Chapter Contents

Previous

Next

Invoking SAS/ASSIST Software

To invoke SAS/ASSIST software, follow these steps:

1. From any SAS System window, follow this selection path:

   Solutions

   ASSIST

   If this is the first time that you have run SAS/ASSIST software, a Welcome window appears; proceed to step 3.

   SAS/ASSIST Welcome Window
   

   

   If this is not the first time that you have run SAS/ASSIST software, the SAS/ASSIST Start Menu appears.

   SAS/ASSIST Start Menu
   

   

2. The Start Menu gives you several options:
   • You may choose to use the new WorkPlace environment, or you can use the menu system (Block Menu) from Version 6 of SAS/ASSIST software.

   • You may choose to go directly to the last task that you performed using SAS/ASSIST software, or you may choose to go directly to the Result Manager to perform one of your saved tasks. See Using the Result Manager for details about using the Result Manager.

   • You may choose to suppress the Start Menu the next time you invoke SAS/ASSIST software.

   For now, leave these options as they are and proceed to the next step.

3. Select Continue. The SAS/ASSIST WorkPlace menu appears.

   SAS/ASSIST Workplace Menu
   

   

Using Buttons

A button is a graphical shape in a window that, when selected, results in an action. OK, Cancel, and Run are examples of buttons. The most commonly used buttons are described here:

OK	accepts what you have entered in the window and takes you to additional windows to continue the task. In some cases, OK performs the task.
Cancel	cancels what you have entered in the window and returns to the previous window.
Goback	returns to the previous window.
Help	displays help for the feature in use.

Finding Items

If you cannot find the item that you want to use in SAS/ASSIST software, you have two guides to help you:

• Use the Tasks menu and its cascading menus to explore the different capabilities of SAS/ASSIST software.

• Select the Index button from the WorkPlace menu to display an alphabetic list of all the tasks and functions that can be performed with SAS/ASSIST software. To access one of the tasks, select it from the Index list. The software takes you directly to the task. When you exit the task, the software returns you to the Index.

Getting Help

The SAS System has extensive online help. You can get help for a particular window or general SAS software product help. To access the general SAS System help, follow this selection path:

Help

SAS System Help

Help topics are formatted in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and appear in a SAS Help Browser or in an HTML browser (for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). Various items in the Help browser window are highlighted, underlined, or otherwise emphasized. You can select these items to get more information about them. To access general SAS/ASSIST software help, follow this selection path from the main SAS System help screen:

Help on SAS System Products

SAS/ASSIST

Using SAS/ASSIST

To get help for a particular window, follow this selection path from that window's menu bar:

Help

Using This Window

Help for that window appears.

Using HTML Output

SAS/ASSIST software can generate HTML-formatted output for reports and graphics. You can then view your output in an HTML browser, as in the following example.

Contact the SAS Support Consultant at your site for more information about HTML browsers available to you.

To generate HTML output with SAS/ASSIST software, see Setting Up HTML Output. This may have already been done for you; see the SAS Support Consultant at your site for more information.

Using SAS/ASSIST Software with This Book

In creating the examples and illustrations in this book, we removed the date and time stamp from all output and disabled the Save Changes dialog box that appears when you exit a task window. We recommend you do the same so that your experience with SAS/ASSIST software will match the descriptions in this book. This section describes how to apply these conditions.

Removing the Date and Time Stamp from Your Output

To remove the date and time from your output, follow this selection path from the SAS/ASSIST WorkPlace menu bar or any task window menu bar:

Edit

Page Headers

Print current date

Note:   This option is not applicable to graphics output and is not available on graphics task windows.  

Disabling the Save Changes Dialog Box

To disable the Save Changes dialog box, the SAS/ASSIST user profile option Confirm changes is set to No. To set this option, do the following:

1. Follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu bar or any task window menu bar:

   Tasks

   Setup

   Profiles

   User...

   The User Profile window appears.

2. In the Value field for the Confirm changes option, type no and press ENTER.

3. Follow this selection path to return to the WorkPlace menu:

   File

   Close

Creating the Sample Tables

In order to perform the exercises in this book, you must create the sample tables. These sample tables are used throughout this book and can be used to learn to use the software. When you are using these sample tables, you can try any of the options in SAS/ASSIST software. You do not need to be concerned about harming the sample data. You can easily re-create the sample tables if, for example, you have altered them so that they no longer correspond to the SAS/ASSIST software documentation and tutorial examples.

1. To create or re-create the sample tables, follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu:

   Tasks

   Setup

   File Management

   Sample tables...

   The Sample Tables window appears.

   Sample Tables Window
   

   

2. Select Create sample tables... from the Sample Tables window. The Create Sample Tables window appears.

   Create Sample Tables Window
   

   

3. Select the tables you want to create. For the exercises in this book, select all the tables.

   Note:   If you are re-creating sample tables (rather than creating them for the first time), and you attempt to re-create a table that is the currently active table in one or more SAS/ASSIST tasks, you get an error message because SAS/ASSIST software does not let you re-create an active table. To remove a table from active status, follow the directions in De-Selecting an Active Table.  
   

4. Select OK. The sample tables are created. Depending on your hardware and operating environment, this may take several minutes. When the process is complete, a message appears that indicates that all the tables were created.

   Create Sample Tables Message
   

   

5. Select Goback twice to return to the WorkPlace menu.

Deleting the Sample Tables

If you no longer wish to use the sample tables, you can delete them.

