Using SAS Studio

About Using SAS Studio

When you sign on to SAS Studio, the main SAS Studio window appears with a blank program window so that you can start programming immediately. You also have access to all five sections of the navigation pane.

Note: To sign out of SAS Studio, click the Sign Out button on the toolbar. Do not use the Back button on your web browser.

The main window of SAS Studio consists of a navigation pane on the left and a work area on the right. The navigation pane provides access to your folder shortcuts and folders, your tasks and snippets, the libraries that you have access to, and your file shortcuts. The Folders section is displayed by default.

The work area is used to display your data, code, tasks, logs, and results. As you open these items, they are added to the work area as windows in a tabbed interface.

Using the Navigation Pane

About Using the Navigation Pane

You can expand the sections of the navigation pane by clicking the section that you want to view.

Working with Folders

The Folders section of the navigation pane enables you to access files and folders from the following locations:

your SAS server
any remote FTP server on which you have an account

Note: SAS Studio supports only FTP servers that use a UNIX style directory listing. Filenames in Asian languages are not supported on the FTP servers.

The type of SAS Studio deployment you are using determines the folders and files you can access from the Folders section and the locations to which you can assign libraries.

If you are running the SAS Studio Mid-Tier (the enterprise edition) deployment, then your My Folders location is your home directory on the remote SAS server.
If you are running the SAS Studio Basic deployment, then your My Folders location is your home directory on the remote SAS server. The folders list also includes the root folder of the UNIX file system on the remote SAS server.
If you are running the SAS Studio Single-User deployment, then your SAS server is your local machine. Your My Folders location is your home directory on your local machine. The folders list also includes folders for your desktop, documents folder, and all currently mapped drives.

For more information, see SAS Studio 3.2: Administrator’s Guide.

You can open files that are saved on the SAS server or the FTP server, such as SAS program files or program package files. You can also open SAS tables that are saved on the SAS server.

Note: You cannot open SAS tables from a remote FTP server.

You can use the Folders section to create folders and folder shortcuts, download and upload files, and create a new SAS program. From the folders tree, you can expand and collapse folders and open items in folders by double-clicking them or dragging them to the work area.

Note: Files and folders that are located on an FTP server and are accessible by using an FTP shortcut cannot contain any of the following characters in their names:

{ } [ ] , : ; “ ‘ / \ | + < > ? @ # $ % ^ & ( ) + !

SAS Studio cannot access, move, rename, or delete files and folders on an FTP server whose names contain invalid characters.

To create a new folder shortcut:

Click Folders in the navigation pane. Then click and select Folder Shortcut. The New Folder Shortcut window opens.
In the Name box, enter the name of the folder.
From the Folder Type drop-down list, specify whether the shortcut refers to a SAS server folder or an FTP folder.
If you are creating a shortcut to a SAS server folder, enter the physical path for the directory in the Directory box.

If you are creating a shortcut to an FTP folder, enter the network address of the FTP host in the Host Name box as well as your user name and password. By default, the directory is the home directory of the FTP user. You can use the Directory box to specify another directory that is relative to the home directory. For example, if the home directory of the FTP user is c:\homedir, and you specify data in the Directory box, then the root directory of the shortcut is c:\homedir\data on the FTP server. You can validate your connection to the FTP server by clicking Test.
Click Save to create the folder shortcut. The new shortcut is added to the list of folder shortcuts.

To create a new folder, select the folder in the Folders section in which you want to create the new folder. Click New button

and select Folder. The New Folder window opens. Enter the name of the new folder. The new folder is added to the list of folders.

To download a file, select the file that you want to download and click Download button

. You are prompted to open the file in the default application or save it to your local computer.

To upload one or more files from your local computer, select the folder to which you want to upload the files and click Upload button

. The Upload Files window opens. Click Choose Files to browse for the files that you want to upload.

Working with Tasks

The Tasks section of the navigation pane enables you to access tasks in SAS Studio. Tasks are based on SAS procedures and generate SAS code and formatted results for you. SAS Studio is shipped with several predefined tasks that you can run. You can also edit a copy of these predefined tasks, and you can create your own new tasks.

To create a new task, click New task button

. SAS Studio creates a template in the work area that you can use to create custom tasks for your site. Custom tasks can be accessed from the My Tasks folder. For more information, see Understanding Tasks in SAS Studio.

To edit a task that you have created, select the task from the My Tasks folder and click Edit button

. The XML code that is used to create the task is opened in the work area. If you want to edit a predefined task, you must first right-click the task and select Add to My Tasks. For more information, see Edit a Predefined Task.

Note: You can edit only the tasks that are in the My Tasks folder.

Working with Snippets

The Snippets section of the navigation pane enables you to access your code snippets. Code snippets are samples of commonly used SAS code that you can insert into your SAS program. SAS Studio is shipped with several predefined code snippets that you can use. You can also edit a copy of these snippets and create your own custom snippets. Your custom snippets can be accessed from the My Snippets folder. For more information, see Working with Programs.

To edit a snippet that you have created, select the snippet from the My Snippets folder and click Edit button

. If you want to edit a predefined snippet, you must first right-click the snippet and select Add to My Snippets.

Note: You can edit only the snippets that are in the My Snippets folder.

Working with Libraries

The Libraries section of the navigation pane enables you to access your SAS libraries. SAS tables are stored in SAS libraries. From the Libraries section, you can open SAS tables and add them to your programs. You can use the Libraries section to expand a table and view the columns in that table. The icon in front of the column name indicates the type.

Here are examples of common icons for the column types.

