What’s New in SAS Visual Analytics 6.1

You can build queries from registered tables. The queries are used to join tables, add calculated columns for analytics, and sort data.

You can use the pivot by feature so that data can be aggregated by the values of a categorical variable. For example, you can pivot a customer transactions table by the type of purchase or transaction type.

You can specify a set of aggregations to apply automatically to all the numeric variables in a table. For example, you can specify that the minimum, maximum, mean, and standard deviation are calculated for the variables in a fact table.

You can schedule queries to run automatically.

You can load tables to memory on a SAS LASR Analytic Server. You can also design a query to stage data in a co-located data provider before loading the table to memory.

HDFS tab

Resource Monitor tab

Process Monitor tab

Mobile Devices tab

You can manage metadata-based security for folders and tables in SAS Folders.

In the navigation pane for SAS Folders, you can select a folder or table, and right-click to select Authorization. In the Authorization page, you can view the effective permissions for tables in the metadata, and modify permissions. You can also set an explicit grant or denial to a table for a specific group or user.

Row-level security is supported for LASR tables.

The permissions origins feature identifies the source of each effective permission. Origins answers are available on an object’s Authorization page.

The LASR Tables tab enables you to start and stop the SAS LASR Analytic Server, and view information about the status, host, and port information for server connections. User account information for the start time of a SAS LASR Analytic Server connection, and the last time it was accessed is displayed.

Within the LASR Tables tab, you can work with tables by loading them to the SAS LASR Analytic Server or by unloading them. The Load a Table window enables you to load tables.

The Add Table window enables you to add tables to HDFS. The Add to data server window enables you to add tables to Greenplum and Teradata servers.

In the Manage Environment panel within the Preferences window, you can record SAS statements to a single file or within separate files. This feature enables you to review the SAS statements for a task.

You can now refine your search results on the home page. For example, you can refine your search using type, author, the last modified date, or a combination of these.

You view either thumbnails or lists of items on the home page.

You can view and execute stored processes. Thumbnail images are available for stored processes.

The Links pane links you to the overview video for SAS Visual Analytics. The pane also enables you to define and manage your own collection of links.

The object inspector has been enhanced. For example, you can click with either your right or left mouse button to open the object inspector. When you click on an empty space, the object inspector is closed.

Queries are displayed as content on the home page.

A new treemap visualization type is available. Treemaps display your data as a series of rectangles, where each rectangle represents a category value or a hierarchy node.

The correlation matrix visualization type can now be created directly.

Crosstabs have been enhanced. You can navigate a hierarchy by drilling, expanding, and collapsing. You can also enable totals and subtotals for both rows and columns in the crosstab.

New fit lines are available for data analysis, including linear, quadratic, cubic, and PSpline fits.

A new forecasting feature enables you to add forecasted values to a line chart.

A new Comments tab and Exploration Comments window enable you to create and view comments for visualizations and visual explorations.

A new data brushing feature enables you to select data values in one visualization and highlight the corresponding values in your other visualizations.

You can create new data items by using the new calculate data items feature. Calculated data items enable you to create new measures by using mathematical and logical operators in a calculation expression. You can also use datetime operators to calculate new date and time data items.

You can derive distinct counts for your category data items. Distinct counts display the number of distinct values for a category and can be used as measures in your visualizations.

The Edit Filter window has been enhanced to enable more advanced filter expressions.

You can create new filters from the selected data values in a visualization. Filtering from a selection enables you to quickly remove or focus on a specific set of data values.

You can create duplicate data items in order to use multiple aggregations for a data item in the same visualization.

You can select the colors that are associated with each value of your category data items. The colors are used in any visualization that performs grouping.

The new precision report layout enables you to drop objects anywhere onto the canvas and to size them as you like. You can overlap objects and control the depth order of these overlapping objects by sending objects backward or bringing them forward. You can scroll in the precision layout.

A new geo map report object is available. You can also create geographic data items using latitude and longitude data. Any geo map that is generated by SAS Visual Analytics Explorer can be opened by SAS Visual Analytics Designer.

You can add SAS stored processes as a report object in a report.

You can use the new horizontal or vertical containers for laying out reports. Each container will hold one "row" or one "column" of report objects. The layout of the containers enables you to scroll objects beyond what is immediately visible on the screen.

You can add new controls (drop-down lists, lists, button bars, text input fields, and range sliders) as report objects in reports. These report objects let you filter or control the scope of the data that you are currently viewing.

The new report views enable you to change the size of the canvas that you use for laying out reports. There are three report views: Full Screen, Tablet, or Wide-Screen Tablet.

A new preference enables you to specify which report view you want to use when you open new or existing reports.

Using the updated Data pane, you can refresh to get new data items. A new feature also lets you duplicate data items. You can create hierarchy, geography, and calculated data items. You can also show or hide data items. The Data pane enables you to create global filters. User-defined formats in the data are now honored, but cannot be set in SAS Visual Analytics Designer.

List tables have been enhanced. You can display spark lines as a column value. List tables can display totals and have display rules. Detail data is supported for list tables.

Crosstabs have been enhanced. You can navigate a hierarchy by drilling, expanding, and collapsing. You can also create a hierarchy from a crosstab. You can enable totals and subtotals for both rows and columns in the crosstab. Crosstabs now have the ability to expand to show all the members of a data item.

Interactions now allow list tables, crosstabs, and gauges as the source. You can now multi-select elements (for example, multiple rows in a table or multiple bars in a bar chart) in the source object of an interaction. You can also clear your selections for gauges, rows in a table, and so on, in the source object of an interaction.

The titles for report objects can now use rich text elements for formatting.

Most graphs now support display rules, hierarchies, and drilling.

Bubble plots now support aggregated data. A group role was added.

Text objects can how have hyperlinks.

A new Filters tab in the right pane enables you to add a filter (or filters) to the selected report object. Filters can be set for the report, report objects, or both.

List tables, crosstabs, bubble plots, treemaps, line charts, and bar charts that are imported from SAS Visual Analytics Explorer now support calculated columns, drilling, as well as editing properties and styles.

Box plots, line chart with forecast, correlation matrix, heat map, histogram, geo maps, and the object with fit lines (linear, quadratic, cubic, and PSpline fits) that are opened from SAS Visual Analytics Explorer now support the editing of properties and styles.

The SAS Visual Analytics explorer interface is now SAS Visual Analytics Explorer.

The SAS Visual Analytics designer interface is now SAS Visual Analytics Designer.

The SAS Visual Analytics web viewer is now SAS Visual Analytics Viewer.