1. To delete the sample tables, follow this selection path from the WorkPlace menu:

   Tasks

   Setup

   File Management

   Sample tables...

   The Sample Tables window appears as in Sample Tables Window.

2. Select Delete sample tables... from the Sample Tables window. The Delete Sample Tables window appears.

   Delete Sample Tables Window
   

   

3. Select the tables that you want to delete.

   Note:   You cannot delete a table that is currently the active table in one or more SAS/ASSIST tasks. To remove a table from active status, follow the directions in De-Selecting an Active Table.  
   

4. Select OK. A message appears that indicates that the selected tables were deleted.

   Deleted Sample Tables Message
   

   

5. Select Goback twice to return to the WorkPlace menu.

Frequently Used SAS/ASSIST Operations

This section describes how to perform operations that are common to most SAS/ASSIST tasks. The task examples in this book refer you to this section when these operations are required.

Selecting a Table

When a task example instructs you to select a table, follow these steps:

1. If you have not already done so, select the Table button in the task window. The Select table window appears.

   Select Table Window
   

   

   The Select table window contains a list of SAS data libraries on the left side and a list of SAS tables on the right. If there is an active table, the table name appears in the Selected table field as a two-level name. See SAS Files for details about SAS naming conventions.

2. Use one of the following methods to select a table:
   • Type the two-level table name in the Selected table field.

   • Select the SAS data library name from the Libraries list, and then select the table name from the Tables list. The sample tables used in the examples in this book are all located in the SASUSER library.

     If the desired table does not appear in the list of tables, it either does not exist, is not in a library that the SAS System knows about, or was added to a library after SAS/ASSIST software was invoked.

     • For sample tables, see Creating the Sample Tables.

     • For tables in undeclared libraries, see Using SAS/ASSIST Software to Assign a New Libref for details about declaring libraries.

     • For newly added tables, follow this selection path to cause SAS/ASSIST software to re-examine all libraries for tables:

       Tools

       Update data

3. Select OK. The Select table window disappears.

Selecting a Column

When a task example instructs you to select a column, follow these steps:

1. If you have not already done so, select the appropriate button (for example, Columns, Chart column, or Analysis column) in the task window. The Select Table Variables window appears with the available columns in the Available list. (Note that "variable" is another word for "column.")

   Select Table Variables Window
   

   

   The number of columns you can select is indicated above the Available list. In certain contexts, not all of the active table's columns are listed. For instance, when the software performs an action that requires numerical data, only numerical columns are listed.

2. Select the desired column name from the Available list.

3. Select the right-arrow button. The column name disappears from the Available list and appears in the Selected list.

   Note:   In certain tasks, you can select more than one column at a time; in others, you can select only one column. If you can select only one column, the Select Table Variables window disappears when you select the right-arrow button, and the column name appears in the task window. In this case, you do not need to go any further in this procedure.  
   

   To de-select a column, select it in the Selected list and select the left-arrow button to move it back to the Available list.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each desired column.

   Note:   If you want to select all of the available columns, you can select the double-right-arrow button to select them all at once instead of selecting them one at a time.  
   

5. Select OK. The Select Table Variables window disappears.

De-Selecting an Active Table

You can clear task window selections by selecting New from the File menu. However, this action does not clear the Active Table selection or the Subset Data selection. The reason for this feature is that many users wish to use the same subset of the same data for multiple tasks. To clear the Active Table and Subset Data selections, follow the steps in this section. To clear only the Subset Data selection, see the instructions in the next section.

1. Use the Tasks menu to go to the desired task window.

2. Select Table. The Select table window appears.

3. Select Reset, and then select OK. The task window reappears with the Active Table field cleared.

Note:   These steps also clear the other window selections.  

Clearing a Subset Data Selection

You can clear task window selections by selecting New from the File menu. However, this action does not clear the Active Table selection or the Subset Data selection. To clear only the Subset Data selection, follow the steps in this section. The reason for this feature is that many users wish to use the same subset of the same data for multiple tasks. To clear both the Subset Data selection and Active Table, see the instructions in the previous section.

1. Use the Tasks menu to go to the desired task window.

2. Select Subset data. The Subset Data window appears.

3. Select the subsetting method you want to clear (BY columns, WHERE clause, or Restrict rows). The selection window for that method appears.

4. Select Reset. The default value for that method is restored.

5. Select OK. The Subset Data window reappears.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each desired subsetting method.

7. Select Goback. The Subset Data window disappears.

Exiting a Task

When you are finished with a task, you can either return to the WorkPlace menu or go on to another task:

• To return to the WorkPlace menu, follow this selection path:

  File

  Close

• To go on to another task, select Tasks, and then select the desired task.

Exiting SAS/ASSIST Software

To exit SAS/ASSIST software, return to the WorkPlace menu and select Exit. The SAS/ASSIST window disappears.

Exiting the SAS System

To exit the SAS System, use one of the following methods:

• From the SAS Explorer window, Program Editor window, Results window, or SAS Environment window, select File from the menu bar, and then select Exit. A prompt confirms that you want to exit.

  SAS Exit Prompt When Using the Menu Bar
  

  

  Select OK to exit the SAS System.

• In the SAS ToolBox command window, or at a Command ===> prompt, type BYE and press ENTER. The SAS System terminates without further prompting.

Chapter Contents

Previous

Next

Top of Page

Copyright 1999 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.