Tag: Stored Processes

Where is the SAS code for that stored process?

Stored process code can exist within the metadata itself for version 9.3 (the benefits of which I discussed earlier). But for all other versions (and as a option in version 9.3) the SAS code is  stored as a .sas file within the server’s file system (…

Selecting multiple individual dates in prompted reports

The date prompt from SAS Prompt Framework provides the options of single selection or a range, however what if you need to select multiple individual dates such as Monday (May 28), Wednesday (May 30), and Friday (June 1) of last week? There are a few a…

SAS Stored Processes: 3 Tips to Improve Your Prompts

SAS stored processes are similar to SAS programs in that they use the same programming language.  Many of my SAS programs I created early on were only used by me, so I could live with  a little uncertainty and it was easy enough to check the logs for any issues.  If anything went wrong then I knew what I had to change. Stored processes required a whole new level of thinking – my first few stored processes back in the SAS 9.1.3 days were – well they left a lot to be desired.  When I would roll out a new stored process I would often get a call from a user who had done something crazy and the stored process wouldn’t work.  For instance, why would anyone put a state name in a customer name field to see if it would return all the customers from that state?  Only one thing could happen – no report!   Here’s some usability tricks that I have learned with my SAS Stored Processes to make them more robust and harder to break.  Really the out-of-the box prompts provide a lot of functionality that really helps. That’s right – let’s build a better mousetrap! Tip #1: […]

Mobile is available for all SAS programmers

During the SAS Global Forum this past week, SAS offered several demos on mobile technology including: Michael Hecht, SAS, JMP iPad App Super Demo Chris Hemedinger hosted a Live Tech Talk on Tuesday that covered the new SAS Visual Analytics Explore…

SAS Enterprise Guide: Pick a Winner Randomly

To pick the winners of the 50 Keys to Learning SAS Stored Processes book, my first thought was to print the list and then put everyone’s name in a hat. Angela brilliantly suggested that we use one of the SAS Random functions.  However, since there was a list  of names I really needed a random number between two values.  This brought to mind the MS Excel RANDBETWEEN function – but how do you translate that function to SAS Enterprise Guide code? Getting a Random Number between Two Values I have to admit for a one-off process like picking a random number,  MS Excel would be my goto tool. MS Excel has a function called RANDBETWEEN() that allows you to provide two numbers and it then selects a random value between those two numbers.  I tried to use the SAS RANDOM functions – but I couldn’t figure out how to make it work in 5 minutes (my personal patience meter) so I needed an expert.  Consult with a SAS Expert Lucky for me SAS-L had the answer – it’s one of the places I search for SAS tips when I’m stuck.  In August 2000, Mark Terjeson wrote a post called “Just […]

All the possible uses for PROC STP

PROC STP is a new procedure for SAS 9.3 Stored Processes. It’s so new and different that I have not had the opportunity to use it yet in a customer engagement. When writing about it for the now released “The 50 Keys to Learning SAS Stored Processes” bo…

What Can I Do With a Stored Process?

Often I refer to SAS Stored Processes as the workhorse of the SAS BI tools … you can use these little devils everywhere sometimes as Band-Aid, sometimes as the star, and sometimes as a background player. In a past post, I showed you how to use a stored process to add dashboard dials to Web Report Studio and Linking to a Stored Process from Web Report Studio. Add-In for MS Office – View Reports or Data Use the stored process to deliver a report or maybe just a dataset (using Proc Print) to the Add-In for Microsoft Office (AMO). In the past, I set up several stored processes that only contained a PROC PRINT to display a data set. Then I added a prompt for Product, which allowed the user to query product inquiries based on the product of interest. Here’s how you access the stored process from AMO 4.3. This works similarly in prior versions of AMO. Open MS Excel (or Word/PowerPoint). On the SAS ribbon, click the Reports icon. Navigate to the stored processes storage location and click the stored process name. < Optional> This stored process has two prompts: Visitor Type and ODS Style. Your stored process […]