FSLETTER Procedure Windows

Overview

The process of producing a document with the FSLETTER procedure involves the following steps:

Selecting catalog entries.

The FSLETTER procedure provides two ways to choose which catalog entry to create or edit:
- You can specify a complete catalog entry name in the LETTER= option of the PROC FSLETTER statement or in the FSLETTER command. In this case, the FSLETTER window is opened for creating or editing the specified entry.
- You can specify only a catalog name in the LETTER= option of the PROC FSLETTER statement or in the FSLETTER command. In this case, an Explorer window is opened. From this window you can view the current entries in the specified catalog, select entries to browse or edit, or create new entries. You can also print existing documents from the Explorer window.
Creating and editing documents.

Documents are created and edited in the FSLETTER window. This window uses the SAS text editor, which provides a variety of commands and features that simplify the process of entering and editing the text of your document.

You can define fields in your document that enable you to enter information that changes from one copy of the document to the next. Fields are filled when the document is printed.
Assigning field attributes.

If you include fields in your document, you can open the FSLETTER ATTR window from the FSLETTER window to define the attributes of any fields in the document. Field attributes control whether field values are given special handling when the document is printed.
Printing documents.

Documents are prepared for printing in the FSLETTER SEND window. In this window you fill any fields in the document and make final editing changes before sending the document to a printer or to an external file.

Note: The process is different if you use the DATA= option in the PROC FSLETTER statement. In that case, the procedure is not interactive; it prints a copy of the document for each observation in the specified data set without opening any windows. Unless you use a WHERE statement in conjunction with the PROC FSLETTER statement, a copy is produced for every observation in the data set. The FSLETTER procedure ignores the FIRSTOBS= and OBS= system options. [cautionend]

You can also create FORM entries and EDPARMS (editor parameter) entries with the FSLETTER procedure. The process of creating these entries involves the first two of the steps listed above, except that these entry types use their own special windows rather than the FSLETTER window:

FORM entries are created and modified in the FORM window.
EDPARMS entries are created and modified in the EDPARMS window.

The following sections describe the various FSLETTER procedure windows and the commands that are valid in each.

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