Using the Enhanced Editor

The parts of the Enhanced Editor window are shown in the following display:

You can move between Enhanced Editor windows by

The following table shows different methods of opening files in the Enhanced Editor.

An asterisk ( * ) that appears in an Enhanced Editor window title bar indicates that the editor contains text that has not been saved to disk. Enhanced Editor windows that display the name Editor Untitledx in the title bar are new files that have never been saved. The x indicates a window number.

To save the contents of the Enhanced Editor window, click the Save toolbar button (the storage device). If the file is to be saved for the first time, the Save As dialog box appears for you to name the file.

To save a file with a new name

If SAS ends unexpectedly, you can recover the contents of Enhanced Editor windows if the autosave feature is selected in the Preferences dialog box. The Enhanced Editor autosave files are saved in the operating environment Application Data folder with the filename Autosave of filename.$AS, where filename is the name of the file. Under Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008, the pathname for the Application Data folder is c:\Users\userid\AppData\Roaming. Under all other Windows operating environments, the pathname for the Application Data folder is c:\Documents and Settings\user name\Application Data\SAS\EnhancedEditor. For example, the path to the autosave file for MYPROGRAM.SAS in folder C:\TEMP would be

C:\Documents and Settings\myuserid\Application Data\SAS\EnhancedEditor\

Autosave of myprogram.$AS

SAS deletes autosave files when a file is saved, when the Enhanced Editor window closes, or when a SAS session ends normally. If you have renamed a file and SAS ends abnormally, you will find the autosaved file under the original filename.

The application data folders are hidden by default by the operatin system. To view the folders:

For information about setting the autosave feature, see Edit Preferences and WAUTOSAVE Command: Windows.

You can see different parts of the same file simultaneously by opening multiple views of the same file. While you are working with multiple views, you are working with only one file, not multiple copies of the same file.

To open multiple views of the same file:

The filename in the title bar is appended with a colon and a view number. For example, myfile.sas:1 and myfile.sas:2.

Changes that you make to a file in one view, such as changing text or bookmarking a line, occur in all views simultaneously. Actions such as scroll bar movement, text selection, and expanding or contracting a section of code occur only in the active window.

The Enhanced Editor supports a limited number of scrolling and line number commands that you might be familiar with from using the Program Editor. All Enhanced Editor commands can be typed only from the command bar.

The Enhanced Editor supports the following scrolling commands:

You can display line numbers either by selecting Show line numbers in the Enhanced Editor Options dialog box or by typing nums in the command bar. To suppress line numbers, either deselect Show line numbers or type nums again in the command bar.

All line number commands begin with a colon ( : ). A space is not required between the command and the number. The following line number commands are supported:

The Enhanced Editor accepts numerous key sequences for moving the insertion point, as shown in the following table. The key sequence Ctrl + G opens the Go To Line dialog box. All other key sequences move the insertion point as defined.

In addition to using key sequences, you can move the insertion point up by one page, down by one page, to the left by one page and to the right by one page by using the UP, DOWN, LEFT, and RIGHT commands in the command bar.

By default, when you click the mouse button past the end of a line, the insertion point is placed after the last character in a line.

To enable the Enhanced Editor to place the insertion point past the end of a line:

Use the following mouse and keyboard shortcut actions to select and manipulate text.

The following keyboard shortcuts are also available to select text.

Text that you select appears in reverse video.

For a complete list of selection keyboard shortcuts, see the Selection category in Keyboard Shortcuts within the Enhanced Editor.

To move or copy text

To disable drag and drop editing

To find text

To find and replace text

To assist you in finding coding errors, the Enhanced Editor

See the following table for suggestions about finding coding errors.

For a list of the components that you can color-code, open the Enhanced Editor Options dialog box. Select the Appearance tab. The components are listed in the File elements box. For more information about defining colors for program components, see Setting Appearance Options.

When you press ENTER, you automatically indent the next line by the amount of space that the current line is indented. If you prefer not to use automatic indention:

In addition to automatic indenting, you can indent by using the TAB key. Pressing the TAB key moves the insertion point and any text to the right of the insertion point by the amount of space that you specified in the Tab size field of the Enhanced Editor Options dialog box.

