SAS Visual Analytics 7.

Users Guide

SAS Documentation

The correct bibliographic citation for this manual is as follows: SAS Institute Inc. 2015. SAS Visual Analytics 7.2: User's Guide. Cary, NC:
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SAS Visual Analytics 7.2: User's Guide
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Contents

Using This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv

Whats New in SAS Visual Analytics 7.2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii
Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

PART 1

Introduction to SAS Visual Analytics

Chapter 1 / About SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

What Is SAS Visual Analytics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Benefits of Using SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How Does SAS Visual Analytics Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
SAS Visual Analytics User Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Chapter 2 / Accessing SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

About SAS Visual Analytics Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Use the SAS Home Page to Access SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Availability of Menus and Menu Selections in
SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Application Themes in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Personalize SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART 2

Accessing Data

7
8
8
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9
9

11

Chapter 3 / Overview of Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Self-Service Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Managed Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
After a SAS LASR Analytic Server Restart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Requirements for Importing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Chapter 4 / Importing Local Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Import a Local Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Limitations and Restrictions for Importing Local Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Usage Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 5 / Importing Data from Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Import a SAS Data Set on a Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Import a Database Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Database Connection Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 6 / Importing Data from Other Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Import Data from Facebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

iv Contents
Import Data from Google Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Import Tweets from Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

PART 3

Preparing Data

33

Chapter 7 / Overview of SAS Visual Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

What Is SAS Visual Data Builder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Your First Look at the Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Import Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
About Managed Access to DBMS Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Work with User-Defined Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Chapter 8 / Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Specify Global and General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Specify Your Preferences for the Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 9 / Creating Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

What Is a Data Query? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

About Creating Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Save Your Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Save a Data Query as a New Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Use the Design Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Adding a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Specify Properties for a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Chapter 10 / Working with Tables in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Source Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Source Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Output Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Staging Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Output and Staging Table Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create SQL Query Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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48
48
49
50
51

Chapter 11 / Working with Columns in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Adding Columns to a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Remove Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Specify a Column Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Specify Aggregations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Remove All Aggregations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Use Group By Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Use the Auto-Aggregate Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Use the Pivot By Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 12 / Working with Filters in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

About Filtering Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Specify a WHERE Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify a HAVING Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Best Practices for Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

61
61
62
63

Chapter 13 / Working with Joins in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

About Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
How Does the Automatic Join Feature Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Adding a Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Contents

Example: Joins with a Junction Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Remove a Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Joins in a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Best Practices for Managing Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

68
69
69
70

Chapter 14 / Creating LASR Star Schemas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

What is a LASR Star Schema? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

Create a LASR Star Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
How Are Tables Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Chapter 15 / Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Understanding Co-Located Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Predefined Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using SAS Data in HDFS Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using SAS LASR Analytic Server Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Partition Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Load a Table (As Is) to SAS LASR Analytic Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Save an In-Memory Table to SASHDAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appending In-Memory Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Monitor Memory Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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82

Chapter 16 / Importing SAS Information Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

About SAS Information Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Import a SAS Information Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Limitations and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Chapter 17 / Supporting Text Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Features Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Load a Stop List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Add a Unique Numeric Key to a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter 18 / Customizing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Use the Code Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Preprocess and Postprocess Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Considerations for Manually Editing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Chapter 19 / Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

About Scheduling Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Creating Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Export Data Queries as Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Additional Scheduling Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Chapter 20 / Using the Results Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

About the Results Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Data Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Navigate within the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Filter and Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Export Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

vi Contents
PART 4

Exploring Data

103

Chapter 21 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

What Is SAS Visual Analytics Explorer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Welcome Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Your First Look at the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Tabs in the Right Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

105
106
107
108

Chapter 22 / Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Specify Your Preferences for the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 23 / Managing Explorations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

What Is an Exploration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Create a New Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Save Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Delete Explorations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 24 / Managing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

Managing Data Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Add Additional Data Sources to Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Replace a Data Source in Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Remove a Data Source from Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Refresh Your Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Creating Custom Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Working with Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Creating Calculated Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Creating Aggregated Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Creating Derived Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Editing a Calculated, Aggregated, or Derived Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Delete a Calculated, Aggregated, or Derived Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Duplicate a Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Defining a Geography Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Define Data Items for Text Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Overview of Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Display Detailed Data for a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Change the Data Source for a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Control Visualization Data Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Visualization Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Visualization Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Work with Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ranking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Visualization Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Visualization Data Ranges and Color Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Data Brushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Automatic Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Crosstabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Scatter Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Bubble Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

138
144
146
146
147
147
147
149
149
151
151
153
155
156
157
158
160
163
165

Contents

vii

Working with Network Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

Working with Sankey Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Working with Histograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Working with Box Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Working with Heat Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Working with Geo Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Working with Treemaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Working with Correlation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Working with Decision Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Working with Word Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Chapter 26 / Working with Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

About Filters in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

Managing Your Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Working with Basic Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Working with Advanced Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Working with Data Source Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Editing a Filter Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Chapter 27 / Exporting Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Export an Exploration as a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Export an Exploration as a PDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Save a Visualization as an Image File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Export Data from a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
E-mail an Exploration as a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

213
214
216
216
217

Chapter 28 / Managing Hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

What Is a Hierarchy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a New Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derive a Hierarchy from a Date, Time, or Datetime Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Hierarchy from a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit a Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delete a Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

219
219
220
220
221
221

Chapter 29 / Performing Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

Overview of Data Analysis in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Add a Fit Line to an Existing Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add Forecasting to an Existing Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

223
225
225
226

Chapter 30 / Sharing Comments in the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Sharing Comments in the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

PART 5

Building Models

231

Chapter 31 / Specifying the Preferences for SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Specify Your Preferences for SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Create the Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Create a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

viii Contents
Create a Linear Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Create a Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Perform a Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Chapter 33 / Modeling Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Available Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Variables and Interaction Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Variable Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Missing Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Group By Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Filter Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Score Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derive Predicted Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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248
249
249
249
251
251
252

Chapter 34 / Linear Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Overview of the Linear Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Linear Regression Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Working with the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Chapter 35 / Logistic Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Overview of the Logistic Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Logistic Regression Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Working with the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Chapter 36 / Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Overview of the Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

Generalized Linear Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Chapter 37 / Decision Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Overview of the Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

Decision Tree Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Information Gain and Gain Ratio Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Pruning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Working with the Tree Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Working with the Leaf Statistics Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Chapter 38 / Clustering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Overview of the Cluster Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Cluster Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

Contents

ix

Working with the Cluster Matrix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

Working with the Parallel Coordinates Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Chapter 39 / Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Overview of Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

Model Comparison Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Model Comparison Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Model Comparison Results Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

PART 6

Designing Reports

295

Chapter 40 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

About the SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

Your First Look at the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Understanding the Tabs in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
About the Canvas in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
About Report Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Specifying Your Preferences for the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

About Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a New Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choose a Report View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Choose a Report Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
View Report Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Change a Reports Name or Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Import a Report or Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurpose an Existing Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Open a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Refresh a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delete a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

305
306
307
307
308
310
311
312
312
313
313

Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315

About Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

Insert a Report Object into a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Using Tables to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320
Use the Combine Excluded Rows (or Cells) into All Other Properties . . . . . 324
Using Graphs to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
Using Controls to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Using Container Object Types in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Using Other Object Types in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Using Custom Graphs to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Duplicate a Report Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Working with Alerts for Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

Overview of Data Sources and Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

Working with Data Sources in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Working with Hierarchies in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Working with Data Items in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Working with Geography Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372

x Contents
Working with Calculated Items in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Data Role Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sorting Data in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cancel a Slow-Running Query for a Report Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

374
379
388
393

Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395

Overview of Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Add Report-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Table-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Graph-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

395
396
397
405
409

Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

About Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Using Detail Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Overview of Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427

Creating an Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428
Delete an Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440
Chapter 47 / Working with Report Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441

Overview of Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441

Creating Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Edit a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Delete a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Example: How Linking and Interactions Work Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Chapter 48 / Ranking Values in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Overview of Ranking in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Add a New Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Delete a Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452
Chapter 49 / Working with Parameters in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

Overview of Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453

Where Parameters Can Be Used in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Create a New Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Edit a Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Delete a Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Example: Using Parameters in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456
Chapter 50 / Maintaining Multi-Section Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Overview of Report Sections and Info Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457

Add a Section to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Add an Info Window to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Reorder Report Sections or Info Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Rename a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Duplicate a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Move a Report Object to Another Section or Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Delete a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

Overview of Sharing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

E-mail a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Printing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463

Contents

xi

Exporting Content from the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Add Comments to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Distributing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Localize Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

PART 7

Creating Custom Graph Objects

477

Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

About the Graph Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479

About the Graph Template Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Build a Custom Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Working with Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Adding a Graph Element to an Existing Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
Incompatible Graph Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Creating a Data-Driven Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Add a Graph Object to the Designers Objects Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Specify Your Preferences for the Graph Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495

Change a Custom Graph That Has Been Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Select Components and Elements of a Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Change the Order of Graph Elements in a Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Remove a Graph Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with User-Defined Lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working with Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sharing Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

495
496
497
498
498
501
504

Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507

Example: Data-Driven Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Example: User-Defined Lattice (Butterfly Chart) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Example: Filled Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Example: Vector Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART 8

Viewing Reports

507
509
512
513

517

Chapter 55 / Viewing Reports on a Mobile Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Open the App for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519

Add a Server Connection for iPad and iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Add a Server Connection for Android . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520
Chapter 56 / Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Overview of Viewing Reports in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523

Open a Report in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
View Report Object Information in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Add Comments to a Report in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Interacting with Reports in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Subscribe and Unsubscribe to Alerts in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Specify Your Preferences for the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

xii Contents
About Guest Access in the Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
Chapter 57 / Viewing Reports in Modern SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (Preproduction) . . . . . . . . 529

Open a Report in the Modern Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

PART 9

Appendixes

531

Appendix 1 / Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533

Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537

Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Graphs, Charts, and Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Other Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Appendix 3 / Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Appendix 4 / Aggregations for Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Overview of Operators for Data Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

Numeric (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Comparison Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Boolean Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Numeric (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Date and Time Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Aggregated (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
Aggregated (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
Periodic Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575
Text (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583
Text (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
Calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587
Appendix 6 / Conditions for Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
Appendix 7 / Data Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

Data Limits for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591

High-Cardinality Thresholds for Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594
Appendix 8 / Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597

Repairing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Displaying Alert Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exporting Data from Report Objects to Microsoft Excel 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specifying Colors for Data Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

597
598
599
599

Appendix 9 / Using URL Parameters to View a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

Appendix 10 / Twitter Data Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

Your First Look at the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Manage Content on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
Manage Collections on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612

Contents

xiii

Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613
Discover Details Using the Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page . . . . 615
Add Comments to Objects on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Specifying Your Preferences for the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618
About Searching from the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620
Refining Your Search Results for the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 629

xiv Contents

xv

Using This Book

Audience
The features of SAS Visual Analytics are designed for the following users:
n Persons needing to explore data in support of ad hoc business questions.
n Persons responsible for designing and creating reports for their enterprise.
n Persons responsible for analyzing report data and making decisions based

on that data.
Persons responsible for managing SAS servers and managing the SAS Visual
Analytics environment should refer to SAS Visual Analytics: Administration
Guide.
The content of this document is also applicable to other SAS solutions that
integrate with and use SAS Visual Analytics features.

Prerequisites
Here are the prerequisites for using SAS Visual Analytics:
n A user ID and password for logging on to SAS Visual Analytics.
n A supported web browser installed on your desktop client.
n A supported version of the Adobe Flash player installed on your desktop

client.
n Access to data sources that can be used to obtain data for exploration or

reports.
If you have questions about whether you are ready to use SAS Visual Analytics,
contact your system administrator.

xvi Using This Book

Documentation Conventions
This book uses short forms of the following phrases where the meaning is clear
from context:
Long Form

Short Form

Nickname*

SAS Visual Analytics Administrator

the administrator

Administrator

SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

the explorer

Data Explorer

SAS Visual Analytics Designer

the designer

Report Designer

SAS Visual Analytics Graph Builder

the graph builder

Custom Graph Builder

SAS Visual Analytics Viewer

the viewer

Report Viewer

SAS Visual Data Builder

the data builder

Data Preparation

* Application nicknames are used on the home page, in the banner, and in the right pane.

xvii

Whats New
Whats New in SAS Visual Analytics
7.2

General Enhancements to SAS Visual

Analytics
The enhancements to importing data include the ability to do the following:
n Import data from Google Analytics.
n Import data from Facebook.
n Import data from a MapR database.
n Connect to an ODBC database using connection options.
n Import multiple DBMS tables at the same time.
n Import a local file as a ZIP file.

SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

General Enhancements for SAS Visual Analytics

Explorer
Enhanced features in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer include:
n Decision tree visualizations include an icicle plot of the nodes in the tree.
n A new Rapid growth property for decision tree visualizations enables you to

control information gain.

n A new Outliers property for box plot visualizations enables you to control the

appearance of outlier points and exclude outliers from the plot.

xviii Whats New in SAS Visual Analytics 7.2

SAS Visual Statistics

The features of SAS Visual Statistics have been integrated into the explorer user
interface. If SAS Visual Statistics is licensed at your site, then the following
features are available:
n An enhanced decision tree visualization, which includes interactive training

and model assessment information.

n A linear regression visualization, which creates predictive models for

measure variables.
n A logistic regression visualization, which creates predictive models for

category variables.
n A generalized linear model visualization, which creates predictive models for

measure variables.
n A cluster visualization, which segments the input data into clusters.
n Model comparison, which compares two or more predictive models.
n You can create interaction effects, which are used when the contribution of

one variable to a model changes as another variable changes.

General Enhancements for SAS Visual Statistics

You can now derive predicted values for predictive models. This feature creates
two variables from the predictive models that contain prediction information.
These variables can be used in other visualizations.

SAS Visual Analytics Designer

New and enhanced features in SAS Visual Analytics Designer include:
n A new default report theme, SAS Snow, has been added. Existing reports

can be manually changed to the new report theme by using the Styles tab.
n You can export an image of a report object.
n New options (for example, adding page numbers) are available for printing to

PDF.
n You can attach a PDF of a report to an e-mail message.
n When you add e-mail addresses to the To line in the E-mail window, the

designer now provides suggestions as you type. (A users e-mail address

must be stored in metadata for this feature to work.)
n Parameterized URLs can be used for reports.
n Calculated data items and grouped category data items can be changed into

geographic data items and used in geo maps.

n The Data tab has a new option that enables you to hide all data items that

are not used in the current report.

SAS Visual Analytics Administration

xix

n A new Show Selected at Top option is available on the Data tab for basic

filters.
n The Data tab has a new Delete Filter option when you are editing individual

filters. It also has a new Show Selected at Top option for basic filters.
n A Remove All Data Items menu item is now available for crosstabs and list

tables.
n Text in the Location field on the Report Properties window is now selectable,

which makes it easier for you to share the location of your report with other
users.

SAS Visual Analytics Administration

For information about changes and enhancements in administration of SAS
Visual Analytics, see the SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide.
Note: To request access to the SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide, see
the instructions on the SAS Visual Analytics page on the SAS support site.

xx Whats New in SAS Visual Analytics 7.2

xxi

Accessibility
For information about the accessibility of this product, see Accessibility Features
of SAS Visual Analytics 7.2.

xxii Whats New in SAS Visual Analytics 7.2

Part 1
Introduction to SAS Visual Analytics
Chapter 1
About SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2
Accessing SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1
About SAS Visual Analytics
What Is SAS Visual Analytics? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Benefits of Using SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
How Does SAS Visual Analytics Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
SAS Visual Analytics User Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

What Is SAS Visual Analytics?

SAS Visual Analytics is an easy-to-use, web-based product that leverages SAS
high-performance analytic technologies. SAS Visual Analytics empowers
organizations to explore huge volumes of data very quickly to identify patterns,
trends, and opportunities for further analysis. SAS Visual Data Builder (the data
builder) enables users to summarize data, join data, and enhance the predictive
power of their data. Users can prepare data for exploration and mining quickly
and easily. The highly visual, drag-and-drop data interface of SAS Visual
Analytics Explorer (the explorer), combined with the speed of the SAS LASR
Analytic Server, accelerate analytic computations and enable organizations to
derive value from massive amounts of data. This creates an unprecedented
ability to solve difficult problems, improve business performance, predict future
performance, and mitigate risk rapidly and confidently. SAS Visual Analytics
Designer (the designer) enables users to quickly create reports or dashboards,
which can be viewed on a mobile device or on the web.
Starting in the 7.2 release, the explorer enables you to create, test, and compare
models based on the patterns discovered during exploration of the data. The
explorer enables you to explore, discover, and predict using your data. You can
export the score code, before or after performing model comparison, for use with
other SAS products and to put the model into production.
SAS Visual Analytics empowers business users, business analysts, and IT
administrators to accomplish tasks from an integrated suite of applications that
are accessed from a home page. The central entry point for SAS Visual
Analytics enables users to perform a wide variety of tasks such as preparing
data sources, exploring data, designing reports, as well as analyzing and
interpreting data. Most important, reports can be displayed on a mobile device or
in the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the viewer).

4 Chapter 1 / About SAS Visual Analytics

Benefits of Using SAS Visual Analytics

Using SAS Visual Analytics, users can enhance the analytic power of their data,
explore new data sources, investigate them, and create visualizations to uncover
relevant patterns. Users can then easily share those visualizations in reports. In
traditional reporting, the resulting output is well-defined up-front. That is, you
know what you are looking at and what you need to convey. However, data
discovery invites you to plumb the data, its characteristics, and its relationships.
Then, when useful visualizations are created, you can incorporate those
visualizations into reports that are available on a mobile device or in the viewer.
SAS Visual Analytics provides users with the following benefits:
n enables users to apply the power of SAS analytics to massive amounts of

data
n empowers users to visually explore data, based on any variety of measures,

at amazingly fast speeds

n enables users to quickly create powerful statistical models if SAS Visual

Statistics is licensed at your site

n enables users to quickly create reports or dashboards using standard tables,

graphs, and gauges

n enables users to quickly create customized graphs
n enables users to share insights with anyone, anywhere, via the web or a

mobile device

How Does SAS Visual Analytics Work?

You can use SAS Visual Analytics to explore and view data, interact with and
create reports, and display reports using a native mobile app or on the web. You
can explore your data by using interactive visualizations such as charts,
histograms, and tables. Report designers can easily point and click to query
central sources of data. You can add filters and design the layout using tables,
graphs, and gauges. You can use drag and drop to create a well-formatted
report.
The following figure illustrates how the different pieces of SAS Visual Analytics
work together. It shows how users interact with the different interfaces.

SAS Visual Analytics User Community

Figure 1.1 Overview of SAS Visual Analytics

Explore Data
Utilize Self-Service
Predictive and
Prescriptive Analytics
Create Hierarchies
Dynamically
Filter on Selection
Viewer

Export Visualizations

Build Analytical
Models

Analyst

Home
Find Content
Statistician or
Data Scientist

Explore Data
Create Report
Prepare Data

Report Designer

Manage
Environment

Reports

Build Predictive
and
Descriptive Models
Evaluate Models

View on
Mobile Device
View Online
and Offline
Filter and Drill

Generate DATA Step

Code for Scoring

Collaborate

Generate Model
Outputs

Customize Reports
Using Parameters

Create Report
Data Administrator

Design Reports
and Dashboards
Layout and
Style Precisely
Define Interactions
and Display Rules

IT Administrator

Add Controls
for Filtering
Schedule and
Distribute Reports

View on Web
View Online
Filter and Drill
Collaborate
Customize Reports
Using Parameters

Prepare Data
= SAS Visual Analytics license

= SAS Visual Statistics license

Join Tables
Stage Data
Distribute Data

Manage
Environment
Monitor Resources
Administer Security
Load Tables
Manage
Mobile Devices
and
LASR Servers

SAS Visual Analytics User Community

The SAS Visual Analytics user community is dedicated to users who are focused
on exploratory visualization and analytical techniques, data preparation,
dashboard reporting, and mobile BI. You can share your experiences, discuss
topics and ideas, seek help from your peers, and share information about
upcoming events. You can access the user community at support.sas.com/
VAUserCommunity.

6 Chapter 1 / About SAS Visual Analytics

For questions requiring immediate technical assistance, contact SAS Technical
Support at support.sas.com.

2
Accessing SAS Visual Analytics
About SAS Visual Analytics Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Authenticated Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Guest Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Use the SAS Home Page to Access SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About the Availability of Menus and Menu Selections in
SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
About Application Themes in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Personalize SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

About SAS Visual Analytics Users

Authenticated Users
SAS Visual Analytics uses the standard sign-in window for SAS applications. To
display the sign-in window, use the URL that is supplied by your system
administrator. For example, you might enter: http://host/SASVisualAnalyticsHub
Click Sign Out in the upper right corner of the user interface to sign out of SAS
Visual Analytics. When you click Sign Out, you are signed out of all SAS web
applications. For example, suppose that you have the home page, the explorer,
and the designer open, and then you click Sign Out when you finish working on
a report in the designer. In this case, you have also signed out of the home page
and the explorer.

Guest Access
SAS Visual Analytics system administrators can configure support for guest
access. Users with guest access can access only the SAS Visual Analytics
home page and the viewer. Guest access uses a shared account, so it does not
provide individualized features, such as history or alerts. If provided by the
system administrator, favorites and preferences are read-only features.
Accessing SAS Visual Analytics as a guest is useful if you do not have a
metadata identity. This enables you to view reports that are widely available
under a generic, shared account. You can also view reports that are available to
the public on the Internet.

8 Chapter 2 / Accessing SAS Visual Analytics

Use the SAS Home Page to Access SAS

Visual Analytics
After you sign in to SAS Visual Analytics using the standard sign-in window for
SAS applications, you will see the SAS Home page. The Home page enables
you to create new content in SAS Visual Analytics. In addition, it enables you to
access content that you and others have created. For more information, refer to
the online Help that is available for the SAS Home page.

Overview of SAS Visual Analytics

Capabilities
Users might have access to different functionality, depending on their assigned
roles. Roles are mapped to capabilities. A capability, also known as an
application action, defines the operations a user can perform.
Note: Access to functionality depends on how SAS Visual Analytics is installed
at your site. For example, a site might not have the explorer.
SAS Visual Analytics provides five predefined rolesBasic, Report Viewing,
Analysis, Data Building, and Administration. A predefined set of capabilities is
available for each role. A system administrator can modify these roles and
specify the capabilities for each role that meet the guidelines for your company.
They can also define new roles. If you have questions about your assigned role,
contact your system administrator. For more information about the roles and the
capabilities that are available, see the SAS Visual Analytics: Administration
Guide.
Note: This user's guide discusses tasks that you might be able to perform,
depending on your role.

About the Availability of Menus and Menu

Selections in SAS Visual Analytics
All of the following conditions influence whether a SAS Visual Analytics menu or
menu selection is available to use:
n your role and the associated capabilities. For example, you must have a Data

Building role to prepare data.

n your location in SAS Visual Analytics. For example, some application

features are available only if you are designing a report.

n the currently selected report object. For example, ranges are not available for

list tables.
n whether the data for a report has been defined. For example, if the data has

not been selected, then you cannot create a filter.

Personalize SAS Visual Analytics

For more information about roles and capabilities, see the SAS Visual Analytics:
Administration Guide.

About Application Themes in SAS Visual

Analytics
An application theme is the collection of colors, graphics, and fonts that appear
in the application. SAS Visual Analytics provides the following themes: SAS
Corporate (default theme), SAS Blue Steel, SAS Dark, SAS High Contrast, and
SAS Light. To change the application theme, see Specify Global Preferences
on page 618.
Note: If you have special requirements for your themes, then contact your
system administrator about using SAS Theme Designer for Flex to build custom
themes. SAS Theme Designer for Flex is installed with SAS themes. For more
information, see SAS Theme Designer for Flex: User's Guide.
Report themes are available in the designer. The designer provides the following
report themes: SAS Snow, SAS Light, SAS Dark, or SAS High Contrast. SAS
Snow is the default report theme. Your site might also have custom report
themes. For more information, see About Report Themes on page 302.

Personalize SAS Visual Analytics

SAS Visual Analytics provides accessibility features that you can use to
personalize the user interface to make it easier to use.
n Themes: You can change the colors, graphics, and fonts that appear in the

application. Several themes are available, including the SAS High Contrast
theme. For more information, see Specify Global Preferences on page
618.
You can also change the themes that are used in reports. For more
information, see About Report Themes on page 302.
n Configurable focus indicator: The interface provides an indicator of the

current location of the focus. You can configure the focus indicator to make it
easier to see. For more information, see Specify Global Preferences on
page 618.
n Color inversion: You can invert the colors in the interface to improve

readability. For more information, see Specify Global Preferences on page

618.
n Zoom support: You can make your screen content larger and smaller by

using the zoom in (Ctrl+plus sign) and zoom out (Ctrl+minus sign). You can
reset the zoom state (Ctrl+0) keyboard shortcuts.
n Landmarks in the user interface: Landmarks are references to the primary

areas of an applications interface. They provide a quick and easy way for
keyboard users to navigate to these areas. Press Ctrl+F6 to open the
Landmarks window.

10 Chapter 2 / Accessing SAS Visual Analytics

n Keyboard shortcuts: You can use keyboard shortcuts as a quick and easy

way to perform tasks or navigate the user interface. For more information,
see Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics on page 533.
For more information, see Accessibility Features of SAS Visual Analytics 7.2.

11

Part 2
Accessing Data
Chapter 3
Overview of Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 4
Importing Local Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Chapter 5
Importing Data from Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 6
Importing Data from Other Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

12

13

3
Overview of Data Flow in SAS Visual
Analytics
Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Self-Service Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Managed Data Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
After a SAS LASR Analytic Server Restart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Requirements for Importing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics

All reporting and exploration of data in SAS Visual Analytics is performed
against data that is in memory on a SAS LASR Analytic Server. In addition to the
in-memory tables, you can use your own data with self-service data access if
you have been granted the capability to import data.
If your site has data that must be prepared before it is ready for analysis, then
the data builder can perform basic data preparation and load data to memory on
a SAS LASR Analytic Server. The following list summarizes the data builder
features that enable the flow of data from source systems into SAS Visual
Analytics:
n Joining tables, such as fact and dimension tables.
n Working with SAS/ACCESS engines to read data from operational systems.
n Scheduling data queries for basic data flow automation.

SAS Visual Analytics Administrator provides features that are most commonly
associated with managed data access. The administrator enables control of
whether tables are loaded to memory and secures access to in-memory tables.

Self-Service Data Access

SAS Visual Analytics offers a variety of ways for non-administrative users to
bring data into the SAS Visual Analytics environment, which enables you to work
with your data quickly. The following list summarizes the different ways:

14 Chapter 3 / Overview of Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics

Import data from a file
When you are creating data queries, explorations, or reports, you can import
data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, a delimited text file (CSV), or a
SAS data set. After you import the data into the SAS LASR Analytic Server, it
is ready to use.
Autoload
Instead of using your browser to import a file, you can transfer the file to a
directory that acts as a drop box. A scheduled job imports the file from the
directory. The process requires some setup before autoload can be used.
Import SAS data set on a server
You can direct the SAS Application Server to import a SAS data set that is
already on the server. The import process is optimized and you can import
large files when a SAS data set is already on the server.
Import a database table
After providing connection information, you can transfer a table from a
database to a SAS LASR Analytic Server. Afterward, you can use the inmemory table as is for reports and explorations, or you can prepare it for
analysis with the data builder.
Note: Your site must license and configure the related SAS/ACCESS engine
to use this feature.
Import data from Facebook, Google Analytics, or Twitter
After authenticating with Facebook, Google Analytics, or Twitter and
providing search criteria, you can import data into memory on a SAS LASR
Analytic Server. You can then use the unstructured data with the explorer.
For example, a typical exploration of Twitter data can perform text analysis to
look for patterns and trends in the tweets.
TIP The self-service import feature keeps track of your most recently used

values for each import type to simplify repeated import actions.

Managed Data Access

Many sites prepare data sources to be used by business analysts. This
information can come from data sources such as data warehouses and
transactional systems. A data administrator enables access by registering the
tables and libraries in SAS metadata. A data administrator might use additional
SAS products to provide advanced data governance, data quality, and data
management support.
SAS/ACCESS engines can be used to access data in operational systems,
transactional systems, or data warehouses. SAS offers a variety of
SAS/ACCESS engines for accessing data from operational systems. These
engines must be licensed and configured at your site to connect to the data.
After a connection is set up, you can use SAS Management Console and SAS
Visual Analytics Administrator for registering the libraries and tables from these
data sources.
Note: When you import data, a SAS LASR Analytic Server does not maintain
pre-existing sort orders. You must re-sort the data after you import it.

Requirements for Importing Data

15

After a SAS LASR Analytic Server Restart

When an administrator restarts a SAS LASR Analytic Server, all the tables on
the server are removed from memory as the server stops. Tables that you import
with the self-service features remain in memory so long as the server is running.
However, administrators cannot interactively reload imported tables for you. If
you want to use a table that you imported after a server restart, then you must
repeat the import action.
TIP Your administrator can configure a server to automatically reload tables
that were imported from local files after a restart.

Requirements for Importing Data

Importing data requires starting a SAS session on the SAS Application Server.
Typically, this requirement is met by each user who has a host account.
For deployments on Microsoft Windows, the host account must have the Log on
as a batch job Windows privilege. For deployments on Linux that use a
distributed SAS LASR Analytic Server, the host account must be configured for
passwordless SSH. For more information about working with the server, see
SAS LASR Analytic Server: Reference Guide.

16 Chapter 3 / Overview of Data Flow in SAS Visual Analytics

17

4
Importing Local Data Files
Import a Local Data File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Limitations and Restrictions for Importing Local Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Large Data Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Importing Data from Spreadsheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Table Names, Column Names, and Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Usage Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Import a Local Data File

When you import a local data file from your desktop, such as a spreadsheet, a
delimited text file, or a SAS data set, the file is transferred as data to SAS LASR
Analytic Server. This enables you to access data without needing assistance
from an administrator or information technology group.
The following figure shows how a file is accessed from your PC, transferred to
the SAS Workspace Server, and then stored in an output table.
SAS LASR
Analytic Server

SAS Web
Application Server
Self-Service
Components
SAS Workspace
Server
Job Execution
Service

PROC IMPORT
SAS Data Set

SAS Data Set

Temporary
Data File

DBMS

Spreadsheets
and
Delimited Files

Note: When you import a SAS data set, it is not processed with PROC
IMPORT. SAS data sets are transferred to output with a DATA step.

18 Chapter 4 / Importing Local Data Files

Note: Only the data builder can output a SAS data set or a DBMS table. The
explorer and designer can import data to SAS LASR Analytic Server only.
You can import data files that are available from the file systems on your PC.
This includes local file systems such as C:\ on Windows machines and paths
such as /home/$USER on UNIX machines. Network file systems and shared
folders are included, such as UNC paths like \\nas\spreadsheets.
To import data from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, delimited text file, ZIP file, or
SAS data set:
1 In the Import Data window, click the link for the type of data file that you want

to import, and then select the file.

2

Specify the following input file options:

Note: For a SAS data set, there are no options to specify.
Spreadsheet options
The following options are available when you import a Microsoft Excel
spreadsheet:
Select worksheet
Select All or select the check boxes for the worksheets to import.
Begin import on row
The default is to import data from the first row of the spreadsheet. If
the data begins on a different row, select the row.
Includes column names
Select this check box when the row on which to begin the import has
the column names.
Text file options
The following options are available when you import a delimited text file or
a ZIP file:
Delimiter
Select the delimiter that is used in the file that you want to import. You
can specify a single character to use as a user-defined delimiter.
First row contains column names
Select this check box when the file has the column names on the first
row.
Data records begin on row
The default is to import data records from the second row. If you
deselect First row contains column names, then this value indicates
the first row.
Number of rows to scan
The default is to read up to the first 500 rows in the file to determine
the data type and length for each column. A smaller value causes the
import to complete quickly, but you risk the chance of determining a
value too short for character columns. Larger values reduce the
chance of truncating character columns, but they increase processing
time.
Encoding
Select the encoding of the file. If you are importing UTF-8 or UTF-16
data, then make sure that the SAS Web Application Server is a
Unicode server or that all of the file contents can be successfully
transcoded to the encoding of the SAS Web Application Server.

Limitations and Restrictions for Importing Local Data Files

3

19

(Optional) Click Preview to view the data. Preview displays up to 500 rows
from the file.
TIP Previewing the data can help you determine whether you specified
the correct encoding.

4 (Optional) In the Output Table section, enter the name for the output table

and a description. The description is limited to 256 characters. Review the

library and location settings by clicking Advanced. Make any necessary
changes.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are using the
explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability. Instead, you
can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store the table in a
private location to prevent other users from accessing the data.
5 Click OK.

Limitations and Restrictions for Importing

Local Data Files
Large Data Files
When you import data files (spreadsheets, SAS data sets, or delimited text files)
from your desktop, you are limited to files that are 4 GB or less. This constraint
is set by the web browser. Because importing large data files through the web
browser impacts overall performance and because you can experience long wait
times, alternate approaches are recommended for importing large files.
Note: Administrators can specify a limit that is less than 4 GB.
As an alternative to importing data files through your web browser, you can use
autoload. You can autoload data from files that are larger than 4 GB. In general,
FTP and network file systems transfer data files faster than web browsers.
Another alternative for importing a large data file is to compress it and import it
as a ZIP file. You can use this method to import both spreadsheets and delimited
text files. To use this option, compress the file that you want to import, and then
click Text Files in the Import Data window. Make sure that the ZIP file contains
only one file. If the ZIP file contains more than one file, then only the first file that
is listed alphabetically is imported.

Importing Data from Spreadsheets

The following list identifies considerations for importing data from spreadsheets:
n You can import Excel Workbook (XLSX, XLSM, and XLSB) files and Excel

97-2003 Workbook (XLS) files. You cannot import XLST or other Excel file
types.
Here are some key points about importing XLSB files:
o

The machine for the SAS Workspace Server must have the following
provider software installed: Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC)

20 Chapter 4 / Importing Local Data Files

and Microsoft Jet (Joint Engine Technology) or Microsoft Access
Database Engine (formerly know as Microsoft Access Connectivity
Engine or ACE) for 2007 and later.
o

The bit version of Microsoft Access Database Engine must be the same
as the bit version of SAS.

