Mea culpa. I misread the question as being how to save a SAS dataset, not how to save a SAS dataset in V6 when using V8. Sorry for any confusion that it has caused.

Previous answer: I'm not clear on what you are looking for. SAS datasets are automatically saved to the Work when they are created so that "Data One" really refers to "Data Work.One". Work datasets are lost, however, at the end of the SAS job or session.

To save permanently, you need to have a SAS library set up. The DD name (batch, JCL) or the LIB name (batch or from program editor) would then form the first level of the SAS dataset. To save the dataset One to a permanent library called Perm, the dataset name would be "Perm.One". It's pretty easy. Let me know if you have questions.

Royce

Dale McLerran <dmclerra@FHCRC.ORG> on 04/25/2000 01:20:02 PM

Please respond to Dale McLerran <dmclerra@FHCRC.ORG>

To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU cc: (bcc: Royce Claytor/IT/VANCPOWER)

Subject: SAS Help CD-ROM

[posted and mailed]

Myra.Oltsik@responseinsurance.com wrote in <8e2b68$9mq$1@nnrp1.deja.com>:

>I'm in V8 right now. I need to know the syntax for saving a dataset in >V6.12. I need this info ASAP. > >Comment: I do NOT like the SAS Help CD-ROM, at least so far. I spent 10 >minutes looking for this, with no help at all. If someone can figure >out the search or index tricks, please let me know. > >Thanks. > >My > > >Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ >Before you buy.

We continue the thread on searching the new SAS Help CD-ROM for proper syntax. I don't have version 8 up yet. I am using version 7. So my comments must be evaluated in terms of any modifications to the help system that may have occurred between versions.

I took Myra's problem and performed a search along the following lines:

1) Specify "Search in: Language Reference" 2) Specify "Look for: all the words in list" 3) Specify "Words: libname engine" 4) Hit the search button

You will notice that I am working from top to bottom as the search function screen appears. Logically, the thought proceeds along the following lines:

1) I know enough about SAS that I know that I need to find an "engine" to plug into the "libname" statement. Therefore, I will search for those two words. 2) I want to limit my hits to those sections which contain both words in my search list. The libname statement would appear too many times to be a good keyword, but in conjunction with engine my search should limit the number of hits to a manageable volume. 3) I will start first with the Language Reference volume. After all, the libname statement is fundamental to the SAS language. 4) Perform the search.

This search resulted in 7 hits. The first of these hits was

Statements: LIBNAME

and this hit appeared in my browser window immediately. I scrolled down through the page and read the description of the "engine" argument. The language reference engine description referred me to the SAS documentation for my operating system. So, I repeated my search as above, changing the "Search in:" field to the Windows Companion. When I performed the search in the Windows Companion, the restrictions resulted in 9 hits. The second of these was Statements: LIBNAME. Scrolling down through this page, I found immediately that I could specify V6 for all version 6.xx files with the exception of version 6.03 and 6.04 datasets.

I don't regard this as an onerous search. However, it reveals a couple of thoughts worth considering:

1) I need to know a little about the SAS language before I can do an effective search. If I didn't know that SAS uses the keyword "engine" on the libname statement, I might have had problems wading through all the search hits concerning the libname statement. This must be tempered with the thought that if all I knew was I must specify a libname statement, I could have opened up the SAS Language Reference under the Contents tab, expanded the Statements heading, and scrolled down to find LIBNAME. That would have pointed me to the SAS Companion, which I could also open under the Contents tab. In the Companion, I would have to guess that I would find the LIBNAME statement described under "Features of the SAS Language". Expanding that heading, you once again find Statements --> LIBNAME.

2) Perhaps more revealing (to me) is that in programming the Search tab, SAS totally reversed the order of presentation. My logical thought is to first determine a word or words or a phrase to search for. Only after I have stated what I want to search for can I specify whether the search should be on "all the words in list", "at least one word in list", "the phrase", or an "advanced query". It is a further refinement to limit the search to a specific volume.

3) The order of presentation which SAS has chosen represents the process of first grabbing a volume off the shelf. We may have some idea what we want to look up in the volume, but the first physical action is to get the volume out. In this manner, hard copy searches are perhaps inefficient in that there is some mixup between logical thought process and physical action sequence. My logical thought process has to first conceive something about the search. That is, I have to have some idea what I want to look for. I must then conceive where it will be found. My first action is to pull the volume where I believe my search will be successfully completed. Then I search the index for the terms which I believe will lead me to the information that I require. If I am using several words to describe my search, I must hope that the index is properly cross- referenced and nested. More often than not, the index is not properly cross-referenced on all the items which I might like to employ.

In brief, I would have to say that I believe the SAS Help searches are a vast improvement over physical volume searches. In order for a search to be successful, a certain amount of knowledge is required. The more knowledge you have, the more you can limit your search to specific pages which will provide the required information. I would like to see a little restructuring of the search tab. Perhaps that has been done for version 8.

Dale

-------------------------------------- Dale McLerran Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Seattle, WA 98109 mailto:dmclerra@fhcrc.org ph: (206) 667-2926 fax: (206) 667-5977 --------------------------------------