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Files Used by the SAS System

The SAS System uses many files while it is running; however, some of these files are especially important from a user's perspective. These files include the

• SAS configuration files (SASVx.CFG by default where x is the release number)

• SAS autoexec file (AUTOEXEC.SAS by default)

• user profile catalog (Profile.sas7bcat)

• WORK data library ("SAS Temporary Files" folder in your system's designated TEMP area)

• SAS Registry Files

SAS Configuration Files

The SAS configuration file enables you to specify SAS system options that are used to establish your SAS session. These system options indicate, among other things, the location of your SAS System help and message files and the paths to SAS executable files. The SAS configuration file is particularly important because it specifies the folders that are searched for the various components of SAS products. You must have at least one configuration file in order for the SAS System to initialize; you can have multiple configuration files that are all processed while your SAS session begins. For a list of system options you can use in your SAS configuration file, see Summary of System Options for Windows. For more information about system options, see the section on SAS system options in this document and in SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

A default SAS configuration file named SASVx.CFG (x is the version number of the SAS System) is created during the installation process and is stored in the !SASROOT folder. (The !SASROOT folder is the folder in which you install the SAS System. For more information on the !SASROOT folder, see SAS Default Folder Structure.) The SAS System requires a configuration file, so you must use a SAS configuration file regardless of whether you are using interactive or batch mode.

Specifying SAS System Options in the SAS Configuration File

You can specify any SAS system option in the SAS command when you start the SAS System. However, it is generally more convenient to place frequently used system options in your SAS configuration file rather than repeatedly specifying the same options at invocation. The syntax for specifying system options in the SAS configuration file is discussed in Syntax for System Options in the SAS Invocation or SAS Configuration File.

You can edit the default configuration file to add to or change the system option settings, or you can create your own SAS configuration file. Naming Conventions for the SAS Configuration File discusses how to modify your SAS configuration file.

Your SAS configuration file is divided into two sections. The first section specifies system options that are not updated by the SAS System Setup application. The second section is used by the SAS System Setup application for updating information about where SAS software is installed. The sections are divided by the following text string:

/* DO NOT EDIT BELOW THIS LINE - INSTALL */
/* application edits below this line     */

The SAS System Setup application deletes all data below this text string but does not affect the options specified above it. The Setup application appends the following system options below this text string: DMSEXP, DOCLOC, HELPLOC, MAPS, MSG, PATH, SASHELP, SASUSER, WORK, and SET. (The SET system option defines the following SAS environment variables: SASAUTOS, SASCFG, SASFOLDER, SASROOT, INSTALL, SAMPSIO, SAMPSRC, and SASEXT0).

CAUTION:

Use the SAS text editor to edit your configuration file. The text editor you choose to edit the SAS configuration file is important to preserve some of the special character formatting in the file. The recommended method is to edit your configuration file using the SAS text editor (such as the Program Editor window) and save it using the Save As dialog box. If you do not use the SAS text editor, be sure to use another ASCII text editor (such as Windows Notepad). Do not use a specialized editor such as the WordPad application that comes with Windows. Using such an editor can insert carriage control characters into your configuration file or corrupt the characters that are there.  

Naming Conventions for the SAS Configuration File

When you install the SAS System under Windows for Version 8, a SASV8.CFG file is created in the !SASROOT folder.

You can specify your own file to act as the SAS configuration file, overriding the default file, SASV8.CFG. When you use a file located in a different place or under a different name as your default SAS configuration file, you must tell the SAS System where to find the configuration file. For example, the Target field of the SAS System properties might contain:

C:\SAS\SAS.EXE -CONFIG C:\SAS\MySASConfig.CFG

If the SAS System cannot find the SAS configuration file, an error message is displayed, and the SAS System does not initialize.