You can import XLSB files only if the SAS Workspace Server is running
on Microsoft Windows.

TIP If your spreadsheet is from an unsupported Excel file type, then try
saving it as an XLSX file before importing it.
n When you import a spreadsheet (from your PC) that has multiple worksheets,

by default, all of the worksheets are imported. A table is created for each
worksheet. You can clear the check boxes for the worksheets that you do not
want to import.
n Importing pivot tables is not supported.

Table Names, Column Names, and Special

Characters
In general, you can import files that use blanks and special characters in the
filenames and column names. The following list identifies how table names are
handled:
n For text files (such as CSV files), the table name is initially set from the

filename.
n When you import a spreadsheet, table names are handled as follows:
o

If the spreadsheet contains a single worksheet, then the table name is

initially set from the filename.

If the spreadsheet contains multiple worksheets, then each table name

(for each worksheet) is initially set as a combination of the filename, an
underscore, and the name of the worksheet.

n Some special characters can be used, including spaces. Unsupported

special characters include / \ * ? " < > | : - and period (.). After the
initial table name is determined, any unsupported special character in the
name is replaced with an underscore.
n Table names are shortened to 32 characters because that is the table name

length that is supported by SAS. The entire name appears as the label.
If you clear the Includes column names check box or the First row contains
column names check box, then the column names are generated for you as
follows:
n Spreadsheets Column names are assigned A, B, C, and so on.
n Text files Column names are assigned VAR1, VAR2, and so on.

Usage Notes 21

The following table identifies how a column name that begins with a number,
such as 2014sales, or that uses numbers only, such as 2014, will appear after
being imported:
Source File Column Name

Imported Column Name

2014sales

_2014sales for Microsoft Excel files

2014

and text files.

_2014 for XLSX, XLSM, XLSB, and text

files.

For Excel 97-2003 Workbook (XLS) files,

a letter such as A, B, C, and so on, is
substituted for the column name,
depending on the column position in the
file.

Usage Notes
Review the following notes if you have trouble importing data:
n Before you click OK to import the data, click Preview. Preview shows an

accurate representation of the column names and data values that will be
available after the import.
n If SAS is configured as a Unicode server at your site, then you have the most

flexibility for importing data. Specifically, SAS as a Unicode server helps with
using column names or filenames (that are used as table names) that have
double-byte characters.
n When you import a delimited text file (CSV file), you must specify the

encoding of the text file. In some cases, the import reports success, even
though the data might be corrupted. It is important to verify the imported
data.
n If you import a SAS data set that uses user-defined formats, then you must

ensure that the custom format catalog is available to the SAS Web
Application Server. For more information, see Work with User-Defined
Formats on page 37.
n If importing large data files at the same time is common for your deployment,

then you should be aware that large data files are written to temporary disk
space on the server. In extreme cases, this can cause temporary disk space
to become full. Systems that run out of disk space can become unresponsive
and difficult to troubleshoot.
n If you import data from text files and plan to append the data, then you must

verify that the column data types and lengths match the table that you want
to append to.

22 Chapter 4 / Importing Local Data Files

23

5
Importing Data from Servers
Import a SAS Data Set on a Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Import a Database Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Database Connection Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Additional Options for Importing Hadoop Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Additional Options for Importing ODBC Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Additional Options for Importing Oracle Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Additional Options for Importing PostgreSQL Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Additional Options for Importing Teradata Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Import a SAS Data Set on a Server

The following figure depicts how your PC can be used to specify a SAS data set
on the SAS Application Server machine (represented as the SAS Workspace
Server), and then load the data set into memory on a SAS LASR Analytic
Server.
SAS Web
Application Server
Self-Service
Components
SAS Workspace
Server
Job Execution
Service

DATA Step

SAS Data Set

SAS LASR
Analytic Server

24 Chapter 5 / Importing Data from Servers

You can direct the SAS Workspace Server to access the file systems on the
server. For example, if you have a large data set, you can use FTP or another
method to copy it to a directory on the server, and then use the server to import
it.
To import a SAS data set that is accessible from your SAS Application Server:
1 Select SAS Data Set from the list of Server data types, navigate to the SAS

data set, and click OK.

Note: Remember that the data files and directories are on the remote
machine, not on your PC.
2

(Optional) In the LASR Table section, enter the name for the table and a
description. The description is limited to 256 characters. Review the library
and location settings by clicking Advanced and make changes if necessary.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are using the
explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability. Instead, you
can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store the table in a
private location to prevent other users from accessing the data.

3 Click OK.

Import a Database Table

To import database tables, the SAS/ACCESS product for the database must be
licensed and configured for the SAS Workspace Server. You can import data
from the following databases:
n Server databases SAS Data Set, Aster, DB2, Greenplum, MySQL,

Netezza, ODBC, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Salesforce, SAP HANA, SQL Server,

Teradata, Vertica
n Hadoop databases BigInsights, Cloudera, Cloudera Impala, Hortonworks,

MapR, Pivotal HD
Note: BigInsights, Cloudera, Hortonworks, MapR, and Pivotal HD all use the
SAS/ACCESS Interface to Hadoop, even though they have different menu
selections.
To import a database table:
1 From the Import Data window, select the database name from the list of

server or Hadoop databases. These lists include only the data sources for
which a SAS/ACCESS product is licensed and configured and that your
administrator has granted you the capability to use.
If you want to import SAS Data Set on a server, see Import a SAS Data Set
on a Server on page 23 for more information.
2

Specify the connection information. Here are some key points about
specifying connection information:
n The Server field corresponds to the host name for the server. Some

databases connect using a data source name instead of the combination

of server and port.

Import a Database Table

25

n In the DBMS table names field, you can import multiple tables at the

same time. To do this, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting the table
names in the Choose Tables window. During the import, an icon in the
Status column indicates whether the table was successfully imported, if it
failed, or if you chose to cancel. By clicking the link in the Remarks
column, you can view additional information, such as log or error
messages.
For connection details for specific databases, see the Database Connection
Tips on page 26 topic.
Most fields are case sensitive. For example, specifying a value of products
in the Database field might not be the same as specifying PRODUCTS. Case
sensitivity depends on the database vendor. Furthermore, some databases
use schemas. Some databases automatically use the user ID as the schema
if a schema is not explicitly specified. Be aware that the User ID and
Schema fields can be case sensitive. Check with your database
administrator if you are unsure.
3 Click Browse to select the table to import.
4

(Optional) Expand Options to indicate additional connection options. Here

are some key points about specifying additional connection options:
n For more information about valid values for the Database options field,

see SAS/ACCESS for Relational Databases: Reference. View the Data

Set Options topic for the type of database that you are working with (for
example, Data Set Options for ODBC).
n You can use the SAS system options field to specify environment

variables such as the following:

set=SAS_HADOOP_JAR_PATH="/path/to/files"

The options keyword is submitted with any options that you specify in
this field.
5

(Optional) Review the library and location settings by clicking Advanced.

Make any necessary changes.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are importing data
from the explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability.
Instead, you can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store
the table in a private location to prevent other users from accessing the
data.

Click OK.

After you have successfully imported a table, the connection information is

saved, except for the password. This enables you to import additional tables
quickly or to reload the table as needed.
If you want to reload data for an existing table using the same table name, you
must do one of the following:
n Use the same library and output folder that were used when the data for the

table was originally imported.

n Indicate both a different library and a different output folder than when the

data for the table was originally imported.

26 Chapter 5 / Importing Data from Servers

If the table fails to reload, the log might not contain any error information. In this
case, the log is most likely displaying information about the last successful
action on the table.
Note: If you are importing a single table, then you cannot cancel it. You can
choose to cancel if you are importing multiple tables. However, the table that is
being processed when the cancel was submitted cannot be canceled and will
finish loading.

Database Connection Tips

Additional Options for Importing Hadoop Tables
SAS Visual Analytics offers self-service options for importing data from
BigInsights, Cloudera, Cloudera Impala, Hortonworks, MapR, and Pivotal HD.
Each of these databases requires separate setup by your administrator.
A common connection type for all of these databases is to connect to Hive or
HiveServer2, and then import tables.
If the Hadoop cluster is configured with the SAS Embedded Process, then you
can perform parallel loading from HDFS to SAS LASR Analytic Server. In this
case, the Configuration field must specify the path to a Hadoop configuration
file. You must also specify at least the HDFS_METADIR= and HDFS_DATADIR=
options in the Hadoop options field. More options might be necessary for your
site. For information about setting up parallel loading from Hadoop, see the
Where Do I Locate My Analytics Cluster topic in SAS Visual Analytics:
Installation and Configuration Guide (Distributed SAS LASR).

Additional Options for Importing ODBC Tables

The Specify connection options field provides you with an additional way to
connect to an ODBC database instead of using a data source name. For more
information about possible options, see the LIBNAME Statement Specifics for
ODBC topic in SAS/ACCESS for Relational Databases: Reference.

Additional Options for Importing Oracle Tables

The value for the Path field is related to the net service name in the
tnsnames.ora file. The tnsnames.ora file is generated during the Oracle client
installation on the machine for the SAS Web Application Server. The file is
typically stored in an Oracle installation directory such as /opt/oracle/app/
oracle/product/10.2.0/db_1/network/admin/tnsnames.ora. The net

Database Connection Tips

27

service name for the connection information is in this file. See the following
figure:

Additional Options for Importing PostgreSQL

Tables
The Schema field is not case sensitive when you browse for tables, but it is
case sensitive when the import is performed. As a result, if you specify a
schema in the wrong case, you can successfully browse for a table, and then
select it in the Choose Tables window. However, the import fails. In this case,
contact your database administrator for assistance with the schema name.

Additional Options for Importing Teradata Tables

The Teradata Management Server field is used to determine whether the SAS
LASR Analytic Server is co-located on the same data appliance. If the SAS
LASR Analytic Server and the Teradata database are on the same data
appliance, then make sure that the Teradata Management Server field includes
the host name that the SAS LASR Analytic Server uses.
SAS Visual Analytics and the Teradata database can be configured to transfer
data in parallel when they are not co-located on the same data appliance. For
information about setting up parallel loading, see the Where Do I Locate My
Analytics Cluster topic in SAS Visual Analytics: Installation and Configuration
Guide (Distributed SAS LASR).

28 Chapter 5 / Importing Data from Servers

29

6
Importing Data from Other Sources
Import Data from Facebook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Import Data from Google Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Import Tweets from Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Import Data from Facebook

To import data from Facebook:
1

Click Facebook in the Import Data window.

2 Click OK in the Import Facebook Data window to accept the terms and

conditions.
If you would like to view the terms or remove authorization after completing
this step, click Clear Authorization on the lower left-hand side of the Import
Facebook Data window.
3

Indicate the Facebook fan page that you want to import. Valid values include
the full URL (for example, http://www.facebook.com/SASsoftware) or
the page name (for example, SASsoftware).

4 Select a date range.

5

Enter the maximum number of posts, comments, and replies to return.

(Optional) In the LASR Table section, modify the table name and description.
Review the library and location settings by clicking Advanced. Make any
necessary changes.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are using the
explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability. Instead, you
can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store the table in a
private location to prevent other users from accessing the data.

(Optional) Review the Proxy Server section. Make changes if necessary.

8 Click OK.

A Facebook limitation can cause the table to be created with only partial data. If
this occurs, you will receive a warning message. To get a complete data set, try
making one or more of the following adjustments before rerunning the import:

30 Chapter 6 / Importing Data from Other Sources

n Indicate a smaller date range.
n Limit the number of posts, comments, or replies.
n Run the import at a lower traffic time.

Import Data from Google Analytics

To import data from Google Analytics:
1

Click Google Analytics in the Import Data window.

Click Obtain access code in the Import Google Analytics window. The
Google Analytics service opens in a new window.

3 After signing in with your Google user name and password, click Accept to

accept the terms and conditions.

4 Highlight and copy (Ctrl+C) the access code.
5

Navigate back to SAS Visual Analytics. Paste the code (Ctrl+V) in the Paste
access code here field.

Click OK. The Import Google Analytics window appears.

If you would like to change users or remove authorization after completing
this step, click Clear Sign In Information on the lower left-hand side of the
Import Google Analytics window.

(Optional) Modify the fields and date range based on the data that you would
like to import.
Note: The default value for the maximum number of rows that you can
import is 100,000. For more information, contact your administrator.

(Optional) In the LASR Table section, modify the table name and description.
Review the library and location settings by clicking Advanced. Make any
necessary changes.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are using the
explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability. Instead, you
can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store the table in a
private location to prevent other users from accessing the data.

(Optional) Review the Proxy Server section. Make any necessary changes.

10 Click OK.

Note: As an attempt to decrease the processing time of your import, Google

Analytics sometimes returns sampled data. If this occurs, you will receive a
warning message. A column that indicates that the data is sampled will appear
in the table. To increase your chance of getting a complete data set, try
rerunning the import with a smaller date range.
Note: If you want to reload data for an existing table using the same table
name, you must do one of the following:
n Use the same library and output folder that were used when the table was

originally imported.

Import Tweets from Twitter

31

n Indicate both a different library and a different output folder than when the

table was originally imported.

Note: It is recommended that your SAS server be configured to use UTF-8
encoding while importing data from Google Analytics. Otherwise, it could impact
your ability to import data that includes nonstandard ASCII characters.

Import Tweets from Twitter

To search for tweets and import them:
1

Click Twitter in the Import Data window.

The first time you import tweets, you are directed to the Twitter website to log
on to your account and authorize SAS Visual Analytics. After you enter your
logon information and click Authorize app, the SAS product page opens.
Close this page and navigate back to SAS Visual Analytics.
After the initial logon, SAS Visual Analytics uses authorization tokens for
accessing Twitter instead of requiring you to log on each time. If you would
like to change users or remove authorization after completing this step, click
Clear Sign In Information on the lower left-hand side of the Import Twitter
Data window.

2 Enter a search term and the maximum number of tweets to return.

The search operators that you can use are described at https://
dev.twitter.com/rest/public/search.
3

(Optional) In the LASR Table section, enter the name for the table and a
description. Review the library and location settings by clicking Advanced.
Make any necessary changes.
You do not have access to the Advanced section if you are using the
explorer or designer and do not have the Build Data capability. Instead, you
can import the data to a general-purpose area or select Store the table in a
private location to prevent other users from accessing the data.

(Optional) Review the Proxy Server section. Make any necessary changes.

5 Click OK.

The search results from a Twitter import in SAS Visual Analytics and the search
results from Twitters own search interface do not match exactly. Each uses a
different mechanism to download tweets. A Twitter import in SAS Visual
Analytics uses Twitters public search API. There are limits on what data and
how much data that SAS can download using Twitters public search API. These
limits might not apply to Twitters own search interface. For more information,
see https://dev.twitter.com/rest/reference/get/search/tweets.
For information about the data structure of imported tweets, see Appendix 10,
Twitter Data Details, on page 603.
Note: Rate limits apply to the Twitter service. Such limits are beyond the control
of SAS Visual Analytics. You are required to follow all applicable terms of use
that Twitter and others might promulgate for Twitter data.

32 Chapter 6 / Importing Data from Other Sources

Note: Certain functionality in SAS Visual Analytics enables you to invoke
external third-party resources. Be aware that use of these resources might result
in disclosure and transmission of information that you submit to these resources.

33

Part 3
Preparing Data
Chapter 7
Overview of SAS Visual Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chapter 8
Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 9
Creating Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Chapter 10
Working with Tables in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 11
Working with Columns in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Chapter 12
Working with Filters in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Chapter 13
Working with Joins in Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Chapter 14
Creating LASR Star Schemas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Chapter 15
Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

34
Chapter 16
Importing SAS Information Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Chapter 17
Supporting Text Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 18
Customizing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Chapter 19
Scheduling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Chapter 20
Using the Results Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

35

7
Overview of SAS Visual Data Builder
What Is SAS Visual Data Builder? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Your First Look at the Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Import Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
About Managed Access to DBMS Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Work with User-Defined Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

What Is SAS Visual Data Builder?

The data builder enables analysts and data administrators to perform basic data
preparation. You can create data queries to perform joins, add calculated
columns, and subset and sort data. Several productivity features accelerate the
creation of columns based on common aggregation functions.
Once you create your data queries, you can reuse them as subqueries for more
sophisticated data queries, export them as jobs for scheduling, or schedule them
directly from the user interface.
The data builder has self-service data import features that enable you to access
data from the following data sources:
n Microsoft Excel spreadsheets
n delimited text files
n SAS data sets
n database tables
n Facebook, Google Analytics, and Twitter

After you import the data, you can prepare it for analysis or join it with existing
data.
The data builder provides a series of features that take advantage of the inmemory tables in SAS LASR Analytic Server.
You can perform the following operations to add data to memory in the server:
n load an existing table directly into memory
n load the results of a data query into memory (or stage the data and then load

it into memory)
n append rows to an in-memory table

36 Chapter 7 / Overview of SAS Visual Data Builder

After the data is in memory, you can perform the following operations with inmemory tables:
n join in-memory tables to form a LASR star schema
n append entire in-memory tables to another in-memory table
n save in-memory tables to HDFS for persistence and fast reloads

Your First Look at the Data Builder

Here are the features of the data builder:

1 The application bar enables you to return to the home page and to access

other parts of SAS Visual Analytics and other SAS applications that integrate
with the home page. You can access your recently created or viewed reports,
explorations, stored processes, data queries, or other objects in your recent
history. Buttons are displayed for each open application.
2 The menu bar contains menus that enable you to perform tasks such as

creating new data queries and LASR star schemas. The right side of the
menu bar has a memory gauge that displays the memory utilization for a
distributed SAS LASR Analytic Server. You can also sign out of SAS Visual
Analytics.
3 The navigation pane displays a tree (the SAS Folders tree) of tables and

data queries.
4 The center of the screen contains the workspace. When you create a new

object, such as a data query, it is represented as a tab on the top of the

workspace.
The bottom of the workspace contains a series of tabs that enable you to
create column expressions, joins, and filter data.

Work with User-Defined Formats

37

5 The right pane enables you to manage the properties of the item that is

selected in the workspace.

6 The toolbar contains icons that enable you to manage, run, and schedule

data queries.

Import Data
The data builder has self-service data import features. After you select File
Import Data, you can click the link for the type of data that you want to import.
For more information, see Chapter 4, Importing Local Data Files, on page
17,Chapter 5, Importing Data from Servers, on page 23, and Chapter 6,
Importing Data from Other Sources, on page 29.

About Managed Access to DBMS Data

The data builder can be used to read source tables from third-party vendor
databases and to write tables to them as well. In order to use this feature, your
site must have a SAS/ACCESS Interface product license for the database that
you want to use. The user ID and password that you use to log on to the data
builder might not be valid for a third-party vendor database. If this is the case,
then you are prompted for credentials to the DBMS when you access a
registered table from a library with a Read operation or a Write operation. As an
alternative to being prompted, you can store a login in metadata that has valid
DBMS credentials. For more information, see "How to Store Passwords for a
Third-Party Server" in SAS Intelligence Platform: Security Administration Guide.
If you are prompted for credentials and supply an invalid user ID or password,
then you are denied access to the data. In this case, you can select File Clear
Credentials Cache to remove the invalid credentials from your session. The
next time you access the data source, you are prompted again.

Work with User-Defined Formats

A format is a set of instructions that SAS uses to write data values. Formats are
used in the data builder to control the written appearance of data values. Userdefined formats are specialized formats that are not supplied by SAS. These
formats are stored in a custom format catalog.
The preferred method for making user-defined formats available to a SAS
Application Server is to name the custom format catalog formats.sas7bcat,
and to place it in SAS-config-dir/Lev1/SASApp/SASEnvironment/
SASFormats. For more information about using user-defined formats, see SAS
Intelligence Platform: Data Administration Guide.
When a user-defined format is permanently associated with a variable, the data
builder uses the format and shows it in the Format column. However, if you
select the Format menu and choose a different format, you cannot use the

38 Chapter 7 / Overview of SAS Visual Data Builder

Format menu to go back to the original user-defined format. You can click
to
undo the change to the format if you have not saved your work yet, or you can
remove and add the column back again.
Even if the custom format catalog is made available to the SAS Application
Server correctly, you cannot associate a user-defined format to a variable with
the data builder. The menu in the Format column does not enable you to specify
a user-defined format.

39

8
Specifying Preferences for SAS
Visual Data Builder
Specify Global and General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Specify Your Preferences for the Data Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Specify Global and General Preferences

To specify global SAS preferences, see Specify Global Preferences on page
618. To specify general preferences, see Specify the SAS Visual Analytics
General Preferences on page 619.

Specify Your Preferences for the Data

Builder
To specify preferences that are specific to SAS Visual Data Builder, perform the
following steps after you log on to the data builder:
1 Select File Preferences to open the Preferences dialog box.
2 Select SAS Visual Data Builder General.

Select a default SAS Application Server to use from Application server. If

you have added SAS Application Server instances to your deployment, then
make sure that the Job Execution Service has been configured for the SAS
Application Server that you select. For more information, see SAS
Intelligence Platform: Middle-Tier Administration Guide.
3

Select SAS Visual Data Builder Scheduling.

Specify a default scheduling server, batch server, and deployment directory.
For more information, see Scheduling Preferences on page 93.

4 Click OK to apply your changes.

40 Chapter 8 / Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Data Builder

41

9
Creating Data Queries
What Is a Data Query? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
About Creating Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Save Your Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Save a Data Query as a New Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Use the Design Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Adding a Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Add a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Add a Subquery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Support for Special Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Best Practices for Adding Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Specify Properties for a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

What Is a Data Query?

A data query is your primary method for selecting and formatting data that is
used with data exploration and creating reports.
A data query is a metadata object that manages the references to input tables,
output tables, staging tables, joins, and summarizations from a SAS Visual Data
Builder session. You can save data queries and open them later to edit the data
preparation operations that are performed in the data query. You can use saved
data queries as subqueries when you create a new data query.

About Creating Data Queries

You can use the data builder to create data queries to prepare data for analytics.
You can use a data query to subset, sort, join, and add calculated columns to
tables.
As you create your data query, click
to validate your data query. Use the
button to preview or run the data query.
The preview option uses a temporary table for the output table. Clicking the
Results tab shows only the first 100 rows. When you run the data query, it uses
the specified output table instead of a temporary table.

42 Chapter 9 / Creating Data Queries

Save Your Data Query

When you click

, you clear the undo and redo history.

The default location for saving data queries is initially set to /My Folder. If you
save the data query in a different folder, then the complete length of the path
and name is limited to 128 characters.
Note: If the data query uses a SAS LASR Analytic Server library for the output
table (this is the default), then the server does not need to be running when you
save the data query. However, the server must have been started at least once
in the past. When you save it, the data builder checks the metadata
authorization for the library and table before it performs the save. If the server
has never been started, then there is no security key to use for checking
authorization. For more information, see "Security Keys" in SAS Visual
Analytics: Administration Guide.

Save a Data Query as a New Data Query

Open an existing data query from the SAS Folders tree that closely matches the
data query that you want to create. Click , and then enter a new name and
select a location. Perform any customizations.
In many cases, you want to use the same input tables, joins, and so on, but you
want a different output table. In this case, click Clear on the Outputs tab, and
then specify new output table information. This step ensures that you use a
different output table for the copied data query.
Note: If you change only the name of the output table in the copied data query,
then the name of the original output table in the original data query is also
changed.
For example, an analyst creates a data query that summarizes sales data and
includes several geographic regions. The data query is saved with an output
table that is named Sales. A regional sales manager wants to perform a similar
summarization, but he wants to filter the data for a single geographic region. In
this case, the regional sales manager performs the following steps:
1 Opens the analyst's data query, and clicks

to save a copy of the data

query with a new name.

2

Filters the data on the Where or Having tab for the geographic region.

3 Clicks Clear on the Outputs tab, and then specifies new output table

information. This ensures that the original output table, Sales, for the original
data query is not overwritten.
4

Saves and runs the copied data query.

Adding a Data Source

43

See Also
Output Tables on page 48

Use the Design Tab

The Design tab is the default view for working with data queries. This tab
provides an easy-to-use interface for creating a data query. You can perform the
following tasks with the Design tab:
n Drag and drop tables or data queries from the SAS Folders tree onto the

workspace.
n Join tables by using your pointer to select the source column, and then drag

the pointer to the corresponding column in the joined table.

n Add columns to the Column Editor tab by clicking the column name from the

table in the workspace or by right-clicking on the table and selecting Add All
Columns.
n Use the Column Editor tab to specify column expressions, aggregations,

and sort. You can set the attributes for a column, such as the type, format,
and label.
n View the Output Columns tab to see the number of output columns and

attributes. When you specify aggregations and pivot by columns, the number
of output columns can increase dramatically.
n Click

to check that the data query is valid.

n Check the Messages tab for information about warnings and errors such as

invalid column expressions.

n Check the Log tab to view the SAS log. A SAS log is generated when you

preview, run, or validate a data query.

n Use the Outputs tab in the right pane to specify output table information.

See Also

Chapter 10, Working with Tables in Data Queries, on page 47

Chapter 11, Working with Columns in Data Queries, on page 53

Chapter 12, Working with Filters in Data Queries, on page 61

Chapter 13, Working with Joins in Data Queries, on page 65

Adding a Data Source

Add a Table
To add a table to a data query, use the SAS Folders tree to locate the table (
and then drag and drop the table onto the workspace.

44 Chapter 9 / Creating Data Queries

TIP You can also click

and search for the table by name and location.

Add a Subquery
After you have created a data query and saved it, it can be used as an input
data source to another data query. To add a subquery, use the SAS Folders tree
to locate the data query (
workspace.

), and then drag and drop the data query onto the

The subquery is represented in the workspace by the columns that are selected
for output in the subquery.

Support for Special Characters

In most cases, you can use table names and column names that contain special
characters, including blank characters. When you use a column in your data
query, the data builder applies the n-literal syntax, such as 'table
name'n.'column name'n, so that SAS can use the column.
Rules for SAS names apply. For more information, see Names in the SAS
Language in SAS Language Reference: Concepts.
The data builder does not apply the n-literal syntax to code that you enter
manually on the Where tab or Having tab or in column expressions. For
example, if your table has a column that is named quantity ordered, then
you must add the n-literal syntax (similar to the following example):
AVG(table.'quantity ordered'n)

Best Practices for Adding Data Sources

When you plan to join data sources (tables or subqueries), the order in which
you add the data sources to the workspace matters. The first data source that is
added to the workspace is automatically assigned as the left table for any joins
that you add to the data query.
If you are creating a data query that uses a fact table and dimension tables, then
the simplest approach is to drag and drop the fact table onto the workspace first.
You can perform left, right, or full joins with the dimension tables faster because
you must specify only the join type. However, if you drag and drop a dimension
table first, then you can easily use the
left and right tables in the join.

button on the Joins tab to switch the

If you are not using a fact table or dimension tables, then the sequence for
adding tables to the workspace might not be very important. Just remember that
the first table dropped onto the workspace is assigned as the left table, and you
can switch the left table and right table on the Joins tab. The data builder takes
advantage of vendor-specific features in SQL processing whenever possible. If
the source tables are from a third-party vendor database, then the
SAS/ACCESS Interface engine can optimize the performance of the data query
by passing the SQL statements through to the database.

Specify Properties for a Data Query 45

Specify Properties for a Data Query

On the Properties tab in the right pane, you can view or specify the following
properties:
Name
displays the name for the data query. The initial value is DataQuery1. You
can specify a different name when you save the data query.
Location
displays the metadata folder location for the data query object. The initial
value is /My Folder. You can specify a different location when you save the
data query.
Description
specifies a description of the data query.
Create an SQL query view
specifies to create a view for either the work table or the output table. For
more information, see Create SQL Query Views on page 51.
Unique values
specifies whether the SQL keyword DISTINCT is applied to the SELECT
statement that is used to generate the result set for the data query.
Append data
specifies whether the result set for the data query is appended to the output
table. If a staging table is used, then the staging table is replaced with the
result set before appending to the output table.
On the Outputs tab, you can view or specify the following properties:
Table
specifies the table name for either the staging output or the final output. For
more information, see Specify an Output Table on page 49.
Compress data
specifies to compress the output table. For more information, see Output
and Staging Table Interactions on page 50.
Location
specifies the metadata folder location to use for registering the staging table
metadata or output table metadata. Click

to select a different location.

Library
specifies the library to use for the staging table or output table. Click
select a different library.

to

Partition by
specifies the column to use for partitioning the output table. This property
applies when the output table is in a SAS LASR Analytic Server library or
SAS Data in HDFS library only. For more information, see Partition Tables
on page 78.

See Also
Specify Properties for a Source Table on page 48

46 Chapter 9 / Creating Data Queries

47

10
Working with Tables in Data Queries
Source Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Specify Properties for a Source Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Output Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
About Output Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Specify an Output Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Staging Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
About Staging Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Specify a Staging Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Output and Staging Table Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Create SQL Query Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Source Tables
When you drop a table onto the workspace, the data builder connects to the
SAS Metadata Server to determine the column names and data types for the
table. When you drop a subquery onto the workspace, the data builder makes
the same request, but determines the column names and data types for the
output table of the subquery.
You (or an administrator) must register a table in metadata before using it as a
source table for data preparation. When you import data from a file, a database,
Facebook, Google Analytics, or Twitter, the data builder automatically registers
the data in metadata as a table. Source tables can also be registered using SAS
Visual Analytics Administrator or SAS Management Console.

See Also

Adding a Data Source on page 43

SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide

SAS Intelligence Platform: Data Administration Guide

48 Chapter 10 / Working with Tables in Data Queries

Specify Properties for a Source Table

When you create a data query and select a table in the workspace or when you
select it from the menu on the Inputs tab in the right pane, you can specify the
following:
Alias
displays the SAS table name that is stored in metadata. You can specify a
new value to use as a table alias. The alias name is stored with the data
query, and it does not affect the metadata information for the table.
Name
displays the metadata object name. You can change the metadata object
name in the SAS Folders tree by selecting it, right-clicking, and selecting
Rename.
Location
displays the table's metadata folder.
Library
displays the table's library.
Auto-aggregate
specifies whether to apply aggregations to the columns for this table when
the columns are added to the query.
Aggregations
specifies the aggregations to apply to the columns for this table when the
columns are added to the data query.

See Also
Use the Auto-Aggregate Functions on page 57

Output Tables
About Output Tables
When you create a data query, you specify an output table on the Outputs tab in
the right pane. When you save the data query, the output table is registered (or
updated) in the metadata. Registering the table in metadata enables you to use
it as a source table for another data query or another SAS application. When
you run the data query, the physical output table is created, and the table is
updated in metadata.
Subqueries do not require an output table. If you do not need to view the results
of a data query that you intend to use as a subquery, then you can click Clear on
the Outputs tab and still save the subquery. You can then drag and drop the
subquery into a data query.
When you create a data query, the default output table name is OutputTable.

Staging Tables 49

Specify an Output Table

Every data query must have an output table in order to save the results in a
table. How you specify the output table affects whether metadata is updated or
created.
You can specify an output table name, location, and library on the Outputs tab
in the right pane.
The following table shows alternative ways to specify an output table.
Action

How To

Change the name of the output table. *

Enter the new name in the Table field,

and save the data query. All data queries,
reports, explorations, and so on, still
reference the same table object.

Create a new output table. *

Click Clear, and then specify a table

name, location, and library. This action
disassociates the previously used output
table.

Reuse an existing table.

Click , and then browse for the table to

use. This action disassociates the
previously used output table.

* If you replace the default table name, OutputTable, with another name before you save the data query, the

data builder registers a new output table and uses it with the data query.

You can enter a name that is up to 32 characters as the output table name. If a
third-party vendor database product is used for the output table, then the
number of characters might be less.
If you select a SAS LASR Analytic Server or SAS Data in HDFS library, the
Partition by menu becomes available.

Staging Tables
About Staging Tables
Staging data is a best practice because you can use the data builder to access
and transfer data from operational systems once, rather than frequently interfere
with the operational systems and reduce their performance. Using the data
builder to stage data can provide the advantage of adding calculated columns
when you stage the data.
Like the output table, the staging table is registered in metadata when you save
the data query. The physical table for the staging table is created when you run
the data query.
You cannot specify the name for a staging table. The name of the output table is
used, and an _STG suffix is applied to the name. The suffix is used for the table
name in metadata. The physical name of the staging table does not include the
suffix.

50 Chapter 10 / Working with Tables in Data Queries

Specify a Staging Table

To use a staging table, perform the following steps on the Outputs tab:
1 Select the Use a staging table check box.
2

Specify a library.
Note: The data builder is initially configured to use the Visual Analytics
Public LASR library and the Visual Analytics Public HDFS pair of libraries. If
you specify different libraries, then make sure that you understand how the
path in HDFS is related to the server tag for the SAS LASR Analytic Server
library. For more information, see SAS Visual Analytics: Administration
Guide.

