Saving and Using Task Window Selections

Task Window Selections

The following steps instruct you to generate a simple listing report and then save the selections you have made for that listing report. For more detailed instructions on how to produce a listing report, refer to Producing a Listing Report.
1. Follow this selection path:Tasks Report Writing ListingThe List a Table window appears.
2. If the active table is SASUSER.HOUSES, then continue to the next step. Otherwise, select Table, and then select the SASUSER.HOUSES table. For more information on selecting tables, see Selecting a Table.
3. If there is an active Subset Data selection (indicated with BY, WHERE, or ROWS next to Subset data), then clear the selection. For more information, see Clearing a Subset Data Selection.
4. If other report selections exist (for example, column names are listed for Columns), then selectFile Newto clear these selections.
5. If desired, run the report by selectingRun SubmitThe listing report appears in the Output window. Note that it is not necessary to run a task before saving it.
6. To return to the List a Table window, use one of the following methods, depending on your operating environment:
  - Use the PREVWIND function key.
  - Click on the SAS/ASSIST window.
From the List a Table window, selectFile SaveThe Save As window appears.

Save As Window
In the Name field, type the name you want to call your report selections. For this example, type HOUSRPT .

A saved task name can be one to eight characters long; start with a letter (A through Z) or an underscore (_); and contain any combination of letters, numbers, and underscores.
In the Description field, type a description of the task. For this example, type Houses Table Report .

A description can be one to 32 characters in length and contain any combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.

The default catalog for saved tasks is SASUSER.PRIVATE. If you want to save the selections in a different catalog, type the catalog name in the Catalog field. Or, enter a question mark (? ) in the Catalog field to obtain a list of available catalogs, and select one of them.

A SAS catalog is a SAS file that stores many different kinds of information in smaller units called catalog entries. A saved SAS/ASSIST task is stored as a catalog entry of type ASSIST.

The Type field is automatically filled in with ASSIST (LISTING) because all saved listing report tasks are of member type ASSIST. You cannot edit or change this field.
Select OK. The List a Table window reappears with a note in the message area that indicates that your task was successfully saved.

List a Table Window with Successful Save Message

Note: After you have saved the selections, you can select Save from the File menu again to save any additional changes to that task.

If you want to save the selections using a different name, description, or catalog, select File Save Asand repeat steps 3 through 5.

SAS/ASSIST software stores the last report you created in a particular window and automatically displays the selections for it in that window. To clear the selections from a window, follow this selection path:File NewAll of the task window selections are cleared except for the active table and Subset Data selections, if any. To clear all task window selections, including the active table and Subset Data selections, follow the directions in De-Selecting an Active Table. To clear only the Subset Data selections, follow the directions in Clearing a Subset Data Selection.

Listing and Choosing Saved Tasks

After you have saved a task in a window, you can display a list of the saved tasks and choose one for the current window.

To display a list of saved listing report tasks, follow this selection path from the List a Table window:File OpenThe Open window appears with your saved listing report tasks.

Note: The tasks listed in the Open window are applicable only to the current task window. In this example, only listing report tasks are shown. You can obtain a list of all saved tasks by using the Result Manager. See Using the Result Manager for details on the Result Manager.
Type S (for Select) in the Cmd field next to the saved task that you want to use, and press ENTER. The saved task is loaded into the current window.

Note: If your saved task includes titles or footnotes, those titles or footnotes will be loaded along with the other task selections and will override any previously defined title or footnotes.

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