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Which Graphics Approach Should You Use?

In SAS 9.2, SAS/QC procedures can produce ODS Graphics output as an alternative to traditional graphics. Furthermore, in SAS 9.2 the default appearance of traditional graphics is determined by the ODS style that is in effect for the ODS destination that you are using. You can prevent the ODS style from affecting the appearance of traditional graphics by specifying the NOGSTYLE system option. Therefore, you have three alternatives for producing graphical output with SAS/QC procedures in SAS 9.2:

• traditional graphics without ODS styles
• traditional graphics using ODS styles (the default)
• ODS Graphics

• If you are working with a SAS program written using a previous SAS release, and your priority is to preserve the appearance of traditional graphics produced with SAS/QC procedures, you should specify the NOGSTYLE system option.
• If you are writing a SAS program with SAS 9.2, consider using traditional graphics with ODS style-dependent defaults to take advantage of their improved appearance while retaining control over every detail of your graphs with procedure options.
• If you are writing a SAS program with SAS 9.2, consider using ODS Graphics for the highest-quality graphics output and consistency with output from statistical procedures and SAS/GRAPH procedures that are enabled to use ODS Graphics.

Note: ODS Graphics functionality is experimental for SAS/QC procedures in SAS 9.2, and some graphics features available with traditional graphics are not supported by ODS Graphics in SAS 9.2. A SAS/GRAPH license is required for ODS Graphics functionality.

The next two sections provide more details and examples of these approaches.