Output and Staging Table Interactions

The physical table is always replaced with the results of the data query. When
you use a data query to append data and stage the data too, the staging table
holds the data to append. As a result, the output table that the data query
appends to is typically much larger than the staging table.
In the right pane, if you select the Compress data check box on the Outputs
tab, then the tables are compressed as follows:
n If the output table is in the SAS LASR Analytic Server library or SAS Data in

HDFS library, then the output table is compressed.

n If the output table is in the SAS LASR Analytic Server library and the staging

table is in the SAS Data in HDFS library, then the staging table is
compressed. The staging table will automatically be compressed when it is
loaded to memory on the SAS LASR Analytic Server.
The following table identifies the supported combinations for output tables and
staging tables. In addition, whether you can append data to tables is indicated.
Table 10.1

Output Table and Staging Table Interactions

Output Table

Staging Table

Append Data

SAS or DBMS *

None

Supported

SAS Data in HDFS

None

Not supported

Teradata or Greenplum **

None

Supported

SAS LASR Analytic Server

None

Supported

SAS or DBMS *

SAS or DBMS *

Supported

SAS LASR Analytic Server

SAS or DBMS *

Supported ***

Create SQL Query Views

Output Table

Staging Table

Append Data

SAS LASR Analytic Server

SAS Data in HDFS

Not supported

51

Note: When the staging

table is in HDFS, SAS
LASR Analytic Server is
the only choice for the
output table.
SAS LASR Analytic Server

Teradata or Greenplum **

Supported ***

* The SAS or DBMS value represents data stored in SAS data sets or a third-party vendor database,

respectively.
** The Teradata or Greenplum value represents deployments that use a third-party vendor appliance as a co-

located data provider for SAS LASR Analytic Server.

*** Appending data is performed by the SAS LASR Analytic Server engine. Appends are not performed by

having the server read data in parallel.

The information about appending data in the previous table applies to data
queries. See Appending In-Memory Tables on page 80 if you are working
with in-memory tables on SAS LASR Analytic Server exclusively.

See Also
Chapter 15, Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server, on page 75

Create SQL Query Views

You can influence whether the work table or output table is a view or a table. To
specify view, select the Create a SQL query view check box on the Properties
tab. The option is enabled by default. In most cases, this option improves
performance by reducing data movement and storage requirements.
When working with tables in a database, if the source tables and output tables
are in the same library, the Create a SQL query view option can enable you to
pass a CREATE VIEW statement directly to the database. When this happens,
the data query runs almost instantaneously because there is no data movement
to create a view.
The following table summarizes the interactions between library types and
views:
Library Type

Interactions

Base SAS

Base SAS libraries always support views

for output tables or staging tables. Source
tables can be from different libraries
because the connection information is
stored in the view.

52 Chapter 10 / Working with Tables in Data Queries

Library Type

Interactions

DBMS

If the source tables and the output tables

or staging tables are in the same library,
then the view is created in the database.
If they are in different libraries, then the
check box is not enabled and the output
table or staging table is created as a
physical table.

SAS LASR Analytic Server or SAS Data

in HDFS

These libraries types do not support

views. Selecting the check box applies to
the work table, rather than the output
table or staging table.
If the source tables and the output tables
are in the same SAS LASR Analytic
Server library, then the check box is not
enabled, and the work table must be a
physical table.

Note: In some cases, the check box is enabled, but using this option can result
in an error when running the data query. For example, if you use a DBMS library
for the output table, you must have permission to create a view. You can clear
the check box to create the output table as a physical table in these cases.

53

11
Working with Columns in Data
Queries
Adding Columns to a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Remove Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Specify a Column Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Specify Aggregations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Remove All Aggregations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Use Group By Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Use the Auto-Aggregate Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Use the Pivot By Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Adding Columns to a Data Query

When you add a data source (a table or subquery) to the workspace, the
columns from the data source are not automatically added as output columns.
You must add the columns to the data query that you want to use.
After the columns are added, you can specify column expressions and
aggregations and use the sort and pivot by features.
Note: As an exception, the auto-aggregate feature requires that you set the
default aggregations for the table before they are added to the data query.
When a data source is dropped onto the workspace, the column types are
represented by the following icons:
Table 11.1
Icon

Icons for Data Types

Description
This icon represents numeric data.
This icon represents character data.
Note: Date, time, and datetime data use this icon. After the
column is added, the Type and Format columns are updated
with information about the new column.

54 Chapter 11 / Working with Columns in Data Queries

You can add columns to the data query in the following ways:
n Select the table in the workspace, right-click, and select Add All Columns
n To add one column from a table, select the column name with your pointer.

TIP If you select the column name an additional time, then the column is

added to the data query again. This can be helpful if you want to use a
column for both numeric and character data. When you add a column
more than once, a number is added to the column name. If you change the
column name, then you must make sure that you do not have more than
one column with the same name.
n Click the Column Editor tab and enter a column name, expression, and type

in the bottom row of the table. The remaining fields are optional.

Remove Columns
To remove a column from a data query:
1

Click the Column Editor tab.

Select the column to remove, right-click, and select Remove Column.

Specify a Column Expression

To specify a column expression:
1

On the Column Editor tab, specify a name for the column.

Select table-name.column-name from the Expression column. If you

added a new column manually, then you must make sure that you specified a
table name and a column name.

Click
to open the expression builder. The table name and column name
are added automatically as the default SQL expression.
The expression is limited to 1024 characters.

4 On the Fields tab, select columns from the source tables that you have

added to the data query.

5 On the Functions tab, select the functions to apply to the source column.
6

Enter arithmetic operators and expressions such as CASE statements

directly in the SQL expression area.

7 Click Apply to save the column expression.

Note: If you click

after you click Apply, then your last change to the
expression is undone. However, because the expression window is closed, you
might not notice the undo.

Specify Aggregations

55

Specify Aggregations
To specify an aggregation for a column:
1 On the Column Editor tab, place your pointer in the Aggregations cell for

the column and click. Click the ellipsis button to select the aggregations to
use.
2

In the Choose Aggregations dialog box, select the Aggregate functions

radio button.

Select the check boxes for the aggregate functions to use. Click Apply.
Note: After you click Apply, all of the other columns are automatically
specified as GROUP BY columns. You can change a column from GROUP BY
to an aggregate function by repeating this step for the column.

56 Chapter 11 / Working with Columns in Data Queries

The following display shows how adding aggregations results in additional
output columns. The aggregate function is appended to the column name.

Remove All Aggregations

To remove all the aggregate functions and group by settings:
1

On the Column Editor tab, select all the columns.

Right-click, and select Remove Aggregations.

TIP This menu option is available only when all of the columns are

selected and at least one aggregation is defined.

Use Group By Variables

When you add an aggregation to a column, the remaining columns are
automatically used as group by variables. The Aggregations column displays
GROUP BY for these variables.
You can use a column as a group by variable by following the steps in Specify
Aggregations and selecting the Group by radio button.

Use the Pivot By Feature

57

Use the Auto-Aggregate Functions

The auto-aggregate feature is a productivity feature that enables you to specify a
set of aggregations to apply as default aggregations to numeric columns for a
specific table. A typical use is to automatically aggregate some of the columns in
a fact table.
To use the auto-aggregate feature:
1 Select a table on the Design tab.
2

On the Inputs tab, select Enable for Auto-aggregate.

3 Click the ellipsis button next to Aggregations to open the Choose

Aggregations window.
4

Select the check boxes for the aggregate functions that you want to apply,
and then click Apply.

Whenever you add a column to the data query, the selected aggregate functions
are automatically applied.

Use the Pivot By Feature

The pivot by feature provides an easy and powerful way to summarize data for
analytics. You can specify a column to use as a categorical variable and the
unique values to use. When the data query is run, the output table is
summarized with the aggregations that you apply.
To use the pivot by feature:
1

On the Column Editor tab, place your pointer in the Pivot By cell for the
column to use as the pivot column. Click the ellipsis button to select the pivot
column and values.

2 In the Pivot Values dialog box, select the pivot by column. You can enter

search criteria in Filter fields to filter the column names.

58 Chapter 11 / Working with Columns in Data Queries

The following display shows an example of pivoting by three values in the
Product_Category column.

After the unique values for the column are loaded, select the check boxes for
the values to use in the summarization. Click Apply.

The following display shows an example of the Column Editor tab when a pivot
by column is used. The minimum and maximum Total_Retail_Price are
calculated for each Customer_ID and are then pivoted by (transposed by) three
values of the Product_Category column.
Figure 11.1 Column Editor Tab with a Pivot By Column

TIP TRP is specified as the label for the Total_Retail_Price column. Look at
the next display to see how the label is used to create labels for the new
columns.

The following display shows how pivoting the Customer_ID column by three
values of the Product_Category column results in additional output columns. A
substring of the pivot by values is used as a prefix to each column name and the

Use the Pivot By Feature

59

aggregate function is used as a suffix. The pivot by column label and aggregate
function are used in the output column label.
Figure 11.2 Output Columns Tab with Pivot By Values

60 Chapter 11 / Working with Columns in Data Queries

61

12
Working with Filters in Data Queries
About Filtering Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Specify a WHERE Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Specify a HAVING Clause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Best Practices for Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

About Filtering Data

You can use the Where and Having tabs to filter data in SAS Visual Data
Builder.
The SQL expression on the Where tab is applied to the input data. This SQL
expression is often used to subset data on the columns in the source tables.
The SQL expression on the Having tab can be applied to either the input data or
the calculated columns. This SQL expression is typically used to subset data on
calculated columns in the output table.
The maximum length for a WHERE or HAVING clause is 4096 characters.

Specify a WHERE Clause

To add a WHERE clause to a data query:
1

Click the Where tab.

2 On the Fields tab, expand the table node, and select the column to use for

filtering data.
TIP You can enter a value in the Filter fields field to locate the column.
3

Double-click the column or drag and drop it in the SQL expression area.

For character variables, you can click column_name Values to view the
unique values of the column. In the Filter Values window, select the check
boxes to specify the unique values to include in the filter.
Click Apply to add the unique values to the SQL expression area.

62 Chapter 12 / Working with Filters in Data Queries

5

(Optional) You can click the Functions tab and select the functions to use
with filtering.

(Optional) You can add a subquery to the filter using a table from a different
library. On the Libraries tab, click
to add a library.
After you select a library, expand the library node, and select the table that
you want to use for the subquery.
Note: In the SQL expression, you must enclose the subquery in
parentheses.

7 Edit the WHERE clause in the SQL expression area as follows:

Number of Values

Edit

Example

A single character value

Add an equal sign

between the column
name and the unique
value.

CARS.Make = 'Acura'

More than one character

value

Specify an IN operator
and enclose the unique
values in parentheses.

CARS.Make IN (
'Acura', 'Audi')

Numeric comparison

Specify a numeric
operator and a constant,
or specify a numeric
operator and another
column name.

CARS.Cylinders >= 6

Click

PRDSALE.Actual > PRDSALE.Estimate

to save the filter.

Specify a HAVING Clause

To add a HAVING clause to a data query:
1

Click the Having tab.

2 On the Fields tab, expand the table node, and select the column to use for

filtering data. The Output Columns node includes the calculated columns.
TIP You can enter a value in the Filter fields field to locate the column.
3 Double-click the column or drag and drop it in the SQL expression area.
4 For character variables, you can click column_name Values to view the

unique values of the column. In the Filter Values window, select the check
boxes to specify the unique values to include in the filter.
Click Apply to add the unique values to the SQL expression area.
5 (Optional) You can click the Functions tab and select the functions to use

with filtering.

Best Practices for Filters 63

6

(Optional) You can add a subquery to the filter using a table from a different
library. On the Libraries tab, click
to add a library.
After you select a library, expand the library node, and select the table that
you want to use for the subquery.
Note: In the SQL expression, you must enclose the subquery in
parentheses.

7 Edit the HAVING clause in the SQL expression. The syntax is identical to

that shown in step 6 of Specify a WHERE Clause.

8 Click

to save the filter.

Best Practices for Filters

SAS Visual Data Builder provides the Where and Having tabs for filtering data.
Follow these best practices:
n Filter on the Where tab first because the WHERE clause reduces the rows to

consider for further subsetting.

n When you specify a filter on a column that is an index or primary key, avoid

using a function whenever it is possible. Using a function, such as

CAST(order_id as DOUBLE), risks performing a full-table scan rather than
using the index.
n Filter on the table that has the smallest number of rows first.
n If you must remove a table that is used on the Where or Having tabs, then

remove the reference to the table from the filters before you remove the
table. Otherwise, if you remove a table that is referenced in a filter, then all of
the filtering conditions are cleared.
n When adding a subquery using the Libraries tab, an additional step is

needed if the column names or table names are written in a language that
uses a double-byte character set. After you finish adding the columns, you
must manually enter an n-literal to the string on the Code tab for each
column name or table name in a language that uses a double-byte character
set. For example:
'TABLE_NAME'n.'Column_name'n

For more information about editing code manually, see Chapter 18,
Customizing Code, on page 87.

64 Chapter 12 / Working with Filters in Data Queries

65

13
Working with Joins in Data Queries
About Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
How Does the Automatic Join Feature Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Feature Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Using Foreign and Primary Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Matching by Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Selecting the Join Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Adding a Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Drag and Drop Join Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Use the Joins Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Example: Joins with a Junction Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Remove a Join . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Manage Joins in a Data Query . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Best Practices for Managing Joins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

About Joins
SAS Visual Data Builder supports joins for tables and subqueries. You can join
tables to each other, including self joins. You can join subqueries to tables and
join subqueries to subqueries. When you use a subquery in a join, the join
condition is made against the output table for the subquery. The data builder
supports joining up to 256 tables.
When you drop a table or subquery onto the workspace, the data builder
attempts to determine a join condition automatically. When the data builder
creates a join automatically using foreign keys or by matching columns, the join
is added as an inner join. The data builder also supports left, right, and full joins.
You must specify the join type manually if you do not want an inner join.
In addition to easily adding joins to a data query, the data builder generates an
SQL statement with all of the joins declared explicitly. For example, you can
specify an inner join in a WHERE clause, such as WHERE
t1.order_id=t2.order_id. However, mixing inner joins in a WHERE clause
and outer join types in a single data query can be complex to read and
understand.
SAS Visual Data Builder always generates an SQL statement with inner joins
declared explicitly. For example, see the following code sample:

66 Chapter 13 / Working with Joins in Data Queries

LEFT JOIN
LIB1.TRANSACTION_TYPE_DIM TRANSACTION_TYPE_DIM
ON CASH_FLOW_FACT.TRANSACTION_TYPE_KEY =
TRANSACTION_TYPE_DIM.TRANSACTION_TYPE_KEY
INNER JOIN
LIB1.TRANSACTION_DIM TRANSACTION_DIM
ON PARTY_DIM.SEGMENT_ID = TRANSACTION_DIM.SEGMENT_ID
AND PARTY_DIM.TRANSACTION_KEY = TRANSACTION_DIM.TRANSACTION_KEY

How Does the Automatic Join Feature

Work?
Feature Overview
SAS Visual Data Builder attempts to join tables and data queries automatically
as you add them to the workspace. When you drag and drop a table or data
query onto the workspace, information about the table or data query is retrieved
from the SAS Metadata Server. For subqueries, the metadata for the subqueries
output table is retrieved.

Using Foreign and Primary Keys

If primary key or foreign key information is registered in the metadata for the
table that you drag and drop onto the workspace, then the data builder retrieves
the foreign key and primary key information.
The data builder then iterates over each of the tables that are already in the
workspace in the same sequence in which they were added to the workspace.
The data builder retrieves the foreign key and primary key information for the
table, and compares the length, type, and name with the key columns for the
newly added table. If a match is found, then the tables are used in the join, and
the columns are added as a join condition. The data builder continues to search
for matches between the two tables, and it adds join conditions when possible.
After a set of join tables is identified, the data builder does not continue iterating
over the tables that are already in the workspace.

Matching by Name
If there is no foreign key or primary key information for the table that is dragged
and dropped onto the workspace, then the data builder does not use foreign key
or primary key information for the tables already in the workspace.
The data builder retrieves the column information for all of the columns in the
newly added table. The data builder then iterates over each of the tables that are
already in the workspace in the same sequence in which they were added to the
workspace. The data builder compares the length, type, and name for each
column with each column in the newly added table. If a match is found, then the
tables are used in the join, and the columns are added as a join condition. The
data builder does not continue to search for matches between the two tables,
and it does not continue iterating over the tables that are already in the
workspace.

Adding a Join

67

Selecting the Join Type

When the data builder finds the first set of matching columns by comparing keys
or matching names, it sets the join type for the two tables. The data builder
checks the metadata for the columns to determine whether the columns are
nullable. (Many third-party vendor databases support NOT NULL as a constraint
for a column when the table is created in the database with SQL. The constraint
ensures that there are no missing values for the column.) The data builder
performs the following steps to set the join type:
1 If the column for the existing table is not nullable but the column for the newly

added table is nullable, then the tables use a left join.

2

If the column for the existing table is nullable but the column for the newly
added table is not nullable, then the tables use a right join.

If both columns for the existing table and newly added table are nullable,
then the tables use a full join.

If none of the previous conditions are met, then the tables use an inner join.

You can specify the join type by right-clicking on the join icon (
the join type from the menu.

) and selecting

Adding a Join
Drag and Drop Join Lines
To add a join by selecting a column name and dragging your pointer to another
column:
1

Place your pointer on one of the columns in a table to use, and then click and
drag your pointer to a column in the other table to use in the join.

If you want a join type other than an inner join, then select the join, right-click,
and select the join type.

TIP The first table that is added to the workspace is always set as the left

table. You can switch the right table and left table by using the Joins tab.

Use the Joins Tab

To add a join manually:
1

Click the Joins tab.

2 Click

3 Use the menus to replace Not Selected with the table names to use in the

join. Click Save.

68 Chapter 13 / Working with Joins in Data Queries

4

The default join type is an inner join. Use the menu in the Join Type column
to select a different join type.

Click

in the Join conditions area.

6 Use the menus to replace Not Selected with the column names to use in

the join condition. Click Save.

7

Click

to save the join condition with the data query.

Example: Joins with a Junction Table

By default, the data builder considers the first table that you drop in the
workspace as the fact table. As you add tables to the data query, the data
builder attempts to join the tables with the first table, the fact table. This strategy
works well for straightforward fact table and dimension table arrangements.
However, in many cases, you need to join additional tables to a junction table.
Junction tables are also known as bridge tables or link tables.
In the following figure, the Bridge and Accounts_Dim tables are joined to the
Fact table. The Accounts_Dim table has a join on the Account_Key column. The
Bridge table is joined on the compound key (represented as two lines), which
consists of the Transaction_Key and Segment_ID columns.

To retrieve the transaction amount and transaction type from the Entity_Dim
table, it must have a join that uses the Bridge table instead of the first table (fact
table) that was added to the workspace.
To create a join to a junction (or bridge) table:
1 Add the fact table to the data query first.

Manage Joins in a Data Query

2

69

Add the dimension tables, such as the Accounts_Dim table and junction
tables. The data builder attempts to join the tables automatically.
Review the join as follows:
a Check that the correct columns are used.
b Change the join type, such as from inner to left, as needed.

3 Add the tables that use the junction table, such as the Entity_Dim table.

Initially, the data builder attempts to join the tables to the fact table.
Correct the join as follows:
a Select the automatic join to the fact table, right-click, and select Remove

Join Condition.
b

Use your pointer to connect the keys from the junction table to the
dimension table.

Change the join type as needed.

Remove a Join
You can remove a join by using either of the following methods:
n Select the join in the workspace, right-click, and select Remove Join

Condition.
n Click the Joins tab, select the row in the table, and click

Manage Joins in a Data Query

Once a join is added to a data query, you can change the join by selecting it in
the workspace, right-clicking, and changing the join type or removing the join
condition.
You can also change a join by clicking the Joins tab, and then selecting the row
in the table. You can make the following changes:
n add and remove tables from the join list
n reorder the sequence of joins by moving them up or down
n switch the left table and right table assignments for a join
n add, remove, and change the columns that are used in the join condition

The Joins tab shows the join condition for the entire data query. Make sure that
you select a row in the upper table to set the columns in the Join conditions
area.
The workspace shows a link between the tables that are used in a join. If you
specify a left join or right join, then the
icon reflects which table provides the
bulk of the data. If you rearrange the tables in the workspace (switching the left

70 Chapter 13 / Working with Joins in Data Queries

table and right table), then the
icon continues to reflect which table provides
the bulk of the data. In order to change the data relationship, use either of the
following methods:
n Switch the left table and right table by selecting a row from the table, and

clicking

n Change the join type from left to right or from right to left.

Best Practices for Managing Joins

In most cases, the sequence in which joins are specified on the Joins tab does
not matter. However, it is possible that the query optimizer for the data source
might perform the joins in a sequence that reduces performance. In these rare
cases, you can change the sequence in which joins are specified on the Joins
tab by selecting the join in the list, and clicking
or . This join sequence is
still determined by the query optimizer, but you can control how the SQL for the
join is presented to the query optimizer.

71

14
Creating LASR Star Schemas
What is a LASR Star Schema? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Create a LASR Star Schema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
How Are Tables Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Input Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Column Prefixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Output Table and Conserving Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Performance Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

What is a LASR Star Schema?

A LASR star schema is very similar to a typical star schema in a relational
database. Imagine a single fact table that is surrounded by dimension tables.
Each dimension table is joined to the fact table using a dimension key.
Here are some key facts about LASR star schemas:
n Typically, the dimension key and the corresponding column in the fact table

are the same data type and length. If your tables do not use the same data
type and length, then there are two ways to correct the data:
o

Change the data definition in the system with the original data.

Create a data query that modifies the columns and outputs the table to an
in-memory table.

n Single-level star schemas are supported. Snowflake schemas are not.

n A LASR Star Schema is limited to a single join condition. It does not support

multiple key columns between fact and dimension tables.

Create a LASR Star Schema

To create a LASR star schema:
1 Select LASR Create a Star Schema.
2

Drag and drop tables or data queries from the SAS Folders tree onto the
workspace. Keep the following suggestions in mind:

72 Chapter 14 / Creating LASR Star Schemas

n Drag and drop the fact table first and then the dimension tables.
n Any input tables that are not already in a SAS LASR Analytic Server

library are loaded to memory when the star schema is run.

n If a dimension table shows the

icon, then it usually indicates that the

data builder could not determine the join condition for the dimension
table. Position your pointer over the icon for information about how to
correct the incomplete table status.

n If a dimension table shows the

icon, then it usually indicates that the

table is from a different SAS LASR Analytic Server library than the output
table. You must use one SAS LASR Analytic Server library only.

3 (Optional) If you do not want a column from the dimension table in the output

table, then select the column in the table in the workspace, right-click, and
select Remove Column.
Note: All of the columns from the fact table are automatically selected and
required to be included in the output table.
4

(Optional) Click the Joins tab to review the columns that are used to
generate the output table.

(Optional) Specify a different column prefix. For more information, see

Column Prefixes.

Click the Output tab, and specify a name for the output table.

7 Click
8 Click

, and specify a name and location for the LASR star schema.
to generate the output table.

How Are Tables Used?

Input Tables
The fact table and dimension tables are used in the star schema after you drag
and drop them onto the workspace. By default, the data builder considers the
first table that you drop in the workspace as the fact table. Click
toolbar to select a different fact table.

from the

Because the star schema is formed in memory by the server, the first step is to
make sure that the tables are loaded to memory. Be aware that the tables are
transferred each time the star schema runs and this can reduce performance.
Conversely, if the tables are already loaded to memory on the server, the star
schema runs and generates the output faster.
When creating a star schema using tables from the same HDFS library, the star
schema will fail to run if one or more of the tables in the star schema is
encrypted, but the HDFS library is not encrypted. In this case, you will receive an
error message indicating that a password is needed for the encrypted tables.
This can occur when your administrator turns encryption off for a previously
encrypted library. Any table that was in the library beforehand will remain

How Are Tables Used?

73

encrypted. Your administrator can resolve the issue by turning encryption back
on for the library. Contact your administrator for more information.

Column Prefixes
The first 15 characters of a dimension tables name and the underscore
character are initially set as a prefix for the column names from the dimension
table. Column names for the output table are a combination of the prefix and the
original column name.
However, you can specify a different value for the prefix after you select the
table name from the menu at the top of the Inputs tab.
Column names from the fact table are not modified with a prefix.
TIP A column name is limited to 32 characters. If you have a long column

name, then reducing the prefix can help you keep more of the original column
name.

Output Table and Conserving Memory

To use memory efficiently, the default output for the schema is a view. The
Create output as a view check box on the Output tab is selected by default to
create a view. If you clear the check box, then the output is a table.
When the output is a view, the rows are created from the original tables when
the view is accessed. This is the main advantage of a view because it does not
create the entire output table and hold it all in memory.
If you clear the Create output as a view check box to create a table from the
star schema, then the system must have enough available memory to store the
table. If the system runs out of memory while running the star schema, then the
memory that was used for the output table is freed and you receive an error
message.
If you use SAS LASR Analytic Server tables for input to the schema, then the
output table for the star schema must use the same library.
When using tables from an HDFS library to create a star schema, the star
schema will fail to save if the HDFS library path and the tag of the LASR output
library do not match. In this case, you will receive an error message stating that
the library path does not match the SAS LASR Analytic Server tag. Try changing
the output table to a LASR library whose tag matches the HDFS library path.
You can view the tag for the LASR library in SAS Management Console. For
more information, contact your administrator.

Performance Considerations
Creating a LASR star schema as a view can be more convenient than creating a
table, but accessing data through the view can impact performance negatively.
The scale of the impact depends on the size of the dimension tables. However,
the number of passes through the data is even more important. For example,
requesting percentiles or box plots or fitting statistical models requires passing
through the data multiple times. These requests are impacted more than a
request for summary statistics.
Keep the following considerations in mind:

74 Chapter 14 / Creating LASR Star Schemas

n The initial creation of a view is faster than forming a table. However,

accessing the data in a view is slower than accessing the data from a table.
n Creating a table requires more physical memory than creating a view. If your

system has sufficient memory capacity, then creating a table provides the
best performance for accessing the data.

75

15
Working with SAS LASR Analytic
Server
Understanding Co-Located Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Predefined Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Using SAS Data in HDFS Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Default Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Staging Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Output Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

76
76
76
77
77

Using SAS LASR Analytic Server Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Default Library . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Input Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Output Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Partition Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Load a Table (As Is) to SAS LASR Analytic Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Save an In-Memory Table to SASHDAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Appending In-Memory Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
How Does Appending In-Memory Tables Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Append In-Memory Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
How Are Tables Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Monitor Memory Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Understanding Co-Located Data

One of the most powerful benefits of SAS LASR Analytic Server is the ability to
read data in parallel from a co-located data provider. In this configuration, the
SAS LASR Analytic Server software is installed on the same hardware as the
data provider. The currently supported data providers are the following:
n SAS High-Performance Deployment of Hadoop (or a customer-supplied

Hadoop cluster that has been configured to use the SAS services from SAS
High-Performance Deployment of Hadoop)
n Teradata Data Warehouse Appliance
n Greenplum Data Computing Appliance

76 Chapter 15 / Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server

The data builder excels at accessing data from a variety of data sources,
performing basic data preparation, and then staging the prepared data with a colocated data provider. After the data is staged, the server can load the data to
memory for exploration, reporting, and further in-memory data preparation.
The SAS Deployment Wizard registers two predefined libraries for the SAS
LASR Analytic Server and two libraries for the co-located data provider. For the
third-party vendor products, the default library name and location are as follows:
Teradata Data Warehouse Appliance
/Shared Data/SAS Visual Analytics/Public/Visual Analytics
Public Teradata

Greenplum Data Computing Appliance

/Shared Data/SAS Visual Analytics/Public/Visual Analytics
Public Greenplum

Predefined Libraries
The names and purposes of the libraries are as follows:
Visual Analytics Public LASR
This library is initially configured as the default library for the data builder. It is
automatically selected as the output library for importing self-service data,
creating data queries, and preparing in-memory data.
This library is intentionally configured as a general-purpose library with
extremely limited restrictions for securing data access.
Visual Analytics LASR
This library is initially configured to provide Write permission to data builder
users and administrators only. The initial security settings might align with
organizational goals for securing and managing data access.
For deployments that use a distributed SAS LASR Analytic Server, a pair of
libraries for the co-located data provider are predefined with permissions that
match the same initial security settings.

Using SAS Data in HDFS Libraries

Default Library
When your deployment uses Hadoop as a co-located data provider, the SAS
Deployment Wizard registers a predefined library for it. This library is available
for use in the SAS Folders tree, and it is located in /Shared Data/SAS Visual
Analytics/Public/Visual Analytics Public HDFS.

Staging Library
You can specify a SAS Data in HDFS library as a staging library. This is a
common use because the rows for the output table are distributed among the

Using SAS LASR Analytic Server Libraries

77

machines in the cluster. The server can then read the data in parallel when it
loads the table to memory.
You must specify a SAS LASR Analytic Server library for the output library when
you use a SAS Data in HDFS library for staging.

Output Library
You can specify a SAS Data in HDFS library as an output library. The engine
distributes the rows for the table to the machines in the cluster. Afterward, you
can select the table from the SAS Folders tree, right-click, and select Load a
Table. This menu option loads the table from HDFS to memory on a SAS LASR
Analytic Server.
You can partition SAS Data in HDFS tables when they are used in an output
library. You can select a column to use from the Partition by menu. Partitioning
the table ensures that all of the rows with the same formatted value as the
selected column are distributed to one machine in the cluster. The rows are also
placed in the same HDFS block. When you load a partitioned table to memory,
the partitioning information is retained, and the result is a partitioned in-memory
table.

See Also
Partition Tables on page 78

Restrictions
The following restrictions apply to using SAS Data in HDFS libraries with SAS
Visual Data Builder:
n You cannot specify a SAS Data in HDFS library as an input library because

the SAS Data in HDFS engine is a Write-only engine.

n The Append data check box on the Properties tab is disabled. The SAS

Data in HDFS engine does not support appending data.

n If you specify a SAS Data in HDFS library as an output library, you cannot

view the results on the Results tab because the SAS Data in HDFS engine
is a Write-only engine.

Using SAS LASR Analytic Server Libraries

Default Library
During installation, the SAS Deployment Wizard registers a predefined library for
SAS LASR Analytic Server. This library is available for use in the SAS Folders
tree, and it is located in /Shared Data/SAS Visual Analytics/Public/
Visual Analytics Public LASR.

78 Chapter 15 / Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server

Input Libraries
When you select a SAS LASR Analytic Server table as an input table for a data
query, be aware of the following best practices if the table is large. If the table is
not large, then using it for input requires no special considerations.
Here are the considerations for using a large SAS LASR Analytic Server table as
an input table:
n A WHERE clause is processed in memory by the server if no aggregations or

joins are used. Specify a filter on the Where tab so that you use only the
rows that you want.
n Instead of using a data query (which transfers the data from the server to the

SAS Workspace Server and then performs the join), you can create a LASR
star schema. The LASR star schema performs the join in memory with other
in-memory tables.

Output Libraries
A SAS LASR Analytic Server library is initially configured as the default output
library. When you run a data query, click
table immediately.

Explore Results to explore the

You can select the Append data check box on the Properties tab to add rows
to an in-memory table. However, this option is not available if you use a SAS
Data in HDFS library as a staging library. Instead, for deployments that use
HDFS, you can use the data query to append rows, and then save the inmemory table to HDFS.

Partition Tables
When you specify a SAS LASR Analytic Server or SAS Data in HDFS library as
an output library, you can specify a partition key for the table. You can select a
column to use from the Partition by menu.
Partitioning uses the formatted values of the partition key to group rows that
have the same value for the key. All of the rows that have the same value for the
key are loaded to a single machine in the cluster. For SAS LASR Analytic Server
libraries, this means that the rows that have the same value for the key are in
memory on one machine. For SAS Data in HDFS libraries, all of the rows that
have the same value for the key are written to a single file block on one
machine. (The block is replicated to other machines for redundancy.) When the
partitioned table is loaded onto a server, the partitioning remains when it is in
memory.
If you select a partition key and also specify sort options for columns on the
Column Editor tab, the sort options are passed to the current engine in an
ORDERBY= option. This enhancement applies to SAS LASR Analytic Server
and SAS Data in HDFS libraries and can improve performance once the data is
in memory.
When you specify a partition key, avoid using a variable that has few unique
values. For example, partitioning by a flag column that is Boolean results in all

Load a Table (As Is) to SAS LASR Analytic Server 79

rows on two machines because only two values are available. At the other end
of the spectrum, partitioning large tables by a nearly unique key results in many
partitions that have few rows.
Determining the optimal partition key can be a challenging task. However, as an
example, if you tend to access data based on a customer ID, then you might
improve performance by partitioning the data by customer.

See Also
SAS LASR Analytic Server: Reference Guide

Load a Table (As Is) to SAS LASR Analytic

Server
The data builder is typically used to perform basic data preparation. However,
there are cases when a table is already prepared for analysis. In these cases,
you can load a table to memory on SAS LASR Analytic Server without any
modification.
To load a table into memory on a SAS LASR Analytic Server:
1 Use the SAS Folders tree to locate the table.

TIP You can also click

, and search for the table by name and location.

2 Select the table, right-click, and select Load a Table.

3 The fields in the Source Table section are filled automatically.

Specify the following settings in the dialog box:

Table 15.1

Load a Table Dialog Box Properties

Field

Description

Name

Enter the name to use for the table. This

field is initially set to the same name as
the source table. This name is
registered in metadata with the SAS
LASR Analytic Server library.

Description

Enter a description of the data. This

description is displayed by SAS clients
such as SAS Visual Analytics Explorer.

Location

This field is initially set to a default

folder. Click Browse, and select a folder
to use for the table metadata.

Library

This field is initially set to a default

library. Click Browse, and select the
SAS LASR Analytic Server library to
use with the table.

80 Chapter 15 / Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server

4

Click OK.

Save an In-Memory Table to SASHDAT

Note: Not all deployments include SASHDAT.
To save an in-memory table to SASHDAT:
1 Select LASR Save a SASHDAT Table.
2 Next to the Name field, click

to select the SAS LASR Analytic Server

table.
3 In the SASHDAT Table section, make any necessary changes to the

Location and Library fields.

