Generating Interactive Metagraphics Output

Example: Generating Metacode Output With the JAVAMETA Driver

The following example uses DEVICE=JAVAMETA to generate metcodes to be displayed by the Metaview applet. It uses ODS to create an HTML file, and GOPTIONS DEVICE=JAVAMETA with two instances of PROC GCHART to create graphical output in the form of metacodes. Because both instances of PROC GCHART contain a BY statement, the HTML file created by ODS contains multiple invocations of the applet--one invocation for each value of the BY statement for each procedure (eight invocations in all). The metacodes produced by PROC GCHART are passed to the applet as a parameter.

When you use DEVICE=JAVAMETA with ODS, only one graph can be passed to an instance of the Metaview applet at a time. ODS generates a separate invocation of the Metaview applet for each SAS/GRAPH procedure that it runs. And, if a procedure includes BY GROUP processing, then it generates another separate invocation of the Metaview applet for each BY-group chart. In sum, Metaview applet presentations generated by ODS never contain a slider page control or drop-down list graph control to allow a user to select which graph is to be displayed. Although an HTML page generated by ODS can contain multiple instances of the Metaview applet, each instance can display one picture only, and a user must scroll the HTML page to see all the pictures.

Each GCHART procedure in this example includes a BY statement to display the results of each of the four quarters of the year. Consequently, ODS generates eight separate invocations of the Metaview applet, only the first of which is shown here. A user would have to scroll the page in the browser to see all four quarters displayed.

Notice the zoom control at the bottom of the image. Because the image is displayed by the Metaview, the run-time option is available to the user to control the magnification of the chart. If you want to place multiple graphs in a single metaview applet so that you can use the slider page control or the play/pause buttons, you must script out your own HTML with the PUT statement rather than using ODS.

[Multiple graphics displayed by a single metaview applet]

The following is the complete SAS code to generate a Web presentation. The HTML file is created using ODS HTML.The statement GOPTIONS DEVICE=JAVAMETA causes PROC GCHART to produce metacodes which are embedded in the HTML file produced by ODS and passed to the Metaview applet as parameters.

proc sort data= sashelp.prdsale out=prdsummary; 
    by year quarter; 
run;

goptions reset=all device=javameta
    ftext="Trebuchet" htext=1.5 hby=2;
         
ods listing close; 
ods html;

proc gchart data=prdsummary;
    by year quarter;  
    hbar country / sumvar=actual subgroup=product sum; 
run; 
quit;  

ods html close;

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