Overview of ODS Graphics

ODS Graphics is a system for creating graphics that address the following requirements:

Modern analytical graphs are an integral part of an analysis or a study. ODS Graphics gives SAS analytical procedures the ability to create complex analytical graphs that deliver the analysis results with clarity and without clutter. By enabling ODS Graphics, SAS users get the relevant graphs automatically as part of the analysis process. In addition, they have easy to use tools that can create related graphs for preview of the data or for creating graphs from the results of multiple analyses.

ODS Graphics are driven by the Graph Template Language (GTL), which provides the power and flexibility to create many complex graphs. Standard GTL templates are delivered with SAS that are used to generate graphics output for the SAS analytical procedures. Users can modify these templates in order to customize the appearance of the graphics output of these procedures. Users can also create their own templates for creating custom graphics. Whereas you can use GTL to modify the SAS analytical procedure graphics output or to create custom graphics, its power and flexibility comes with some complexity. For that reason, this document discusses the ways in which the SAS System leverages the power of GTL to create graphics using other tools and systems. You might find that these other tools meet all of your needs.