CAUTION:

You must add several required system options if you create your SAS configuration file from scratch. If you use your own configuration file instead of the default configuration file, you must add several required options. For example, you must either use the SET option to define the environment variable, !SASROOT, or define SASROOT as a Windows environment variable. Therefore, if you do not want to use the default configuration file, you should copy the default file (SASV8.CFG) and modify the copy instead of creating your own file from scratch.  

How the SAS System Finds and Processes Configuration Files

When you invoke the SAS System, SAS automatically searches several locations for configuration options that can affect your SAS session. SAS looks in the following areas and processes them in this order:

SAS_SYS_CONFIG operation system environment variable

This environment variable, if defined, must resolve to a valid SAS configuration file. On a multi-user Windows NT system, this environment variable would most likely be defined as a system environment variable (instead of as a user environment variable) so that it is processed for all users on that system. Use the SAS_USER_CONFIG user environment variable to specify a user-specific configuration file.

files specified by CONFIG system options

On the SAS invocation command, you can specify one or more -CONFIG options with the names of the configuration files that you want to use. You must include a separate -CONFIG option for each file that you want to specify.

SASVx.CFG in the current folder

SAS looks for a file that is named SASVx.CFG (x is the version of the SAS System) in the current folder only if you do not specify a -CONFIG option on the SAS invocation.

SASVx.CFG in the folder where SAS.EXE resides

SAS looks for a file that is named SASVx.CFG in the folder that contains the SAS.EXE executable only if you do not specify a -CONFIG option on the SAS invocation and there is no SASVx.CFG file in the current folder.

SAS_USER_CONFIG operating system environment variable

This environment variable, if defined, must resolve to a valid SAS configuration file. On a multi-user Windows NT system, this environment variable would likely be defined as a user environment variable (instead of as a system environment variable) so that it is processed only for the current user on that system. Use the SAS_SYS_CONFIG system environment variable to specify a system-wide configuration file.

SAS_OPTIONS operating system environment variable

This environment variable, if defined, contains a string of option specifications for any other SAS System options that you want to process each time that you invoke the SAS System.

SAS invocation command line

You can specify additional system options on the command that you use to invoke the SAS System. These system options always override option values that are set within any of the configuration files.

For more information about the CONFIG system option, see CONFIG.

Order of Processing for SAS Configuration Files

SAS Autoexec File

The SAS autoexec file contains SAS statements that are executed immediately after the SAS System initializes and before any user input is accepted. These SAS statements can be used to invoke SAS programs automatically, set up certain variables for use during your SAS session, or set system options. Unlike the SAS configuration file, a SAS autoexec file is not required in order to run the SAS System, but if you do have a SAS autoexec file, the default name is AUTOEXEC.SAS. The SAS System uses the following search order to find the AUTOEXEC.SAS file:

1. Search the current folder.

2. Search the paths specified by the Windows PATH environment variable.

3. Search the root folder of the current drive.

4. Search the folder that contains the SAS.EXE file.

You do not have to name your SAS autoexec file AUTOEXEC.SAS, but if you name it something else, you must use the AUTOEXEC system option to tell the SAS System where to find the SAS autoexec file. For example, you can specify the following option after the path specification for the SAS.EXE file in the Target field of the SAS System Windows shortcut:

-AUTOEXEC C:\MySASFiles\INIT.SAS

The SAS autoexec file is a convenient way to execute a standard set of SAS program statements each time you invoke the SAS System. You may want to include OPTIONS, LIBNAME or FILENAME statements, or any other SAS statements and system options you want the system to execute each time you invoke a SAS session. For example, if you want to specify a script file for SAS/CONNECT software, you can place the following statement in the AUTOEXEC.SAS file:

filename rlink 'c:\sas\connect\saslink\vms.scr';

Or you can use the OPTIONS statement to set the page size and line size for your SAS output and use several FILENAME statements to set up filerefs for commonly accessed network drives, as in the following example:

options linesize=80 pagesize=60;
filename saledata 'f:\qtr1';
filename custdata 'l:\newcust';
filename invoice 'o:\billing';

CAUTION:

Use a SAS text editor to create your SAS autoexec file. The text editor you choose to create the SAS autoexec file is important. The recommended method is to create it using the SAS text editor (such as the Program Editor window) and save it using the Save As dialog box. If you do not use the SAS text editor, be sure to use another ASCII text editor (such as Windows Notepad). Do not use a specialized editor such as the Wordpad application that comes with Windows. Using such an editor can insert special carriage control characters into your SAS autoexec file that the SAS System cannot interpret when it tries to execute the statements in the file.  

