The REGISTRY Procedure

Creating Registry Files

You can create registry files with the SAS Registry Editor or with any text editor.

A registry file must have a particular structure. Each entry in the registry file consists of a key name, followed on the next line by one or more values. The key name identifies the key or subkey that you are defining. Any values that follow specify the names or data to associate with the key.

For more information on the SAS Registry and the Registry Editor, see the SAS online Help.

Specifying Key names
Key names are entered on a single line between square brackets ([ and ]). To specify a subkey, enter multiple key names between the brackets, starting with the root key. Separate the names in a sequence of key names with a backslash (\). The length of a single key name or a sequence of key names cannot exceed 255 characters (including the square brackets and the backslashes). Key names can contain any character except the backslash.

Examples of valid key name sequences follow. These sequences are typical of the SAS Registry:

[CORE\EXPLORER\MENUS\ENTRIES\CLASS]

[CORE\EXPLORER\NEWMEMBER\CATALOG]

[CORE\EXPLORER\NEWENTRY\CLASS]

[CORE\EXPLORER\ICONS\ENTRIES\LOG]

Specifying Values for Keys
Enter each value on the line following the key name that it is associated with. You can specify multiple values for each key, but each value must be on a separate line.

The general form of a value is

value-name=value-content
A value-name can be an at sign (@), which indicates the default value name, or it can be any text string in double quotation marks. If the text contains an ampersand (&), the character (either uppercase or lowercase) that follows the ampersand is a shortcut for the value name. See Example of a Registry Entry .

A value cannot contain more than 255 characters (including quotation marks and ampersands). It can contain any character except a backslash (\).

Value-content can be any of the following:

a string (inside double quotation marks). You can put anything inside the quotes, including nothing ("").
Note: To include a backslash character in the quoted string, use two adjacent backslashes. To include a double quotation mark, use two adjacent double quotation marks.
the string int: followed by a signed long integer value.
the string uint: followed by an unsigned long integer value.
the string dword: followed by an unsigned long hexadecimal value.
the string hex: followed by any number of hexadecimal characters separated by commas. If you extend the hexadecimal characters beyond a single line, end the line with a backslash to indicate that the data continues on the next line.
the string double: followed by a double value.

The following examples illustrate and explain some of the different types of values that are currently stored in the SAS Registry:

"&Open"="BUILD %8b.%32b.%32b.%8b MSG=NO"

This value is a quoted string that issues the BUILD command on the selected object.

The character O is a shortcut for this action.

"P&rint"="GSUBMIT 'PROC PRINT DATA=%8b.%32b;RUN;';LISTING;DLGPRT;"

This value is a quoted string that executes the GSUBMIT command, which in turn executes the PRINT procedure and the LISTING and DLGPRT statements.

The character r is a shortcut for this action.

"&Edit"="IMAGEEDIT;IMPORT'%s''FORMAT=GIF'"

This value is a quoted string that imports the selected GIF file into the SAS Image Editor.

The character E is a shortcut for this action.

"Brick"=hex:02,03,00,f4,00,01

The value of 'Brick' is hex values.

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	[CORE\EXPLORER\MENUS\ENTRIES\CLASS]
	[CORE\EXPLORER\NEWMEMBER\CATALOG]
	[CORE\EXPLORER\NEWENTRY\CLASS]
	[CORE\EXPLORER\ICONS\ENTRIES\LOG]