Basic Usage

ODS is used by all SAS software. However, you can explicitly use ODS with the following:

The combination of the ODS DOCUMENT statement and the DOCUMENT procedure enables you to store a report’s individual components, and then modify and replay the report. The ODS DOCUMENT statement stores the actual ODS objects that are created when you run a report. You can then use PROC DOCUMENT to rearrange, duplicate, or remove output from the results of a procedure or a data query without invoking the procedures from the original report. You can also use PROC DOCUMENT to do the following:

The DOCUMENT destination has a graphical user interface (GUI), called the Documents window, for performing tasks. However, you can perform the same tasks with batch statement syntax using the DOCUMENT procedure.

For complete documentation on the DOCUMENT procedure, see The DOCUMENT Procedure in SAS Output Delivery System: User's Guide.

ODS global statements provide greater flexibility to generate, customize, and reproduce SAS procedure and DATA step output. You can use ODS global statements to control different features of ODS. ODS statements can be used anywhere in your SAS program. Some ODS statements remain in effect until you explicitly change them. Other ODS statements are automatically cleared. For complete documentation on ODS global statements, see the chapter about ODS statements in the SAS Output Delivery System: User's Guide.

ODS global statements are organized into two types.

You can use ODS destination statements to generate and modify reports in formats such as HTML, XML, PDF, PostScript, RTF, and Microsoft Excel. The form for an ODS destination statement is the ODS statement block, which consists of ODS statements that open and close one or more ODS destinations sandwiched around your program. Your results are sent to one or more output destinations.

You can use one or more ODS destination statements, one or more PROC or DATA steps, and an ODS CLOSE statement to form an ODS statement block. An ODS block has the following form: In the ODS block, output-destination is the name of a valid ODS destination and option(s) are options that are valid for that destination. Your SAS program is inserted between the beginning ODS destination statement and the ODS CLOSE statement.

In the following example, the output from PROC PRINT and PROC CONTENTS is sent to the PDF and RTF destinations. The STYLE= option specifies what table template to apply to the output. By default, the PDF opens in Adobe Acrobat and the RTF opens in Microsoft Word.

options obs=10 nodate;
ods pdf file="myPdf.pdf" style=Banker;
ods rtf file="myRTF.rtf" style=BarrettsBlue text="RTF Output";
proc print data=sashelp.class;
run;

proc contents data=sashelp.class;
run;

ods pdf close;
ods rtf close;

ODS destinations are organized into two categories.

The following table lists the ODS destination categories, the destinations that each category includes, and the formatted output that results from each destination.

As destinations are added to ODS, they will automatically become available to the DATA step and all procedures that support ODS.

The Base SAS reporting procedures, PROC PRINT, PROC REPORT, and PROC TABULATE, enable you to quickly analyze your data and organize it into easy-to-read tables. You can use ODS options with the reporting procedures to give your report another dimension of expression and usability. For example, you can use the STYLE option with a PROC PRINT, PROC REPORT, or PROC TABULATE statement to change the appearance of your report. The following program uses the ODS STYLE option to create the colors in the output below:

Title "Height and Weight by Gender and Age";
proc report nowd data=sashelp.class
   style(header)=[background=white];
   col age (('gender' sex),(weight height));
   define age / style(header)=[background=lightgreen];
   define sex / across style(header)=[background=yellow] ' ';
   define weight / style(header)=[background=orange];
   define height / style(header)=[background=tan];
run;

For complete documentation on the styles and style attributes that you can use with PROC PRINT, PROC TABULATE, and PROC REPORT, see the Base SAS Procedures Guide.

All SAS procedures produce output objects that ODS delivers to various ODS destinations based on the default specifications for the procedure or based on your own specifications. Output objects are commonly displayed as tables, data sets, or graphs. Each output object has an associated template provided by SAS that defines its presentation format. You can use the TEMPLATE procedure to view or alter a template or to create a new template by changing the headers, formats, column order, and so on.

The TEMPLATE procedure enables you to create or modify a template that you can apply to your output. You can also use the TEMPLATE procedure to navigate and manage the templates stored in template stores. ODS then uses these templates to produce formatted output. Using the TEMPLATE procedure is an advanced technique. For more information about advanced ODS techniques, see Next Steps: A Quick Look at Advanced Features .

For complete documentation on the TEMPLATE procedure, see the TEMPLATE procedure in the SAS Output Delivery System: User's Guide.