When you double-click a .sas file, the file might not open in the SAS windowing environment. Instead, you might see what looks like a quick flash, which is a failed attempt to start an OLE automation session of SAS and which results in the file not opening in the windowing environment.

This issue can occur if your registry settings have become corrupted. Settings can become corrupted as a result of your installation process or for other reasons, including if your registry was edited incorrectly.

If the problem occurs, try this test to determine the resolution. Open the windowing environment first, and then double-click the file.

1. Start a SAS session: Select Start ► Programs ► SAS. Choose SAS^® 9.2 (English) or SAS^® 9.3 (English).
2. Open Windows Explorer and double-click a .sas file. Check to see whether the file opens in the windowing environment.

If the file does not open in the windowing environment:   Follow the instructions in SAS Note: 45779: Troubleshooting issues related to SAS file-type association in a Windows operating environment.

If the file does open in the windowing environment:  Proceed to Step 3, below, and complete the remaining instructions.

3. Check your Windows registry as described below:
1. Open the Windows registry:   Select Start ► Run and type regedit. Or, select Start, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. In the registry editor, navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SAS.Application.902 or the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SAS.Application.903 depending on the version of SAS that is installed. In the example for the screen captures that follow, SAS 9.3 software is installed.



3. Select CLSID and notice the Data value. In this example, the Data value is {87CE93EC-4802-49ea-B8C9-F7A4F41612BB}



4. In the Registry Editor window, navigate to the CLSID value found in the previous step. The CLSID values are found under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\. Note: If you have installed 32-bit SAS on a 64-bit operating system, you might also need to check the CLSID value under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\ and perform the remaining steps in both locations.
5. Expand the CLSID key and then browse to the Data value that you found in Step c.



6. Open LocalServer and LocalServer32 to verify the data.

This is a good example that you can use to compare against the data in your registry. Note that the information might vary depending on the version of SAS software that you have installed and the folder in which you installed it.

• Verify the path to the SAS.exe file.
• Verify that you see these options in the path:
-Automation
-Nologo
-config

7. Verify the path after the -config option. Here are two examples, based on the version of SAS in use:

SAS 9.2 Example:

C:\PROGRA~1\SAS\SASFOU~1\9.2\SAS.EXE -Automation -Nologo -config C:\PROGRA~1\SAS\SASFOU~1\9.\SASV9.CFG

SAS 9.3 Example:

C:\PROGRA~1\SASHOME\SASFOU~1\9.3\SAS.EXE -Automation -Nologo -config C:\PROGRA~1\SASHOME\SASFOU~1\9.3\SASV9.CFG
8. After validating and updating the Windows registry, retest and verify that the issue no longer exists.

If any of this information is missing, edit your Windows registry to correct the issue. Warning: SAS is not responsible when you edit the Windows registry. Always back up your registry before you make any registry changes. Changes in the Windows registry can render your system unusable and require that you reinstall the operating system. For assistance, see Windows Help, Microsoft documentation, or the Microsoft Windows website.





Operating System and Release Information

Product Family	Product	System	SAS Release
			Reported	Fixed*
SAS System	Base SAS	Microsoft® Windows® for 64-Bit Itanium-based Systems	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter 64-bit Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise 64-bit Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows XP 64-bit Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft® Windows® for x64	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition	9.2 TS1M0
		Microsoft Windows XP Professional	9.2 TS1M0
		Windows Vista	9.2 TS1M0
		Windows Vista for x64	9.2 TS1M0

* For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be fixed.