Note: The data builder is initially configured to use the Visual Analytics
Public LASR library and Visual Analytics Public HDFS library. If you specify
different libraries, then make sure that you understand how the path in HDFS
is related to the server tag for the SAS LASR Analytic Server library. For
more information, see SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide.
4 (Optional) Specify options in the Properties panel. By default, the data

builder replaces the table if it already exists. You can specify the number of
redundant copies to save.
5 Click
6 Click

, and make any necessary changes.

to save the table.

Note: The table is saved with the user ID of the user that started the SAS LASR
Analytic Server.

Appending In-Memory Tables

How Does Appending In-Memory Tables Work?
The data builder provides a very convenient way to add incremental data into a
single table. For example, if sales data is loaded into memory on a daily
schedule, you can append the numerous daily tables into a separate table that
contains the cumulative sales data.
For the purpose of comparison, you can create a data query to append to an inmemory table with a data query. One reason to append entire tables is that you
can also access the tables individually.

Append In-Memory Tables

To append in-memory tables:
1

Select LASR Append Tables.

Appending In-Memory Tables

2

81

Select the table that you want to append data to from the Available tables
list, and click
to move it to the Base table field.
If the table that you want to use is not listed, click
to view a different
source library. If a table is added to the library after you click , then the list
does not automatically refresh to show the new table. Select the same library
again to refresh its contents.

3 Add tables to the Source tables list. These are the tables that have the rows

to append to the base table.

4

(Optional) If you select the Unload source tables after appending them to
the base table check box, then the source tables are dropped from memory
after the append completes.
Select this option only if you do not want to access the source tables
individually.

Click

6 Click

, and specify a name and location.

to append the source tables.

Note: If an administrator reloads the base table, any data that you previously
appended to the table will not be saved. The base table will go back to its
original content and size.
Note: If the append fails and you get an error message that says that the file is
read-only, in some cases it could mean that your administrator has indicated the
fullcopyto= option for the table. You cannot append to a table that includes
this option. Contact your administrator for more information.

How Are Tables Used?

Source Tables
The following list identifies the considerations for source tables:
n The source tables and base table must be in-memory and in the same

library.
n The source tables can be LASR star schema views. However, the base table

cannot be a view.
n If you append tables with character columns of different lengths, then the

length of the column in the base table takes precedence. For example, if you
have a column in the base table that is 15 characters and a column in the
source table is 20 characters, the data from the source tables column is
truncated to 15 characters.
n If the base table is partitioned, then the source tables must be partitioned on

the same variables.

n If the base table has a column that is not present in a source table, then the

rows in the source table receive a missing value for the column that is not
present in the source table.
n If a source table has columns that are not present in the base table, then the

columns are dropped and are not appended to the base table. The base
table always maintains the same number of columns.

82 Chapter 15 / Working with SAS LASR Analytic Server

n The order of the columns in a source table does not need to match the order

of the columns in the base table.

n The data builder does not prevent you from appending the same source table

more than once. Review the source table list to ensure you did not
accidentally use a source table more than once.

Conserving Memory
After you append the source tables, the base table grows to accommodate the
additional rows. This consumes memory on the SAS LASR Analytic Server.
If you do not need to access the source tables after appending them, then you
can select the Unload source tables after appending them to the base table
check box. This option conserves memory, but you must ensure that the source
tables are loaded to memory again (often with newer data) before you can run
the append again.

Monitor Memory Usage

A memory gauge is visible in the menu bar that shows the amount of physical
memory that is used on the server.
The server rejects requests to add tables or append rows when 80% or more of
the memory is used. (The default value for the server is 75%. SAS Visual
Analytics deployments set the value at 80%.) System administrators can specify
a different value for the server with SAS Management Console.
For non-distributed deployments, the 80% threshold applies to the single
machine. For distributed deployments, the 80% threshold is evaluated for each
machine in the cluster.
If the threshold is crossed, the operation fails, and the Messages tab includes
an error that is similar to the following example:
ERROR: A server-side limit on the consumption of memory resources
has been reached. These limits can be adjusted by the owner or by
the administrator of the LASR Analytic Server.

In some deployments with limited network bandwidth, the data builder cannot
communicate with the SAS LASR Analytic Server monitor, and the memory
gauge fails to appear.

See Also
SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide

83

16
Importing SAS Information Maps
About SAS Information Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Import a SAS Information Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Limitations and Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

About SAS Information Maps

A SAS Information Map is descriptive information that is used by many SAS
solutions and Business Intelligence products. An information map is applied to
the data sources in your data warehouse to describe the structure and content of
data. An information map does not contain any physical data. Information maps
provide business users with a user-friendly way to understand data so that they
can perform data queries and get results for themselves.
SAS Information Maps are created with either SAS Information Map Studio or
the INFOMAPS procedure. SAS Visual Data Builder cannot create, edit, or save
an information map. However, the data builder can import the business logic
from a relational information map and represent it as an SQL query.

See Also
Base SAS Guide to Information Maps

Import a SAS Information Map

To import a SAS Information Map:
1

Use the SAS Folders tree to locate the map (

).

Select the map, right-click, and select Import Query.

A new data query is created with the same name as the map. The output
table is automatically set with the same name as the map.

The business logic is imported from the map and represented as an SQL query
on the Code tab.

84 Chapter 16 / Importing SAS Information Maps

TIP If you want to join a table, then save the data query, create a new data
query, and add it as a subquery.

See Also
Chapter 18, Customizing Code, on page 87

Limitations and Restrictions

SAS Visual Data Builder has the following limitations and restrictions for working
with information maps:
n The data builder can use information maps that are based on relational

tables. Information maps that are based on OLAP cubes cannot be used.
n The information map cannot use more than 50 physical tables. A table that is

used more than once in a self join counts as one physical table.
n The information map cannot use more that 5000 physical columns. A column

that is used in more than one data item counts as one physical column.
n Prompts are not supported. Even if a prompt has a default value, the default

value is not included.

n Data items that are based on business data are not supported. For example,

the equation Dataitem1 = Year + 2 (where Year is a data item) is not

included in the data query.
n Data items that are based on physical columns are not supported. For

example, the equation Dataitem2 = FirstName || LastName (where

FirstName and LastName are columns) is not included in the data query.
n The output table is automatically named with the same name as the map.

The name field is limited to 32 characters.

85

17
Supporting Text Analysis
Features Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Load a Stop List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Add a Unique Numeric Key to a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Features Overview
SAS Visual Analytics can perform text analysis with the explorer. To enable text
analysis, perform the following data administration tasks with the data builder:
n Load a stop list to filter out commonly used words.
n Add a numeric key to existing tables that have unstructured text.
n Acquire Twitter data to analyze tweet trends. For more information about

Twitter, see Chapter 6, Importing Data from Other Sources, on page 29.

Load a Stop List

A stop list is a table of words that you want to ignore in your text analysis. By
eliminating some commonly used words, such as the various forms of the verb
to be, you can filter out noise from your analysis. SAS Visual Analytics
supports text analysis in English and German, and includes stop lists for both
languages.
To load a stop list:
1 Select Tools Load Text Analytics Stop List.
2

Make changes to the location and library if necessary. Each stop list must be
stored in its own metadata folder.
A table named ENGSTOPL or GRMSTOPL is registered in the location and
library that you specified.

Click OK.

SAS Visual Analytics supports one stop list for each SAS LASR Analytic Server.
You load the stop list (which is a table) to memory by performing the previous
steps. If more than one library is registered for SAS LASR Analytic Server, then

86 Chapter 17 / Supporting Text Analysis

you can use any one of them. If you load a stop list more than once or use more
than one library, then the server uses the last stop list that was loaded to
memory.

Add a Unique Numeric Key to a Table

In the case where your data already includes unstructured text that you want to
analyze, the data builder can add a unique numeric key as a column in the table.
For example, many data tables include a text column for comments. Using text
analysis, you can look for trends or themes within these comments. The text
analysis in SAS Visual Analytics requires a unique numeric key to reference the
data sources.
To add a unique numeric key to a table:
1

Create a new data query.

2 Add the columns to include in the text analysis by clicking the column name

in the table in the workspace.

3

In the Column Editor, right-click on the first row in the table, and select Add
Generated Key Column.
A column that is named GENERATED_ID is added to the table.

4 Specify an output table, library, and location.

5 Save and run the data query.

When you run the data query, the GENERATED_ID column begins at zero and
increments for each row in the source table. If you select the Append data
check box on the Properties tab, then the data query increments from the
current maximum value.
If the data that you want to use is already in memory on SAS LASR Analytic
Server, then performing the previous steps results in the following sequence of
data movements:
n The data is read from memory on SAS LASR Analytic Server and transferred

to the SAS Application Server.

n The data query runs and adds the generated key column.
n The data is transferred back to SAS LASR Analytic Server in a new table.

You can avoid these data movements by adding the generated key column
before loading the table to memory on SAS LASR Analytic Server.

87

18
Customizing Code
Use the Code Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Preprocess and Postprocess Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Considerations for Manually Editing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Before You Manually Edit Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Table and Column Metadata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Input and Output Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Output and Staging Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Validate Custom Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89

Use the Code Tab

You can click the Code tab to view the SQL statements that are generated by
the data preparation expressions on the Design tab.
You can also use the Code tab to enter custom code.
n The Preprocess and Postprocess views enable you to enter SAS

statements that are run before and after the data query runs.
n The All Code view shows the generated SQL statements. Click

to unlock
the view so that you can manually edit all of the SAS statements for the data
query. After you have unlocked the view, the button icon changes to .

After you have unlocked the view, you cannot continue using the Design tab to
edit the data query, and the Preprocess and Postprocess views are disabled.
However, if you have not saved your changes to the code, you can click
able to use the Design tab.

to be

Preprocess and Postprocess Code

In some cases, you might want to assign SAS options, load format catalogs, use
LIBNAME statements, or run macros before running a data query. You can
unlock the code to enter the statements, but that prevents you from using the
Design tab. However, the Preprocess view or Postprocess view might enable
you to supplement the data query while using the code generation features of
the Design tab.

88 Chapter 18 / Customizing Code

Any SAS statements that you enter in the Preprocess view or Postprocess
view are included in the All Code view.

Considerations for Manually Editing Code

Before You Manually Edit Code
The code generation features in SAS Visual Data Builder can generate a lot of
SAS statements with a few simple clicks. Depending on your needs, you might
benefit by using the Design tab for adding input tables, performing joins, and
filtering data before you customize the generated code.
The following features and settings must be specified before you unlock the
code:
Unique values
Selecting this check box determines whether the DISTINCT keyword is
included in the generated PROC SQL statement. After you unlock the code,
the check box cannot be used to include the keyword.
Append data
Selecting this check box enables you to use the generated SAS statements
for appending data to the output table before you unlock the code.
Output table
You must specify the table name, location, and library, and you must save the
data query before you unlock the code. When you save the data query, the
metadata for the table is registered.
Use a staging table
Selecting this check box registers the metadata for the table when you save
the data query. Select the check box, specify the library, and save before you
unlock the code.

Table and Column Metadata

After unlocking the code and saving it, the columns in the output table are
removed from metadata. This is because the data builder uses the columns
selected on the Design tab to create column metadata, and those column
selections are no longer available after you unlock the view on the Code tab.
When you run the unlocked data query, the column metadata is registered as
part of running the code. However, the columns might not be visible in the data
builder immediately because the table metadata (without any columns) is
cached in the application.

Input and Output Libraries

When you unlock the code for manual editing, you must specify the libraries to
use for your tables. You can do this with LIBNAME statements. If you dragged
and dropped the tables onto the workspace before you unlocked the code for
manual editing, then the LIBNAME statements for the tables are automatically
included.

Considerations for Manually Editing Code

89

See Also

SAS Statements: Reference

SAS/ACCESS for Relational Databases: Reference

Output and Staging Tables

Specify the table names, locations, and libraries on the Outputs tab just as you
do on the Design tab.
Note: Specify the tables and save the data query before you unlock the code. If
you do not specify the table name or the table name is already in use, then you
are not able to save the data query.

See Also
SAS Language Interfaces to Metadata

Validate Custom Code

If you entered SAS statements in the Preprocess or Postprocess view, then
those statements are not validated when you click
If you unlock the code in the All Code view, then the
cannot validate customized code.

.
button is disabled. You

90 Chapter 18 / Customizing Code

91

19
Scheduling
About Scheduling Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
How Does the Scheduling Feature Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Edit Data Queries That Are Already Scheduled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Stop Scheduled Data Queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Caution about Scheduling Data Queries to Run Now . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Scheduling Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
When Are the Scheduling Preferences Used? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Creating Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Why Use Events? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Time Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a File Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

94
94
95
96

Export Data Queries as Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Additional Scheduling Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

About Scheduling Data Queries

How Does the Scheduling Feature Work?
When you have a data query open in the workspace, you can click
to
schedule the data query. When you schedule a data query, the data builder
performs the following operations:
1 Creates a job that performs the data query operations.
2 Creates a deployed job from the job.
3 Places the job into a new deployed flow.
4 Schedules the flow on a scheduling server.

You can schedule the data query based on specified conditions (for example,
run immediately or run whenever a trigger condition is met).
The job, deployed job, and deployed flow are metadata objects. The data builder
stores them in the same metadata folder with the data query. The metadata
objects are named based on the following pattern:
vdb_name_timestamp

Note: Up to 42 characters from the data query name are used as the name.

92 Chapter 19 / Scheduling
When the specified conditions are met, the data query is run with the user ID
that scheduled it. This is the behavior for the Operating System Services
Scheduler.

Edit Data Queries That Are Already Scheduled

If you edit a data query that is already scheduled, you must click
again so
that the SAS statements for the data query are regenerated and saved.

Stop Scheduled Data Queries

To stop a scheduled data query and prevent it from running, you must delete the
trigger that is associated with it. To stop a scheduled data query by deleting the
associated trigger, perform the following steps:
1 Open the data query that you want to edit.
2

In the workspace, click

to open the Schedule window.

Select the trigger that you want to delete, and then click Delete.

4 If you deleted the last trigger in the list, you must perform one of the following

steps in order to proceed:

n Create a new trigger by clicking New Time Event.
n Run the query immediately by selecting Run now.
5

Click OK.

In the workspace, click

7 Click

to save.

to run.

Note: If you deleted all of the triggers and then selected Run now, the
scheduled data query no longer runs but it will still exist in the SAS Management
Console. To permanently delete the scheduled data query, you must use the
SAS Management Console. For more information, see the Deleting Jobs and
Flows topic in Scheduling in SAS.

Caution about Scheduling Data Queries to Run

Now
When you schedule a data query, one of the options is to run it immediately.
Select Run now in the Schedule window.
Performing the following steps results in an error condition:
1

Use a SAS data set for the output table of the data query.

2 Run the data query.

3

Click the Results tab to look at the output.

4 Schedule the data query by selecting Run now.

These steps result in an error condition because SAS unlocks a SAS data set
when it is opened for reading. When step 3 is performed, the output table is

About Scheduling Data Queries

93

locked, and no other process can overwrite the output table. The following
message is included in the SAS log:

Locked Error Message

ERROR: A lock is not available for OUTPUTTABLE.
ERROR: Lock held by process xxxx.

You can avoid this error condition. If you want to schedule the data query to run
now, then close it, open it again, and schedule it to run now. Alternatively, you
can schedule the data query to run in the future and then close the data query.

Scheduling Preferences
Default Scheduling Server
By default, your deployment includes a server that is named Operating
System Services hostname.example.com. This server is used as the
default scheduling server.
Use the Server Manager plug-in to SAS Management Console to identify the
scheduling servers that are included in your deployment. You can specify a
different scheduling server in your application preferences. Any data queries that
you schedule after you specify a different scheduling server will use the new
scheduling server.
Some deployments include the Platform Suite for SAS server. To use this server,
change the scheduling server. The default name is Platform Process
Manager.
In all cases, when you schedule a new data query, the data builder retrieves
your default scheduling server, and uses that value to look up the scheduling
server in SAS metadata. The data builder uses the first server that matches the
value in SAS metadata. Including the host name, such as Operating System
Services hostname.example.com ensures that the data builder uses the
server that you specify.

Default Batch Server

By default, your deployment includes a server that is named SASApp SAS
DATA Step Batch Server. This server is used as the default batch server.
You can specify a different batch server in your application preferences.
Consider the following before you change the default batch server:
n The batch server must be registered in metadata as a component of a SAS

Application Server that you can access.

n You must specify the same SAS Application Server as your default

application server in your preferences.

As with the default scheduling server, the data builder retrieves your default
batch server, and uses that value to look up the batch server in SAS metadata
the first time you schedule the data query. The data builder uses the first server
that matches the value in SAS metadata.

94 Chapter 19 / Scheduling
If you have multiple server contexts and each context has its own batch servers,
then you should specify in preferences the servers that you want to use.

Default Deployment Directory

A deployment directory is a SAS metadata object that represents the following
items:
n the name of the SAS Application Server with which the deployment directory

is associated. The default value is SASApp.

n a name for the deployment directory. The default value is Batch Jobs.
n the path to the deployment directory. The default value is SAS-config-dir/

Lev1/SASApp/SASEnvironment/SASCode/Jobs.

When you schedule a data query, the SAS statements for the data query are
saved in a file. The file is saved in the path that is associated with the
deployment directory. The file is named based on the same pattern that is
described in How Does the Scheduling Feature Work? on page 91.
The data builder looks up the SAS Application Server in the SAS Metadata
Server using your scheduling server preference setting. The initial value is
SASApp. If a matching server name is not found, then the data builder uses the
first application server that is returned. After the server is determined, the data
builder looks up the deployment directory in that server context that matches
your scheduling server preference setting. If a matching deployment directory is
not found, then the data builder uses the first deployment directory that is
returned.
You can specify a different name for the default deployment directory. For more
information about deployment directories and using the Server Manager plug-in
to SAS Management Console, see Scheduling in SAS.

When Are the Scheduling Preferences Used?

Any of the preferences that you change are used the next time you create a data
query and schedule it. If you edit an existing data query that is already
scheduled, then the existing settings for the scheduling server, batch server, and
deployment directory are not updated with the changes. To change the settings
for existing data queries that are already scheduled, use SAS Management
Console to redeploy the deployed job for the data query.

Creating Events
Why Use Events?
Events specify conditions that must be met before a step in the flow can take
place. You can use SAS Visual Data Builder to create two types of events.
n Time events are evaluated based on a specified time being reached.

Note: You can specify multiple time events. However, the Operating System
Services Scheduler (the default scheduler) can use only one of the time
events.
n File events are evaluated based on the state of a specified file.

Creating Events 95

You can create file events if your deployment includes a scheduling server that
supports them, and the flow is deployed to that scheduling server. Time and file
events can be used as triggers (conditions that must be met in order to run a
flow on the scheduling server).

Create a Time Event

You can create a time event and use it as a trigger.
To create a time event:
1 In the Schedule window, select Select one or more triggers for this data

query, and then click New Time Event.

2

In the New Time Event window, specify whether the time event should
happen one time only or more than once. If the time event should happen
one time only, then specify the date and time for the time event.

3 If the time event should happen more than once, then select More than

once and then select a radio button for how often the time event should
repeat (such as hourly, weekly, or yearly).
4 Specify the details of when the time event should repeat. The specific fields

that are available depend on the recurrence interval that you select.
If you select Hourly, then the time is calculated from hour zero on a 24-hour
clock. For example, if you leave Interval hour set to 1, then the data query
runs at hour zero (midnight), and runs each hour. If you set Interval hour to
2, then the data query runs every other hour, and the Offset hour specifies
whether to run on the even hours (when set to 0) or on the odd hours (when
set to 1). In this case, the Offset hour specifies the offset from hour zero
(midnight).
If the recurrence interval requires you to select start times, then use the
Hours and Minutes check boxes to select the times. The Minutes area
contains groupings of 10-minute intervals. Selecting a check box for a minute
grouping selects all of the minutes in that grouping.
TIP The following display is available after selecting More than once and

then Daily on the New Time Event window.

To select individual minutes, expand the grouping.

96 Chapter 19 / Scheduling

If you select multiple values for Hours, then all of the selections for Minutes
apply to all of the selected values. For example, if you select 19:00 (07:00
PM) and 22:00 (10:00 PM) for Hours, and 43 for Minutes, then the time
event is scheduled for 19:43 and 22:43.

The Duration in minutes field is used to specify the maximum number of

minutes after the specified time has been reached that the dependency is
kept in an open state. This value is used when a job has multiple
dependencies. It specifies a window of time in which the time event remains
open so that other events can also be met.
For example, a query is specified to run only if a file event and a time event
are both met. The time event has a value for Duration in minutes of 10.
When the time specified for the time event is reached, the query runs if the
file event is met at any time up to 10 minutes later.

6 If needed, specify the start date and end date for the time event. The default

is to start at the current date and time and not to have an end date.

Create a File Event

You can create a file event and use it as a trigger. The file event can check for
various file conditions, such as its existence, size, or age.
Note: Not all scheduling servers support file events. Platform Suite for SAS
servers do support file events. The New File Event button that is used to create
a file event is available only when the scheduling server supports file events.
To create a file event:
1 In the Schedule window, select Select one or more triggers for this data

query, and then click New File Event.

Additional Scheduling Resources

2

97

In the New File Event window, specify or select the file to use for the file
event.

3 Select the condition to evaluate the file to make the file event true. For

example, if you selected not exist for the condition, the file event would be
true only if the selected file was not in the specified location.
4 If needed, specify the details (such as size or age) about the condition.

Export Data Queries as Jobs

For deployments that include SAS Data Integration Studio and prefer to deploy
jobs, create flows, and schedule flows manually, you can export a data query as
a job, and then perform the deployment steps.
This feature enables you to work with a data query interactively while you create
it, and then you can export the data query as a job for automating the
operations. After the job is exported, you can deploy the job for scheduling with
SAS Data Integration Studio. For more information about deploying jobs, see
Scheduling in SAS.
After a job is stored in metadata, you can open the job with SAS Data Integration
Studio and edit it. This might be necessary if you need to add or remove
columns or change the column expression in a calculated column.
If the deployment does not include SAS Data Integration Studio, then you can
modify the data query and export it as a job again. However, you cannot
overwrite job objects in metadata with the data builder. If you need to delete
objects from metadata (such as jobs, libraries, or tables), use SAS Management
Console.
To export a data query as a job:
1

Use the SAS Folders tree to locate the data query.

2 Select the data query, right-click, and select Export as a job.

3

In the Export as a Job window, enter a name and specify a location. Click
Export.

Additional Scheduling Resources

SAS Visual Data Builder provides an easy-to-use method for taking a data query
and making it available for scheduling as a flow. In addition, the Schedule
Manager plug-in to SAS Management Console provides additional resources for
managing deployed flows, job dependencies, and scheduling servers.
For users that are familiar with the Schedule Manager plug-in, be aware that the
data builder does not support scheduling a data query without a trigger. In the
Schedule Manager plug-in, this option is specified as the Manually to the
scheduling server condition. If this is your preferred method for scheduling, you
can use the Schedule Manager plug-in to modify the flow for the scheduled data
query. If you use the data builder to schedule the data query afterward, the

98 Chapter 19 / Scheduling
setting is lost and you must repeat your steps with the Schedule Manager plugin.

See Also
Scheduling in SAS

99

20
Using the Results Tab
About the Results Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Data Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Navigate within the Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Find . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Filter and Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Export Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Column Headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

About the Results Tab

After you have created your data query and clicked , it runs, and you are
prompted to determine whether you want to view the results.
If you click Yes, then the data builder retrieves the data and shows you the
results on the Results tab.
Note: For large data sets, retrieving and displaying the data can take a long
time.

Data Pages
When you view data, a SAS server retrieves the data from the data set. Instead
of returning all of the data, the data viewer requests a page of data. You can set
the page size to between 20 and 2000 rows.
A slider is provided at the bottom of the Results tab so that you can navigate
through the pages and browse the entire data set.

100 Chapter 20 / Using the Results Tab

Navigate within the Data

Navigate to a row in the table by entering the row number in the Go to row field.
The Go to first row and Go to last row buttons provide navigation to the first
and last rows of the table.

Find
Search for text or numbers in the data set by clicking , typing in the Find field,
and pressing Enter. The find feature searches through the rows in the data set
for the value, and it highlights the first row with the value. You can navigate
through the results by clicking Find next and Find previous.
Click

to set options. The following list identifies the options:

n Options tab
o

Exactly matches the specified string

Contains the specified string (default setting)

Starts with the specified string

Case sensitive

Trim leading and trailing spaces (default setting)

n Columns tab

Enable and clear check boxes to specify the columns to search.

Filter and Sort

Sort the data by clicking , and then choosing the columns and sort order. The
Generated SQL statement field shows the sort criteria.
Filter the data by clicking

, and setting the following options:

n The Sample tab is used to limit the number of rows to return or to select

distinct values.
n The Row Filter table is used to subset data with a WHERE clause. You can

filter on the values in multiple columns, set ranges for numeric values, and
use IN and NOT IN criteria for character values. If the number of distinct
values is less than 50, then you can select check boxes for the values. If
there are more than 50 distinct values, then you must enter the values to use
for filtering.
n The Column Filter tab is used to select the columns to display.

Column Headings

101

Export Data
You can save the data that you view as a comma-separated values file. After
you click , you can choose to export the rows on the current data page, all of
the rows, or a range of rows. The export feature has a limit of exporting 200,000
rows.
If you choose to export all of the data or a range of rows, then you must click
Retrieve Data before you can click Export as CSV.

Column Headings
Use the Headings menu to control the appearance of the column headings. You
can view the column name from the data set, the column label from the data set,
or a combination of the two. If a column does not have a label in the data set,
then the column name is used.

102 Chapter 20 / Using the Results Tab

103

Part 4
Exploring Data
Chapter 21
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Chapter 22
Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 23
Managing Explorations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Chapter 24
Managing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 25
Working with Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

135

Chapter 26
Working with Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Chapter 27
Exporting Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Chapter 28
Managing Hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Chapter 29
Performing Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

104
Chapter 30
Sharing Comments in the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

105

21
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics
Explorer
What Is SAS Visual Analytics Explorer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
The Welcome Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Overview of the Welcome Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Create a New Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Open an Existing Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Your First Look at the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Manage Tabs in the Right Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

What Is SAS Visual Analytics Explorer?

SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer) is a component of SAS Visual
Analytics that enables you to explore your data sources. You can explore your
data by using interactive visualizations such as charts, histograms, and tables.
You can also apply data analysis such as forecasting, correlation, and fit lines.
Your work in the explorer is saved as a metadata object called an exploration.
An exploration (sometimes called a visual exploration) contains all of the
visualizations, data settings, and filters from your explorer session.
You can use the explorer to explore in-memory tables from the SAS LASR
Analytic Server. You can either open a table directly or you can open a saved
exploration.
If SAS Visual Statistics is licensed at your site, then you can perform statistical
modeling tasks in the explorer. For more information, see Chapter 32, Getting
Started with SAS Visual Statistics, on page 235.
You can export your exploration results as reports, which can be refined in SAS
Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) or viewed directly. Reports can be
viewed on a mobile device or in the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the viewer).
You can save your explorations as PDF documents, share your saved
explorations via e-mail, and export your visualizations as image files. You can
export the data from your visualizations to a data file that you can use in other
tools.
Note: Stored processes are not supported in the explorer.

106 Chapter 21 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

The Welcome Window

Overview of the Welcome Window
If you enter the explorer without a reference to a specific exploration, then the
Welcome window appears.
The Welcome window enables you to perform the following tasks:
n Create a New Exploration on page 106
n Open an Existing Exploration on page 106

Create a New Exploration

To create a new exploration, click Select a Data Source. The Open Data
Source window appears.
To open a data source that is already loaded, select the data source from the
Data Sources pane and then click Open. In the Search field, you can enter a
short string to find all of the data sources whose names, descriptions, or
locations begin with that string.
Note: You can also perform a search that matches a string anywhere in the
data source name, description, or location. Select the Search field, and then
press Ctrl + Down to switch the search to Search (contains).
To load a new data source, click one of the links in the Import Data pane. This
task is available only if you have the Import and Load Data capability.
For information about importing data, see Chapter 4, Importing Local Data
Files, on page 17, Chapter 5, Importing Data from Servers, on page 23, and
Chapter 6, Importing Data from Other Sources, on page 29.

Open an Existing Exploration

To open an existing exploration, you can either select from your recent
explorations, or select any exploration by clicking Browse to locate the
exploration.

Your First Look at the Explorer 107

Your First Look at the Explorer

Here are the main parts of the explorer user interface:
Figure 21.1

The Explorer User Interface

1 The application bar enables you to return to the home page and to access

other parts of SAS Visual Analytics and other SAS applications that integrate
with the home page. You can access your recently created or viewed reports,
explorations, stored processes, data queries, or other objects in your recent
history. Buttons are displayed for each open application.
2 The menu bar offers common tasks, such as creating a new exploration.
3 The toolbar enables you to manage your explorations and visualizations.
4 The Data pane enables you to manage the data that is used in your

visualizations.
5 The data properties table enables you to set data item properties.
6 The workspace displays one or more visualizations.

108 Chapter 21 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

7 The right panes tabs enable you to set properties and data roles, create

filters and ranks, set global parameter values, and use comments.
8 The dock contains any minimized visualizations.

Manage Tabs in the Right Pane

In the right pane, the following tabs can be displayed:
n

Roles

Filters

Ranks

Properties

Comments

Parameters

To hide a tab, click

beside the tab label.

To show a tab, select View tab-name from the main menu.

To display the full label name for each tab, select the
deselect Show icons only.

drop-down list, and then

You can reorder the tabs in the right pane by dragging and dropping them.

109

22
Specifying Preferences for SAS
Visual Analytics Explorer
Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Specify Your Preferences for the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Specify Global Preferences

See Specify Global Preferences on page 618 for details about global
preferences for SAS Visual Analytics.

Specify Your Preferences for the Explorer

Here are the steps to specify preferences that are specific to SAS Visual
Analytics Explorer (the explorer):
1 Select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.
2

Select SAS Visual Analytics Explorer Geographic Mapping.

Select the default Map provider mode for geographic maps. The map
provider creates the background map for geo maps and for network
diagrams that display a map.
Note: You can change the map provider for an individual visualization by
editing the Map service value on the Properties tab.

If your Map provider mode is Esri, then you must select the specific Esri
map service that you want to use.

5 Select SAS Visual Analytics Explorer Visualizations.

6

Select a Graph skin to change the visual effects that are applied to your
graphs. For example, many of the Graph skin settings apply lighting effects
to the features of your graph to create a 3-D appearance.

Select Visualization data threshold to specify the amount of data values

that your visualizations can process. The precise amount of data that is
supported varies depending on the visualization type. See Appendix 7, Data
Limits, on page 591.

110 Chapter 22 / Specifying Preferences for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

Note: A high value for Visualization data threshold might degrade your
application performance or lead to time-out errors.
8

Select Update automatically to specify whether new visualizations apply

your changes automatically.

9 To return to the default settings, select Reset to Defaults.

10 Click OK to apply your changes. Your preferences persist between sessions.

111

23
Managing Explorations
What Is an Exploration? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Create a New Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Save Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Delete Explorations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

What Is an Exploration?
An exploration (sometimes called a visual exploration) is a metadata object that
contains all of the visualizations and data settings from a SAS Visual Analytics
Explorer (the explorer) session. You can use explorations to save your session
for later and to share it with others.

Create a New Exploration

To create a new exploration, select File New Exploration from the menu bar.
The Open Data Source window appears. Select your data source, and then click
Open.

Save Your Exploration

To save your current exploration, select File Save As, and then select a
location and a name.

Delete Explorations
To delete an exploration, use the SAS Visual Analytics home page. See
Manage Content on the Classic Home Page on page 610.

112 Chapter 23 / Managing Explorations

113

24
Managing Data
Managing Data Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Overview of Managing Data Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Manage Data Properties for Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Select a Numeric Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Select a Date or Time Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Show and Hide Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Sort Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Group Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Assigning Colors for Category Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Add Additional Data Sources to Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Replace a Data Source in Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Remove a Data Source from Your Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Refresh Your Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Creating Custom Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
About Custom Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Create a Custom Category for a Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Create a Custom Category for a Category or a Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Working with Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
About Global Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Create a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Set the Value for a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Edit a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Delete a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Creating Calculated Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
About Calculated Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Create a Calculated Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Creating Aggregated Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Aggregated Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create an Aggregated Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Support for Aggregated Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

124
124
124
125

Creating Derived Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

About Derived Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Derived Item Types for Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Derived Item Types for Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Create a Derived Item for a Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Create a Derived Item for a Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

114 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

Support for Derived Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Explore Distinct Values in a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Editing a Calculated, Aggregated, or Derived Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Open the Editor Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify the Item Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit a Parameter Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add an Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Replace an Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delete Part of an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Subset an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit an Expression as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Display the Current Expression as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage the Scratch Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preview an Expression (Calculated Data Items Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

129
129
129
129
129
130
130
130
130
130
130
130
131

Delete a Calculated, Aggregated, or Derived Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Duplicate a Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Defining a Geography Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
About Geography Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Define a Geography Data Item By Using a Predefined Geographic Role . . . . . 132
Define a Geography Data Item By Using a Custom Geographic Role . . . . . . . . 133
Define Data Items for Text Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Managing Data Properties

Overview of Managing Data Properties
At any time after you have loaded a data source for your exploration, you can
modify the properties of the data items. The changes that you make are saved
as part of the exploration, but do not affect the original data source.
You can manage the properties for individual data items by using the Data pane
or manage the properties for all of your data items by using the Data Properties
window.

Manage Data Properties for Data Items

You can manage data properties by using the Data Properties window or by
using the properties table in the Data pane.
To access the Data Properties window, select Data Data Properties from the
menu bar.
For each data item, you can specify the following properties:
Name
specifies the name of the data item.
Classification
specifies whether the data item is a category, a measure, a document
collection, or a geography.

