Interacting with SAS under Windows

Accessibility Features in SAS under Windows

Introduction to Accessibility Features in SAS under Windows

SAS under Windows includes the following accessibility and compatibility features that improve the usability of SAS for users with disabilities. These features are related to accessibility standards for electronic information technology adopted by the U.S. Government under Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Accessible Windows and Dialog Boxes lists the accessible SAS windows and dialog boxes.
The ACCESSIBILITY System Option explains how to use the standard user interface and the fully accessible interface.
To enhance the readability of SAS windows, see Enlarging Fonts and Enlarging Icons.
You can use the keyboard, menus, and commands to access and modify the docking view and the SAS Explorer list view. See the following:
If your accessibility aid has difficulty reading menus, see Improving Access to Menus.

Accessible Windows and Dialog Boxes

In addition to the main SAS window, the following table lists the SAS windows and dialog boxes that are compliant with Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act of 1973:

Accessible SAS Windows and Dialog Boxes
Window or Dialog Box	Related Window or Dialog Box
About SAS System	Legal Notices Siteinfo
Change Folder	none
Customize Tools, Customize tab	Bitmap Browser Open Tools Save Tools
DDE Triplet in Clipboard	none
Enhanced Editor	Find Replace Run Keyboard Macro Keyboard Macros Assign Keys Create Keyboard Macro Edit Keyboard Macro Import Keyboard Macros Export Keyboard Macros Add Abbreviation Enhanced Editor Options User Defined Keywords SAS Extensions Enhanced Editor Keys Assign Keys
Explorer	Find New Library Catalog Create Explorer Options Properties Catalog
Export Wizard	all subsequent dialog boxes
Find	none
Font	none
Import Wizard	all subsequent dialog boxes
Libraries	New Library Modify Library
Log	Log Options
My Favorite Folders	none
NOTEPAD	none
Open	none
Output	Output Options
Preferences	none
Print (Windows and Universal Print dialog boxes)	Page Setup Print Abort Print Preview Print Setup (Windows and Universal Print dialog boxes)
Program Editor	none
Replace	none
Results	Results Properties Rename Save as Object Templates and resulting dialog boxes
Results Viewer - SAS Output	none
Run	none
SAS System Options	none
Save	none
Send mail	none
Windows	none

The ACCESSIBILITY System Option

Accessing the Standard or Fully Accessible User Interface

The ACCESSIBILITY system option enables you to specify either the standard user interface or the fully accessible user interface. The standard user interface enables accessibility aids to read components of most of the windows and dialog boxes that are listed in the previous section. The fully accessible user interface enables accessibility aids to read components of all of the windows that are specified in the previous section.

The fully accessible user interface adds buttons to these dialog boxes so that all commands and tabbed pages are accessible by using the keyboard:

the Customize Tools dialog box Custom tab
some SAS Properties dialog boxes.

You specify the ACCESSIBILITY system option either in your configuration file or at the command prompt when you start SAS. Valid values for ACCESSIBILITY are

standard: specifies to use the preferred user interface that is not fully accessible. This is the default.
extended: specifies to use the fully accessible user interface.

For more information, see ACCESSIBILITY System Option: Windows.

Using the Accessible Customize Tools Dialog Box

The Customize Tools dialog box Customize tab provides command buttons for file and edit commands, such as Open a toolbar and Add tool. When you start SAS with the ACCESSIBILITY system option set to extended, SAS adds a File Menu button and an Edit Menu button to the Customize tab. These buttons enable you to use the keyboard to issue the commands that are available from the File and Edit menus commands.

The Accessible Customize Tools Dialog Box

[Accessible Customize Tools Dialog Box ]

Using Accessible Properties Dialog Boxes

When the ACCESSIBILITY system option is set to extended, the tabbed pages in some SAS Property dialog boxes are accessible as buttons. You can press Ctrl + Page Up and Ctrl + Page Down to navigate through the Properties dialog box.

An Accessible Properties Dialog Box

[An Accessible Properties Dialog Box]

Enlarging Fonts

To make text easier to read, you can enlarge the font by using the Font dialog box and the SYSGUIFONT system option.

To open the Font dialog box, type dlgfont in the command bar or select Tools Options Fonts. Specify the font size in the Size box and click OK.

To enlarge fonts in button text and the descriptive text, such as the words Contents of SAS Environment in the SAS Explorer window, use the SYSGUIFONT system option either in the configuration file or at the command prompt when you start SAS. The following SAS command uses the Times New Roman font with a font size of 16:

sas -sysguifont "times new roman" 16

Note: You might need to maximize the SAS window in order to allow space for large fonts to be readable. [cautionend]

Enlarging Icons

To enlarge icons, do the following

Select Tools Customize
In the Toolbars tab, select Large icons.

Resizing the Docking View in the Main SAS Window

To resize the docking view by using the keyboard, press Alt + W + S or select Window Size Docking View. Alternatively, you can type wdockviewresize in the command bar.

Use the following keyboard sequences to resize the docking view:

Press the right arrow ( -> ) or left arrow ( <- ) to move the split bar slightly to the right or to the left.
Press Ctrl + right arrow ( -> ) or Ctrl + left arrow ( <- ) to move the split bar a larger amount to the right or to the left.
Press Home to move the split bar completely to the left.
Press End to move the split bar completely to the right.
Press Return to accept the docking view size.
Press Esc to cancel all docking view resizing.

For more information, see WDOCKVIEWRESIZE Command: Windows.

Sorting Window List Views by a Specific Column

When a window contains a list view (such as SAS Explorer), you can sort the list by the detail information that is associated with the list by using the Sort Columns dialog box:

If the window is not already a list, select View List
Type dlgcolumnsort in the command bar.
Select a column to sort.
Click Sort.
Click Close.

For more information, see DLGCOLUMNSORT Command: Windows.

Resizing the Detail Columns of a List View

You can resize the details columns in a List view by using the Column Settings dialog box. You must display the details in order to do this action.

If the window is not already a list, select View List
If the details are not already displayed, select View Details
Type dlgcolumnsize in the command bar.
Select a column to resize.
Press TAB and type the pixel width that you want for the column.
Do one of the following:
- Click Apply to view the changes without closing the dialog box. Once you have finished making your changes, press ENTER to close the dialog box.
- Click OK to apply the changes and close the dialog box.

The columns in the SAS System Options window cannot be resized.

For more information, see DLGCOLUMNSIZE Command: Windows.

Improving Access to Menus

Applications that provide custom icons to menu items can impede the readability of menus by accessibility aids. When you specify the NOMENUICONS system option, SAS does not include menu icons for all windows. When menu icons are excluded, menus conform to the standard Windows menu structure.

You can specify the NOMENUICONS system option in the configuration file, at SAS invocation, or by using the OPTIONS statement:

-MENUICONS | -NOMENUICONS

MENUICONS | NOMENUICONS

MENUICONS: specifies to include icons in menus.
NOMENUICONS: specifies not to include icons in menus.

For example, sas -nomenuicons starts SAS and excludes menu icons. In an OPTIONS statement, you specify

options nomenuicons;

Top of Page