TEMPLATE Procedure: Creating Tabular Output

Concepts: Tabular Output and the TEMPLATE Procedure

Viewing the Contents of a Table Template

To view the contents of a table template, use the SAS windowing environment, the command line, or the TEMPLATE procedure.

Using the SAS Windowing Environment
1. From the menu, select View Results.
2. In the Results window, select the Results folder. Right-click and select Templates to open the Templates window.
3. Double-click Sashelp.Tmplmst to view the contents of that item store or directory.
4. Double-click a directory to view the list of subdirectories and table templates that you wish to view. For example, the Base SAS table template Summary is the default template store for the summary tables created in the MEANS and SUMMARY procedures. Double-click the Base directory, and then double-click the Summary table.
Using the Command Line
1. To view the Templates window, submit this command:
```
odstemplates
```
  The Templates window contains the item stores Sasuser.Templat and Sashelp.Tmplmst.
2. When you double-click an item store, such as Sashelp.Tmplmst, that item store expands to list the directories where ODS templates are stored. The templates that SAS provides are in the item store Sashelp.Tmplmst.
3. To view the table templates that SAS provides, double-click the item store that contains a table template, such as Base.
4. Right-click the table template, such as Summary, and select Open. The table template is displayed in the Template Browser window.
Using the TEMPLATE Procedure
1. The SOURCE statement writes the source code for the specified template to the SAS log. For example, if to view the source code for all the objects in Base SAS, submit this code.
```
proc template;
source base;
run;
```

Values in Table Columns and How They Are Justified

The process of justifying the values in columns in a listing output is determined by the format of the variable and the values of two attributes: JUST= and JUSTIFY=. It is a three-step process:

ODS puts the value into the format for the column. Character variables are left-justified within their format fields; numeric variables are right-justified.
ODS justifies the entire format field within the column width according to the value of the JUST= attribute for the column, or, if that attribute is not set, JUST= for the table. For example, if you right-justify the column, the format field is placed as far to the right as possible. However, the placement of the individual numbers and characters within the field does not change. Thus, decimal points remain aligned. If the column and the format field have the same width, then JUST= has no apparent effect because the format field occupies the entire column.
If you specify JUSTIFY=ON for the column or the table, ODS justifies the values within the column without regard to the format field. By default, JUSTIFY=OFF.

For example, consider this set of values:

If the values are formatted with a 6.2 format and displayed in a column with a width of 6, they appear this way, regardless of the value of JUST= (asterisks indicate the width of the column):

******
123.45
234.50
   .
987.65

If the width of the column increases to 8, then the value of JUST= does affect the placement of the values, because the format field has room to move within the column. Notice that the decimal points remain aligned but that the numbers shift in relation to the column width.

just=left                 just=center                 just=right

********                  ********                    ********
123.45                     123.45                       123.45
234.50                     234.50                       234.50
   .                          .                            .
987.65                     987.65                       987.65

Now, if you add JUSTIFY=ON, then the values are formatted within the column without regard to the format width. The results are as follows:

justify=on                justify=on                  justify=on
just=left                 just=center                 just=right

********                  ********                    ********
123.45                     123.45                       123.45
234.50                     234.50                       234.50
.                            .                               .
987.65                     987.65                       987.65

All destinations except LISTING justify the values in columns as if JUSTIFY=ON.

Formatting Values in Table Columns

The process of formatting the values in columns in a listing output is determined by the format of the variable and the values of three options: FORMAT=, FORMAT_WIDTH=, and FORMAT_NDEC=. It is a four-step process:

If you omit a FORMAT= option, then the format that the data component provides is used. If the data component does not provide a format, then ODS uses one of the following:
- best8. for integers
- D12.3 for doubles
- the length of the variable for character variables
If a format width is specified in the FORMAT= option, then it will take precedence over the FORMAT_WIDTH= and FORMAT_NDEC= options.
If you specify a decimal width with the FORMAT= and FORMAT_NDEC= options, then the format that is specified with the FORMAT= option is used.
If you specify a format width with the FORMAT= and FORMAT_WIDTH= options, then the format that is specified with FORMAT= option is used.

The formatting attributes of a column is determined by the data component or the column template. This table summarizes the behavior of the column formatting attributes based on which attributes the column template provides.

Summary of Column Formatting Attributes
Specifications Provided by the Column Template	Result
Nothing	Format name, width, and number of decimal places are determined by the data component.
Format name	Format name and width are determined by the column template; number of decimal places is determined by the data component.
Format name and width	Format name and width are determined by the column template.
Format name, width, and number of decimal places	All three are determined by the column template.
Width	No name is specified; width is determined by the column template; number of decimal places is determined by the data component.
Number of decimal places	No name is specified; width is determined by the data component; number of decimal places is determined by the column template.

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