Getting Started with the SAS System Using SAS/ASSIST Software |
To invoke the SAS System, follow these steps:
- Log on to your operating environment.
- Type the command to access the SAS System (for
example,
SAS
) and press ENTER. Contact the SAS Support Consultant
at your site for the specific command used at your site to access the SAS
System.
Depending on your operating environment and the SAS
System configuration at your site, some or all of the following windows appear:
- Output Window
- Log
Window
- Program Editor Window
- SAS Explorer Window
- Results
Window
- ToolBox (or tool bar)
SAS Windowing Environment
Note that
some windows may be "hidden" beneath
others. To see the other windows, use one of the following methods, depending
on your operating environment:
- Use the View menu to
select other windows by name.
- Use the PREVWIND and NEXT function keys to bring
windows into view.
- Use your mouse to click on the desired window.
To get more information about any of these windows, select
Help from the window's menu bar, and then select Using This Window.
When instructions in this book direct you to "select" an item,
use any of the methods listed below according to your operating environment:
- If you have a mouse, point to the item and click
on it.
- Press TAB or BACKTAB to move the cursor to the
item, and then press ENTER.
- Use the arrow keys to position the cursor on the
item, and then press ENTER.
You can enter commands within the SAS System by using one of three methods:
- selecting from menus
- using function
keys
- typing the commands at the Command
===> prompt or in the ToolBox command window.
Menus and function keys are described in the following sections.
Typing commands at the Command ===> prompt or
in the ToolBox command window is not discussed in this book. Contact the SAS
Support Consultant at your site for further information about using commands
with the SAS System.
Note: This book uses menus for all examples.
A menu is a list of functions, actions, or commands. Pull-down
menus appear below items that you select in the menu
bar at the top of a screen. Pop-up menus can
appear anywhere in a screen. In SAS/ASSIST software, you activate pop-up menus
by selecting the buttons in the WorkPlace menu. Each menu has items that you
can select to perform certain actions.
Note: Some actions are also available through the function
keys. You can use either the menus or the function keys to perform these
actions, whichever you prefer. Performing an action using function keys often
requires fewer keystrokes than performing the same action using menus. See Using Function Keys for further
information about function keys.
- To use menus, do one of the following:
- If you have a menu bar at the top of your SAS
windows, continue to the next step.
- If you have a Command ===>
prompt at the top of your SAS windows, you need to invoke the menu bar to
follow the examples in this book. To invoke the menu bar, type
pmenus on
at the Command ===> prompt and press ENTER.
The menu bar replaces the command line.
- You can also use a function key defined as
COMMAND
or
PMENU
to switch back and forth between a command
line and menus.
Note: For Microsoft Windows and OS/2 users, your menu
bar is at the top of the main SAS System window. It changes according to which
SAS window (Program Editor, Log, Output, and so on) is active. Click on the
Program Editor window to activate it.
- To use an item on the menu bar, select it. For
example, select File from the Program Editor menu
bar. The File menu appears.
File Menu
- Select the action you want to
perform. If an action
has dots next to it, when you select the action, another window appears. For
example, select Save As... from the File menu. The Save As window appears.
Save As Window
- To exit a window, select
the appropriate button,
for example, Cancel, OK, Close, or Goback. For this example,
select Cancel.
- If an action has a triangle or an arrow next to
it, when you select the action, another menu appears. This feature is called cascading menus. For example, select Solutions
and then Analysis. A menu of various SAS System-related
options appears.
Cascading Menus
- To exit a menu,
use a mouse to point to a location
outside the menu box, and then click the mouse button; or, use the arrow keys
to position the cursor anywhere outside the menu box, and press ENTER. Make
sure the cursor is not on another item on the menu bar or on an item on the
window, or else that item will be selected when you click the mouse button
or press ENTER.
If you want to return to a command line from the menu
bar, follow this selection path:
Tools |
|
Options |
|
Turn Command Line On |
The
menu bar is replaced by a Command ===> prompt.
Function keys are keyboard keys
that you can define to perform
different actions. When you are using SAS/ASSIST software, the function keys
help you to perform certain actions quickly.
Note: Some actions are also available through the menus.
You can use either the menus or the function keys to perform these actions,
whichever you prefer. Performing an action with function keys often requires
fewer keystrokes than does performing the same action with menus. While the
examples in this book use menus, you can use function keys instead.
- To see how each key is defined when you
first
access the SAS System, follow this selection path from any SAS window:
Tools |
|
Options |
|
Keys |
A list of function keys and
their corresponding actions appears.
KEYS Window
Note: The default function key assignments vary
among different
operating environments. Your KEYS window may look
different from the one pictured here.
- If some function keys are not visible in the window,
use the scroll bars or the FORWARD and BACKWARD function keys to view all
the key settings. Note which keys correspond to certain actions. Actions
that you need to perform often include
- END, which closes the window. Using a key defined
as the END command can be faster than selecting Close
from a menu.
- FORWARD, which shows the next screen of data in
the current window.
- BACKWARD, which shows the previous screen of data
in the current window.
- RIGHT, which shows the data to the right of the
current window.
- LEFT, which shows the data to the left of the
current window.
- PREVWIND, which shows the previously viewed SAS
window.
- NEXT, which shows the next SAS window. You can
use PREVWIND and NEXT to view the various SAS windows.
- PMENU (or COMMAND), which toggles between the
menu bar and the command line. If the menu bar is being used, this function
key invokes the command line. If the command line is being used, this function
key invokes the menu bar. Note that if SAS/ASSIST software is active, the
PMENU command is not valid. COMMAND is always valid.
Note: Depending on your operating environment, some
of the keys listed above may not already be defined in the KEYS window.
-
To assign a command to a function key, place the cursor in the Definition column for the desired function key and type the
command. For a description of SAS System commands, see the online SAS System
Help. Some additional commands that you can use in SAS/ASSIST software include
- RUN, which executes the task in the current task
window.
- NEW, which clears task window selections except
for the active table and any Subset Data selections.
- GOBACK, which does the same thing as selecting
the Goback button.
- RESULTMAN, which invokes the Result Manager.
- MMENU, which returns you to
the WorkPlace menu.
- To exit the KEYS window,
use one of the following methods:
- Follow this selection
path:
File |
|
Close |
- Use the END function key.
If you have made
changes, a dialog box opens, asking you
if you want to save the changes. Select Yes to
save the changes or No to exit without saving.
The KEYS window disappears.
Note: You can also access the KEYS window from SAS/ASSIST
software using the same method described earlier in this section.
Copyright 1999 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.