Other system options, in addition to the AUTOEXEC system option, provide ways to send the SAS System information as it is starting up. These options are listed below in the order in which they are processed:

1. CONFIG (at SAS System invocation only)

2. AUTOEXEC

3. INITCMD

4. INITSTMT

5. SYSIN

For more information about the CONFIG, AUTOEXEC, and SYSIN system options, see SAS System Options under Windows. For more information about the INITCMD and INITSTMT system options, see SAS Language Reference: Dictionary.

Suppressing the SAS Autoexec File

If you have an AUTOEXEC.SAS file in your current folder but do not want the SAS System to use it, specify the NOAUTOEXEC option in the SAS command, as in the following example:

C:\SAS\SAS.EXE -NOAUTOEXEC

Profile Catalog

Each time you invoke a SAS session, the SAS System checks the SASUSER data library for your user profile catalog (named SASUSER.PROFILE), which defines the start-up profile for your SAS session, including key definitions, display configurations, and so on. If you invoke the SAS System without accessing an existing profile catalog, SAS creates one with the default key definitions and window configuration.

Use the SASUSER system option to specify a location for the profile catalog other than the default (which is a folder named \My SAS Files\V8). This option is useful if you want to customize your SAS sessions when sharing a machine with other users or if users are accessing the SAS System from a network.

The SASUSER system option takes the following form:

-SASUSER ("library-specification")

Note:   Parentheses () are use to specify multiple library-specifications, and quotes (") are used when special characters are used in the library-specification.  

If library-specification (which specifies a valid Windows pathname) does not exist, the SAS System attempts to create it. For example, if you specify the following option, a profile catalog is created in a folder named MYUSER that resides in the root folder of the C: drive:

-sasuser c:\myuser

Note:   The default configuration file for the SAS System specifies the SASUSER system option as follows:

• For Windows 95 and Windows 98:

  -sasuser c:\My Documents\My SAS Files\V8\

• For Windows NT:

  -sasuser !USERPROFILE\Personal\My SAS Files\V8\

The profile catalog is not recreated if it already exists. Any customizations (such as key definitions or color modifications) defined during subsequent sessions are stored in your profile catalog in the specified folder.

When you delete your profile catalog, you lose the key definitions, window configurations, and option settings that you might have defined, as well as any other entries that you saved to your profile catalog. In addition, any text that you stored in NOTEPAD windows is erased. For this reason, it is a good idea to make a backup copy of your profile catalog after making significant modifications to your SAS session settings.

For more information about the SASUSER system option, see SASUSER.

WORK Data Library

The SAS System requires some temporary disk space during a SAS session. This temporary disk space is called the WORK data library. By default, the SAS System stores SAS files with one-level names in the WORK data library, and these files are deleted when you end your SAS session. You can change the data library in which SAS files with one-level names are stored. For more information, see Using the USER Libref.

The WORK system option controls the location of the WORK data library. You can specify the WORK option in your SAS configuration file or when you invoke the SAS System. Usually, you use the WORK option specified in the default configuration file.

The default configuration file for the SAS System specifies the WORK system option to be a folder in your system's designated temporary area (as defined by the TEMP environment variable). For example:

• For Windows 95, WORK is defined as

  -work "C:WIN95\TEMP\SAS Temporary Files"

• For Windows 98, WORK is defined as

  -work "C:WIN98\TEMP\SAS Temporary Files" 

• For Windows NT, WORK is defined as !TEMP\SAS Temporary Files. To determine TEMP environment variable, refer to the System Properties dialog box that you access from the Control Panel.

