In addition to using tasks and wizards in SAS Enterprise Guide, you can also write programs using the program editor. The program editor includes many features to help make it easier for you to write and edit programs.

One of the first things you will notice while you use the program editor is the automatic syntax completion feature. When you start typing a SAS keyword, such as a PROC statement or an option, you are presented with a list of possible keywords that you can use to complete the word. The program editor can complete keywords that are associated with almost any SAS language element, including libraries and SAS data sets. In addition to inserting the keyword in the program, you can also insert the keyword followed by a space, an equal sign, or a punctuation symbol, such as a semicolon or period.

When you add tasks to your project, SAS Enteprise Guide automatically creates a new object in the process flow and links it to the data that is used in the task. However, when you add a program to your project, a link is not automatically created.

Suppose that you want to create a program to see what the most profitable items are before you run the rest of your analyses. The program must run after the data set is created by the Query Builder. You can add the program to the process flow and then create a link between the program and the data set that is created by the Query Builder to ensure that it runs only after the data set is created.

Next you create a program and submit a SAS program.