SAS Consulting, Department of Statistics 

Tips for SAS Version 8.2 Users on UNITY

In August 2001, SAS Version 8.2 became the default version of SAS. Older versions are available and instructions for accessing them will be provided below. The color-coded editor is available on UNIX for the first time with this version.

Additional Sources of Information

• What's new in version 8.2 can be found in the System Help Menu.
• SAS OnLineDoc and SAS OnlineTutor can be accessed through the Books and Training selection on the Help Menu.
• NCSU Computing Services SAS Software Support

To Start SAS 8.2

• add sas
• sas &

If you use the ampersand, you will be able to execute UNIX commands from the prompt in your XTERM window. If you do not use the ampersand, you can get a prompt in your XTERM window by typing ctrl+z and then bg.

Printing from UNIX

Print Quota: There is a per page charge for printing on the Wolfcopy printers. To check your print quota use the commmand lpquota. You can add print quota at the Talley Student Center or University Graphics.

To print from within SAS, you need to create a new printer definition. If you do not create a printer definition, when you select File --> Print the results will be sent to a postscript file named sasprt.ps.

With your user defined printer, you will be able to print from the program, log, output and graph windows. SAS uses an icon that looks like a "human" in the Printer Setup window to identify printers created by a user.

You can also define a print previewer. If you define a print previewer before defining a printer, the print previewer can be used in the printer definition. SAS uses an icon that looks like "three humans" in the Printer Setup window to distinguish print previewers created by a user.

Define a Print Previewer using the new Previewer Wizard

• File --> Print Setup
• Click and hold right mouse button on NEW
• Select Previewer from the pop-up menu


The New Previewer Wizard has four additional steps.

Step 1:

• Enter name of Previewer: Ghostview

This can be any name you want.
• Enter the description: (This is optional.)
• Click Next

Step 2:

• Select printer model: Postscript Level 1 (Gray Scale)
• Click Next

Step 3:

• Enter command to invoke print previewer: gv %s
• Click Next

Step 4:

• Click Finish

Add the Previewer to an Existing Printer Definition:

• File-->Print
• Select a printer from the drop-down list in the name box
• Select Properties
• Click on the Advanced Tab
• Choose the desired previewer from the drop-down list box and click OK. Scrolling may be necessary.
• Click OK to print or CANCEL if you don't want to print.

Create a New Printer Definition.

• File --> Print Setup
• Click New

Step 1:

• Enter the Name: lpr (Courier 7 ls=107 ps=100)

This name can be anything you want. I like to add the linesize and pagesize information so I know what settings to use in my programs. My favorite font is Courier 7 with ls=107 and ps=100 because it saves paper and is still readable. See "Choosing a Font for Printing" for more instructions.
• Enter the Description: Send to Printer

This description can be anything you want.
• Click Next

Step 2:

• Scroll down and choose: Postscript Level 1 (Gray scale)
• Click Next

Step 3:

• Select the Device Type: Printer (click the down arrow for choices)
• Destination: (leave this blank)
• Host Options: (leave this blank)
• Click Next

Step 4:

• Select Previewer: Ghostview
  This is the previewer name that was used in the section above where a previewer was defined. If you used a different name you should be able to choose it from the drop-down list. This box may be filled in for you automatically.
• Click Next
• Click Finish

Choose a Font for Printing

Step 1: Choose a Printer Font Face and Size

This is done in the printer definition as follows:

• Select File --> Print
• Name: (Choose a printer definition from the drop-down list)

Notice that Line Size and Page Size are displayed at the botton of this window.
• Click Properties
• Click the Font Tab
• Choose a font face and size.

You can enter the size or choose it from the pull-down list.
I use Courier size 7 because it saves paper and is still large enough to read.
With Courier size 7 the printer linesize is 107 and pagesize is 100.
• Click OK

Notice the new page and line size settings if you changed the font size.
• Click OK if you want to print or CANCEL if you do not want to print.
  These settings will be saved.

Step 2: Set Your Output Line and Page Size.

Use an options statement in your program or your autoexec.sas file to set output linesize and pagesize to match the printer settings. It is best to choose settings slightly smaller than the printer settings. If the output settings are larger than the printer settings, each line of output will be truncated when printed.

For example, if your printer linesize=107 and pagesize=100 you could use the following:
    options ls=105 ps=98 formdlim='_' ;

Additional Printing Options:

1. Sending graphs directly to the printer, rather than printing from the graph window, will usually improve their appearance. Instructions and a sample program with instructions can be found at: graphout.sas
2. You can save your output or program to a file and use the UNIX command, lpr , to print.
3. You can copy your saved file to a disk with the Unix command, mcopy.
   More instructions are available below in "Copying Files To and From Disk".
4. You can mail your results using: File --> Send Mail.

Frequently Modified Editing Options

Turn AUTOSPLIT On

AUTOSPLIT is off by default. With the AUTOSPLIT option on, text is moved to the next line when the return key is pressed. Two methods for turning AUTOSPLIT ON are provided.

Method 1:

To turn AUTOSPLIT on, from within the Program Editor window select:
• Tools-->Options-->Editor
• Choose Text Editing Options instead of General Options
in the drop-down box.
• Highlight AUTOSPLIT
• Right mouse click
• Choose modify
• Change the value to Yes
• Select OK

Method2:
Add this statement to your autoexec.sas file.
dm 'autosplit on';

SET AUTOSCROLL

Below are three methods that can be used to set the AUTOSCROLL option.

Method 1:
In the Output and Log Toolbox window, enter and submit: autoscoll 0;

Method 2:
In the toolbox of any window, enter and submit: log; autoscroll 0; out; autoscroll 0;

Method 3:
Add this line to your autoexec.sas file.
    dm "log;autoscroll 0;out;autoscroll 0;"

Turn Auto Store Selection Off

With the Auto Store Option turned on, highlighted text is automatically stored in the paste buffer and the text does not stay highlighted. This is the default setting.

To turn Automatically Store Selection off:

• Select Tools --> Options --> Preferences
• Select the Editing tab at the top
• Turn Automatically Store Selection off
• Select OK

Program Your Keys

Keys can be programmed in the Keys window to execute any command line commands. The keys window can be opened by selecting: Tools --> Options --> Keys

CTRL+E was programmed in previous versions of SAS to clear the log and output windows, submit the program and go to the top of the log window. You can program CTRL+E by entering the following on the CTR+E line of the Keys window.

    out;clear;log;clear;pgm;sub;log;top;

Change the Current Working Directory

To change the current working directory select: Tools-->Options-->Change Directory.

Interrupt or Terminate a SAS Session

There are interrupt and terminate buttons in the Session Management window. This window may be an icon at the bottom of your screen. It usually has an X or a lighteningbolt symbol.

Copy Files to and From a Disk

To copy a file to disk
    mcopy -t your-unix-file a:your-pc-file

To copy a file from disk
    mcopy -t a:your-pc-file your-unix-file

In an XTERM window use the dos2unix command to convert a PC file to a UNIX file. This is necessary if you want to use a file on the UNITY system that you created on a PC. This is because the two platforms use different end-of-line and end-of-file markers.
   dos2unix old-file-name new-file-name

Using Older Versions of SAS

To use older versions of SAS you can add them using add sas612 or add sas81. These older versions will be removed sometime in the future. Once you have used one of these add commands you need to use add sas82 to start SAS version 8.2.

Storing Your User Preferences

The UNIX command to copy this directory is:
    cp -r sasuser.800 sasuser.800.bak

The UNIX command to move this directory is:
   mv sasuser.800 sasuser.800.old

You can restore your backup with the UNIX command:
    mv sasuser.800.bak sasuser.800