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115

Note: Changing the classification from a category to a measure or vice

versa does not change the data type of the data. You can change the data
type by using the Format and Parse operators in a calculated data item.
Model Type
specifies the type of data model for a measure or for a category with
datetime data. Select whether the data model is continuous or discrete.
The model type that you specify determines the type of data filters that you
can create for the data item.
Note: If you change the model type for a data item that is used in a filter,
then the filter is removed.
Format
specifies the data format for the data item.
See Select a Numeric Format on page 115 and Select a Date or Time
Format on page 115 for information about specifying formats.
Aggregation (for measures only)
specifies the method that is used to aggregate values for the measure. For a
list of the aggregations that you can choose, see Aggregations for
Measures on page 565.

Select a Numeric Format

Here are the steps to select a numeric format:
1 In the Data Properties window or in the property table in the Data pane, click

the format for the data item. A window appears.

2 Select the basic format type from the Format list.
3 Specify the Width parameter for the format. The width of the format specifies

the maximum number of characters that a value can contain, including

decimal points.
A preview of your format appears in the Sample field.
4

Specify the number of Decimals for the format. The Decimals value
specifies the number of digits that appear to the right of the decimal place.
A preview of your format appears in the Sample field.

Click OK to apply your format.

Note: You can restore the default format by clicking Reset to Default.

Select a Date or Time Format

Here are the steps to select a date or time format:
1

In the Data Properties window or in the property table in the Data pane, click
the format for the data item. A window appears.

Select the basic format type from the Format list.

If necessary, select a more specific format from the Sample list. The format
names also represent sample values for the format.

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4

Click OK to apply your format.

Note: You can restore the default format by clicking Reset to Default.
Note: Time and datetime values in the explorer ignore daylight-saving time.

Show and Hide Data Items

If your exploration contains a large number of data items, you might want to hide
the items that you are not interested in.
Here are the steps to select which data items that are shown in the Data pane:
1 Select Data Show or Hide Items from the menu bar. The Show or Hide

Items window appears.

2

Click Select All to select or deselect all of the data items, or click the check
box beside each data item to select whether that data item is shown.

Click OK to apply your changes.

Sort Data Items

To sort your data items in the Data pane, select
and then select Sort Items.
Select Ascending by Name or Descending by Name.
Note: The explorer uses the locale of the SAS LASR Analytic Server to sort
data items. For example, if you want to sort data items in the Swedish language,
then the table needs to be loaded into a LASR Analytic Server that is initialized
for the Swedish locale (sv_SE). Contact your system administrator for additional
assistance.

Group Data Items

To group your data items in the Data pane, select
Items. Select one of the following grouping types:

, and then select Group

By First Letter
groups by the first letter of the data item name.
By Data Type
groups by data type (date, numeric, or character).
By Model Type
groups by model type (continuous or discrete).
By Classification
groups by data classification (category, geography, hierarchy, measure, or
aggregated measure).
By Format
groups by data format (for example, $CHAR, Numeric, Percent, or
MMMYYY).
By Aggregation
groups measures by the default aggregation.
Note: The default grouping is By Classification.

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117

Assigning Colors for Category Values

About Colors
By default, the explorer assigns colors dynamically to category values for
grouped visualizations. You can assign specific colors to your category values to
ensure that the category values are always represented by a specific color.
Because the same assigned colors are used in every visualization, you can
easily compare values between visualizations.

Assign Colors for a Category

Here are the steps to set the colors for a category:
1

Right-click on a category from the Data pane, and then select Colors. A
color selection window appears.

2 For each category value to which you want to assign a color, select the value

from the Choose drop-down list, and then click the color box to select a
color. Click Apply to save your selection.
3

(Optional) To automatically assign persistent colors for all of the unassigned

category values, click Assign remaining. Colors are assigned to all of the
remaining category values. These colors are used consistently in all of your
visualizations.

Click OK to apply your changes.

Reset Colors for a Category

Here are the steps to reset the colors for a category:
1

Right-click on a category from the Data pane, and then select Colors. A
color selection window appears.

2 Click Reset all to clear all of the color assignments for the category.
3 Click OK to apply your changes.

Assign a Color for a Specific Category Value

Here are the steps to assign the color for a specific category value:
1

Within a grouped visualization, right-click on a data value, and then select

Change Color.

2 Click the color box to select the color.

3 Click OK to apply the new color. This color value is used consistently for the

selected category value in all of your visualizations.

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Add Additional Data Sources to Your

Exploration
At any time, you can add additional data sources to your exploration. To add a
data source to your exploration, select Data Add Data Source. In the Open
Data Source window, select or import the data source that you want to use, and
then click Open.
For information about importing data, see Chapter 4, Importing Local Data
Files, on page 17, Chapter 5, Importing Data from Servers, on page 23, and
Chapter 6, Importing Data from Other Sources, on page 29.
The new data source is selected automatically in the Data pane. You can use
the drop-down list in the Data pane to select which data source you want to use.
Note: Each visualization in your exploration is associated with a specific data
source. By default, a new visualization uses the data source that is selected in
the Data pane when the visualization is created. For an empty visualization with
no ranks or filters, you can add data items from any data source to change the
data source.

Replace a Data Source in Your Exploration

At any time, you can replace a data source in your exploration with a different
data source. All of the visualizations, filters, and settings that used the previous
data source are applied to the new data source.
Here are the steps to replace a data source in your exploration:
1 In the Data pane, select the data source that you want to replace from the

drop-down list.
2 Select
3

, and then select Change Data Source.

In the Change Data Source window, select or import the data source that you
want to use.
Note: If any data items in the previous data source do not exist in the new
data source, then a message appears. Any data items that do not exist in the
new data source are removed from your exploration. Any filters, ranks, or
calculated items that are based on the removed data items are also
removed.

Click Change to add the new data source.

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119

Remove a Data Source from Your

Exploration
Here are the steps to remove a data source from your exploration:
1 On the Data pane, select the data source that you want to delete from the

drop-down list.
2 Select

, and then select Delete Data Source.

Note: You cannot delete the last remaining data source from an exploration.
3 Confirm that you want to delete the selected data source.

Note: Any visualizations, filters, ranks, or calculated items that are based on
the deleted data source are removed from your exploration.

Refresh Your Data Sources

At any time, you can refresh your data sources to include the latest changes.
To refresh your data sources, select Data Refresh All Data Sources.
Your visualizations are automatically updated with the refreshed data.

Creating Custom Categories

About Custom Categories
A custom category is a category data item that enables you to assign labels for
groups of values in an existing category or measure.
For example, if your data source contains a category with country names, you
might create a custom category to group the country names by continent. For a
measure, you might label three value ranges as Low, Optimal, and High.

Create a Custom Category for a Measure

Here are the steps to create a custom category for a measure:
1

Select Data New Custom Category.

Select the measure that you want to use for the custom category.

3 Specify the Name for the custom category.

4 Select whether the custom category uses Intervals or Distinct Values.
5

Specify the label groups for the custom category:

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a

As needed, click New label to add a new label group to the custom
category.

For each label group, click the label group heading (for example, Label1)
to specify the label text.
Note: The label text must use characters that are compatible with the
locale of the data source. If the data source uses Unicode, then your
labels can contain characters from any locale.

c For each label group, specify the values that are associated with the

label:
n For intervals, select

and specify the minimum and maximum

values for the interval.

n For distinct values, drag and drop values from the Values list onto the

label group.
6 Select one of the following options:

Group remaining values as

assigns a label to all values that are not included in your label groups.
The default label text is Other.
Show as missing
assigns all values that are not included in your label groups as missing
values.
7 Click OK. The new custom category is displayed in the Data pane.

Create a Custom Category for a Category or a

Date
Here are the steps to create a custom category for a category or a date:
1

Select Data New Custom Category.

2 Select the category or date that you want to use for the custom category.
3

Specify the Name for the custom category.

Specify the label groups for the custom category:

a As needed, click New label to add a new label group to the custom

category.
b For each label group, click the label group heading (for example, Label1)

to specify the label text.

Note: The label text must use characters that are compatible with the
locale of the data source. If the data source uses Unicode, then your
labels can contain characters from any locale.
c For each label group, specify the values that are associated with the

label.
Drag and drop values from the Values list onto the label group.
5

Specify the Options for remaining values.

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121

Select one of the following options:

Group remaining values as
assigns a label to all values that are not included in your label groups.
The default label text is Other.
Show as missing
assigns all values that are not included in your label groups as missing
values.
Show as is
retains the existing category value for all values that are not included in
your label groups.
6 Click OK. The new custom category is displayed in the Data pane.

Working with Global Parameters

About Global Parameters
Global parameters enable you to specify a variable whose value can be
changed globally at any time. You can use global parameters in filters,
calculated items, and aggregated measures.
If your selected visualization contains a data item or filter that uses a global
parameter, then the parameter appears on the Parameters tab. The same value
for the parameter is used globally in your exploration for all filters, calculated
items, and aggregations that include the parameter.
Note: Global parameters are shown on the Parameters tab only if a data item
or filter that uses the global parameter is used in the selected visualization.

Create a Global Parameter

You can create a global parameter during the process of editing a filter,
calculated item, or aggregated measure.
1

In the expression editor, right-click the Parameter heading in the Data Items
list, and then select Create Parameter.

Specify the Name of the parameter.

3 Specify the Type for the parameter. You can select either Numeric or

Character.
4 For character parameters, specify the Current value for the parameter.

For numeric parameters, specify the following:

Minimum value
specifies the minimum possible value for the parameter.
Maximum value
specifies the maximum possible value for the parameter.
Current value
specifies the current value for the parameter.

122 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

Format
specifies the data format for the parameter.
5

Click OK to save the parameter.

6 Finish editing your item. If you close the expression editor window without

saving, then your new parameter is not saved.

Set the Value for a Global Parameter

If your selected visualization contains a global parameter, then the parameter
appears on the Parameters tab.
For a numeric parameter, either drag the slider to adjust the value or click the
value below the slider to edit the value.
For a character parameter, enter the value in the text field.

Edit a Global Parameter

To edit the settings for a parameter, follow these steps:
1

On the Parameters tab, select the

then select Edit.

drop-down list for the parameter, and

For character parameters, specify the Current value for the parameter.
For numeric parameters, specify the following:
Minimum value
specifies the minimum possible value for the parameter.
Maximum value
specifies the maximum possible value for the parameter.
Current value
specifies the current value for the parameter.
Format
specifies the data format for the parameter.

3 Click OK to apply your changes.

Delete a Global Parameter

To delete a global parameter, follow these steps:
1 Edit a filter, calculated item, or aggregated measure.
2 In the Data Items list, right-click the parameter that you want to delete, and

then select Delete Parameter.

Note: You can delete a global parameter only if it is not used by any filters,
calculated items, or aggregated measures.
3

Finish editing your item, and then click OK.

Note: If you close the expression editor window without saving, then the
parameter is not deleted.

Creating Calculated Data Items

123

Creating Calculated Data Items

About Calculated Data Items
The explorer enables you to calculate new data items from your existing data
items by using an expression.
Note: All calculations are performed on unaggregated data. The calculation
expression is evaluated for each row in the data source before aggregations are
performed. To perform calculations on aggregated data, see Creating
Aggregated Measures on page 124.
In addition to performing mathematical calculations on numeric values, you can
use calculated data items to create character values and date and time values.
For example, if your data contains separate categories for month, day, and year,
then you can calculate a date value from each category.

Create a Calculated Data Item

Here are the steps to create a calculated data item:
1

Select Data New Calculated Item. The New Calculated Item window
appears.

Enter a Name for the calculated data item.

3 Select the data type for the calculated data item from the Result type drop-

down list.
Note: The data type is updated automatically based on the outermost
operator of your expression.
4 Build the expression for your calculated data item by dragging and dropping

data items, global parameters, and operators onto the expression in the right
pane. For each field in the expression, you can insert a data item, a global
parameter, an operator, or a specific value.
Note: You can double-click a data item in the Data Items pane to add it to
the first available parameter in the expression.
Note: Aggregated data items and derived data items are not supported for
calculation expressions.
When you drag and drop data items, global parameters, and operators onto
the expression, the precise location of the cursor determines where and how
the new element is added to the expression. As you drag the new element
over the expression, a preview appears, which displays how the expression
would change if you drop the element at the current location.
For example, if your current expression is ( Profit / Revenue ), and you
drag the x - y (subtract) operator over the open parenthesis symbol, then
the expression changes to ( [number] ( Profit / Revenue )). If
you drag the operator over the division symbol, then the expression changes
to ( Profit Revenue ).

124 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

There are a large number of operator types available to perform
mathematical functions, process datetime values, and evaluate logical
processing such as IF clauses. See Appendix 5, Operators for Data
Expressions, on page 567.
Note: You can also edit your expression as text. See Editing a Data
Expression in Text Mode on page 561.
5 When you are finished creating your expression, select the Default

aggregation for the calculated data item, and then click Select to choose the
data format.
6

Click Preview to see a preview of the calculated data item as a table. The
table displays the values of the calculated item and any data items that are
part of the calculation expression.

Click OK to create the new calculated data item. The new data item appears
in the Data Items pane.

Creating Aggregated Measures

About Aggregated Measures
Aggregated measures enable you to calculate new data items by using
aggregated values. For example, you might want to calculate a companys
profits by subtracting expenses from revenues.
Note: To calculate data items by using unaggregated values, see Creating
Calculated Data Items on page 123.
Aggregations are evaluated as part of the calculation expression. For each data
item in your expression, you can select the aggregation type and the context for
the aggregation.

Create an Aggregated Measure

Here are the steps to create an aggregated measure:
1

Select Data New Aggregated Measure. The New Aggregated Measure

window appears.

Enter a Name for the aggregated measure.

Build the expression for your aggregated measure by dragging and dropping
data items, global parameters, and operators onto the expression in the right
pane. For each field in the expression, you can insert a data item, a global
parameter, an operator, or a specific value.
Note: You can create a new calculated item to use in the aggregated
measure expression. Click New Calculated Item to create the new calculate
item.
When you drag and drop items, global parameters, and operators onto the
expression, the precise location of the cursor determines where and how the
new element is added to the expression. As you drag the new element over

Creating Aggregated Measures

125

the expression, a preview appears, which displays how the expression would
change if you drop the element at the current location.
There are a large number of operator types available to perform
mathematical functions and evaluate logical processing such as IF clauses.
See Appendix 5, Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567.
Note: You can also edit your expression as text. See Editing a Data
Expression in Text Mode on page 561.
4

For each data item in your expression, select an aggregation type. By

default, Sum is used for measures and Distinct is used for categories. To
select a new aggregation type, drag and drop an aggregated operator from
the Operators list onto the aggregation type in the expression. See Appendix
5, Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567 for a list of the aggregated
operators that are available.

For each aggregated operator in your expression, select the aggregation

context. A drop-down list beside each aggregation enables you to select one
of the following context values:
ByGroup
calculates the aggregation for each subset of the data item that is used in
a visualization. For example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with
the ByGroup context calculates a separate aggregated value for each
bar in the chart.
ForAll
calculates the aggregation for the entire data item (after filtering). For
example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with the ForAll context
uses the same aggregated value (calculated for the entire data item) for
each bar in the chart.
By using the ForAll and ByGroup contexts together, you can create
measures that compare the local value to the global value. For example, you
might calculate the difference from mean by using an expression like the
following:
Avg ByGroup(X) - Avg ForAll(X)

When you are finished creating your expression, click Select to choose the
data format.

7 Click OK to create the new aggregated measure. The new data item appears

in the Data Items pane.

Support for Aggregated Measures

Aggregated measures can be used in the following visualization types:
n Automatic Chart
n Crosstab
n Bar Chart
n Bubble Plot (grouped bubble plots only)
n Line Chart
n Treemap

126 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

n Geo Map

Creating Derived Items

About Derived Items
For the categories and measures in your exploration, you can create derived
data items. Derived data items are aggregated measures that perform
calculations for your data.

Derived Item Types for Categories

For categories, you can create the following types of derived items:
Distinct Count
displays the number of distinct values for the category that it is based on.
Count
displays the number of nonmissing values for the category that it is based on.
NMiss
displays the number of missing values for the category that it is based on.

Derived Item Types for Measures

For measures, you can create the following types of derived items:
Difference from Previous Parallel Period
Displays the difference between the value for the current time period and the
value for the previous parallel time period within a larger time interval. For
example, you might derive the difference between sales for the current
month and sales for the same month of the previous year.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Difference from Previous Period
Displays the difference between the value for the current time period and the
value for the previous time period. For example, you might derive the
difference between sales for the current month and sales for the previous
month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Percent Difference from Previous Parallel Period
Displays the percentage difference between the value for the current time
period and the value for the previous parallel time period within a larger time
interval. For example, you might derive the percentage difference between
sales for the current month and sales for the same month of the previous
year.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.

Creating Derived Items

127

Percent Difference from Previous Period

Displays the percentage difference between the value for the current time
period and the value for the previous time period. For example, you might
derive the percentage difference between sales for the current month and
sales for the previous month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Percent of Subtotals
For crosstabs only, displays the percentage of the subtotal value for the
measure on which it is based.
You can select whether to calculate the percentage of the subtotal value for
the rows in the crosstab or for the columns in the crosstab.
For example, you might calculate the percentage of the row subtotal value for
a measure that contains revenue values. The derived item displays the
percentage of the subtotal of revenues for each row in the crosstab.
Note: Percent of Subtotals can be created only from within a crosstab
visualization.
Percent of Total
Displays the percentage of the total value for the measure on which it is
based. For example, you might derive the percentage of the total value for a
measure that contains revenue values. If you create a bar chart by using the
derived item and a category that contains products, then the bar chart shows
the percentage of total revenue for each product.
Note: The percentage of the total value is relative to the subset of data that
is selected by your filters and ranks.
Period to Date
Displays the aggregated value for the current time period and all of the
previous time periods within a larger time interval. For example, you might
derive the year-to-date total for each month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Year over Year Growth
Displays the percentage difference between the current time period and an
equivalent time period from the previous year. For example, you might derive
the difference in sales between the current month and the same month of the
previous year.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Year to Date
Displays the aggregated value for the current time period and all of the
previous time periods within the year. For example, you might derive the
year-to-date total for each month.
The year-to-date calculation subsets the data for each year using todays
date (where today is evaluated each time you view the exploration). To use
all data for every period, use a Period to Date item or edit the expression for
the derived item.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.

128 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

Year to Date Growth
Displays the percentage difference between the year-to-date value for the
current time period and the year-to-date value for the same time period of the
previous year. For example, you might derive the difference in year-to-date
sales between the current month and the same month of the previous year.
The year-to-date calculation subsets the data for each year using todays
date (where today is evaluated each time you view the exploration). To use
all data for every period, use a Period to Date item or edit the expression for
the derived item.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not contain
a date data item that includes the year.
Note: The derived item types that aggregate values over time use periodic
operators. For information about using periodic operators, see Periodic
Operators on page 575.

Create a Derived Item for a Measure

You can create a derived item for a measure by using the Data pane or by
selecting a measure in a visualization.
To create a derived item from the Data pane, right-click the data item that the
derived item is based on, and then select Create item-type. If you select a
type that uses a date, select the date data item that is used for date calculations.
To create a derived item in a visualization, right-click a measure heading in the
visualization, and then select Create and Add item-type. If you select a type
that uses a date, select the date data item that is used for date calculations. The
derived item is added to the visualization automatically.
For a list of item types, see Derived Item Types for Measures on page 126.
The new derived item appears in the Data pane.

Create a Derived Item for a Category

To create a derived item for a category from the Data pane, right-click the
category, and then select Create item-type.
The new derived item appears in the Data pane.

Support for Derived Items

Derived items can be used in the following visualization types:
n Automatic Chart
n Crosstab
n Bar Chart
n Line Chart
n Bubble Plot (grouped bubble plots only)
n Network Diagram
n Geo Map
n Treemap

Editing a Calculated, Aggregated, or Derived Data Item

129

Explore Distinct Values in a Visualization

For a bar chart, line chart, treemap, or geo map that contains a distinct count
derived item, you can explore the distinct values that are associated with a data
point in the visualization. To explore the distinct values, right-click on a data point
in the visualization, and then select Explore Distinct Values. When you explore
the distinct values, a new bar chart is created. The new bar chart displays the
values and the frequency of each value.
For example, you might use a distinct count derived item to create a bar chart
that displays the number of cities where each product line is produced.
Then, you might want to explore the distinct values for City where Promotional
items are produced. By right-clicking on the bar for Promotional, and then
selecting Explore Distinct Values, you get a new bar chart that contains the
cities where promotional items are produced and the frequency of data for each
city.

Editing a Calculated, Aggregated, or

Derived Data Item
Open the Editor Window
To edit a duplicate data item, an aggregated measure, a calculated data item, or
a derived data item, rightclick the item in the Data pane, and then select Edit.
Note: You cannot edit a Percent of Total or Percent of Subtotals derived item.

Specify the Item Name

To specify the name for the item, enter a name in the Name field.

Edit a Parameter Value

To edit a parameter value for an operator, select the parameter, and enter a new
value. Or, right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a
data item or a global parameter.
To specify a missing value, enter a period (.) character.

Add an Operator
To add an operator to the expression:
1

From the Operators list, select the operator that you want to add. For a list of
the operators that are available, see Appendix 5, Operators for Data
Expressions, on page 567.

2 Drag and drop the operator onto the expression.

130 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

3

For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value. Or,
right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data item
or a global parameter.

Replace an Operator
To replace an operator, drag and drop a new operator onto the existing operator
in the expression. You can also right-click an operator in your expression, and
select Replace Operator with operator.

Add a Global Parameter

To add an existing global parameter to your expression, drag and drop the
parameter from the Data Items list onto your expression.
To create a new global parameter, in the expression editor, right-click the
Parameter heading in the Data Items list, and then select Create Parameter.
For more information about creating global parameters, see Working with
Global Parameters on page 121.

Delete Part of an Expression

To delete a part of an expression, highlight the part of the expression that you
want to delete, right-click, and then select Delete or Clear.

Subset an Expression
To subset an expression and delete the remainder:
1

Highlight the part of the expression that you want to keep.

2 Right-click, and select Keep Operand. The parts of the expression that were

not selected are removed.

Edit an Expression as Text

On the Text tab of the expression editor, you can edit an expression as text
code. See Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode on page 561.
Note: You can use the Text tab to copy and paste expressions between
explorations and reports.

Display the Current Expression as Text

To display the current expression as text on the Display Text tab, click the
drop-down list, and then select Show display text.

Manage the Scratch Area

The scratch area of the expression editor enables you to store elements of an
expression, and then add them back into the expression as needed.

Duplicate a Data Item 131

You can see the contents of the scratch area on the Scratch tab.
To move items to the scratch area, right-click part of the expression, and select
Move to Scratch Area. You can also drag and drop items from your expression
onto the Scratch tab.
To move an item from the scratch area to your expression, drag and drop the
item from the Scratch tab onto your expression.
To delete an item in the scratch area, click the

button next to the item.

Preview an Expression (Calculated Data Items

Only)
For calculated data items, you can preview the results of your expression by
clicking Preview Results.
You can preview the results of a subset of your expression by right-clicking a
part of your expression, and then selecting Preview Subexpression Results.
Previewing the results of subsets of your expression is useful for troubleshooting
if a complex expression does not return the expected result.

Delete a Calculated, Aggregated, or

Derived Data Item
To delete a duplicate data item, an aggregated measure, a calculated data item,
or a derived data item, right-click on the data item in the Data pane, and then
select Delete.
Note: If the deleted data item is used by a visualization, then a confirmation
message appears. The deleted item is removed from the visualization.
Note: You cannot delete a data item that is included in a hierarchy. You must
remove the data item from any hierarchies before you can delete it.

Duplicate a Data Item

Duplicate data items enable you to use multiple copies of a measure that have
different data formats or default aggregations. For example, you might want to
use the Minimum and Maximum aggregations for a data item in the same
visualization.
Here are the steps to duplicate a data item:
1

Right-click on a measure in the Data pane, and then select Duplicate Data
Item. The New Duplicate Item window appears.
Note: You can also invoke the New Duplicate Item window by dragging and
dropping the same data item onto a visualization more than once.

2 Enter a Name, a Format, and a Default aggregation for the duplicate data

item.

132 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

3

Click OK to create the duplicate data item.

Defining a Geography Data Item

About Geography Data Items
A geography data item is a category whose values are mapped to geographical
locations or regions. Geography data items can be used with geo maps and
network diagrams to visualize your data on a geographic map.
For example, if your data source contains a CountryName column that identifies
countries, then you might create a geography data item for CountryName by
using the predefined geographic role, Country or Region Names. See Define
a Geography Data Item By Using a Predefined Geographic Role on page 132.
You might create a customized geography data item to identify geographic
information that is specific to your organization (for example, sales regions,
warehouse locations, oil platforms, and so on). For each unique combination of
category values, latitude values, and longitude values, a point is plotted on the
geographic map. See Define a Geography Data Item By Using a Custom
Geographic Role on page 133.
Note: For predefined geographic roles, the values of your geography data items
must match the lookup values that are used by SAS Visual Analytics. To view
the lookup values, see http://support.sas.com/va72geo.

Define a Geography Data Item By Using a

Predefined Geographic Role
Here are the steps to define a geography data item by using a predefined
geographic role:
1 In the Data pane, locate a category that contains geographic information.
2

Right-click the category, select Geography, and then select the role type.
The role type can be any of the following:
Country or Region Names
specifies countries or regions by name.
Country or Region ISO 2-Letter Codes
specifies countries or regions by using two-letter country codes from the
ISO 3166-1 standard.
Country or Region ISO Numeric Codes
specifies countries or regions by using three-digit numeric country codes
from the ISO 3166-1 standard.
Country or Region SAS Map ID Values
specifies countries or regions by using the two-letter codes that are used
with the MAPSGFK library that is included with SAS/GRAPH.
Note: The two-letter SAS Map ID country values are identical to the ISO
31661 two-letter country codes.

Define Data Items for Text Analytics 133

Subdivision (State, Province) Names

specifies country subdivisions (for example, states and provinces) by
using the subdivision names.
Subdivision (State, Province) SAS Map ID Values
specifies country subdivisions (for example, states and provinces) by
using the two-letter codes that are used with the MAPSGFK library that is
included with SAS/GRAPH.
US State Names
specifies states and territories in the United States by using the state and
territory names.
US State Abbreviations
specifies states and territories in the United States by using two-letter
postal codes.
US ZIP Codes
specifies five-digit ZIP codes for the United States.
3

Click OK to apply your changes.

Define a Geography Data Item By Using a Custom

Geographic Role
Here are the steps to define a geography data item by using a custom
geographic role:
1 In the Data pane, locate a category that contains geographic information.
2 Right-click the category, and then select Geography Custom. The

Custom Geography window appears.

3 Specify the following:

Latitude
specifies a measure from your current data source that contains the
latitude (Y) coordinate values for the geographic role that you want to
define.
Longitude
specifies a measure from your current data source that contains the
longitude (X) coordinate values for the geographic role that you want to
define.
Coordinate Space
specifies the coordinate space (coordinate system) that is used to project
the longitude and latitude coordinate values.
4

Click OK to apply your changes.

Define Data Items for Text Analytics

To enable text analytics for the word cloud visualization:

134 Chapter 24 / Managing Data

1

Specify a data item as the unique row identifier for the exploration. You can
choose a category, a measure, or a calculated item. The unique row identifier
must have a unique value for each row of the data source.
TIP To determine whether the values of a category are unique, assign the
category to a bar chart with no measures. If the frequency of any value is
greater than one, then the category values are not unique. To determine
whether the values of a measure are unique, open the Measure Details
window, and then compare the Total Rows and Distinct Count statistics.
If the statistics are identical, then the measure values are unique.

Right-click the data item in the Data pane, and then select Set as Unique
Row Identifier.
Note: A nonunique row identifier can produce unreliable results.
2

Assign one or more categories to the Document Collection data role. Rightclick a category, and then select Document Collection.
Note: A document collection can be used in your visualizations the same
way a category is used.

135

25
Working with Visualizations
Overview of Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
About Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Visualization Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Working with Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Create a New Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Manage Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Arrange the Visualizations in the Workspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Use the Manage Visualizations Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Display Detailed Data for a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Change the Data Source for a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Control Visualization Data Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Manage Visualization Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Managing Visualization Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Add a Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Replace a Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Remove a Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Switch Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Work with Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Ranking Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Overview of Ranking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Create a New Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Delete a Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Managing Visualization Axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Lock an Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Adjust an Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Transfer Axis Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Working with Visualization Data Ranges and Color Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Support for Customized Data Ranges and Color Gradients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Specify a Custom Color Gradient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Specify a Custom Data Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Share a Color Gradient and Data Range between Visualizations . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Remove Customized or Shared Color Data Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Working with Data Brushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Overview of Data Brushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Enable Data Brushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

136 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Select Values in a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Working with Automatic Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Working with Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Managing Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

156
156
156
156
156

Working with Crosstabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

About Crosstabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Data Roles for a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Specify Properties for a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Managing Rows and Columns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Create a Hierarchy from a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Working with Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
About Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Data Roles for a Bar Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Specify Properties for a Bar Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Sort Data Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Working with Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Line Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Line Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sort Data Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

160
160
160
161
162
163

Working with Scatter Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About Scatter Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Scatter Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Scatter Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Applying Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

163
163
164
164
164

Working with Bubble Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About Bubble Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Bubble Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Bubble Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Animated Bubble Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

165
165
165
166
167

Working with Network Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

About Network Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Data Roles for a Network Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Specify Properties for a Network Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169
Arrange Nodes in a Network Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Use the Spotlight Tool to View Multiple Data Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Select Nodes in a Network Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Control the View of a Network Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Create a Hierarchy from a Network Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Working with Sankey Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
About Sankey Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Data Roles for a Sankey Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Specify Properties for a Sankey Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Managing the Path Selection for a Sankey Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Explore the Transaction Identifier Values for a Path Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Contents

137

Use the Spotlight Tool to View Multiple Data Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Display the Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zoom a Sankey Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pan (Scroll) a Sankey Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

178
178
178
178

Working with Histograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

About Histograms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Data Roles for a Histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Specify Properties for a Histogram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Working with Box Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
About Box Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Data Roles for a Box Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Specify Properties for a Box Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Working with Heat Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
About Heat Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Data Roles for a Heat Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Specify Properties for a Heat Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Applying Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Working with Geo Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Geo Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Geo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Geo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zoom a Geo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pan (Scroll) a Geo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

184
184
184
184
185
186

Working with Treemaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

About Treemaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Data Roles for a Treemap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Specify Properties for a Treemap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Create a Hierarchy from a Treemap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Working with Correlation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Correlation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Correlation Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Correlation Matrix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sort Correlation Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Explore the Data for a Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

187
187
188
188
188
189

Working with Decision Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About Decision Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Roles for a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Properties for a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Explore a Node as a New Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Derive a Leaf ID Data Item from a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Display the Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Zoom a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pan (Scroll) a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

189
189
191
191
193
193
193
193
194

Working with Word Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

About Word Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Data Roles for a Word Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Specify Properties for a Word Cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Explore Text Analytics Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Explore Selected Documents as a New Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

138 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Overview of Visualizations
About Visualizations
SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer) displays data by using
visualizations. A visualization is an interactive visual representation of your data.

Visualization Types
You can assign any of the following types to your visualizations:
Automatic
Chart

Automatically selects the chart type

based on the data that is assigned to
the visualization. When you are first
exploring a new data set, automatic
charts give you a quick view of the data.
For more information, see Working with
Automatic Charts on page 155.

Table

Displays the data as a table. Tables

enable you to examine the raw data for
each observation in the data source.
You can rearrange the data columns
and apply sorting.
For more information, see Working with
Tables on page 156.

Overview of Visualizations
Crosstab

139

Displays the data as a crosstab.

Crosstabs enable you to examine the
data for intersections of hierarchy
nodes or category values. You can
rearrange the rows and columns and
apply sorting. Unlike tables, crosstabs
display aggregated data.
For more information, see Working with
Crosstabs on page 157.

Bar Chart

Displays the data as a bar chart. Bar

charts are useful for comparing data
that is aggregated by the distinct values
of a category.
A bar chart consists of vertical bars or
horizontal bars. You can apply grouping
and create lattices.
For more information, see Working with
Bar Charts on page 158.

Line Chart

Displays the data as a line chart. A line

chart is useful for data trends over time.
Line charts support forecasting for
predicting future values.
You can apply grouping and create
lattices.
For more information, see Working with
Line Charts on page 160.

140 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Scatter Plot

Displays the data as a scatter plot.

Scatter plots are useful to examine the
relationship between numeric data
items.
In a scatter plot, you can apply
statistical analysis with correlation and
regression. Scatter plots support
grouping.
When you apply more than two
measures to a scatter plot, a scatter
plot matrix compares each pair of
measures.
For more information, see Working with
Scatter Plots on page 163.

Bubble Plot

Displays the data as a bubble plot. A

bubble plot displays the relationships
among at least three measures. Two
measures are represented by the plot
axes, and the third measure is
represented by the size of the plot
markers.
You can apply grouping and create
lattices. By assigning a datetime data
item to the plot, you can animate the
bubbles to display changes in the data
over time.
For more information, see Working with
Bubble Plots on page 165.

Network
Diagram

Displays a series of linked nodes. A

network diagram displays the
relationships between the values of
categories or hierarchy levels.
You can indicate the values of
measures through the sizes and colors
of the nodes and the node links.
For more information, see Working with
Network Diagrams on page 168.

Overview of Visualizations
Sankey
Diagram

141

Displays a series of linked nodes,

where the width of each link indicates
the frequency of the link or the value of
a measure. A Sankey diagram enables
you to perform path analytics. Path
analytics displays flows of data from
one event (value) to another, as a
series of paths.
For more information, see Working with
Sankey Diagrams on page 172.

Histogram

Displays the data as a histogram. A

histogram displays the distribution of
values for a single measure.
You can select the bar orientation, and
you can select whether the values are
displayed as a percentage or as a
count.
For more information, see Working with
Histograms on page 178.