Tab characters can be replaced by spaces either when you press the TAB key or when you open a file. To insert spaces instead of tab characters when you press the TAB key, select the Insert spaces for tabs check box. To replace tab characters with spaces when you open a file, select the Replace tabs with spaces on file open check box.

When you bookmark a line, you create a line marker that is used to easily access that line. A vertical rectangle in the margin indicates that the line is bookmarked. The following table shows the keyboard shortcuts that you can use with bookmarking.

You can define a character string so that when you type it and then press the TAB key or the ENTER key, the string expands to a longer character string. For example, you could define the abbreviation myv6sasfiles, which would expand to 'c:\winnt\profiles\myid\personal\mysasfiles\v6';. Abbreviations are actually macros that insert one or more lines of text.

To create an abbreviation

To use an abbreviation, type the abbreviation. When an abbreviation is recognized, a tooltip displays the expanded text. Press the TAB key or the ENTER key to accept the abbreviation.

To modify an abbreviation

To delete an abbreviation

You can use Word Tips to help in understanding the abbreviations that you add.

To use Word Tips, you must first add abbreviations.

Word tips will automatically appear as you type.

To accept a Word Tip, press Enter. To ignore the Word Tip, press ESC or continue typing.

To recall a Word Tip:

You can submit either a complete program or a specified number of lines of your program, beginning with the first line.

Use the SUBTOP command to submit either the first line or a specified number of lines of a program.

For more information, see SUBTOP Command: Windows.

The Enhanced Editor Options dialog box provides the Clear text on submit setting for you to specify whether you want the contents of the Enhanced Editor window to be cleared after you submit your program. For more information, see Setting Enhanced Editor Options.

If a line of data in a DATALINES or CARDS statement is greater than 256 characters long, the data is read into one observation. You do not need to specify the LRECL option in the FILENAME statement as you do when you submit a long line of data using the Program Editor.

When you submit code or a catalog entry from the Enhanced Editor, the filename or catalog entry name and their respective folders are placed in these environment variables:

You can then extract the filename and full path for use in your SAS programs.

After the following DATA step runs and the data is sorted, the PRINT procedure includes the filename in the title and the full path in the footnote of the procedure output. The results are shown in the display.

data oranges;
   input variety $ flavor texture looks;
   total=flavor+texture+looks;
cards;
navel 9 8 6
temple 7 7 7
valencias 8 9 9
mandarins 5 7 9
;

proc sort data=oranges;
   by descending total;
run;

proc print data=oranges;
title 'Taste Test Results for Oranges using File ' %sysget(SAS_EXECFILENAME);
footnote 'The full path is ' %sysget(SAS_EXECFILEPATH);
run;

The resulting output displays the filename in the title and the full path in the footnote:

These environment variables are set only when code is submitted using the Enhanced Editor in the Windows environment. They are not set when you submit SCL code or when you submit code in a batch session.

However, when SAS is running in batch mode, you can obtain the full path (which includes the filename) by submitting %sysfunc(getoption(SYSIN)). The following macro can be used to obtain the full path in both a batch session and an interactive session by using the Enhanced Editor:

%let execpath=" ";
%macro setexecpath;
   %let execpath=%sysfunc(GetOption(SYSIN));
   %if %length(&execpath)=0
      %then %let execpath=%sysget(SAS_EXECFILEPATH);
%mend setexecpath;

%setexecpath;
%put &execpath;

You can also use the following %PUT macro statements to display the filename and full path in the SAS log:

%put Submitted file path is %sysget(SAS_EXECFILEPATH).;
%put Submitted file name is %sysget(SAS_EXECFILENAME).;

The Enhanced Editor provides extensive keyboard shortcuts for the Enhanced Editor. Keyboard Shortcuts within the Enhanced Editor provides a complete list of commands and their default keyboard shortcuts. The following table shows some of the more useful keyboard shortcuts.

For information about defining keyboard shortcuts, see Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Customize the Enhanced Editor.

A keyboard macro is a series of Enhanced Editor commands and instructions that you group together as a single command to accomplish a task automatically. Instead of manually performing a series of time-consuming, repetitive actions, you can create and run a single macro. You run a macro from the Tools menu or by using a keyboard shortcut. For information about defining a keyboard shortcut for using macros, see Using Keyboard Shortcuts to Customize the Enhanced Editor.

