SAS Companion for the OpenVMS Operating Environment

Interrupting a SAS Session

If you are running SAS with the SAS Explorer window in the SAS windowing environment, in interactive line mode, or in noninteractive mode, then you can interrupt your SAS session by pressing CTRL-Y. This is called an attention sequence. After you press CTRL-Y, the SAS System will issue you a message. The content of the message depends on the interface you are using and on what task SAS is performing at the time of the interrupt.

In line mode, you will receive the following message:

Select:
  1. Line Mode Process
  2. DATASTEP
  C. Cancel
  T. Terminate System

In the SAS windowing environment, you will receive the following message:

Select:
  1. DMS Process
  2. Language Processor
  3. DATASTEP
  C. Cancel
  T. Terminate System

In the windowing environment if you select 1, you will see the following instructions:

Press Y to terminate this SAS process,
      N to continue.

If you type Y, you will terminate the SAS process. If you type N, the process will continue executing.

In line mode if you select 1 or if you select 2 in the windowing environment, you will see the following instructions:

Press Y to cancel submitted statements,
      N to continue.

If you type Y, the SAS System cancels the statements that were submitted. If you type N, the statements will continue executing.

If you select DATASTEP, you will see the following instructions:

Press Y to halt data step/proc,
      N to continue.

If you type Y, the SAS System stops processing the DATA step or procedure. If you type N, the DATA step or procedure will continue executing.

If you select C, the interruption (begun by pressing CTRL-Y) is cancelled. If you select T, your SAS session is terminated.

Usually these messages appear immediately after you press CTRL-Y.

Note: If you have to wait a few seconds for these messages, do not repeatedly press CTRL-Y. If you press CTRL-Y more than once, or if you press CTRL-Y while SAS is in the process of initializing or shutting down, the WORK files may not be deleted. In this case, you must use the CLEANUP tool to delete them. For more information, see The CLEANUP Tool. [cautionend]

When you end your SAS session with a CTRL-Y, usually all temporary WORK files are properly deleted. In noninteractive mode, if you interrupt a SAS session, the .LOG and .LIS files are retained, up to the point where you pressed CTRL-Y.

Note: In Version 8 of the SAS System, CTRL-Y and CTRL-C function identically. You can follow this same procedure to interrupt a SAS task. [cautionend]

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