Overview
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SAS OnlineDoc contains the reference information that you absolutely must have in order to use the SAS System. For example, it includes descriptions of functions, statements, and procedures; documentation for particular operating environments; and (where applicable) information about basic SAS tasks and concepts. In other words, SAS OnlineDoc contains the type of "dictionary style" information that has proved most useful and easiest to use in an online format. This edition of SAS OnlineDoc also includes User's Guides and Administrator's Guides for some products. See the Table of Contents for a complete list of products and host materials that are included.
Reference information for SAS software products is also
located in the SAS System Help. To access the SAS System Help, select Help 
SAS System Help
from any SAS window that has a menu bar, or issue the
Help command from the command area of the SAS ToolBox.
Once your SAS OnlineDoc CD-ROM has been installed, you can access it
from the SAS System by selecting Help Books and Training
SAS OnlineDoc from any SAS window that has a menu bar.
For information about how to use the Java-enabled version of SAS OnlineDoc effectively, see the Quick Tour and the Help (available from the Help tab in the left frame of the Java interface).
If you are using the SAS System for the first time, we recommend that
you begin with the tutorial "Getting Started with SAS Software," which
is integrated within the SAS System. You can access the tutorial
by selecting
Help
Getting Started with SAS Software from the menu
bar of the SAS Explorer or the SAS programming windows.
This tutorial steps you through the process of accessing data, managing files, analyzing data, and creating graphs and basic reports, using sample data and a point-and-click interface. New users quickly learn how to maneuver through the SAS System. Experienced users learn the new interface and are exposed to new products.
You can also
access tutorials for SAS/ASSIST, SAS/EIS, SAS/GIS, and SAS/Warehouse Administrator
software by
accessing the product and then selecting Help Getting Started ... from
the menu bar.
SAS OnlineTutor is SAS Institute's next generation of online training. Taking advantage of HTML and Java capabilities, SAS OnlineTutor offers you an easy-to-use method of learning about the SAS windowing environment and SAS programming skills.
Topics in SAS OnlineTutor range from learning basic concepts to producing drill-down graphs and enhanced tables in HTML. Lessons include both interactive questions and guided practices, which enable you to try out your new skills in the actual SAS environment. All training is appropriate for both mainframe and desktop environments.
You can access SAS OnlineTutor from the SAS web site at http://www.sas.com/tutor. The relatively small fee for the web-based training gives you 30 calendar days of unlimited access to the entire library.
SAS OnlineTutor is also available as a licensed product within the SAS
System. If your site has licensed and
installed SAS OnlineTutor, you can start the training by selecting
Help
Books and Training SAS OnlineTutor from any
SAS window that has a menu bar. Contact the Training Representative at your
local SAS office for more information about the annual license for
SAS OnlineTutor.
To view SAS OnlineTutor, we strongly recommend that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or Netscape Navigator 4.08 or higher, with both Java and JavaScript enabled. If you run SAS software on a mainframe computer, you can view SAS OnlineTutor on your PC or UNIX workstation and use terminal emulation software to practice in the mainframe SAS environment.
For information about Version 6 hardcopy books that are also applicable to Versions 7 and 8, see Hardcopy Documentation in the SAS OnlineDoc Table of Contents.
Hardcopy books that we highly recommend to new users include:
As the 21st century approaches, you may notice that some of the values in the sample programs in SAS OnlineDoc specify the year 2000 and beyond. Unless otherwise noted, all of the output for example programs in SAS OnlineDoc was generated using the new default value of the SAS system option YEARCUTOFF=. In Versions 7 and 8, the default value of this system option is 1920.
YEARCUTOFF= specifies the first year of a 100-year span and is used by various DATE and DATETIME informats and SAS functions. A default value of 1920 means that SAS interprets any two-digit year value between 20 and 99 inclusive as referring to the 1900s. Any two-digit year value between 00 and 19 inclusive is interpreted as referring to the 2000s.
For more information about the YEARCUTOFF= system option, see SAS Language Reference: Dictionary. For more information about general year 2000 issues and SAS software, visit the Year 2000 Compliance link at our web site.
In addition, the SAS Professional Services Division offers a course entitled The Year 2000: Achieving Date Compliance in SAS Applications. You can attend a public course at an Institute training center or bring the course to your site. Contact your local SAS office for more information about The Year 2000 and other training courses.
The following figure illustrates the conventions that are used for describing the syntax of SAS language elements:
Copyright © 1999 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA. All rights reserved.