When you attempt to open the SAS Help and Documentation window, a problem might occur in which the window does not open and you receive a message about a blocked port.  The message looks similar to this:

Note:  There are different ways to open the SAS Help and Documentation window.  The problem can occur no matter which of these methods you use:

• Selecting Start ► All Programs ► SAS ► SAS Documentation Viewer 9.4
• In a SAS^® 9.4 session, selecting Help ► SAS Help and Documentation
• Double-clicking the executable file in this default location:  "C:\Program Files\SASHome\SASHelpViewerforWindows\9.4\sasdocviewer.exe"

This issue occurs because the SAS Help and Documentation Viewer attempts to access files through the IP address of the current machine (localhost), such as http://111.2.3.4.  It also uses a port number that is generally in the 49000s, but the specific port number changes every time.  So, when Microsoft Internet Explorer Content Advisor blocks ports and allows only those on an Approved Sites list, then the Content Advisor might block the SAS Help and Documentation window.  To prevent this problem, add multiple entries to the Approved Sites list with each port that is used.  For example, you might add something like the following:

Important:  In SAS 9.4 (TS1M0) and SAS 9.4 (TS1M1), you cannot control which port numbers are used, so the message about a blocked port might occur again for a different port.  In this case, the Approved Sites list needs to be updated again with this additional port. 

Accessing the Approved Sites List

In Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, follow these steps to access the Approved Sites list:

1. Select Tools ► Internet options and click the Content tab.
2. In the Content Advisor section at the top, click either the Settings button or the Enable button.
3. Click the Approved Sites tab.
4. Type each entry in the Allow this website field and click the Always button.
   Be aware of the following:

• For SAS 9.4 (TS1M0) or SAS 9.4 (TS1M1), you need to add an entry for every blocked port about which you received the message. There is no workaround to limit the port range.
• Starting in SAS 9.4 (TS1M2) and later revisions, two SAS options were added that enable you to limit the port range accessed by SAS Help and Documentation:  HTTPSERVERPORTMIN  and HTTPSERVERPORTMAX.
• Add the entries in your designated range to the Approved Sites list. Note that you can open multiple SAS Help and Documentation windows but are limited to the number of ports you allowed in your port range.  If you open more SAS Help and Documentation windows than allowed number of ports, you receive this message: No ports are available from the configured range. This message is expected. Increase your port range if desired.

5. Click Apply and OK.

Contact the IT administrator at your company to assist with accessing and adding entries to the Approved Sites list, if needed.

Operating System and Release Information