Icon	Type of Column
	Character
	Numeric
	Date
	Datetime

You can drag tables and columns from the Libraries section to a program, and SAS Studio adds code for the dragged items to your program. For more information, see Opening and Creating Programs.

You can also create new libraries and assign existing libraries.

To create a new library:

Click Libraries in the navigation pane and then click . The New Library window appears.
In the Name box, enter the libref for the library. The libref must be eight characters or fewer.
In the Path box, enter the physical path where the library resides.
In the Options box, specify any configuration options that you need. For the appropriate options, see the documentation for your operating environment.
If you want to access this library each time you use SAS Studio, select Re-create this library at start-up.
Click OK to create the library. The new library is added to the list of libraries in the navigation pane.

To assign unassigned libraries, click Assign libraries button

. If you want to access the selected libraries each time you use SAS Studio, select Assign selected libraries at start-up. If a library is unassigned, then you cannot access the tables in that library.

Using File Shortcuts

File shortcuts enable you to quickly access files that you specify. You can create a file shortcut to a file on your SAS server, via a URL, or on your FTP server.

Note: You can create a file shortcut to a file on an FTP server only if you have created a folder shortcut to an FTP folder.

To create a new file shortcut, click New file shortcut button

. You can define the shortcut by specifying a complete path and filename or by specifying a URL. If you want this shortcut to be available the next time you use SAS Studio, select Re-create this file shortcut at start-up.

You can open a file from a file shortcut by double-clicking it or dragging it to the work area.

Customizing the Navigation Pane

By default, all five sections of the navigation pane are displayed when you open SAS Studio. To customize which sections are displayed, click More application options button

and select View. Select or clear any sections that you want to add or remove. The navigation pane is updated immediately.

Using the Work Area

About Using the Work Area

The work area is the main portion of the SAS Studio application for accessing programs and tasks and for viewing data. The work area is always displayed and cannot be minimized. When you open a program, task, or table, the windows open as new tabs in the work area. The code, log, and results that are associated with programs and tasks are grouped together under the main tab for the program or task.

Work Area with One Program, One Table, and Two Tasks

Customizing the Work Area

By default, the work area is displayed beside the navigation pane, but you can use the options menu to maximize the work area and hide the navigation pane. You can also close all of the tabs in the work area at once.

To maximize the work area, click More application options button

and select Maximize View.

Note: To reopen the navigation pane, click More application options button

and select Exit Maximized View.

To close all tabs that are open in the work area, click More application options button

and select Close All Tabs. You are prompted to save any unsaved programs or tasks.

Customizing the View of the Program Tab

On the Program tab, you can rearrange the tabs by using a drag-and-drop operation to move them to the left or right. You can also dock a tab on the right side or bottom of the work area to view more than one tab at a time.

To rearrange a tab:

Select the tab that you want to move.
Move the tab icon to the location where you want to view this content. The icon indicates a valid location.

Searching in SAS Studio

You can use the Search feature to search all of the sections of the navigation pane. The types of items that you can search for depend on what is selected in the navigation pane. For example, if a folder or folder shortcut in the Folders section is selected, you can search for folders and files, and you can choose whether to include subfolders in the search. If a task category in the Tasks section is selected, you can search for task names, associated SAS procedures, and task descriptions.

To access the Search feature, click

. The search box opens so that you can enter the text that you want to search for.

You can limit the scope of your search by selecting or clearing any of the Narrow by options. These options vary depending on what is selected in the navigation pane. By default, the search is case sensitive. To search for both uppercase and lowercase text, clear the Match case check box.

The following example shows a search for “class” in the Sashelp library. The search includes all tables and columns in the Sashelp library, and it is not case sensitive.

Search Results from a Search for “class”

You can open an item from your results by double-clicking it. To return to your search results list, click

again.

To clear the search results, click Clear button

Setting General Preferences

The Preferences window enables you to change several options that affect SAS Studio.

To access the general options, click More application options button

and select Preferences. Click General.

Option	Description
Show generated code in the SAS log	displays the ODS statements, %LET statements, and any other code that is automatically generated by SAS in the log file. This option applies to both SAS tasks and SAS program files.
Include a Show Details button in error messages	adds a Show Details button to any error messages that SAS Studio generates.
Start new programs in interactive mode	opens new programs with the interactive mode on. This option is available only if you are running the first maintenance release for SAS 9.4. For more information, see Working in Interactive Mode.
Time-out interval: (hours)	specifies the amount of time that SAS Studio allows you to be logged on without any activity. The default value is one hour.

Editing the Autoexec File

The autoexec.sas file includes SAS statements that run each time you start SAS Studio and connect to your SAS server. For example, you can use the autoexec.sas file to assign libraries that you want to be available every time you use SAS Studio in both interactive and noninteractive modes.

Note: If you create a new library by using the New Library window, you can select the Re-create this library at start-up option to automatically add the LIBNAME statement to the autoexec.sas file. For more information, see Working with Libraries.

To edit the autoexec.sas file:

Click and select Edit Autoexec File.
Enter the code that you want to include in the autoexec.sas file.
To validate your syntax, click Run. The Log tab opens so that you can view the log.
Click Save to save and close the autoexec file.

Changing Your SAS Workspace Server

If you have access to more than one SAS workspace server, you can change the server that SAS Studio connects to. To change the server, click More application options button

and select Change SAS Workspace Server. Select the server that you want to use. When you change servers, any libraries and file shortcuts that you created are deleted. For more information, see SAS Studio 3.2: Administrator's Guide.