Data Set
is the name of the current input data set. To specify the input data set, you can type a one-level or two-level SAS data set
name in this field or select the Browse button to the right of the field.
Browse button
opens the Data Set Selection window to enable you to select the input data set.
Time ID
is the name of the time ID variable for the input data set. To specify this variable, you can type the ID variable name in
this field or use the Select button.
Select button
opens the Time ID Variable Specification window.
Create button
opens a menu of choices of methods for creating a time ID variable for the input data set. Use this feature if the input data
set does not already contain a valid time ID variable.
Interval
is the time interval between observations (data frequency) in the current input data set. If the interval is not automatically
filled in by the system, you can type in an interval name here, or select one from the pop-up list.
Series
indicates the number and names of time series variables for which forecasts will be produced.
Select button
opens the Series to Process window to let you select the series for which you want to produce forecasts.
Data Set
is the name of the output data set that will contain the forecasts. Type the name of the output data set in this field or
click the Browse button.
Browse button
opens a dialog to let you locate an existing data set to which to save the forecasts.
Format
enables you to select one of three formats for the forecast data set:
Simple
specifies the simple format for the output data set. The data set contains the time ID variable and the forecast variables
and contains one observation per time period. Observations for earlier time periods contain actual values copied from the
input data set; later observations contain the forecasts.
Interleaved
specifies the interleaved format for the output data set. The data set contains the time ID variable, the variable TYPE, and
the forecast variables. There are several observations per time period, with the meaning of each observation identified by
the TYPE variable.
Concatenated
specifies the concatenated format for the output data set. The data set contains the variable SERIES, the time ID variable,
and the variables ACTUAL, PREDICT, ERROR, LOWER, and UPPER. There is one observation per time period per forecast series.
The variable SERIES contains the name of the forecast series, and the data set is sorted by SERIES and DATE.
Horizon
is the number of periods or years to forecast beyond the end of the input data range. To specify the forecast horizon, you
can type a value in this field or select one from the pop-up list.
Horizon periods
selects the units to apply to the horizon. By default, the horizon value represents number of periods. For example, if the
interval is month, the horizon represents the number of months to forecast. Depending on the interval, you can also select
weeks or years, so that the horizon is measured in those units.
Horizon date
is the ending date of the forecast horizon. You can type in a date that uses a form recognized by a SAS date informat, or
you can increment or decrement the date shown by using the left and right arrows. The outer arrows change the date by a larger
amount than the inner arrows. The date field and the horizon field reset each other, so you can use either one to specify
the forecasting horizon.
Run button
produces forecasts for the selected series and stores the forecasts in the specified output SAS data set.
Output button
opens a Viewtable window to display the output data set. This button becomes available once the forecasts have been written
to the data set.
Close button
closes the Produce Forecasts window and returns to the Time Series Forecasting window.