Because you can run multiple SAS sessions at one time, the SAS System creates temporary subfolders under the folder you specify with the WORK option. These temporary subfolders are created in the unique form #TDnnnnn, where TD means temporary folder and nnnnn is the process ID for each SAS session. These subfolders enable multiple SAS sessions to be invoked using the same configuration file, and they prevent the WORK folder from being shared. The SAS System creates any temporary files required within each temporary folder. As with all temporary files that are created in the WORK data library during a SAS session, these temporary folders are deleted when you end the SAS session. However, if for some reason the SAS session ends abnormally, these temporary files are not deleted.

If you do not want the SAS System to create a temporary subfolder under the specified WORK folder, but would rather use the actual folder specified in the WORK system option, specify the USE suboption in the WORK option. For example, you can specify the following in the Target field of the SAS System properties:

-work "C:\TEMP\SAS Temporary Files" use

This creates a folder called "C:\TEMP\SAS Temporary Files" and all temporary SAS files are stored in this folder, not in a subfolder.

For more information about using the WORK data library and overriding the default location, see Using the WORK Data Library.

If the SAS System terminates abnormally, determine if the WORK library was deleted. If not, remove it by using Windows commands.

Note:   Do not attempt to delete the WORK folder while the SAS System is running.  

If you want to verify the location of the current WORK folder, it is displayed in the current folder area of the status line. You can also verify the location of the current WORK folder by opening the Libraries folder in the SAS Explorer window and then click the right mouse button on the WORK folder. Select Properties from the pop-up menu and then click on the down arrow to see the location of the WORK folder.

SAS Registry Files

The SAS registry files are used to store information about the SAS session applications. The registry entries can be customized using the SAS registry editor or by importing the registry files. To invoke the SAS registry editor, use the Solutions menu and select Accessories and Registry Editor.

CAUTION:

For Experienced Users Only. Registry customization is generally performed by more advanced users with experience and knowledge of the SAS System and their operating environment.  

SAS Default Folder Structure

The SAS System Setup program creates a number of subfolders during the installation process. Understanding the organization of the SAS folders can help you to use the SAS System more efficiently. The SAS System can be installed on a single drive or across multiple drives. It is not recommended that a single product of the SAS System be split over multiple drives.

The root folder of the SAS System is the folder in which you install the SAS System. Within SAS, this folder has the logical name !SASROOT. In many installations, the real physical name of this folder is SAS\V8, but this is not required. (The examples in this document assume the !SASROOT folder is called SAS\V8.)

One important subfolder of the !SASROOT folder is the CORE subfolder. The CORE subfolder in turn contains many subfolders, three of which are described here:

!SASROOT\CORE\HELP

contains the SAS help information in HTML Help format.

!SASROOT\CORE\RESOURCE

contains SAS resources such as fonts and images.

!SASROOT\CORE\SASINST

contains the installation process software.

For each SAS product installed, the following subfolders might be created (but not all products contain all of these folders):

!SASROOT\product\SASEXE

contains the SAS executable files.

!SASROOT\product\SASHELP

contains many specialized catalogs and files.

!SASROOT\product\SASMACRO

contains SAS autocall macro files.

!SASROOT\product\SASMSG

contains the SAS message files.

!SASROOT\product\SAMPLE

contains the Sample Library programs.

!SASROOT\product\SASTEST

contains Test Stream programs.

!SASROOT\product\SASMISC

contains miscellaneous external files shipped with the product.

Some products, such as SAS/CONNECT software, also have other subfolders associated with them. For details about each product's structure, see the specific SAS product documentation.

For more information about how the SAS folders are configured at your site, contact your SAS Support Consultant.

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