You can create a macro by recording it from the Enhanced Editor window:

An alternative way to create a macro is to add commands by using the Create Keyboard Macro dialog box. To create the macro:

To run a macro, use a keyboard shortcut or

To edit a macro

To delete a macro

This example lists the steps to create an RSUBMIT statement, an ENDRSUBMIT statement, a blank line between these statements, and tabs by the amount that you specified Tabs size field in the Enhanced Editor Options dialog box.

The resulting macro contains the following commands:

Insert carriage return
Insert character ['r']
Insert character ['s']
Insert character ['u']
Insert character ['b']
Insert character ['m']
Insert character ['i']
Insert character ['t']
Insert character [';']
Insert carriage return
Insert carriage return
Insert character ['e']
Insert character ['n']
Insert character ['d']
Insert character ['r']
Insert character ['s']
Insert character ['u']
Insert character ['b']
Insert character ['m']
Insert character ['i']
Insert character ['t']
Insert character [';']
Move cursor up
Insert character ['|']

Keyboard macros can be shared by multiple users. You can import or export them to or from a folder by using the Keyboard Macros dialog box. To open the dialog box, select ToolsKeyboard MacrosMacros

To import a keyboard macro, click Import, select a folder from the Look in box and a filename from the Filename box. Then click OK.

For Keyboard Macros only, click Assign Keys and choose a new shortcut key for each macro. Do not assign short cut keys for Abbreviations.

To export a keyboard macro, click Export, select a folder from the Look in field, type a filename in the Filename box, and click OK.

Collapsible code sections enable you to expand or collapse one or more sections of code. A section begins with a step keyword, a comment, or spaces above a section word or comment. A section ends with the next step keyword, a comment, or space above the next section word or comment. Step keywords include the DATA statement, the PROC statement, and the %MACRO statement. The signature line is the line in which the step keyword appears.

An expanded section is indicated by a minus sign in the margin next to the signature line. To collapse a section, click the minus sign.

A collapsed section is indicated by a plus sign in the margin, and the signature line is the only line of code that is displayed. To expand a section, click the plus sign.

Brackets in the margin and a section line across the editor window mark the beginning and end of a section. If you do not want to see either the brackets or the section line, you can suppress them by using the Enhanced Editor Options dialog box.

To disable collapsible code sections, or brackets and lines, select ToolsOptionsEnhanced EditorGeneral and select the appropriate settings:

The following rules apply when you select and edit collapsed segments:

To open the Enhanced Editor Options window from the menu, ensure that an Enhanced Editor window is the active window and select ToolsOptionsEnhanced Editor

Click the tabs that are located along the top of the dialog box to navigate to the settings that you want to change, and then select the options that you want. When you are finished, click OK.

.

From the General tab you can specify the following options that control how the Enhanced Editor works.

The following appearance options enable you to specify foreground and background colors, and font styles for file elements. You can also create and save color schemes. For more information about using these appearance options, see Setting Appearance Options and Using Schemes.

When you set appearance options, you set them for the elements of the file type that you specified in the File type box. As you make your selections, the Sample box displays your selected formatting. The formatting options that you specify are applied to all opened Enhanced Editor windows of that file type. When you start SAS, the formatting options that are applied to the Enhanced Editor files are the formatting options that were in effect when the last SAS session ended.

To specify appearance options

A scheme is a saved set of formatting options, such as font, font size, and script. You can set your appearance options by selecting a file type and a scheme instead of setting individual file elements. SAS provides several schemes which you can select from the Scheme box. Schemes provided by SAS use the Default script.

To create a scheme

To modify a scheme

To delete a scheme

When you open the Enhanced Editor Keys dialog box, you can choose to view only commands that have been assigned keyboard shortcuts, or you can view all commands. To see only the commands that have assigned keyboard shortcuts, ensure that the Show all commands check box is not selected. To see all commands, including the commands that have no key assignment, check the Show all commands check box.

To assign keyboard shortcuts

To delete a keyboard shortcut

Resetting keyboard shortcuts to the default keyboard shortcuts deletes all macro keyboard shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts within the Enhanced Editor for a list of the default keyboard shortcuts.

To reset keyboard shortcuts to the Enhanced Editor default keyboard shortcuts