SAS Companion for UNIX Environments

Customizing Your SAS Session

You can customize your SAS session by defining configuration and/or autoexec files. You can use these files to specify system options and to execute SAS statements automatically whenever you start a SAS session. (SAS system options control many aspects of your SAS session, including output destinations, the efficiency of program execution, and the attributes of SAS files and data libraries. Refer to SAS Language Reference: Dictionary for a complete description of system options.)

The differences between configuration files and autoexec files are

Configuration files can contain only SAS system option settings, while autoexec files can contain any valid SAS statement. For example, you may want to create an autoexec file that includes an OPTIONS statement to change the default values of various system options and LIBNAME and FILENAME statements for the SAS data libraries and external files that you use most often.
Configuration files are processed before the SAS System initializes, while autoexec files are processed immediately after the SAS System initializes but before it processes any source statements. An OPTIONS statement in an autoexec file is equivalent to submitting an OPTIONS statement as the first statement of your SAS session.

The configuration file (for Version 8) is typically named sasv8.cfg, and the autoexec file is named autoexec.sas. These files typically reside in your home directory.

Specifying System Options

SAS system options can be specified in one or more ways:

in a configuration file
in the SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable
in the SAS command
in an OPTIONS statement (either in a SAS program or an autoexec file)
in the System Options window.

Summary of All SAS System Options shows where each SAS system option can be specified.

Any options that do not affect the initialization of the SAS System, such as CENTER and NOCENTER, can be specified and changed at any time.

Some options can be specified only in a configuration file, in the SASV8_OPTIONS variable, or in the SAS command. These options determine how the SAS System initializes its interfaces with the operating system and the hardware; they are often called configuration options. After you start a SAS session, these options cannot be changed. Usually, configuration files specify option that you would not change very often. In those cases when you need to change an option just for one job, specify the change in the SAS command.

The default values for SAS system options will be appropriate for many of your SAS programs. However, you can override a default setting using one or more of the following methods:

Modify your current configuration file (see Processing Configuration Files) or create a new configuration file. Specify SAS system options in the file by preceding each with a hyphen. For ON/OFF options, just list the keyword corresponding to the appropriate setting. For options that accept values, list the keyword identifying the option followed by the option value. For example, a configuration file might contain these option specifications:
```
-nocenter
-verbose
-linesize 64
```
All SAS system options can appear in a configuration file.
Specify SAS system options in the SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable before you invoke the SAS System. See Defining Environment Variables. For example, in the Korn shell, you would use:
```
export SASV8_OPTIONS='-xwait -nodate'
```
Settings that you specify in the SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable affect SAS sessions that are started when the variable is defined.
Specify SAS system options in the SAS command. Precede each option with a hyphen:
```
sas -option1 -option2...
```
For ON/OFF options, list the keyword corresponding to the appropriate setting. For options that accept values, list the keyword that identifies the option, followed by the option value. For example,
```
sas -nodate -work mywork
```
Settings that you specify in the SAS command last for the duration of the SAS session; or, for those options that can be changed within the session, until you change them. All options can be specified in the SAS command.
Specify SAS system options in an OPTIONS statement at any point within a SAS session. The options are set for the duration of the SAS session or until you change them. When you specify an option in the OPTIONS statement, do not precede its name with a hyphen (-). If the option has an argument, use = after the option name. For example,
```
options nodate linesize=72;
options editcmd='/usr/bin/xterm -e vi';
```
Refer to SAS Language Reference: Dictionary for more information on the OPTIONS statement. Not all options can be specified in the OPTIONS statement. To find out about a specific option, look up its name in Summary of All SAS System Options.
Specify SAS system options in an OPTIONS statement in a autoexec file. For example, your autoexec file could contain the following statements:
```
options nodate pagesize=80;
filename rpt '/users/myid/data/report';
```
Change the SAS system options from within the System Options window.

In general, use quotes to enclose filenames and pathnames specified in the OPTIONS statement or the System Options window. Do not use quotes otherwise. Any exceptions are discussed under the individual option. You can use the abbreviations listed in Character Substitutions in Pathnames to shorten the filenames and pathnames you specify.

Processing System Options Set in One Place

If the same option is set more than once within the SAS command, only the last setting is used; the others are ignored. For example, the DMS option is ignored in this case:

sas -dms -nodms

However, if the same option is set more than once within a configuration file, or within the SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable, only the first setting is used; the others are ignored. For example, the NODMS option is ignored in the following case:

-dms
-linesize 80
-nodms

By default, if you specify the HELPLOC, MAPS, MSG, SAMPLOC, SASAUTOS, or SASHELP system options more than one time, the last value that is specified is the value that SAS uses. If you want to add additional pathnames to the pathnames already specified by one of these options, you must use the APPEND or INSERT system options to add the new pathname. See APPEND and INSERT for more information.

Processing System Options Set in Multiple Places

When the same option is set in more than one place, the most recent specification is used. In the following list, settings in places listed first override settings in places listed farther down:

System Options window or OPTIONS statement (from a SAS session or job).
autoexec file that contains an OPTIONS statement (after the SAS System initializes)
SAS command
SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable
configuration files (before the SAS System initializes)

For example, if a configuration file specifies NOSTIMER, you can override the setting in the SAS command.

By default, if you specify the HELPLOC, MAPS, MSG, SAMPLOC, SASAUTOS, or SASHELP system option more than one time, the last value that is specified is the value that SAS uses. If you want to add additional pathnames to the pathnames already specified by one of these options, you must use the APPEND or INSERT system options to add the new pathname. See APPEND and INSERT for more information.

Processing Configuration Files

The SAS System is shipped with a default configuration file in the sasroot directory. Your SAS Installation Representative can edit this configuration file so that it contains whichever options are appropriate to your site.

You can also create one or more of your own configuration files. SAS reads the option settings from each of these files in this order:(footnote 1)

sasv8.cfg in your current directory.
sasv8.cfg in your home directory.
.sasv8.cfg in your home directory. (Notice the leading period.)
sasv8.cfg in the sasroot directory. (See The sasroot Directory.)

You can bypass this search by:

specifying a configuration file with the CONFIG system option in the SAS command:
```
sas -config filename
```
specifying a configuration file in the SASV8_OPTIONS environment variable. See Defining Environment Variables. For example, in the Korn shell, you would use:
```
export SASV8_OPTIONS='-config filename'
```
defining the environment variable SASV8_CONFIG. See Defining Environment Variables. For example, in the Korn shell, you would use:
```
export SASV8_CONFIG=filename
```

filename is the name of a file containing SAS system options.

If you have specified a configuration file in the SASV8_OPTIONS or SASV8_CONFIG environment variables, you can prevent the SAS System from using that file by specifying NOCONFIG in the SAS command.

To create a configuration file, you can copy sasv8.cfg from the sasroot directory and modify it to set the options you want.

FOOTNOTE 1: For future versions of SAS, the extensions of these files will change accordingly.

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