Introduction to the SAS Windowing Environment

Navigating in the SAS Windowing Environment

SAS windows have several features that work in a similar manner across all operating environments: drop-down menus, pop-up menus, toolbars, and online Help. You can customize many of these features by selecting Tools Customize from the menu. For specific information about these features, see the documentation for your operating environment.

Drop-Down Menus in SAS

A drop-down menu contains a list of options that appears when you select a menu item in the menu bar. The following example shows the drop-down menu for online Help.

The Online Help Drop-down Menu

[The Online Help Drop-down Menu]

Drop-down menu choices change as you change the windows you are using. For example, if you select Explorer from the View drop-down menu, and then select View again, the drop-down menu lists the View options that are available when the Explorer window is active. The following display shows the View drop-down menu when the Explorer window is active.

View Options when the Explorer Window is Active

[View Options when the Explorer Window is Active]

If you select Program Editor from the View drop-down menu, and then select View again, the drop-down menu lists the View options that are available when the Program Editor window is active. The following display shows the View drop-down menu when the Program Editor window is active.

View Options when the Program Editor Window is Active

[View Options when the Program Editor Window is Active]

Pop-Up Menus in SAS

In SAS windows, a pop-up menu displays when you right-click an item. For example, when you right-click the Libraries icon in the Explorer window, the following pop-up menu displays.

Example of a Pop-up Menu

[Example of a Pop-up Menu]

A pop-up menu remains visible until you make a selection from the menu or until you click an area outside of the pop-up menu area.

Toolbars in SAS

A toolbar displays a block of window buttons or icons. When you click items in the toolbar, a function or an action is started. For example, clicking a picture of a printer in a toolbar starts a print process. The toolbar displays icons for many of the actions that you perform most often in a particular window.

Operating Environment Information: SAS in the z/OS operating environment does not have a toolbar. See SAS Companion for z/OS for more information. [cautionend]

The toolbar that you see depends on which window is active. For example, when the Program Editor window is active, the following toolbar displays.

Example of the SAS Toolbar when the Program Editor Window is Active

[Example of the SAS Toolbar when the Program Editor Window is Active]

When you position your cursor at one of the items in the toolbar, a text window appears that identifies the purpose of the icon.

The Command Line

The command line is located to the left of the toolbar. In the command line, you can enter commands, such as those that open SAS windows and that retrieve help information. The following is an example of entering the footnotes command to display the Footnotes window.

The Footnotes Window

[The Footnotes Window]

The following is an example of the command line with Help footnotes entered.

Example of the Command Line

[Example of the Command Line]

When you press Enter, SAS searches online Help and the following window displays.

Results for the Footnotes Help Entry

[Results for the Footnotes Help Entry]

Click an item to access Help for that topic.

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