your SAS windows, continue to the next step.
- If you have a Command ===> prompt at the top of your SAS windows, you need to invoke the menu bar to follow the examples in this document. To invoke the menu bar, type pmenus on at the Command ===> prompt and press ENTER. The menu bar replaces the command line.
- You can also use a function key defined as COMMAND or PMENU to switch back and forth between a command line and menus.
Note: For Microsoft Windows users, your menu bar is at the top of the main SAS window. The menu bar changes according to which SAS window (Editor, Log, Output, and so on) is active. Click on the Editor window or the Editor button on the SAS task bar to activate the Editor window.
To use an item on the menu bar, select it. For example, select File from the Program Editor menu bar. The File menu appears.

File Menu
Select the action you want to perform. If an action has dots next to it, then when you select the action, another window appears. For example, select Save As from the File menu. The Save As window appears.

Save As Window
To exit a window, select the appropriate button, for example, Cancel, OK, Close, or Goback. For this example, select Cancel.
If an action has a triangle or an arrow next to it, then when you select the action, another menu appears. This feature is called cascading menus. For example, select Solutions and then Analysis. A menu of various analysis applications appears.

Cascading Menus
To exit a menu, use a mouse to point to a location outside the menu box, and then click the mouse button; or, use the arrow keys to position the cursor anywhere outside the menu box, and press ENTER. Make sure the cursor is not on another item on the menu bar or on an item on the window, or else that item will be selected when you click the mouse button or press ENTER.

If you want to return to a command line from the menu bar, follow this selection path: Tools Options Turn Command Line OnThe menu bar is replaced by a Command ===> prompt.

Using Function Keys

Function keys are keyboard keys that you can define to perform different actions. When you are using SAS/ASSIST software, the function keys help you to perform certain actions quickly.

Note: Some actions are also available through the menus. You can use either the menus or the function keys to perform these actions, whichever you prefer. Performing an action with function keys often requires fewer keystrokes than does performing the same action with menus. While the examples in this document use menus, you can use function keys instead. [cautionend]

To see how each key is defined when you first access the SAS System, follow this selection path from any SAS window: Tools Options Keys A list of function keys and their corresponding actions appears.

KEYS Window

Note: The default function key assignments vary among different operating environments. Your KEYS window may look different from the one pictured here.
If some function keys are not visible in the window, use the scroll bars or the FORWARD and BACKWARD function keys to view all the key settings. Note which keys correspond to certain actions. Actions that you need to perform often include
- END, which closes the window. Using a key defined as the END command can be faster than selecting Close from a menu.
- FORWARD, which shows the next screen of data in the current window.
- BACKWARD, which shows the previous screen of data in the current window.
- RIGHT, which shows the data to the right of the current window.
- LEFT, which shows the data to the left of the current window.
- PREVWIND, which shows the previously viewed SAS window.
- NEXT, which shows the next SAS window. You can use PREVWIND and NEXT to view the various SAS windows.
- PMENU (or COMMAND), which toggles between the menu bar and the command line. If the menu bar is being used, this function key invokes the command line. If the command line is being used, this function key invokes the menu bar. Note that if SAS/ASSIST software is active, the PMENU command is not valid. COMMAND is always valid.
Note: Depending on your operating environment, some of the keys listed above may not already be defined in the KEYS window.
To assign a command to a function key, place the cursor in the Definition column for the desired function key and type the command. For a description of SAS System commands, see the online SAS System Help. Some additional commands that you can use in SAS/ASSIST software include
- RUN, which executes the task in the current task window.
- NEW, which clears task window selections except for the active table and any Subset Data selections.
- GOBACK, which does the same thing as selecting Goback.
- RESULTMAN, which invokes the Result Manager.
- MMENU, which returns you to the WorkPlace menu.
To exit the KEYS window, use one of the following methods:
- Follow this selection path:File Close
- Use the END function key.
If you have made changes, then a dialog box appears, asking you if you want to save the changes. Select Yes to save the changes or No to exit without saving. The KEYS window disappears.

Note: You can also access the KEYS window from SAS/ASSIST software using the same method that is described earlier in this section. [cautionend]

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