Submitting SAS Code

You can run SAS jobs in batch mode in the Windows operating environment. Place your SAS statements in a file and submit them for execution along with the control statements and system commands that are required at your site.

You can run windowing procedures, such as those that are associated with SAS/GRAPH, SAS/INSIGHT, and SAS/ACCESS software in a batch SAS job.

When you run SAS in batch mode, a status window is displayed. The status window displays the job that is running and also the location of the log and procedure output files. The status window remains open until the SAS job is complete.

If you do not want to see the status window while your batch SAS job is running, use the ICON system option to invoke the SAS System so that the status window becomes an icon when your job is running. You can also minimize the status window by clicking Icon when the window appears. The icon shows the busy pointer (usually an hourglass) while the SAS job is running, and then disappears when the job is complete. You can cancel a batch job either by pressing CTRL+BREAK or by clicking Cancel in the status window

The maximum line length is 32767 bytes.

If you want to establish a permanent libref, then enable the STARTLIB system option when you begin the batch job.

You can submit a batch SAS job by using the following methods:

You can drag SAS programs from other Windows applications onto an open SAS session and submit them. You can also drag files that contain SAS code and drop them onto an open SAS session to submit them.

If you drag text from another Windows application or SAS window to the Enhanced Editor or the Program Editor window, that text is moved to the window by default. It is not submitted until you press F8 or issue the SUBMIT command.

However, you can override this default action by right-clicking the text to select it and then dragging it (if the application supports nondefault dragging). When you drop the selection onto the Enhanced Editor or the Program Editor window, a menu appears and you can choose between moving the code or copying the code. The menu for the Program Editor also enables you to submit the code.

By using the My Favorite Folders window, you can access files that exist outside the SAS environment. Files that contain SAS code can be dragged into your interactive SAS session for execution. Access the My Favorite Folders window by using the View menu.

If you drop a file that contains SAS code onto the Enhanced Editor window or on the Program Editor window, that code is included in the window (but not submitted). If you drop the file onto the Log or Output window or on a minimized SAS session, the code is automatically submitted.

When you minimize a SAS session, its icon appears on the Windows task bar. You cannot drop a file onto the task bar. Instead, you can drag the file to the SAS icon on the task bar and hold it there, without releasing the mouse button. After about one second, the SAS window resumes its normal size. Then you can drop the file onto the open SAS session.

Dropping the file C:\MYPROG.SAS onto a window (other than the Enhanced Editor or Program Editor windows) of an open SAS session is the same as issuing this command:

gsubmit "%include 'c:\myprog.sas'";

You can submit more than one file at a time by selecting a group of files that contain SAS programs and then dropping them onto the open SAS session. The order in which the programs are run when they are submitted as a group is determined by Windows. Therefore, if order is important, you should drop each program file separately.

If SAS is busy when you drop a SAS program icon, the dropped file is ignored. The only indication that the dropped file was ignored is a warning beep.