Valley of the Sun SAS User’s Group

Agenda for the VALSUG Training Forum on October 5, 2016

Start Time Activity Length 8:00 Doors Open - Breakfast 30 min 8:30 Introductions 10 min 8:40 Leave Your Bad Code Behind: 50 ways to Make Your SAS 50 min Code Execute More Efficiently 9:30 New for SAS 9.4: A Technique for Including Text and 50 min Graphics in your Microsoft Excel Workbooks, Part 1 (2016) 11:00 Break -- Cookies 15 min 11:15 The Top 3 Things SAS Programmers Should Know About 50 min SAS Enterprise Guide 12:05 Lunch 75 min   1:20 Introduction to the SAS Universal Viewer 50 min   2:10 An Insider’s Guide to ODS LAYOUT Using SAS 9.4 50 min   3:00 Break -- Deserts 20 min   3:20 Ask the Experts - Round Table - Open Question Period with 60 min   4:20 Door Prizes 30 min   4:30 Adjourn

See below for short speaker biographical information Leave Your Bad Code Behind:  50 Ways to Make Your SAS® Code Execute More Efficiently William E Benjamin Jr, Owl Computer consultancy LLC This laundry list of tips shows 50 ways to help SAS programmers make their code run faster and more efficiently. Topics include maximizing each DATA step, making simple tasks take less code, using macro variables to simplify maintenance, using built-in features, optimizing code to save disk space, using sorts for more than just sorting, and ways to make the program code just read better. New for SAS® 9.4: A Technique for Including Text and Graphics in Your Microsoft Excel Workbooks, Part I (2016) Vince DelGobbo, SAS A new ODS destination for creating Microsoft Excel workbooks is available starting in the third maintenance release for SAS® 9.4. This destination creates native Microsoft Excel XLSX files, supports graphic images, and offers other advantages over the older ExcelXP tagset. In this presentation you learn step-by-step techniques for quickly and easily creating attractive multi-sheet Excel workbooks that contain your SAS® output. The techniques can be used regardless of the platform on which SAS software is installed. You can even use them on a mainframe! Creating and delivering your workbooks on-demand and in real time using SAS server technology is discussed. Although the title is similar to previous presentations by this author, this presentation contains new and revised material not previously presented. Using the ExcelXP tagset with earlier versions of SAS to create multi-sheet workbooks is also discussed. The Top 3 Things SAS® Programmers Should Know About SAS® Enterprise Guide® Shannon Moore, SAS Are you a seasoned SAS programmer? Are you a bit hesitant about this interface called SAS Enterprise Guide? This discussion focuses on questions that SAS programmers might have about SAS Enterprise Guide, such as: Can I still use my SAS code? Are there tasks that are easier with SAS Enterprise Guide? And more! Introduction to the SAS® Universal Viewer Shannon Moore, SAS The SAS Universal Viewer is a replacement for the SAS System Viewer and is an application for the Windows environment to view SAS data sets and other simple text-based files. You cannot edit SAS data sets with the SAS Universal Viewer, but you can sort and filter data sets. The SAS Universal Viewer enables you to view the contents of SAS data sets without invoking SAS and without installing SAS on your machine. An Insider’s Guide to ODS LAYOUT Using SAS® 9.4 Dan O’Connor, SAS Whenever you travel, whether it’s to a new destination or to your favorite vacation spot, it’s nice to have a guide to assist you with planning and setting expectations. The ODS LAYOUT statement became production in SAS 9.4. For those intrepid programmers who used ODS LAYOUT in an earlier release of SAS, this paper contains tons of information about changes you need to know about. Programmers new to SAS 9.4 (or new to ODS LAYOUT) need to understand the basics. This paper reviews some common issues customers have reported to SAS Technical Support when migrating to the LAYOUT destination in SAS 9.4 and explores the basics for those who are making their first foray into the adventure that is ODS LAYOUT. You’ll learn tips and tricks to ensure that your trip through the ODS LAYOUT statement will be a fun and rewarding one.