Box Plot

Displays the data as a box plot. A box

plot displays the distribution of values
for a single measure using a box and
whiskers. The size and location of the
box indicate the range of values that
are between the 25th and 75th
percentile. Additional statistical
information is represented by other
visual features.
You can create lattices, and you can
select whether the average (mean)
value and outliers are displayed for
each box.
For more information, see Working with
Box Plots on page 180.

142 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Heat Map

Displays the data as a heat map. A heat

map displays the distribution of values
for two data items using a table with
colored cells. If you do not assign a
measure to the Color data role, then a
cells color represents the frequency of
each intersection of values. If you
assign a measure to the Color data
role, then a cells color represents the
measure value of each intersection of
values.
For more information, see Working with
Heat Maps on page 182.

Geo Map

Displays the data as a geo map. A geo

map displays your data as an overlay
on a geographic map. You can display
your data either as bubbles, as a
scatter plot, or as colored regions.
For more information, see Working with
Geo Maps on page 184.

Treemap

Displays the data as a treemap. A

treemap displays your data as a set of
rectangles (called tiles). Each tile
represents a category value or a
hierarchy node. The size of each tile
represents either the frequency of the
category or the value of a measure. The
color of each tile can indicate the value
of an additional measure.
For more information, see Working with
Treemaps on page 186.

Overview of Visualizations
Correlation
Matrix

143

Displays the data as a correlation

matrix. A correlation matrix displays the
degree of correlation between
measures as a series of colored
rectangles. The color of each rectangle
indicates the strength of the correlation.
For more information, see Working with
Correlation Matrices on page 187.

Decision Tree

Displays the data as a decision tree. A

decision tree displays a series of nodes
as a tree, where the top node is the
response data item, and each branch of
the tree represents a split in the values
of a predictor data item.
The splits enable you to see which
values of the predictor data item
correspond to different distributions of
values in the response data item.
For more information, see Working with
Decision Trees on page 189.

144 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Word Cloud

Displays a set of words from a

character data item. Depending on the
type of word cloud and your data roles,
the size of each word in the cloud can
indicate the relevance of the word to a
topic, the frequency of the word in a
category, or the value of a measure.
You can use text analytics in a word
cloud to identify topics and terms that
appear together in your data and to
analyze the sentiment of the documents
in a topic.
For more information, see Working with
Word Clouds on page 194.

If SAS Visual Statistics is licensed at your site, then the following modeling
visualizations are available:
n Linear Regression
n Logistic Regression
n Generalized Linear Model
n Cluster

For more information, see Chapter 33, Modeling Information, on page 247.

Working with Visualizations

Create a New Visualization
To create a new visualization, click
New from the menu bar.

on the toolbar, or select Visualization

Manage Visualizations
Delete a Visualization
To delete a visualization, click the
button on the visualization, or select
Visualization Delete from the menu bar to delete the selected visualization.
You can delete all of your visualizations by selecting View Delete All
Visualizations.

Duplicate a Visualization
To duplicate a visualization, select Visualization Duplicate from the main
menu, or select the
select Duplicate.

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then

Working with Visualizations

145

The new visualization is named Copy of visualization-name. You can enter a

new name on the Properties tab.

Show and Minimize Visualizations

To minimize a visualization, click
in the visualization that you want to
minimize. The visualization appears in the dock pane at the bottom of the
workspace.
To restore a visualization, click the name of the visualization in the dock pane.
You can select which visualizations are visible by using the Manage
Visualizations window.
To minimize all visualizations, select View Minimize All Visualizations from
the menu bar.
To show all visualizations, select View Show All Visualizations from the
menu bar.

Maximize a Visualization
To maximize a visualization to fill the entire workspace, click
in the
visualization that you want to maximize. To return the visualization to its normal
size, click

Arrange the Visualizations in the Workspace

Move the Position of a Visualization
To move a visualization, drag and drop the title bar of the visualization on the
location where you want to place the visualization.
When you drag and drop a visualization onto another visualization, the
placement of the visualization is determined by the edge that is closest to the
drop point.
When your workspace contains visualizations in multiple rows, if you drag and
drop a visualization onto the bottom edge or top edge of a visualization, then the
target visualization and the moved visualization split the space that was
previously occupied by the target visualization.

Resize a Visualization
To resize a visualization in your workspace, drag the resizing tab
at the
bottom edge or the right edge of the visualization that you want to resize.

Use the Manage Visualizations Window

The Manage Visualizations window enables you to manage all of your
visualizations together. Each visualization is represented by a thumbnail image
or by an icon of the visualization type if the visualization has not been displayed
in the current session.
To open the Manage Visualizations window, select View Manage
Visualizations from the main menu bar.

146 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

The Manage Visualizations window enables you to perform the following tasks:
Task

Action

Add visualizations to the selection list.

Select a visualization from the Available

(Restore visualizations.)

list, and then click

, or click
to add
all of the available visualizations.

Remove visualizations from the selection

list.

Select a visualization from the Selected

(Minimize visualizations.)

list, and then click

, or click
remove all of the visualizations.

to

Change the order of the selected

visualizations.

In the Selected list, drag and drop the

visualizations in the order that you want,
or select a visualization and click the up
and down arrows to move it.

Search the available visualizations.

In the Search field, enter a string to

search for. A visualization matches the
search if the string appears anywhere in
the visualization name.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

Filter the available visualizations.

Click
, and then select your filter
parameters. You can filter either on the
visualization type or on the data items that
are used in each visualization.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

Rename a visualization.

Right-click on any visualization, and then

select Rename. Enter a new name, and
then click OK.

Delete a visualization.

Right-click on any visualization, and then

select Delete.

Display Detailed Data for a Visualization

For all visualization types besides tables and crosstabs, you can display the
detailed data for the visualization in the details table. To display the details table
for a visualization, click the
then select Show Details.

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and

Change the Data Source for a Visualization

Each visualization in your exploration is associated with a specific data source.

Managing Visualization Data Roles

147

For an empty visualization with no data items, ranks, or visualization filters, you
can add a data item from any data source. The new data source is assigned to
the visualization automatically.
To change the data source for a visualization that is not empty, follow these
steps:
1 If the data source that you want to use is not part of the exploration, then add

the new data source. See Add Additional Data Sources to Your Exploration
on page 118.
2

Select the visualization for which you want to change the data source.

Remove any ranks from the Ranks tab and any visualization filters from the
Filters tab.

4 On the Roles tab, remove all data items from the data roles.
5

From the Data source drop-down list, select the data source for the
visualization.

Control Visualization Data Updates

By default, the explorer applies changes to your visualizations automatically
when you change data roles, filters, or ranks.
To disable automatic updates, deselect the Auto-update check box at the
bottom of the right pane. When you are ready to apply your updates, click
Update at the bottom of the right pane.
Note: You can change the default behavior for new visualizations by
deselecting Update automatically in the Preferences window.

Manage Visualization Comments

You can use the Comments tab to view and create comments for the current
visualization. See Sharing Comments in the Explorer on page 229.

Managing Visualization Data Roles

Add a Data Item
For a visualization to display data, you must assign data items to it. You can
assign data items to a visualization by performing any of the following actions:
n Drag and drop the data item onto the center of the visualization. The data

item is assigned to a role automatically. If the visualization already has data

items assigned to the required roles, then you can choose how to assign the
new data item.

148 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

n Drag and drop the data item onto a Measure or Category button in the

visualization to assign the data item to a specific data role.

n From the visualization toolbar, select the

drop-down list, and then select

Add Category or Add Measure.

n Use the Roles tab in the right pane. Either drag and drop a data item onto a

role, or expand the drop-down list beside the role and then select a data
item.
Each visualization requires a minimum number of each type of data item. The
following table lists the requirements for each visualization:
Table 25.1

Required Data Items for Visualizations

Visualization Type

Requirements

Automatic Chart

one data item of any type

Table

one data item of any type (except

aggregated measure)

Crosstab

one data item of any type

Bar Chart

one category or hierarchy

Line Chart

one category or hierarchy

Scatter Plot

one measure

Bubble Plot

three measures

Network Diagram

one category or hierarchy

Sankey Diagram

one category, one data item of any type

(except aggregated measure), and one
datetime or measure

Histogram

one measure

Box Plot

one measure

Heat Map

two data items of any type (except

aggregated measure)

Geo Map

one geography

Treemap

one category or hierarchy

Correlation matrix

two measures

Decision tree

two data items of any type (except

aggregated measure)

Word Cloud

one category or document collection

Ranking Data

149

Replace a Data Item

You can replace a data item by using any of the following methods:
n Drag and drop the new data item from the Data pane onto the data item in

the visualization that you want to replace.

n Right-click on the data item that you want to replace in either the visualization
or on the Roles tab, and then select Replace item-name new-item-

name.

Remove a Data Item

You can remove a data item by using any of the following methods:
n Drag and drop the data item from the visualization onto the Data pane.
n Select the

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then select

Remove item-name .

n Right-click on the data item that you want to delete in either the visualization

or on the Roles tab, and then select Remove item-name.

Switch Data Roles

To switch the data items that are assigned to two roles, drag and drop one data
item onto another data item either by using the buttons in the visualization or by
using the fields on the Roles tab.
For example, you can switch the axes of a scatter plot by dragging the measure
on the X axis to the measure on the Y axis.

Work with Filters

You can use the Filters tab to subset the data in your visualizations. See
Chapter 26, Working with Filters, on page 199.

Ranking Data
Overview of Ranking
You can use the Ranks tab to create ranks to subset the data in your
visualizations. A rank selects either the top (greatest) or the bottom (least)
aggregated value for a category.
A rank selects values for a category based on either the frequency of the
category values or the aggregated value of a measure.
For example, you might create a rank of the top 10 countries by frequency to
select the 10 countries that are most represented in your data source. As

150 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

another example, you might create a rank of the top 10 countries by population
to select the 10 countries with the greatest population.
Note: If the category for the rank is part of a hierarchy that is used in the current
visualization, then the rank is applied only when the hierarchy is drilled to the
level of the rank category.

Create a New Rank

To create a rank:
1

From the Data pane, select the data item that you want to use as the base of
the rank. You can select any category or geography data item, regardless of
whether it is assigned to the current visualization.

2 Either right-click on the data item, and select Add as Rank on Visualization,

or drag and drop the data item onto the Ranks tab.
3 Set the parameters for the rank:
a

Select the type of rank from the drop-down list. Top specifies that the
rank selects the greatest value. Bottom specifies that the rank selects the
least value.

Specify the number of values for the rank. For example, if you specify 5,
and you select Top as the rank type, then the rank selects the five
greatest values.

c From the By drop-down list, select the measure that is used to create the

rank. You can either select any measure, or select Frequency to use the
frequency of the rank category.
Note: If you select a measure that is used in the current visualization,
then the rank uses the same aggregation for the measure that is used by
the current visualization.
Note: Only the Sum, Average, Count, Minimum, and Maximum
aggregation types can be used in a rank.
d

(Optional) Select Ties to include ties in the rank.

If you select Ties, then the rank selects as many values as necessary to
include all of the ties. If you do not select Ties, then the rank selects only
the number of values that are specified by the rank parameters.
For example, if your rank selects the top three values, but there are five
values tied for the greatest value, then the number of values that are
selected by the rank depends on the Ties option. If you select Ties, then
the rank includes all five of the tied values. If you do not select Ties, then
the rank includes only three of the tied values.
Note: If the ranking does not select all of the tied values, or if the number
of tied values exceeds the maximum that is set by your administrator,
then a message appears.

Note: By default, your rank changes are applied automatically to the current
visualization. To apply multiple changes together, deselect Auto-Update, and
then click Update when you are ready to apply your rank changes.

Working with Visualization Data Ranges and Color Gradients

151

Delete a Rank
To delete a rank, click

on the rank on the Ranks tab.

Managing Visualization Axes

Lock an Axis
By default, the axes of your visualizations adjust automatically to your data. If
you change the data that is displayed by applying filters or ranks or by drilling
down, then the data ranges and scaling of your axes will change to fit the data.
For comparison purposes, you might want to lock the axes and retain the same
data ranges and scaling. To lock an axis, click the
heading.

icon beside the axis

To re-enable automatic adjustments for an axis, click the

heading.

icon beside the axis

Adjust an Axis
For a locked axis, you can adjust the visible data range. You can adjust the
range by dragging the scroll bar that appears over the axis tick marks or by rightclicking a measure heading, and then selecting Set Visible Axis Range.

Transfer Axis Settings

For a locked axis, you can transfer the axis settings to a compatible
visualization. A compatible visualization must have a measure (or frequency)
assigned to an axis.
To transfer an axis, right-click the measure heading, and then select Transfer
Axis Settings. From the Select Compatible Visualizations window, select the
visualization to which you want to transfer the axis settings.

Working with Visualization Data Ranges

and Color Gradients
Support for Customized Data Ranges and Color
Gradients
The following visualization types enable you to customize the data range and
color gradient:
n Heat map
n Geo map (with the Color role assigned)

152 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

n Bubble plot (with continuous data assigned to the Color role)
n Network diagram (with the Node Color or Link Color role assigned)
n Word cloud (with the Color role assigned)
n Treemap (with the Color role assigned)

Specify a Custom Color Gradient

To specify a custom color gradient:
1 Right-click on the color gradient in the legend, and then select Edit Color

Gradient.
2 From the Edit Color Gradient window, select a color gradient from the Color

gradient drop-down list.

3

Click OK to apply the new color gradient.

Specify a Custom Data Range

To specify a custom data range:
1 Right-click on the color gradient in the legend, and then select Configure

Color Gradient.
2

From the Select Color Gradient window, deselect Automatically adjust

color range to data.

In the Lower field, specify the lower bound for the data range.

4 If the selected color gradient uses three colors, specify the inflection point of

the gradient in the Inflection field, or select Use midpoint to use the
midpoint between the lower and upper values as the inflection point. The
inflection point is the point for the middle color in a three-color gradient.
5

In the Upper field, specify the upper bound for the data range.

Click OK to apply the new color gradient.

Share a Color Gradient and Data Range between

Visualizations
To share data ranges and color gradients between visualizations, all of the
visualizations must support customized data ranges. See Support for
Customized Data Ranges and Color Gradients on page 151.
To share a data range and color gradient between visualizations:
1

If the data range has not been customized, then right-click on the legend for
the color gradient and data range that you want to share, and then select
Lock Data Range.

2 Right-click on the legend for the color gradient and data range that you want

to share, and then select Transfer Configuration. The Select compatible

visualizations window appears.

Working with Data Brushing

3

153

Select the visualizations that you want to share the color gradient and data
range with. The visualizations are sorted based on their similarity to the
source visualization. Visualizations that use the same data items and
visualizations that are the same type are shown at the top of the list.

4 When you are finished, click OK to apply the color gradient and data range to

all of the selected visualizations.

Remove Customized or Shared Color Data Ranges

To remove a customized or shared data range from a visualization, right-click on
the legend, and select Remove Custom Data Range.

Working with Data Brushing

Overview of Data Brushing
Data brushing is a feature of some visualizations that enables you to select data
values in one visualization and highlight the corresponding data values in all of
your other visualizations.
For example, you might have a bar chart and a scatter plot in your exploration. If
you enable data brushing, and you select a bar in the bar chart, then the
markers in the scatter plot that correspond to the selected value in the bar are
highlighted.
Figure 25.1

Data Brushing Example

The following visualization types support data brushing:

n Bar chart
n Line chart

154 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

n Scatter plot
n Bubble plot (if the Group role is assigned)
n Network diagram
n Histogram
n Heat map (if categories are assigned to both axes)
n Geo map
n Treemap
n Word cloud

For histograms and for bar charts of frequency that are not grouped or latticed,
data brushing can indicate the portion of a bar that corresponds to the brushed
data. The bar is highlighted and then partially shaded to indicate the
corresponding portion. The value for the shaded portion of the bar is included in
the data tip for the bar.
In Figure 25.2 , a selection in a bubble plot highlights a portion of the
corresponding bar in a bar chart.
Figure 25.2

Data Brushing with Partial Shading

For bar charts that have a measure assigned or that are grouped or latticed, the
entire bar is highlighted.

Enable Data Brushing

To enable data brushing, select View Data Brushing.

Select Values in a Visualization

You can select values in your visualization by using any of the following
methods:

Working with Automatic Charts

155

n Click the data values. This is most useful for bar charts, histograms, and

treemaps. To select multiple data values, hold down the Ctrl key while
clicking each data value.
n Click and drag to select data values in a rectangular region. This is most

useful for scatter plots and heat maps.

n Select data values in the details table for the visualization. Press Shift+click

to select multiple adjacent values, or press Ctrl+click to select or deselect

individual values.

Working with Automatic Charts

Automatic charts display different types of charts automatically based on the
data items that are assigned to the chart.
The type of chart can be any of the following:
Table 25.2

Automatic Chart Types

Data Items

Chart Type

One measure

Histogram

One category

Bar chart

One aggregated measure

Crosstab

One datetime category and any number

of other categories or measures

Line chart

One geography and up to two measures

Geo map

One geography and three or more

measures

Bar chart

One document collection

Word cloud

Two measures

Scatter plot or heat map

Three or more measures

Scatter plot matrix or correlation matrix

One or more categories and any number

of measures and geographies

Bar chart

Note: The Roles tab for an automatic chart always contains Categories and
Measures. To set advanced data roles such as grouping and lattices, click the
Use chart-type link on the Roles tab to change the visualization from an
automatic chart to the chart type that is currently shown. For example, if your
automatic chart shows a bar chart, then click Use Bar Chart to change the type
to a bar chart and enable advanced data role settings.

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Working with Tables

About Tables
A table displays data as text. The data value for each measure or category that
is assigned to the table is displayed as a column. The data values in the table
are not aggregated.
Note: For very large data sources, the table visualization displays only the first
two billion (2,147,483,647) rows.

Data Roles for a Table

The basic data role for a table is a column. A column can be any type of data
item. You can add any number of columns to a table.

Specify Properties for a Table

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following option:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.

Managing Columns
Sort Columns
By default, the table is sorted by the values of the first column. To change the
sorting, click on the heading for the column that you want to sort by. An arrow
appears in the column heading to indicate the sorting. If the arrow points
upward, then the sort is ascending. If the arrow points downward, then the sort is
descending.

Rearrange Columns
To rearrange your columns, drag and drop the column headings.

Resize Columns
To resize a column, click, and then drag and drop the left or right edge of a
column heading.

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157

Working with Crosstabs

About Crosstabs
A crosstab displays the intersections of category values and measure values as
text. If the crosstab contains measures, then each cell of the crosstab contains
the aggregated measure values for a specific intersection of category values. If
the crosstab does not contain measures, then each cell of the crosstab contains
the frequency of an intersection of category values.

Data Roles for a Crosstab

The basic data roles for a crosstab are columns, rows, and measures. You can
assign either a single hierarchy or any number of categories to each column and
row role. If you assign measures to the crosstab, then the measure values are
displayed in the cells of the crosstab. If you do not assign measures, then the
frequency of each intersection of values is displayed in the cells of the crosstab.

Specify Properties for a Crosstab

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Show missing labels as blanks
displays missing values as empty cells in the crosstab. By default, missing
values are represented by a period (.) character.
Indented
selects the indented layout for the crosstab.
Show column subtotals
adds subtotals to each column for each node on the row axis after the first.
Note: For the indented layout, subtotals are always enabled.
Show column totals
adds totals to each column.
Note: Total values are aggregated based on the aggregations for each
measure.
Show row subtotals
adds subtotals to each row for each node on the column axis after the first.
Note: For the indented layout, subtotals are always enabled.
Show row totals
adds totals to each row.
Note: Total values are aggregated based on the aggregations for each
measure.

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Totals Placement
specifies the location of totals and subtotals. Select Before to place the totals
and subtotals before the axis headings. Select After to place the totals and
subtotals after the axis headings.
Note: For the indented layout, totals are always placed before the axis
headings.

Managing Rows and Columns

Sort a Row or Column
By default, the crosstab is sorted alphabetically by the values of the first
category that you assign to the Rows role. To change the sorting, right-click on
the heading for the row or column that you want to sort by, and then select Sort
and select the sorting method.
If you apply sorting to a measure, then the sorting for the rows is applied as a
secondary sort. The outer row values are sorted by their subtotals for the
measure. To remove measure sorting, select a sort for any category.

Rearrange Rows and Columns

To rearrange your rows and columns, drag and drop the row headings and
column headings.

Resize Columns
To resize a column, click, and then drag and drop the left or right edge of the
column heading.

Create a Hierarchy from a Crosstab

Crosstabs enable you to create hierarchies from the categories on a crosstab
axis. To create a hierarchy, right-click on a category heading, and then select
Create Hierarchy. The categories are replaced with a new hierarchy.
The name of the new hierarchy is generated from the name of the outermost
category, with the suffix Hierarchy.

Working with Bar Charts

About Bar Charts
A bar chart displays data by using bars. The height of each bar represents the
value.

Data Roles for a Bar Chart

The basic data roles for a bar chart are categories and measures. You can
assign one category only, and the category values are plotted on the category
axis. You can assign many measures, and the measure values are plotted on

Working with Bar Charts 159

the response axis. If a bar chart contains no measures, then the frequency of the
category values is plotted on the response axis.
In addition to the basic data roles, you can assign these roles:
Group
groups the data based on the values of the category data item that you
assign. Depending on the value that you selected for the Grouping style
property, the group values are shown as either individual bars or as
segments of each bar.
Note: Grouping is not available if you assign multiple measures to the
visualization.
Lattice columns
creates a lattice of charts with a column for each value of the category data
item that you assign.
Lattice rows
creates a lattice of charts with a row for each value of the category data item
that you assign.

Specify Properties for a Bar Chart

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the response axis.
Bar direction
specifies whether the bars are vertical or horizontal.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency is displayed as a count (Count) or as a
percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).
Note: This option has no effect if a measure is assigned to the visualization.
Grouping style
specifies how grouped data is displayed. If you select Stack, then the values
of the grouping variable are displayed as segments of each bar. If you select
Cluster, then each value of the grouping variable is displayed as a separate
bar.
Note: This option is disabled if no data item is assigned to the Group role.

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Measure layout
specifies whether the measures share a single response axis (Shared axis)
or have separate response axes for each measure (Separate axes).
Note: The Measure layout option is disabled if your visualization contains
exactly one measure.
Overview
specifies whether the chart overview is enabled.
Show data labels
shows the data values as text in the visualization.
Note: You can always view a data value as a data tip when you position the
cursor over a data value.
Rotate axis labels
displays the category labels at an angle.
Note: The Rotate axis labels option has no effect when you select a
horizontal bar orientation.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.

Sort Data Values

By default, a bar chart is sorted in descending order by the value of the first
measure. To change the sorting, right-click on the data item that you want to sort
on, and then select Sort sort-method. For a grouped bar chart, the data is
sorted by the category values in alphabetical order.
Note: If the visualization contains a rank, then, by default, the data is sorted
based on the values of the rank.

Working with Line Charts

About Line Charts
A line chart displays data by using a line that connects the data values. If you
assign multiple measures to a line chart, then you can create separate Y axes
for each measure.

Data Roles for a Line Chart

The basic data roles for a line chart are categories and measures. You can
assign one category only, and the category values are plotted on the category
axis. You can assign many measures, and the measure values are plotted on

Working with Line Charts

161

the response axis. If the line chart contains no measures, then the frequency of
the category values is plotted on the response axis.
In addition to the basic data roles, you can assign these roles:
Group
groups the data based on the values of the category data item that you
assign. A separate line is created for each data value.
Note: Grouping is not available if you assign multiple measures to the
visualization.
Lattice columns
creates a lattice of charts with a column for each value of the category data
item that you assign.
Lattice rows
creates a lattice of charts with a row for each value of the category data item
that you assign.
Forecasting
enables forecasting for the line chart. Forecasting estimates future values for
your data based on statistical trends.
Note: Forecasting is available only if a date or datetime data item is
assigned to the visualization.
Underlying factors
if forecasting is enabled, adds additional measures to the forecast as
underlying factors. The forecasting model evaluates the additional measures
to determine whether they contribute to the accuracy of the forecast. If the
additional measures do not increase the accuracy of the forecast, then they
are not used. If the additional measures do increase the accuracy of the
forecast, then the forecast line is adjusted, and the confidence bands are
narrowed.
The measures that you add as underlying factors can also be used in a
scenario analysis.
Note: Underlying factors are available only if your line chart contains a
single measure in the Measures role.

Specify Properties for a Line Chart

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the response axis.

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Frequency
specifies whether the frequency is displayed as a count (Count) or as a
percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).
Note: This option has no effect if a measure is assigned to the visualization.
Measure layout
specifies whether the measures share a single response axis (Shared axis)
or have separate response axes for each measure (Separate axes).
Note: The Measure layout option is disabled if your visualization contains
exactly one measure.
Overview
specifies whether the chart overview is enabled.
Show markers
shows markers for the data points in the visualization.
Show data labels
shows the data values as text in the visualization.
Note: You can always view a data value as a data tip when you position the
cursor over a data value.
Thin data labels
removes data labels as necessary to avoid overlap. The thinning algorithm
retains the labels for local high points and low points on the line chart.
Rotate axis labels
displays the category labels at an angle.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.
Duration (if forecasting is enabled)
specifies the number of data intervals to forecast.
Note: This option is available only if forecasting is enabled for the
visualization.
Confidence (if forecasting is enabled)
specifies the degree of confidence for the confidence band. The default value
is 95%.

Sort Data Values

By default, for category data, a line chart is sorted in descending order by the
value of the first measure. To change the sorting, right-click on the data item that
you want to sort on, and then select Sort and select a sorting method.
Note: If the visualization contains a rank, then, by default, the data is sorted
based on the values of the rank.

Working with Scatter Plots 163

Note: Sorting is not available if a datetime data item is assigned to the

Category role.

Forecasting
About Forecasting
Forecasting uses the statistical trends in your data source to predict future data
values. Forecasting is available only if a date or datetime data item is assigned
to the visualization.
In addition to the predicted future data values, the forecast displays a confidence
band. For more information, see Forecasting on page 225.

Enable Forecasting
To add forecasting to a line chart, select Forecasting on the Roles tab.
Note: The line chart must contain a date or datetime data item to apply
forecasting.
On the Properties tab for the line chart, you can adjust the number of data
values to predict by using the Duration option. You can specify the degree of
confidence for the confidence band by using the Confidence option.
On the Roles tab, you can add additional measures to the forecast as
Underlying factors. The forecasting model evaluates the additional measures
to determine whether they contribute to the accuracy of the forecast. If the
additional measures do not increase the accuracy of the forecast, then they are
not used. If the additional measures do increase the accuracy of the forecast,
then the forecast line is adjusted, and the confidence bands are narrowed.
Note: Underlying factors are available only if your line chart contains a single
measure in the Measures role.
The measures that you use as underlying factors can also be used in scenario
analysis and goal seeking. For more information, see Working with Scenario
Analysis and Goal Seeking on page 226.

Working with Scatter Plots

About Scatter Plots
A scatter plot displays the values of measures by using markers. When you
apply more than two measures, the visualization displays a scatter plot matrix. A
scatter plot matrix is a series of scatter plots that display every possible pairing
of the measures that are applied to the visualization.
If you create a scatter plot that has a very large number of data values, then the
scatter plot is rendered either as a heat map (for two measures) or as a
correlation matrix for three or more measures.

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Data Roles for a Scatter Plot

The basic data role for a scatter plot is a measure. You can assign any number
of measures. If you assign a single measure to a scatter plot, then the values
are plotted along a line.
In addition to measures, you can assign a Group variable. The Group variable
groups the data based on the values of the category data item that you assign. A
separate set of scatter points is created for each value of the group variable.
You can add data items to the Data tips role. The values for the data items in
the Data tips role are displayed in the data tips for the scatter plot.

Specify Properties for a Scatter Plot

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the plot axes.
Marker size
specifies the size of each marker in pixels.
Fit Line
adds a fit line to the scatter plot. For information about the fit types that are
available, see Fit Lines on page 224.
Note: Fit lines are not available if a grouping variable is assigned to the
scatter plot.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.

Applying Data Analysis

About Data Analysis
For scatter plots, you can apply the following data analyses:

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165

Correlation
identifies the degree of statistical correlation between the variables in the
visualization. For more information, see Correlation on page 223.
Fit Line
plots a model of the relationship between the variables in the visualization.
There are many types of fit lines, including linear fit, quadratic fit, cubic fit,
and penalized B-spline. For more information, see Fit Lines on page 224.
Correlation is applied to your visualization automatically when you add a linear fit
line. It is not available with other fit types.

Enable Data Analysis

To add a fit line to your visualization, select the
drop-down list from the
visualization toolbar, and then select Fit Line and select the fit type. For details
about the fit types that are available, see Fit Lines on page 224.

Working with Bubble Plots

About Bubble Plots
A bubble plot displays the values of at least three measures by using differently
sized plot markers (bubbles) in a scatter plot. The values of two measures are
represented by the position on the plot axes, and the value of the third measure
is represented by the marker size.
You can create animated bubble plots to display changing data over time.

Data Roles for a Bubble Plot

The basic data roles for a bubble plot are:
X axis
specifies the measure that is assigned to the X axis.
Y axis
specifies the measure that is assigned to the Y axis.
Bubble size
specifies the measure that determines the marker size.
In addition to the basic data roles, you can assign these roles:
Group
groups the data based on the values of the category data item that you
assign. A separate set of points is created for each value.
Note: You cannot assign both the Group role and the Color role at the
same time.
Color
specifies a data item that determines the color of the bubbles. If you specify a
category, then each value of the category is represented by a different
bubble color. If you specify a measure, then the measure value is
represented by the bubble color.

166 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Note: You cannot assign both the Group role and the Color role at the
same time.
Animation
specifies a datetime data item that is used to animate the bubble plot.
Note: The Animation role is enabled only if you assign a data item to the
Group role.
Lattice columns
creates a lattice of charts with a column for each value of the category data
item that you assign.
Lattice rows
creates a lattice of charts with a row for each value of the category data item
that you assign.

Specify Properties for a Bubble Plot

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the response axis.
Size scale
specifies the type of scaling that is used to draw the bubbles. Select one of
the following values:
Linear
specifies that the bubble sizes are scaled relative to the minimum and
maximum values (or frequencies) in your data. A negative value is
displayed as a smaller bubble than a positive value.
For the Linear scaling type, the difference in bubble sizes might not be
proportional to the difference in values.
Magnitude
specifies that the bubble sizes are scaled relative to zero and the greatest
absolute value in your data. A negative value is displayed as a hexagon.
For the Magnitude scaling type, the difference in bubble sizes is
proportional to the difference in absolute values.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency is displayed as a count (Count) or as a
percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).

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167

Note: This option has no effect if a measure is assigned to the Bubble size
role.
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.
You can click
to select the values that are used to assign the colors. See
Specify a Custom Data Range on page 152.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.

Using Animated Bubble Plots

About Animated Bubble Plots
An animated bubble plot displays the changes in your data values over time.
Each frame of the animation represents a value of the datetime data item that is
assigned to the Animation data role.
For example, if you assign a category with the YEAR format to the Animation
data role, then each frame of the animation displays a bubble plot of your data
for a specific year.

Create an Animated Bubble Plot

To create an animated bubble plot:
1

Select an existing bubble plot, or create a new bubble plot.

Assign a data item to the Group data role.

3 Assign a data item with a datetime format to the Animation data role.

Display an Animated Bubble Plot

For an animated bubble plot, a set of animation controls appears at the bottom
of the visualization.
Table 25.3

Animation Control Tasks

Task

Action

Start the animation.

Click

Go to the previous animation frame.

Click

Go to the next animation frame.

Click

Jump to a specific animation frame.

Use the slider.

168 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Task

Action

Specify whether to repeat the animation.

Select or deselect Loop.

Select the animation speed.

Use the Speed slider.

Track the movement of a specific bubble.

Click the bubble that you want to track.

Note: If you select a bubble to track, the selected bubble is highlighted in the
current animation frame.

Working with Network Diagrams

About Network Diagrams
A network diagram displays the relationships between category values as a
series of linked nodes.
You can create two types of network diagrams:
Hierarchical
creates a hierarchical structure by using a hierarchy or a set of categories.
Ungrouped
creates a structure by using a source data item and a target data item. A
node is created for each value of the source data item, and a link is created
from each node to the node that corresponds to the value of the target data
item.
For example, if your source data item specifies the name of every employee
in an organization, and your target data item specifies the manager of each
employee, then the network diagram has a node for each employee that is
linked to the node for the employees manager.

Data Roles for a Network Diagrams

Basic Data Roles for a Hierarchical Network Diagram
The basic data role for a hierarchical network diagram is Levels. Specify a
hierarchy or any number of categories. The data items in the Levels role specify
the nodes of the network diagram. If you add categories to the Levels role, then
the order of the categories determines their hierarchical relationship. You can
drag and drop the categories to arrange them.
TIP If your diagram displays multiple duplicate nodes, then an ungrouped

diagram might be a better fit for your data.

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169

Basic Data Roles for an Ungrouped Network Diagram

The basic data roles for an ungrouped network diagram are Source and Target.
The Source specifies a category that contains all of the node values for the plot.
The Target specifies a category that creates the links between nodes.
The Target category must contain a subset of the values of the Source
category.
To represent terminal (target-only) values in an ungrouped network diagram, you
can add rows to your data where the terminal value is the value for the source
data item and the target data item is missing.
For example, in the following table, the final row represents a terminal value:
Employee

Manager

Salary

EMP1

MGR1

40000

EMP2

MGR1

55000

EMP3

MGR1

50000

MGR1

75000

Additional Data Roles for a Network Diagram

In addition to the basic data roles, you can specify the following additional data
roles for a network diagram:
Node size
specifies a measure that determines the size of the nodes in the diagram.
Node color
specifies a data item that determines the color of the nodes in the diagram.
Link width
specifies a measure that determines the width of the links in the diagram.
Link color
specifies a data item that determines the color of the links in the diagram.
Data tips
specifies data items whose values are included in the data tips for the
diagram. Measure values are aggregated by sum.

