This question came up while helping my presales colleague with a client’s question: “Is Microsoft Excel in direct competition with SAS?” Not really. I like to think of SAS as partnering with Excel. Because of the following Excel benefits and its …
Tag: SAS Enterprise Guide
SAS Report: You’re soaking in it
Do you want your report to look good on the web, or to look good when you print it? Pick one. Before the SAS Report file format, that was the choice that you faced. HTML is perfect for the web browser. It’s easy to scroll through tables, apply an attractive […]
SAS Enterprise Guide: Cut and Paste Excel Data into SAS Dataset
Yes, you can import a spreadsheet into SAS Enterprise Guide and it’s super simple. However, there are times when I have been building datasets from several pieces of data. Come into my lab … now that I’m a data scientist! Careful, don’t knock over any of my beakers or touch my experiments – you might cause an explosion. Create the Framework To build your new dataset just decide how you want it to look – how many columns, what they will hold, and so on. Here’s how you do it in SAS Enterprise Guide: Go to the File > New > Data. A New Data window appears. In the Name field, type the name of your new dataset and then select the library you want it in. This needs to be a local library unless you have permissions to create a dataset in the metadata library. [A completely different subject … ] The next window allows you to create the columns. You can edit Column Properties to change the name, label, format, informat, and length. You can add and delete columns. Obviously – you can be your own little wizard and conjure up the dataset of your dreams! Now for Some Excel Tricks […]
SAS EG and Stored Processes: 3 Tips for Using Options
There are some helpful options you can set in SAS Enterprise Guide to make your day-to-day coding tasks a little quicker. Some of these tasks can impact stored processes you create from tasks instead of coding. SAS Enterprise Guide Options From the Tools > Options menu you can preset options such as footer text and default SAS code that you want run before or after a task executes. Sometimes this can be more helpful than other times. Tip #1 – Adding a Default Footer You can add a default footer or header to all of your SAS generated reports. If you are using the SAS Tasks, SAS automatically adds whatever you have preset in the Options. If you use SAS functions or macro variables your reports and graphs will appear more customized. To set a default footer for your SAS Enterprise Guide reports and graphs, do this: From the Tools>Options menu, select the Tasks General pane. In the Default footnote text for task output field, type your text. For instance, I am using the default time and date to indicate the last time the report was updated. Note! The date() function returns when the SAS Enterprise Guide session was started […]
Enterprise Guide: Zero My Hero – Using the Z Format
Working with account numbers can require adding a leading zero. You can use the Z format but it can be a little tricky. Not so long ago I showed you how to use the Z format to create a new data item in Information Map Studio. However, I noticed many people are still searching for this information and when I was using it myself I was not able to find much on it. This post explains how to create a new column in Enterprise Guide following by the actual coding steps in PROC SQL: Creating a New Column in SAS Enterprise Guide Query Builder To add the leading zeros, you have to use the Z format and a numeric variable. Using the Query Builder, you can create a new column in your data. In this example, you’ll see how to change the numeric ACCNO to a character variable with the leading zeros. This example starts with the ACCNO_TWO dataset. To create the new column, do this: From SAS Enterprise Guide, open the Query Builder with the ACCNO_TWO dataset. Select Computer Columns button. In the Computer Columns window, select the New button (not shown). From the New Computed Column window, select […]
Ready for the Next Generation of SAS?
There’s so much excitement about big data, data scientists, and all things that mean you need some serious SAS BI skills. On Monday I was discussing the Kinsey Insitiute projections for data related jobs, but even the New York Times ran The Age of Big Data an article about it. Appears everyone is talking about it! oooh … Buzz! I love it. SAS BI Developer Demand is Growing The past December, BusinessIntellience.Com, reported that SAS Business Analytics SMB Sales Jumped 42 Percent and went on to comment that ”[this] jump demonstrates that enterprises of all sizes are seizing business analytics as a vital competitive tool.” Last week, the same webzine was reporting that SAS in Leaders Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms according to the Gartner Inc report. As SAS Institute sells more SAS BI solutions, naturally more SAS BI Developer jobs become available. On the Indeed.Com you can search out job trends to determine which fields seem to be growing. [Disclaimer! These figures are based on Indeed.Com job postings and I have no idea what their counting rules are – so I realize this could be that more recruiters use Indeed or Indeed has a better aggregation methodology.] With that said, check out the SAS BI […]
Peek Inside SAS BI Book: Building Business Intelligence with SAS
You may be aware by now, our new SAS BI book Building Business Intelligence with SAS:Content Development Examples launched last week on the SAS Press site. That’s right, SAS Press or Amazon will be delighted to bring a copy of this SAS BI book to your door. When Angela and I set out to write this book, one of the first things we discussed was how new users get access to the SAS BI toolset and have no idea of its astonishing capabilities. This book guides you through each one so you understand it. Intermediate and advanced users will also find this book as a valuable reference. Several times, Angela & I have both found ourselves pulling out the draft copy to reference an advanced technique. This book fulfills a unique spot in the marketplace; there is no other single book that leads you through each SAS BI component with step-by-step examples along with hundreds of tips and techniques to make you successful! SAS Institute offers over nine SAS BI courses to cover all the topics we have jammed packed into this book. Making this an excellent study guide for those planning to take the SAS BI Content Development Exam. Your SAS […]
Review your metadata profiles using SAS Enterprise Guide automation
We call it the “metadata profile”, but really it’s like a telephone number that connects you to your SAS environment. Just as a telephone number has component parts (country code, area code, exchange), the metadata profile contains information that allow you to “dial in” to your SAS servers. This information […]