Specify Properties for a Network Diagram

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.

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Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show map
displays the network as an overlay on a geographic map.
Note: This option is available only if geographies are assigned to all of the
data roles that create nodes. For hierarchical diagrams, all of the Levels
must be geographies. For ungrouped diagrams, the Source and Target must
be geographies.
Show labels
shows the node values as text inside each node.
Show direction
shows the links in the diagram as arrows.
Map service
if your diagram contains a map, specifies the source for the background map.
Node color
selects the color gradient for the nodes in the diagram. You can click
to
select the values that are used to assign the colors. See Specify a Custom
Data Range on page 152.
Note: This option is available only if you assign a measure to the Node
Color data role.
Link color
selects the color gradient for the links in the diagram. You can click
to
select the values that are used to assign the colors. See Specify a Custom
Data Range on page 152.
Note: This option is available only if you assign a measure to the Link Color
data role.
Additional levels
for hierarchical diagrams only, specifies the number of levels that are
displayed beneath the current level.
Node spacing
specifies the amount of space between nodes in the diagram.
Node size
adjusts the size of all of the nodes in the diagram.
Source node
displays the current node selection. To remove the node selection, select

Predecessors
selects the number of levels of predecessors (parents) of the source node to
select. 0 specifies the source node. Note that you can specify a range by
making multiple selections. For example, select both 0 and 1 to specify that
the source node and the first level of predecessors are selected.
Successors
selects the number of levels of successors (children) of the source node to
select. 0 specifies the source node. Note that you can specify a range by
making multiple selections. For example, select both 0 and 1 to specify that
the source node and the first level of successors are selected.

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171

Arrange Nodes in a Network Diagram

Move Nodes
You can move any node in the diagram by clicking the node and dragging it. You
can move multiple nodes in the diagram by selecting the nodes that you want to
move and dragging them.
Note: The positions of the nodes in your diagram are saved with your
exploration.

Refresh the Node Layout

You can refresh your node layout by clicking . The network diagram creates a
new node layout based on your current node layout. This is especially useful
after you have moved nodes manually. Refreshing the node layout adjusts the
spacing and orientation of your nodes.

Use the Spotlight Tool to View Multiple Data Tips

The spotlight tool enables you to view data tips for all of the nodes that are
within a circular area around the cursor.
Click

to enable or disable the spotlight tool.

Select Nodes in a Network Diagram

You can select nodes in the diagram by using any of the following methods:
n Click and drag the cursor to create a rectangular selection.
n Hold down the Ctrl key and click the nodes that you want to select.
n Select a series of linked nodes by setting a node as the source node.

Right-click a node, and then select Set as Source for Selection.

On the Properties tab, specify the range of levels of Predecessors
(parents) and Successors (children) of the source node to select. 0 specifies
that the source node is selected.
For example, if you specify a range of 01 for Predecessors and a range of
02 for Successors, then the source node, one level of predecessors, and
two levels of successors are selected.

Control the View of a Network Diagram

You can control the view of a network diagram by using the following controls:
Zoom

Zoom in and out at the location of the

cursor by scrolling the mouse wheel.

Pan (scroll)

Pan (scroll) the diagram by holding down

the Shift key and dragging the diagram.

172 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Reposition the view

When you have zoomed in on a diagram

and scroll bars are displayed, reposition
your zoomed view by holding the Shift
and Alt keys and dragging the diagram.

Rotate

Rotate the diagram by holding down the

Ctrl key and dragging the diagram.

Create a Hierarchy from a Network Diagram

If your network diagram contains categories in the Levels role, then you can
create a new hierarchy by using the categories.
On the Roles tab, click on the drop-down list for the Levels role, and then select
Create Hierarchy. A new hierarchy is created with the name of the first category
in the hierarchy.

Working with Sankey Diagrams

About Sankey Diagrams
A Sankey diagram enables you to perform path analytics. Path analytics
displays flows of data from one event (value) to another as a series of paths.
The following display shows the parts of a Sankey diagram.
Figure 25.3

Parts of a Sankey Diagram

1 Nodes contain the events in each path. The node displays the width of each

link that enters and exits the node. The same event can appear at multiple
nodes in the diagram.
2 Links between nodes make up the paths in the diagram. The width of each

link can represent either the frequency of the path or the value of a weight
measure.

Working with Sankey Diagrams

173

3 Drop-off links are links that end at the current node. Drop-off links are

displayed only if some links continue onward from the current node.
Figure 25.4

A Path in a Sankey Diagram

A path in a Sankey diagram represents a distinct sequence of events. Each path

in the diagram consists of one or more transactions. A transaction is a sequence
of events that are associated with a specific transaction identifier value.
For example, if your data contains the activity of visitors to a website, then your
transaction identifier might be the unique session identifier for each visitor. The
events in your data might be the individual pages on the website that the visitor
accessed. In this example, each transaction is the sequence of pages that were
accessed by a specific visitor, and each path is a sequence of pages that
contains all of the transactions that follow that sequence.

Data Roles for a Sankey Diagram

Here are the basic data roles for a Sankey diagram:
Event
specifies a category whose values identify the events that are represented as
nodes in the diagram.
Sequence Order
specifies a datetime data item or a measure whose values identify the order
of the events for each transaction.
Transaction Identifier
specifies a data item whose values identify the transactions in the diagram.
Note: The paths in a Sankey diagram exclude any missing values in the data
items that are assigned to the Event, Transaction Identifier, or Sequence
Order role.
In addition to the basic data roles, you can specify the following role:
Weight
specifies a measure for the weight of each event in a transaction. The weight
values for each transaction, for each event in a path are aggregated to
determine the path weight.

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Specify Properties for a Sankey Diagram

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: Title is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show labels
displays the event name for each node.
Show nodes
displays link width values at each node.
Show outline
displays a box around each node.
Vertical layout
displays the diagram vertically.
Link color
specifies the method that is used to group and color the paths or links in the
diagram.
Select one of the following:
Path
displays each path as a separate group with a distinct color.
Event
groups links together by event. Links that originate from the same event
have the same color. For links between the same two events, the links
are combined even if their transactions are part of different paths.
Drop off
groups links together based on whether they are drop-off links. A drop-off
link represents a link that ends at the current node while other links
continue onward from the current node. For links between the same two
events, the links are combined even if their transactions are part of
different paths.
Link width
specifies whether the width of a link in a path represents the path frequency
(Frequency) or the aggregated value of the weight measure (Weight).
Note: If you do not assign the Weight data role, then Frequency is always
used for the link width.
Note: If the aggregated value of the weight measure for any path is
negative, zero, or missing, then Frequency is used for the link width.
Minimum path length
specifies the minimum length for a path that is displayed. The path length
that you specify indicates the number of nodes in the path.

Working with Sankey Diagrams

175

For example, if the Minimum path length is 3 and the Maximum path
length is 5, then the diagram displays only paths that have lengths of 3, 4, or
5 nodes.
Maximum path length
specifies the maximum length for a path that is displayed. The path length
that you specify indicates the number of nodes in the path.
For example, if the Minimum path length is 3 and the Maximum path
length is 5, then the diagram displays only paths that have lengths of 3, 4, or
5 nodes.
Note: A hyphen character ( - ) specifies that there is no maximum path
length.
Minimum frequency
specifies the minimum path frequency for a path that is displayed. For
example, if you specify a minimum path frequency of 5, then the diagram
displays only paths that have a frequency of 5 or greater.
Maximum frequency
specifies the maximum path frequency for a path that is displayed. For
example, if you specify a maximum path frequency of 10, then the diagram
displays only paths that have a frequency of 10 or fewer.
Note: A hyphen character ( - ) specifies that there is no maximum frequency.
Path ranking
specifies a ranking method for the paths in the diagram. If you specified a
measure for the Weight role, then ranking is based on the aggregated value
of the weight measure for each path. If there is no measure for the Weight
role, then ranking is based on the frequency of each path.
From the drop-down list, select Top to select the paths with the highest
values. Select Bottom to select the paths with the lowest values. In the text
field, enter the number of paths to select.
By default, path ranking selects the top 200 paths.
Note: If your ranking method reduces the number of paths that are
displayed, then a message appears at the bottom of the diagram.
Compress
combines repeated, consecutive events in each path into a single event. If
you specified a measure for the Weight role, then the weight value for a
compressed event is the average of the weight values for the repeated,
consecutive events that were combined.
Note: For all of the options under Path Analytics, click
changes.

to apply your

Managing the Path Selection for a Sankey

Diagram
About Path Selections
You can subset the paths in a Sankey diagram by creating a path selection. A
path selection uses a set of conditions to select or exclude paths based on the
nodes or events in each path.

176 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Create a New Condition By Using the Add New Condition

Window
To create a new condition by using the Add New Condition window, follow these
steps:
1

In the visualization toolbar, click the

drop-down list, and then select Add
New Condition. The Add New Condition window appears.

From the Condition drop-down list, select the condition type.

From the Events drop-down list, select the events for the condition.

From the Type drop-down list, select one of the following:

Include Only
specifies that the path selection includes only paths that contain one or
more of the selected events.
Exclude
specifies that the path selection excludes all paths that contain one or
more of the selected events.

5 Click OK to apply the new condition to your path selection.

TIP You can create a condition for the path selection when only the Event

role is assigned to the visualization. For large data sources, you might want to
create your path selection before assigning all of the data roles to avoid long
loading times.

Create a New Condition from Selected Nodes

To add a new condition from selected nodes in the diagram, follow these steps:
1 Select one or more nodes in the diagram.

Note: To select multiple nodes, press the Ctrl key.

2 Click the

drop-down list, and then select either Include Only or Exclude,

and then select the condition type. The condition type can be any of the
following:

Paths Containing All the Selected Nodes

includes or excludes paths that contain all of the selected nodes. This
condition type is based on specific nodes in the diagram, rather than the
event values.
Paths Containing Any of the Selected Nodes
includes or excludes paths that contain any of the selected nodes. This
condition type is based on specific nodes in the diagram, rather than the
event values.
Paths Containing the Selected Events on Any Node
includes or excludes paths that contain any of the selected events, on any
node. This condition type is based on the event values of the selected
nodes.
Paths Starting With the Selected Events
includes or excludes paths that start with any of the selected events.

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177

Paths Ending With the Selected Events

includes or excludes paths that end with any of the selected events.
The new condition appears on the Path Selection tab of the details table.

Edit a Condition for a Path Selection

To edit a condition for a path selection, follow these steps:
1 Open the details table for your visualization by clicking the

drop-down list
from the visualization toolbar, and then selecting Show Details.

In the details table, select the Path Selection tab.

3 In the Type column, select the condition type:

Include Only
includes only the paths that satisfy the condition.
Exclude
excludes the paths that satisfy the condition.

Remove Conditions from a Path Selection

To remove a condition from a path selection, perform the following steps:
1

Open the details table for your visualization by clicking the

drop-down list
from the visualization toolbar, and then selecting Show Details.

In the details table, select the Path Selection tab.

3 To remove specific conditions, select the conditions that you want to remove,

right-click one selected condition, and select Remove Selected Conditions.

To remove all of the conditions, right-click any condition, and select Remove
All Conditions.

Explore the Transaction Identifier Values for a

Path Selection
You can explore the transaction identifier values for your path selection by
creating a new visualization. To create a new visualization from your path
selection, perform either of the following steps:
n On the Path Selection tab of the details table, right-click a condition, and

then select Create Visualization from All Conditions. All of the conditions
in your path selection are used to filter the data in your new visualization.
n In the Sankey diagram, select one or more nodes, click the

drop-down
list, select Create New Visualization, and select a condition for your path
selection. For more information, see Create a New Condition from Selected
Nodes on page 176.

The new condition and any existing conditions are all used to filter the data in
your new visualization.
The new visualization appears as a bar chart of the data item assigned to the
Transaction Identifier role. A visualization filter selects all of the transaction
identifier values that correspond to your path selection. If your Sankey diagram

178 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

includes a weight measure, then the weight measure also appears in the bar
chart.
Note: You can perform any standard visualization tasks with the new
visualization. For example, you can add data items and change the visualization
type.

Use the Spotlight Tool to View Multiple Data Tips

The spotlight tool enables you to view data tips for all of the nodes that are
within a circular area around the cursor.
Click

to enable or disable the spotlight tool.

Display the Overview

For large diagrams, the overview enables you to select the portions of the
diagram that are visible.
To display the overview, click the
and then select Show Overview.

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar,

Zoom a Sankey Diagram

You can zoom a Sankey diagram by using either of the following controls:
n in the overview, select the part of the diagram that you want to zoom
n scroll the mouse wheel over the visualization to zoom in or zoom out at the

location of the cursor

Pan (Scroll) a Sankey Diagram

You can pan (scroll) the diagram by using any of the following controls:
n In the overview, drag the selection box.
n Hold down the Shift key and drag the diagram.
n When you have zoomed in on a diagram and scroll bars are displayed,

reposition your zoomed view by holding down the Shift and Alt keys and
dragging the diagram.

Working with Histograms

About Histograms
A histogram displays the distribution of values for a single measure. A series of
bars represents the number of observations in the measure that match a specific
value or value range. The bar height can represent either the exact number of
observations or the percentage of all observations for each value range.

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179

Note: If you use the default number of bins, then the minimum and maximum
values on the histogram axis might not match the actual extent of your data
values. If you specify the number of histogram bins, then the histogram axis
matches your data values exactly.

Data Roles for a Histogram

The basic data role for a histogram is a measure. You can assign only one
measure to a histogram.

Specify Properties for a Histogram

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the response axis.
Bar direction
specifies whether the bars are vertical or horizontal.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency is displayed as a count (Count) or as a
percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).
Use default bin count
specifies whether to use the default number of bins (value ranges) for the
histogram. The default number of bins is determined by the number of data
values in your histogram.
Bin count
specifies the number of bins (value ranges) for the histogram.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.

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Working with Box Plots

About Box Plots
A box plot displays the distribution of data values by using a rectangular box and
lines called whiskers.
Figure 25.5

Parts of a Box Plot

Figure 25.5 on page 180 shows a diagram of a box plot. The bottom and top
edges of the box indicate the interquartile range (IQR). That is, the range of
values that are between the first and third quartiles (the 25th and 75th
percentiles). The marker inside the box indicates the mean value. The line inside
the box indicates the median value.
You can enable outliers, which are data points whose distances from the
interquartile range are greater than 1.5 times the size of the interquartile range.
The whiskers (lines protruding from the box) indicate the range of values that are
outside of the interquartile range. If you do not enable outliers, then the whiskers
extend to the maximum and minimum values in the plot. If you enable outliers,
then the whiskers indicate the range of values that are outside of the
interquartile range, but are close enough not to be considered outliers.
If there are a large number of outliers, then the range of outlier values is
represented by a bar. The data tip for the bar displays additional information
about the outliers. To explore the outliers, double-click on the outlier bar to view
the values as a new histogram visualization.

Data Roles for a Box Plot

The basic data roles for a box plot are categories and measures. You can assign
one category only, and the category values are plotted on the category axis. You
can assign many measures, and the measure values are plotted on the
response axis. At least one measure is required.
In addition to the basic data roles, you can assign these roles:

Working with Box Plots 181

Lattice columns
creates a lattice of charts with a column for each value of the category data
item that you assign.
Lattice rows
creates a lattice of charts with a row for each value of the category data item
that you assign.

Specify Properties for a Box Plot

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show grid lines
displays grid lines for each tick on the response axis.
Box direction
specifies whether the boxes are vertical or horizontal.
Overview
specifies whether the chart overview is enabled.
Measure layout
specifies whether the measures share a single response axis (Shared axis)
or have separate response axes for each measure (Separate axes).
Note: The Measure layout option is disabled if your visualization contains
exactly one measure.
Outliers
specifies how outliers are displayed. An outlier is a data point whose distance
from the interquartile range is greater than 1.5 times the size of the
interquartile range.
Select one of the following:
Ignore Outliers
excludes outliers from the plot. If you select this option, then outlier values
are not represented in the plot.
Hide Outliers
includes the outliers within the whiskers. If you select this option, then
outlier values are not represented differently from the other values in the
plot.
Show Outliers
displays outliers separately from the whiskers. If there are a small number
of outliers, then each outlier is displayed as a point. If there are a large
number of outliers, then the range of outlier values is displayed as a bar.
Show averages
displays the mean value as a marker inside the box.

182 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Rotate axis labels
displays the category labels at an angle.
Note: The Rotate axis labels option has no effect if the box plot contains no
categories.
Reference Lines
adds reference lines to the visualization. To create a reference line, click
and then specify the parameters for the line in the New Reference Line
window.

The name of each reference line appears below the Reference Lines option.
You can edit or delete your reference lines by using the icons next to each
name.

Working with Heat Maps

About Heat Maps
A heat map displays the distribution of values for two data items by using a table
with colored cells. If you do not assign a measure to the Color data role, then a
cells color represents the frequency of each intersection of values. If you assign
a measure to the Color data role, then a cells color represents the aggregated
measure value for each intersection of values.

Data Roles for a Heat Map

The basic data roles for a heat map are:
X axis
specifies the data item that is assigned to the X axis.
Y axis
specifies the data item that is assigned to the Y axis.
Color
specifies a measure that determines the cell color. If you do not assign the
Color role, then the cell color indicates frequency.

Specify Properties for a Heat Map

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.

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183

Bin count
specifies the number of value ranges that are represented as cells. Bin
count affects only measures.
Show borders
specifies that the borders between cells are visible.
Rotate axis labels
displays the category labels at an angle.
Note: The Rotate axis labels option affects only the values on the X axis.
Note: The Rotate axis labels option has no effect if the heat map contains
no categories.
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.
You can click
to select the values that are used to assign the colors. See
Specify a Custom Data Range on page 152.
Fit line
adds a fit line to the heat map. For information about the fit types that are
available, see Fit Lines on page 224.
Note: Fit lines are not available if a category is assigned to the heat map.

Applying Data Analysis

About Data Analysis
For heat maps, you can apply the following data analyses:
Correlation
identifies the degree of statistical correlation between the variables in the
visualization. For more information, see Correlation on page 223.
Fit Line
plots a model of the relationship between the variables in the visualization.
There are many types of fit lines, including linear fit, quadratic fit, cubic fit,
and penalized B-spline. For more information, see Fit Lines on page 224.
Correlation is applied to your visualization automatically when you add a linear fit
line. It is not available with other fit types.

Enable Data Analysis

To add a fit line to your visualization, select the
drop-down list from the
visualization toolbar, and then select Fit Line fit-type. For information about
the fit types that are available, see Fit Lines on page 224.
Note: Fit lines are not available if your heat map contains categories or
hierarchies.

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Working with Geo Maps

About Geo Maps
A geo map overlays your data on a geographic map. You can display your data
either as bubbles, as a scatter plot, or as colored regions on the geo map.
To display a geo map, you must define one or more of the categories as
geography data items. For more information, see Defining a Geography Data
Item on page 132.

Data Roles for a Geo Map

The basic data roles for a bubble plot are:
Map style
specifies the type of data overlay for the map. Select one of the following
values:
Coordinates
displays your data as a simple scatter plot on the map. Each point is
located at the center of a geographic region or at the coordinates of a
location.
Bubbles
displays your data as a series of bubbles. Each bubble is located at the
center of a geographic region or at the coordinates of a location.
Regions
displays your data as colored regions on the map.
Note: The Regions map style is not available for custom geographic
roles.
Geography
specifies the geography data item that identifies geographic regions for your
map.
Geography data items are identified by the

icon.

Bubble size
for the Bubbles map style, specifies the measure that determines the bubble
size.
Color
for the Regions map style, specifies the measure that determines the
regions colors.
for the Bubbles map style, specifies a measure that determines the bubble
color.

Specify Properties for a Geo Map

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:

Working with Geo Maps 185

Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Map service
specifies the source for the background map.
Size scale
specifies the type of scaling that is used to draw the bubbles. Select one of
the following values:
Linear
specifies that the bubble sizes are scaled relative to the minimum and
maximum values (or frequencies) in your data. A negative value is
displayed as a smaller bubble than a positive value.
For the Linear scaling type, the difference in bubble sizes might not be
proportional to the difference in values.
Magnitude
specifies that the bubble sizes are scaled relative to zero and the greatest
absolute value in your data. A negative value is displayed as a circle with
a waving edge.
For the Magnitude scaling type, the difference in bubble sizes is
proportional to the difference in absolute values.
Note: This option is available only for the Bubbles map style.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency values are displayed as the number of
values (Count) or as the percentage of values (Percent).
Show map navigation control
specifies whether the map zoom and pan controls are visible.
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.
You can click
to select the values that are used to assign the colors. See
Specify a Custom Data Range on page 152.
Transparency
specifies the amount of transparency for the data overlay.

Zoom a Geo Map

You can zoom the map by using any of the following controls:
n click the zoom bar to select your zoom level
n press the + and buttons on the zoom bar
n scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in or zoom out at the location of the cursor

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Pan (Scroll) a Geo Map

You can pan (scroll) the map by using any of the following controls:
n click and drag the map
n click the arrows on the pan control

Working with Treemaps

About Treemaps
A treemap displays a hierarchy or a category as a set of rectangular tiles. Each
tile represents a category value or a hierarchy node. The size of each tile
represents either the frequency count or the value of a measure. If you assign a
measure to the Color role, then the color of each tile represents the value of that
measure.

Data Roles for a Treemap

The basic data roles for a treemap are:
Tile
specifies categories or a hierarchy that are used to create the tiles in the
treemap. If you specify categories for the Tile role, the order of the
categories determines the level of each category. Drag and drop the
categories to place them in the order that you want.
Size
specifies a measure that determines the size of each tile. If you do not
specify the Size role, then the tile size is determined by the frequency count.
Note: If any of the aggregated values for the Size role results in a negative
size value or a value of zero, then an error appears.
Color
specifies a measure that determines the color of the tiles.

Specify Properties for a Treemap

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.

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187

Show data labels

shows a text label for each tile in the treemap.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency values are displayed as the number of
values (Count) or as the percentage of values (Percent).
Arrangement
specifies the layout of the tiles in the treemap. Select one of the following
values:
Standard
arranges the tiles into squares, with the largest tiles generally at the
bottom left.
Flow
arranges the tiles from largest to smallest, with the largest tile at the top
left.
Toggle
arranges the tiles into a single row or column, with the largest tile on the
left or at the top.
The orientation of the tiles alternates between hierarchy levels. The top
level is arranged as a row, the second level is a column, and so on.
Additional levels
specifies the number of levels that are displayed beneath the current level.
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.
You can click
to select the values that are used to assign the colors. See
Specify a Custom Data Range on page 152.

Create a Hierarchy from a Treemap

If your treemap contains categories in the Tile role, then you can create a new
hierarchy by using the categories.
On the Roles tab, click on the drop-down list for the Tile role, and then select
Create Hierarchy. A new hierarchy is created with the name of the first category
in the hierarchy.

Working with Correlation Matrices

About Correlation Matrices
A correlation matrix displays the degree of correlation between multiple
intersections of measures as a matrix of rectangular cells. Each cell in the matrix
represents the intersection of two measures, and the color of the cell indicates
the degree of correlation between those two measures.
A correlation matrix can either compare within a single set of measures or it can
compare between two sets of measures.

188 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

The correlation values are calculated by using Pearsons product-moment
correlation coefficient. Correlation values are identified as weak, moderate, or
strong as follows:
Weak
the absolute value is 0.3 or lower
Moderate
the absolute value is greater than 0.3 and less than or equal to 0.6
Strong
the absolute value is greater than 0.6

Data Roles for a Correlation Matrix

The basic data role for a correlation matrix is a measure. You must assign at
least two measures.
Note: The maximum number of measures is 60.
The Show Correlations option specifies whether the correlation matrix uses a
single set of measures (Within one set of measures) or two sets of measures
(Between two sets of measures.)
If you select Between two sets of measures, then assign measures to the X
axis and Y axis roles.

Specify Properties for a Correlation Matrix

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.
Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Show borders
specifies that the borders between cells are visible.
Rotate axis labels
displays the axis labels at an angle.
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.

Sort Correlation Values

For a correlation matrix between two sets of measures, you can sort by the
correlation values for a measure.
To apply sorting, right-click the Measures button on the axis that you want to
sort, and then select Sort. You can select any of the measures on the selected

Working with Decision Trees

189

axis, and you can select whether to sort the correlation values in ascending or
descending order.

Explore the Data for a Cell

For any cell (crossing) in the correlation matrix, you can explore the measures
for that cell as a heat map.
To explore the measures, right-click the cell that you want to explore, and then
select Explore measure by measure.
A new heat map visualization displays the two measures from your selected cell.

Working with Decision Trees

About Decision Trees
Note: If SAS Visual Statistics is licensed at your site, then the decision tree
contains advanced features. See Chapter 37, Decision Trees, on page 279.
A decision tree uses the values of one or more predictor data items to predict
the values of a response data item. A decision tree displays a series of nodes as
a tree, where the top node is the response data item, and each branch of the
tree represents a split in the values of a predictor data item. Decision trees are
also known as classification and regression trees.

190 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Figure 25.6

Example Decision Tree

Each branch of the tree displays the name of the predictor for the branch at the
top of the split. The thickness of the branch indicates the number of values that
are associated with each node. The predictor values for each node are
displayed above the node.
Each node in the tree displays the data for the node either as a histogram (if the
response contains continuous data) or as a bar chart (if the response contains
discrete data). The histogram or bar chart in each node displays the values of
the response data item that are selected by the splits in the tree. The number at
the top right of the node indicates the greatest value or frequency for the bar
chart or histogram. At the bottom of each node, the total number of data values
(count) for the node is displayed.
Below the decision tree, an icicle plot of the nodes is displayed. The color of the
node in the icicle plot indicates the predicted level for that node. When you
select a node in either the decision tree or the icicle plot, the corresponding node
is selected in the other location.

Working with Decision Trees

191

Decision trees in SAS Visual Analytics use a modified version of the C4.5
algorithm.
The details table for a decision tree contains two additional data columns, Node
ID and Parent ID. Node ID specifies a unique value for each node in the tree.
Parent ID specifies the ID of the parent node.

Data Roles for a Decision Tree

The basic data roles for a decision tree are:
Response
specifies the response for the decision tree. You can specify any category or
measure. The decision tree attempts to predict the values of the response
data item. The bar chart or histogram inside each node of the tree displays
the frequency of values for the response data item.
Predictors
specifies predictors for the decision tree. You can specify one or more
categories or measures as predictors. The values of predictor data items are
displayed above the nodes in the tree. The order of the data items in the
Predictors list does not affect the tree.
Note: If a predictor does not contribute to the predictive accuracy of the tree
or the contribution has been pruned, then the predictor is not included in the
final tree that is displayed.

Specify Properties for a Decision Tree

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Include missing
specifies whether missing values are included in the tree.
Frequency
specifies whether the frequency value for each node is displayed as a count
(Count) or as a percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).
Growth strategy
specifies the parameters that are used to create the decision tree. Select one
of the following values:
Basic
specifies a simple tree with a maximum of two branches per split and a
maximum of six levels. For details, see Table 25.4 on page 192.
Advanced
specifies a complex tree with a maximum of four branches per split and a
maximum of six levels. For details, see Table 25.4 on page 192.
Custom
enables you to select the values for each of the parameters.

192 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

If you select Custom as the value for Growth strategy, then the following
additional options appear:
Maximum branches
specifies the maximum number of branches for each node split.
Maximum levels
specifies the maximum number of levels in the tree.
Leaf size
specifies the minimum number of values (count) for each node.
Response bins
specifies the number of bins that are used for the response data item.
Note: This option has no effect if the response data item contains discrete
data.
Predictor bins
specifies the number of bins that are used for predictor data items.
Note: This option has no effect if the predictor data items contain discrete
data.
Rapid growth
enables you to use the information gain ratio and k-means fast search
methods for decision tree growth. When disabled, the information gain and
greedy search methods are used, which generally produce a larger tree and
require more time to create.
Pruning
specifies the level of pruning that is applied to the tree. Pruning removes
leaves and branches that contribute the least to the predictive accuracy of
the tree. A more Lenient pruning value specifies that fewer leaves and
branches are removed from the tree. A more Aggressive pruning value
specifies that more leaves and branches are removed from the tree.
Reuse predictors
specifies that predictors can be used more than once in the tree.
The following parameter values are used for the Basic and Advanced growth
strategies:
Table 25.4

Parameter Values for the Basic and Advanced Growth Strategies

Property

Basic Value

Advanced Value

Maximum branches

Maximum levels

Leaf size

Response bins

10

10

Predictor bins

10

Reuse predictors

No

Yes

Working with Decision Trees

193

Explore a Node as a New Visualization

For each node in the tree, you can explore the data values as a new histogram
or bar chart visualization. To create a new visualization for a node, right-click on
the node, and then select Create Visualization from Node. A new visualization
appears.
Note: If you create a visualization from a node that displays a histogram, then
the new histogram might have visual differences from the histogram that is
displayed in the decision tree. For example, the bins and the extent of data on
the X axis might be different. However, the two histograms use exactly the same
data.

Derive a Leaf ID Data Item from a Decision Tree

You can derive a leaf ID data item to represent the results of a decision tree. The
leaf ID data item creates values that correspond to the node IDs in the details
table for the decision tree.
You can use the leaf ID data item in a filter to select the values for a decision
tree node in other types of visualizations.
To calculate a leaf ID data item from a decision tree:
1 Select the

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then select

Derive a Leaf ID Variable.

2 In the New Calculated Item window, enter a Name for the new calculated

item.
3 Click OK to create the new data item.

Display the Overview

For large decision trees, the overview enables you to select the portions of the
tree that are visible.
To display the overview, right-click an empty part of the decision tree, and then
select Show Overview.
Note: Each leaf node in the overview displays a single bar for the greatest value
in that node. To display a bar for each node in the overview, right-click an empty
part of the decision tree, and then select Show Branch Coloring.

Zoom a Decision Tree

You can zoom a decision tree by using either of the following controls:
n in the overview, select the part of the decision tree that you want to view
n scroll the mouse wheel over the visualization to zoom in or out at the location

of the cursor
Note: If you zoom out on the decision tree, then each leaf node displays a
single bar for the greatest value in that node. To display a bar for each node in

194 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

the tree, right-click an empty part of the decision tree, and then select Show
Branch Coloring.
When you have zoomed in on a decision tree and scroll bars are displayed, you
can reposition the decision tree by holding down the Shift and Alt keys and
dragging it.

Pan (Scroll) a Decision Tree

You can pan (scroll) the decision tree by using any of the following controls:
n in the overview, drag the selection box
n hold down the Shift key and drag the decision tree

Working with Word Clouds

About Word Clouds
A word cloud displays a set of words from a character data item. Depending on
the type of word cloud and your data roles, the size of each word in the cloud
can indicate the importance (topic term weight) of the word, the frequency of the
word, or the value of a measure.
You can create two types of word cloud:
Word clouds that use text analytics
Word clouds that use text analytics analyze each value in a document
collection data item as a text document that can contain multiple words.
Words that often appear together in the document collection are identified as
topics. For the selected topic, the word cloud displays the terms with the
greatest topic term weight values. The topic term weight indicates the
importance of the term within the topic.
A word cloud that uses text analytics can also display whether the
documents in a topic express positive, negative, or neutral sentiment.
The details table for a text analytics word cloud contains additional
information about the terms, topics, and documents in the word cloud. For
more information, see Explore Text Analytics Results on page 198.
To enable text analytics, you must set a unique row identifier and define one
or more categories as document collections. See Define Data Items for Text
Analytics on page 133.
Note: Text analytics can be applied only to English or German text.
Note: Depending on the number of rows in your data source and the length
of the values in your document collection, a word cloud with text analytics
might require a significant amount of time to display.
Note: Text analytics in SAS Visual Analytics uses a different algorithm from
SAS Text Miner. Your results might be different from the results that SAS Text
Miner produces.
Word clouds that use category values
Word clouds that use category values analyze each value in a category data
item as a single text string. The word cloud can display either the string

Working with Word Clouds

195

values that have the highest frequency or the string values that have the
greatest value for a measure. The color of each word can indicate the value
of a measure.
Note: If you view the word cloud as an automatic chart, then any changes to the
Roles tab might cause the visualization to reset. It is recommended that you
view it as a word cloud.

Data Roles for a Word Cloud

About Data Roles for a Word Cloud
The data roles for a word cloud are dependent on the type of word cloud that
you select.
The Show Word Cloud option selects whether the word cloud is generated by
using text analytics or by using category values.

Data Roles for a Word Cloud That Uses Text Analytics

For a word cloud that uses text analytics, the basic role is a Document
collection. A document collection is a category data item that contains the
words that you will analyze.
Note: To enable text analytics, you must set a unique row identifier and define
one or more categories as document collections. See Define Data Items for
Text Analytics on page 133.
In addition to the basic role, you can specify the following role:
Document details
specifies data items that are displayed as columns in the Documents tab of
the details table.

Data Roles for a Word Cloud That Uses Category Values

For a word cloud that uses category values, the basic role is Words. Specify a
category whose values are used in the word cloud.
In addition to the basic role, you can specify these roles:
Size
specifies a measure that determines the size of each word. If you do not
specify a measure, then the word size indicates the frequency of each word.
Color
specifies a measure that determines the color of each word.

Specify Properties for a Word Cloud

On the Properties tab, you can specify the following options:
Name
specifies the name of the visualization.
Title
specifies the title that appears above the graph.
Note: The Title option is disabled if you select Generate graph title.

196 Chapter 25 / Working with Visualizations

Generate graph title
specifies that the graph title is generated automatically based on the data
items in the visualization.
Frequency (for category values only)
specifies whether the frequency is displayed as a count (Count) or as a
percentage (Percent).
Note: The frequency values are based on the data that is shown in the
visualization (after filters and other data selections have been applied).
Note: This option has no effect if a measure is assigned to the Size role.
Word display limit
specifies the maximum number of words that are displayed in the word cloud.
Font scale
specifies the amount of difference in font sizes between the largest and
smallest words in the cloud. The number value specifies the ratio in points of
the largest font size to the smallest font size.
For word clouds that use category values, you can specify the following addition
option:
Color gradient
selects the gradient colors for the visualization.
You can click
to select the values that are used to assign the colors. See
Specify a Custom Data Range on page 152.
For word clouds that use text analytics, you can specify the following additional
basic options:
Analyze document sentiment
Enables sentiment analysis for the word cloud.
Sentiment analysis determines whether a document has a positive
sentiment, negative sentiment, or neutral sentiment based on the content of
the document.
When sentiment analysis is enabled, the number of positive, neutral, and
negative documents in the topic is displayed at the top of the word cloud. In
addition, sentiment values are displayed on the Topics and Documents tabs
of the details table.
Identify term roles
identifies terms by their parts of speech. In addition, this option identifies
groups of nouns as single terms and identifies text entities such as names,
addresses, telephone numbers, and so on.
Note: This option is equivalent to the advanced options Include parts of
speech, Extract noun groups, and Use entity extraction.
Maximum topics
specifies the maximum number of topics to create. Specify a number from 4
to 20.
For word clouds that use text analytics, you can specify the following additional
advanced options:
Analyze document sentiment
Enables sentiment analysis for the word cloud.

Working with Word Clouds

197

Sentiment analysis determines whether a document has a positive

sentiment, negative sentiment, or neutral sentiment based on the content of
the document.
When sentiment analysis is enabled, the number of positive, neutral, and
negative documents in the topic is displayed at the top of the word cloud. In
addition, sentiment values are displayed on the Topics and Documents tabs
of the details table.
Maximum topics
specifies the maximum number of topics to create. Specify a number from 4
to 20.
Resolution
specifies the resolution that is used to identify topics. A Low resolution
identifies fewer topics. A High resolution identifies more topics.
Cell weight
specifies whether to weight the frequency of each term for every document
that it appears in. Selecting Logarithmic de-emphasizes terms that appear
many times in relatively few documents.
Term weight
specifies a weighting algorithm for the terms in the document collection. The
Entropy weighting algorithm emphasizes terms that have a low frequency
across the document collection.
Document threshold
specifies the minimum number of documents that a term must appear in.
Specify a number from 1 to 20. If a term does not appear in the minimum
number of documents, then it is not included in the word cloud.
Topic label length
specifies the number of terms that are included in a topic name. Specify a
number from 2 to 8. This property does not affect the number of terms that
are used to select topics; only the topic names are changed.
Include parts of speech
specifies that terms are classified by parts of speech (for example, a noun, a
verb, or an adjective.) The part of speech for each term is displayed in the
data tip for the term.
Extract noun groups
specifies whether to identify groups of nouns as terms.
Use entity extraction
specifies whether to identify text entities such as names, addresses,
telephone numbers, and so on. If this option is disabled, then text entities are
not treated differently from other text.
Stem words
specifies whether all forms of a given word are identified as a single term.
For example, if you select Stem words, then the words sell, sells,
selling, and sold are identified as a single term sell.
Use stop list (if available)
specifies whether to use a stop list to exclude common words such as the,
with, and is when identifying terms. If no stop list is available, then a
message appears at the bottom of the word cloud.
Stop list
specifies the stop list that is used, if the Use stop list option is enabled.

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Explore Text Analytics Results

For a word cloud visualization that uses text analytics, a large amount of
additional information is available in the details table. To display the details table,
click the
Details.

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then select Show

The details table for a text analytics word cloud contains the following tabs:
Results
displays all of the terms in the current topic. For each term, the Topic Term
Weight value indicates the importance of the term in the current topic.
If the Identify term roles property or the Include parts of speech property
is enabled, then the Role value identifies the grammatical role of each term.
Note: You can sort any column by clicking the column heading.
Topics
displays all of the topics in the document collection. If sentiment analysis is
enabled, then the number of positive, neutral, and negative documents for
each topic is displayed.
Note: You can sort any column by clicking the column heading.
Documents
displays each of the documents that contains the selected term. For each
document, the Relevance value indicates how relevant the document is to
the current topic.
To view the full text for a document, right-click the document, and then select
View Full Document.
If sentiment analysis is enabled, then the Sentiment value identifies how
positive or negative the document is. You can filter the documents to exclude
documents with positive, negative, or neutral sentiment.
Note: You can sort any numeric column by clicking the column heading.
Analysis
provides definitions of the key concepts for text analytics.

Explore Selected Documents as a New

Visualization
You can explore a set of selected documents as a new table visualization. To
create a new visualization from your selected documents, follow these steps:
1

Select the topic and the term that you want to explore.

On the Documents tab in the details table, select the documents that you
want to explore in a new visualization. To select all of the documents, rightclick any document, and then select Select All.

3 Right-click any document, and then select Create Visualization from

Selected Documents.
A new table visualization appears with your selected document values.

199

26
Working with Filters
About Filters in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Managing Your Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Set the Scope of a Filter (Global or Local) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Collapse or Expand a Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Arrange Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delete a Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Resize the Global Filters and Local Filters Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copy a Local Filter to Another Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Copy All Local Filters from the Current Visualization to Another Visualization
Copy a Local Filter to New Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Link a Global Filter to Another Data Source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

200
200
201
201
201
201
201
201
202
202

Working with Basic Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

About Basic Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Create a Basic Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Create a Basic Filter from a Data Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Edit a Filter By Using Visual Filter Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Edit a Basic Filter By Using the Edit Filter Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Reset a Basic Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Working with Advanced Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Advanced Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create an Advanced Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit an Advanced Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

207
207
207
207

Working with Data Source Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

About Data Source Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Create a Data Source Filter from a Global Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Create a New Data Source Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Edit a Data Source Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Delete a Data Source Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Editing a Filter Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Specify the Filter Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Edit a Parameter Value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Add a Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Add an Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Replace an Operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Add a Global Parameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Delete Part of an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Subset an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Edit an Expression as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

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Display the Current Expression as Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Manage the Scratch Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

About Filters in SAS Visual Analytics

Explorer
In SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer), you can create filters to subset
your data.
Three types of filters are available:
Basic filters
subset the data for your visualizations by using a single data item. Basic
filters can be modified by using visual filter controls or by using the Edit Filter
window.
For more information, see Working with Basic Filters on page 202.
Advanced filters
subset the data for your visualizations by using any number of data items.
Visual filter controls are not available for advanced filters.
For more information, see Working with Advanced Filters on page 207.
Data source filters
subset a data source for the entire exploration. Data source filters are applied
before all other data processing, so statistics like cardinality values and the
percentage of total rows that is displayed in the right pane are based on the
filtered data. Data source filters can use any number of data items to select
data.
For information about data source filters, see Working with Data Source
Filters on page 208.
All of your filters are saved when you save your exploration.

Managing Your Filters

Set the Scope of a Filter (Global or Local)
A filter can be either local (applies only to the current visualization) or global
(applies to all of the visualizations in the exploration that use the selected data
source).
To set the scope of a filter, click the
drop-down list for the filter on the Filters
tab, and then select Filter on data-source to make it a global filter or Filter on
Visualization to make it a local filter.
Note: If you change a global filters scope to local, then a local filter is created
for all of the visualizations in the exploration that use the selected data source.
Note: If local filters exist in your other visualizations for the same data item,
then changing a local filter to a global filter replaces those local filters. A
confirmation window enables you to continue or cancel.

201

Managing Your Filters

Collapse or Expand a Filter

To collapse (minimize) or expand (restore) a filter, click the filter name on the
Filters tab.
To collapse all of the filters in an area, click the
drop-down list in the global
filters area or in the local filters area on the Filters tab, and then select Collapse
All Filters.
To expand all of the filters in an area, click the
drop-down list in the global
filters area or in the local filters area on the Filters tab, and then select Expand
All Filters.

Arrange Filters
To arrange the filters in an area of the Filters tab, click the
drop-down list in
the global filters area or in the local filters area and then select Arrange Filters.
In the Arrange Filters window, you can change the order of your filters.

Delete a Filter
To delete a filter, click
beside the filter on the Filters tab, or click the
down list for the specific filter, and then select Delete Filter.

drop-

You can delete all of the filters in an area by clicking the

drop-down list in the
global filters area or in the local filters area on the Filters tab, and then selecting
Delete All Filters.
Note: If you delete a global filter, then the filter is removed from all of the
visualizations that use the selected data source.

Resize the Global Filters and Local Filters Areas

To resize the global filters and local filters areas of the Filters tab, drag the
resizing tab
between the two areas.

Copy a Local Filter to Another Visualization

For a local filter, you can copy your filter to any visualization that uses the same
data source.
To copy your filter, click the
drop-down list for the filter on the Filters tab, and
then select Copy Filter to visualization-name.

Copy All Local Filters from the Current

Visualization to Another Visualization
For local filters, you can copy all of your filters to any visualization that uses the
same data source.

202 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

To copy your filters, click the
drop-down list for the local filters (Visualization)
area of the Filters tab, and then select Copy All Filters to visualizationname.

Copy a Local Filter to New Visualization

For a local filter, you can copy your filter to new blank visualization.
To copy your filter, click the
drop-down list for the filter on the Filters tab, and
then select Copy Filter to New Visualization to copy your filter to a new
blank visualization.

Link a Global Filter to Another Data Source

You can create a single filter that affects multiple data sources by linking a global
filter from one data source to another.
To create a linked global filter, follow these steps:
1 Create a global, basic filter or select an existing global, basic filter. See

Create a Basic Filter on page 203.

Note: You cannot link an advanced filter to another data source.
2 Click the

drop-down list for the filter on the Filters tab, and then select
Link Filter to data-source. The Link Filters window appears.

Note: If the target data source has a different locale from your current data
source, then a message appears. A linked filter between data sources that
use different encodings might cause query errors.
3

Specify the New filter name, and select the Target data item.
The values for the original data item and the target data item are displayed.
For discrete data items, an asterisk marks any values that are identical
between the two data items.

4 Click OK to create the linked filter. The linked filter appears in the global

filters area of each visualization that uses any of the linked data sources.
Note: You can link a linked filter to additional data sources to filter all of the
linked data sources at once.

Working with Basic Filters

About Basic Filters
For all visualization types, you can subset your data by using the Filters tab.
You can base your filters on any data item, regardless of whether the data item
is assigned to the current visualization.
Your filters can be either local filters that apply only to the current visualization or
global filters that apply to all of the visualizations for the selected data source. In
the Filters tab, the local filters area is labeled Visualization and the global filters
area is labeled with the name of the selected data source for the current

Working with Basic Filters 203

visualization.For more information, see Set the Scope of a Filter (Global or

Local) on page 200.
The total percentage of values that are selected by your filters is displayed at the
bottom of the Filters tab. The tooltip for the percentage displays the exact
number of data rows. The percentage is calculated after data source filters are
applied.

Create a Basic Filter

To create a basic filter:
1

From the Data pane, select the data item that you want to use as the base of
the filter. You can select any data item, regardless of whether it is assigned to
the current visualization.

2 For a local filter, either right-click on the data item, and select Add as Filter

on Visualization, or drag and drop the data item onto the local filters area of
the Filters tab.
For a global filter, either right-click on the data item, and select Add as Filter
on data-source, or drag and drop the data item onto the global filters area of
the Filters tab.
Note: If a local filter exists for a data item in any of your visualizations, then
you cannot create a new global filter for that data item. Remove the local
filter, or change its scope to global. Similarly, if a global filter exists for a data
item, then you cannot create a local filter for that data item.
3 Set the parameters for your filter. You can use either visual filter controls or

the Edit Filter window .

Note: By default, your filter changes are applied automatically to the active
visualization. To apply multiple changes together, deselect Auto-Update, and
then click Update when you are ready to apply your filter changes.

Create a Basic Filter from a Data Selection

When you select data values in a visualization, you can use the selected values
to create a basic filter.
To create a new filter from a data selection:
1 Select one or more data values in a visualization.
2 Right-click on the visualization, and then select one of the following:

Include Only Selection

creates a filter that includes the selected values only.
Exclude Selection
creates a filter that excludes the selected values.
The new filter appears on the Filters tab.

204 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

Edit a Filter By Using Visual Filter Controls

About Visual Filter Controls
Visual filter controls are accessible directly from the Filters tab. The visual filter
controls are different, depending on the model type of the filter data item.

Filtering Discrete Data

Figure 26.1

A Visual Filter for a Discrete Data Item

Note: If your data contains a large number of discrete values, then the top
1,000 most frequent values are displayed.
For data items that use the discrete data model, the filter displays all of the
distinct values for the data item. To the right of each value, a bar indicates the
frequency.
Use the check boxes next to each value to select the values for the filter. You
can search for a value in the displayed list by clicking . Enter a text string in
the field. The search locates values from the displayed list that begin with your
text string.
Select All to select or deselect all of the values. If the filter displays the top 1,000
most frequent values, then select Include unlisted values to select the unlisted
values.
To invert your selection, click the
Selection.

drop-down list, and then select Invert

You can sort the values by frequency or alphabetically by value. Click the
drop-down list, and then select Sort by Frequency or Sort by Values.
To display the selected values at the top of the list, click the
and then select Show Selected at Top.

drop-down list,

If your data item contains more than 1,000 discrete values, then you can exclude
the unlisted values by deselecting Include unlisted values.
If your data item contains missing values, then you can exclude missing values
by deselecting Include missing values.

Working with Basic Filters 205

By default, your filter changes are applied automatically to the active

visualization. To apply multiple changes together, deselect Auto-Update at the
bottom of the Filters tab, and then click Update when you are ready to apply
your filter changes.

Filtering Continuous Data

Figure 26.2

A Visual Filter for a Continuous Data Item

For measures that use the continuous data model, the filter shows the range of
data values as a histogram. Sliders at each side of the histogram enable you to
select the data that is selected by the filter.
The visual filter can select data by using different filter conditions. By default, the
Between (Inclusive) condition is used. To change the condition for your filter,
drop-down list, select Condition Type, and then select the
click the
condition. Select one of the following conditions:
Between (Exclusive)
specifies that a matching value must be in the range between the lower
bound and the upper bound. Matching values do not include the bounding
values.
Between (Inclusive)
specifies that a matching value must be in the range between the lower
bound and the upper bound. Matching values can include the bounding
values.
Equal To
specifies that a matching value must be equal to the value specified by the
filter.
Greater Than
specifies that a matching value must be greater than the value specified by
the filter.
Greater Than or Equal To
specifies that a matching value must be greater than or equal to the value
specified by the filter.
Less Than
specifies that a matching value must be less than the value specified by the
filter.
Less Than or Equal To
specifies that a matching value must be less than or equal to the value
specified by the filter.
Not Between (Exclusive)
specifies that a matching value must be outside the range between the lower
bound and the upper bound. Matching values do not include the bounding
values.

206 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

Not Between (Inclusive)
specifies that a matching value must be outside the range between the lower
bound and the upper bound. Matching values can include the bounding
values.
Not Equal To
specifies that a matching value must not be equal to the value specified by
the filter.
You can specify the values for the filter by using sliders or by entering the values
explicitly:
n For numeric data, click on a value below the histogram, and then enter a new

value in the text field.

n For a continuous datetime data item, click

, and then select a date or time.

If your data item contains missing values, then you can exclude the missing
values by deselecting Include missing values.
To invert your selection, click the
Selection.

drop-down list, and then select Invert

By default, your filter changes are applied automatically to the active

visualization. To apply multiple changes together, deselect Auto-Update at the
bottom of the Filters tab, and then click Update when you are ready to apply
your filter changes.

Edit a Basic Filter By Using the Edit Filter Window

To edit a basic filter by using the Edit Filter window:
1

Select the Filters tab.

2 Click the

drop-down list for the filter that you want to edit, and then select
Edit Filter. The Edit Filter window appears.

3 Edit the expression for the filter. For more information, see Editing a Filter

Expression on page 209.

Reset a Basic Filter

To restore a basic filter to its initial state, click the
and then select Reset Filter.

drop-down list for the filter,

You can reset all of your filters by clicking the drop-down list in the global
filters area or the local filters area of the Filters tab, and then selecting Reset
All Filters.

Working with Advanced Filters

207

Working with Advanced Filters

About Advanced Filters
For all visualization types, you can create advanced filters to subset your data by
using the Filters tab.
Advanced filters enable you to create filters that use more than one data item.
Your advanced filters can be either local filters that apply only to the current
visualization, or global filters that apply to all of the visualizations that use the
selected data source.
The total percentage of values that are selected by your filters is displayed at the
bottom of the Filters tab. The tooltip for the percentage displays the exact
number of data rows. The percentage is calculated after data source filters are
applied.

Create an Advanced Filter

To create an advanced filter:
1

Click the
drop-down list in the global filters area or in the local filters area
of the Filters tab, and then select New Advanced Filter. The Edit Filter
window appears.

2 Specify a Filter name. The filter name identifies the advanced filter on the

Filters tab.
3

Build the expression for your filter by dragging and dropping data items,
global parameters, conditions, and operators onto the expression.
For information about the conditions and operators that are available, see
Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589 and Appendix 5,
Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567 .
You can also build your expression as text by using the Text tab. See
Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode on page 561.

Click OK to apply the filter.

Edit an Advanced Filter

To edit an advanced filter:
1 Select the Filters tab.
2

Click the
drop-down list for the filter that you want to edit, and then select
Edit Filter. The Edit Filter window appears.

3 Edit the expression for the filter. For more information, see Editing a Filter

Expression on page 209.

208 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

Working with Data Source Filters

About Data Source Filters
A data source filter enables you to subset a data source for an entire
exploration. A data source filter differs from a global advanced filter in the
following ways:
n A data source filter updates the cardinality values that appear in the Data

pane.
n A data source filter updates the total number of rows that is used in the

filtered rows percentage at the bottom of the right pane.

n A data source filter is not shown on the Filters tab.
n An exploration can contain only one data source filter for each data source.

Create a Data Source Filter from a Global Filter

To convert an existing global filter to a data source filter:
1

On the Filters tab, select the global filter that you want to convert.

Click the
drop-down list, and select Convert to Data Source Filter. The
global filter disappears from the Filters tab.

Note: If your exploration already contains a data source filter for the selected
data source, then the global filter is appended to the filter expression using the
AND operator.
You can convert all of your global filters together into a single data source filter
drop-down list in the global filters area of the Filters tab, and
by clicking the
then selecting Convert All to Data Source Filter. The expressions from the
global filters are joined with AND operators.
To view the data source filter settings, select Data Data Source Details from
the main menu. The data source filter settings are displayed in the Data source
filter field.

Create a New Data Source Filter

To create a data source filter:
1

In the Data pane, select the data source that you want to filter.

2 Click

and then select New Data Source Filter.

Note: If the current exploration contains an existing data source filter, then
select Edit Data Source Filter to add conditions to the existing data source
filter.
The Edit Filter window appears.

Editing a Filter Expression

3

209

Build the expression for your filter by dragging and dropping data items,
global parameters, conditions, and operators onto the expression.
For information about the conditions and operators that are available, see
Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589 and Appendix 5,
Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567 .
You can also build your expression as text by using the Text tab. See
Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode on page 561.

4 Click OK to apply the filter.

Edit a Data Source Filter

To edit a data source filter:
1 In the Data pane, select the data source that you want to filter.
2

Click

and then select Edit Data Source Filter.

The Edit Filter window appears.

3

Edit the expression for the filter. For more information, see Editing a Filter
Expression on page 209.

Delete a Data Source Filter

To delete a data source filter:
1

In the Data pane, select the data source for which you want to remove the
filter.

Click

and then select Delete Data Source Filter.

Editing a Filter Expression

Specify the Filter Name
To specify a name for the filter, enter a name in the Filter name field. The filter
name identifies the advanced filter on the Filters tab.
Note: You cannot specify the name for a basic filter or a data source filter.

Edit a Parameter Value

To edit a parameter value for a condition or operator, select the parameter, and
enter a new value. Or, right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to
select a data item or a global parameter.

210 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

Add a Condition
To add a new condition:
1 From the Data items list, select the data item on which the condition is

based.
2 From the Conditions list, select a condition. For a list of the conditions that

are available, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.

3 Drag and drop the condition onto the expression.
4 For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value, or

right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data item.

Add an Operator
To add an operator to the expression:
1

From the Operators list, select the operator that you want to add. For a list of
the operators that are available, see Appendix 5, Operators for Data
Expressions, on page 567.

2 Drag and drop the operator onto the expression.

3 For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value. Or,

right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data item.

Replace an Operator
To replace an operator, drag and drop a new operator onto the existing operator
in the expression. You can also right-click an operator in your expression, select
Replace Operator with, and then select a new operator.

Add a Global Parameter

To add an existing global parameter to your expression, drag and drop the
parameter from the Data Items list onto your expression.
To create a new global parameter, in the expression editor, right-click the
Parameter heading in the Data Items list, and then select Create
Parameter.For more information about creating global parameters, see
Working with Global Parameters on page 121.

Delete Part of an Expression

To delete a part of an expression, highlight the part of the expression that you
want to delete, right-click, and select Delete or Clear.

Subset an Expression
To subset an expression and delete the remainder:

Editing a Filter Expression

1

211

Highlight the part of the expression that you want to keep.

2 Right-click, and select Keep Operand. The parts of the expression that were

not selected are removed.

Edit an Expression as Text

On the Text tab of the expression editor, you can edit an expression as text
code. See Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode on page 561.

Display the Current Expression as Text

To display the current expression as text on the Display Text tab, click the
drop-down list, and then select Show display text.

Manage the Scratch Area

The scratch area of the expression editor enables you to store elements of an
expression, and then add them back into the expression as needed.
You can see the contents of the scratch area on the Scratch tab.
To move items to the scratch area, right-click part of the expression, and select
Move to Scratch Area. You can also drag and drop items from your expression
onto the Scratch tab.
To move an item from the scratch area to your expression, drag and drop the
item from the Scratch tab onto your expression.
To delete an item in the scratch area, click the

button next to the item.

212 Chapter 26 / Working with Filters

213

27
Exporting Content
Export an Exploration as a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Export an Exploration as a PDF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Save a Visualization as an Image File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Export Data from a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
E-mail an Exploration as a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217

Export an Exploration as a Report

You can export your exploration as a report, which can be refined in the designer
interface or viewed directly on a mobile device or in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer
(the viewer).
To export your current exploration as a report:
1 Select File Export Exploration as Report.

Note: If you have only one visualization in your exploration, the Save As
window is displayed at this point. Select the location where you want to save
the report, and then click Save to export it as a report.
2 In the Export as Report window, select the visualizations that you want to

include in the report.

Note: The following types of visualizations are not available to include in the
report:
n visualizations that do not contain any data
n decision trees
n network diagrams
n Sankey diagrams
n word clouds
n treemaps that display additional levels
n line charts with forecasting analysis are not available if the visualization

has not been displayed during the current session

n geo maps that use calculated geography data items

214 Chapter 27 / Exporting Content

Note: If your scatter plot or heat map contains correlation data, the
correlations are not included in the report.
The Export to Report window enables you to perform the following tasks:
Task

Action

Add visualizations to the selection list.

Select a visualization from the

Available list, and then click
, or click
to add all of the available
visualizations.

(Restore visualizations.)

Remove visualizations from the

selection list.
(Minimize visualizations.)

Select a visualization from the Selected

list, and then click
, or click
to
remove all of the visualizations.

Change the order of the selected

visualizations.

In the Selected list, drag and drop the

visualizations in the order that you want,
or select a visualization and click the up
and down arrows to move it.

Search the available visualizations.

In the Search field, enter a string to

search for. A visualization matches the
search if the string appears anywhere in
the visualization name.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

Filter the available visualizations.

Click
, and then select your filter
parameters. You can filter either on the
visualization type or on the data items
that are used in each visualization.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

When you have finished selecting your visualizations, click OK.

3

Select the location where you want to save the report, and then click Save.

Click OK to return to the explorer, or select Open the report now, and click
OK to view the report in the designer.

Export an Exploration as a PDF

To export your current exploration as a PDF:
1

Select File Export Exploration as PDF.

In the Export as PDF wizard, enter a Title and a Description for the PDF
document. Then, select the following options:
Page numbers
specifies that the PDF document contains page numbers.

Export an Exploration as a PDF

215

Summary data
specifies whether the PDF document contains summary data tables for
each visualization.
Filter descriptions
specifies whether each visualization includes a description of its active
filters.
Click Next.
3

Select the visualizations that you want to include in the PDF document.
Note: The following types of visualizations are not available to include in the
PDF document:
n visualizations that do not contain any data
n crosstabs
n tables that contain more than 1,000 rows

The Export as PDF window enables you to perform the following tasks:
Task

Action

Add visualizations to the selection list.

Select a visualization from the

Available list, and then click
, or click
to add all of the available
visualizations.

(Restore visualizations.)

Remove visualizations from the

selection list.
(Minimize visualizations.)

Select a visualization from the Selected

list, and then click
, or click
to
remove all of the visualizations.

Change the order of the selected

visualizations.

In the Selected list, drag and drop the

visualizations in the order that you want,
or select a visualization and click the up
and down arrows to move it.

Search the available visualizations.

In the Search field, enter a string to

search for. A visualization matches the
search if the string appears anywhere in
the visualization name.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

Filter the available visualizations.

Click
, and then select your filter
parameters. You can filter either on the
visualization type or on the data items
that are used in each visualization.
Only the matching visualizations appear
in the Available list.

Click Next.
4

Click Finish to open a download window for your browser.

Select the location where you want to save the PDF document.

216 Chapter 27 / Exporting Content

Note: If the legend for a visualization is too large, then it is not included in the
PDF document.

Save a Visualization as an Image File

To save your current visualization as an image file:
1

Select the visualization that you want to save as an image.

If your visualization contains hierarchies, drill down to the hierarchy levels

that you want to show in the image.

Select the
drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then select
Export Image.

4 If necessary, scroll and zoom the visualization to show the data items that

you want to include in the image. If your visualization contains filters,

legends, or hierarchy breadcrumbs, select whether to include these
elements.
5 Click Save to open a download window for your browser.
6 Select the location where you want to save the image.

Export Data from a Visualization

You can export the data from a visualization in comma-separated values (.csv)
format. You can open .csv files in other software such as SAS Enterprise Miner,
SAS Enterprise Guide, or Microsoft Excel.
To export data for a visualization:
1 Select the visualization for which you want to export data.

Note: For crosstab visualizations, a data summary is exported instead of a

full data table.
2

If your visualization contains hierarchies, drill down to the hierarchy levels

that you want to export.

3 Select the

drop-down list from the visualization toolbar, and then select

Export Data to open a download window for your browser.
Note: For a crosstab visualization, select Export Data Summary instead of
Export Data.

4 Specify a filename and select the location where you want to save the file.

Note: To export data from a table visualization, your browser must allow
pop-ups.

E-mail an Exploration as a Link

217

E-mail an Exploration as a Link

To e-mail your exploration as a link:
1 Select File E-mail. The E-mail window appears.
2

Enter the following information:

To
specifies the e-mail destination. To enter multiple addresses, separate the
addresses by using commas, semicolons, or spaces.
From
specifies the e-mail address that is shown as the sender of the e-mail.
This e-mail address is used for notifications if the e-mail cannot be
delivered to the addresses in the To field.
Subject
specifies the subject line of the e-mail.
Message
specifies the text for the e-mail message body. This field is optional.
Note: The message body of the e-mail automatically includes a link to
the current exploration. If you specify text for the Message field, then your
text appears before the link in the e-mail.

Click OK to send the e-mail.

218 Chapter 27 / Exporting Content

219

28
Managing Hierarchies
What Is a Hierarchy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Create a New Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219
Derive a Hierarchy from a Date, Time, or Datetime Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Create a Hierarchy from a Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Edit a Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Delete a Hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

What Is a Hierarchy?
A hierarchy is an arrangement of category columns that is based on parent-child
relationships. The levels of a hierarchy are arranged with more general
information at the top and more specific information at the bottom.
For example, you might create a hierarchy of date-time columns with Year as the
top level, Month as the next level, and Day as the bottom level.
Creating hierarchies enables you to add drill-down functionality to your
visualizations. For example, if you use a date-time hierarchy, you can drill down
to the data for a specific year. Then, you can drill down to the data for a specific
month.
When you drill down a hierarchy, a set of breadcrumb links at the top of your
visualization enables you to drill back up the hierarchy.

Create a New Hierarchy

To create a new hierarchy:
1 Select Data New Hierarchy. The New Hierarchy window appears.
2 In the Name field, enter a name for the hierarchy.
3

Select the categories that you want to include in the hierarchy, and then click
to add them to the hierarchy.
Note: You can also drag and drop categories.

220 Chapter 28 / Managing Hierarchies

To change the order of the categories in your hierarchy, select the category
that you want to move. Then, click
to move the category up, or click
to
move the category down.
To remove a category from the hierarchy, select the category that you want to
remove. Then, click .
4

Click OK to finish creating the hierarchy.

Note: You can create a hierarchy from within a crosstab visualization. See
Create a Hierarchy from a Crosstab on page 158.

Derive a Hierarchy from a Date, Time, or

Datetime Data Item
For date, time, and datetime data items, you can derive a hierarchy
automatically. To derive a hierarchy, right-click on a date, time, or datetime data
item in the Data pane, and then select one of the following values:
Create Date Hierarchy
creates a hierarchy with levels for year, quarter, month, and day. Depending
on the format of the data item, some of the levels might not be created.
Create Date and Time Hierarchy
creates a hierarchy with levels for year, quarter, month, day, hour, minute,
and second. Depending on the format of the data item, some of the levels
might not be created.
Create Time Hierarchy
creates a hierarchy with levels for hour, minute, and second. Depending on
the format of the data item, some of the levels might not be created.
New calculated items are created for each level in the hierarchy. By default, the
new calculated items are hidden in the Data pane. If you delete a derived
hierarchy, then a window appears. The window enables you to delete the
calculated items that are associated with the hierarchy.

Create a Hierarchy from a Visualization

You can create a hierarchy from a treemap, crosstab, or network diagram
visualization. See the following topics:
n Create a Hierarchy from a Treemap on page 187
n Create a Hierarchy from a Crosstab on page 158
n Create a Hierarchy from a Network Diagram on page 172

Delete a Hierarchy

221

Edit a Hierarchy
To edit an existing hierarchy:
1

From the Data pane, right-click on the hierarchy that you want to edit, and
then select Edit. The Edit Hierarchy window appears.

In the Name field, enter a name for the hierarchy.

3 To add a category to the hierarchy, select the category, and then click

Note: You can also drag and drop categories.

To change the order of the categories in your hierarchy, select the category
that you want to move. Then, click
to move the category up, or click
to
move the category down.
To remove a category from the hierarchy, select the category that you want to
remove. Then, click .
4

Click OK to save the changes to your hierarchy.

Delete a Hierarchy
To delete a hierarchy:
From the Data pane, right-click on the hierarchy that you want to delete, and
then select Delete. Click Yes to confirm that you want to delete the hierarchy.

222 Chapter 28 / Managing Hierarchies

223

29
Performing Data Analysis
Overview of Data Analysis in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Types of Data Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Correlation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Fit Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Add a Fit Line to an Existing Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Add Forecasting to an Existing Visualization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Working with Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
About Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Apply Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking to a Forecast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Remove Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking from Your Forecast . . . . . . . . . . 227

Overview of Data Analysis in SAS Visual

Analytics Explorer
Types of Data Analysis
SAS Visual Analytics enables you to perform three basic types of data analysis:
Correlation
identifies the degree of statistical relationship between measures.
Fit Line
plots a model of the relationship between measures. There are many types
of fit lines, including linear fit, quadratic fit, cubic fit, and penalized B-spline.
Forecasting
estimates future values for your data based on statistical trends.

Correlation
Correlation identifies the degree of statistical relationship between measures.
The strength of a correlation is described as a number between -1 and 1. A
value that is close to -1 implies a strong negative correlation, a value that is
close to 0 implies little or no correlation, and a value that is close to 1 implies a
strong positive correlation.

224 Chapter 29 / Performing Data Analysis

To apply correlation to a visualization, add a linear fit line, or select the
correlation matrix visualization type.
For a heat map or a simple scatter plot, the correlation is identified by a text
label in the visualization legend. Select
to view additional details about the
correlation, including the exact correlation value.
For a scatter plot matrix, the correlation for each plot is identified by a colored
border around the plot. The visualization legend displays a key for the color
values. Select
to view additional details about the correlation, including the
exact correlation values for each plot.
Note: For nonlinear fit types, a scatter plot matrix displays additional plots to
show each intersection of variables in two orientations. For example, if a scatter
plot matrix plots the variables A, B, and C, then plots are created for both A * B
and B * A when a nonlinear fit line is applied.
For a correlation matrix, the correlation for each cell is identified by the color of
the cell background. The visualization legend displays a key for the color values.
The data tip for each cell displays the correlation value.

Fit Lines
A fit line plots a model of the relationship between measures. You can apply fit
lines to scatter plots and heat maps.
You can apply the following types of fit line to your visualization:
Best Fit
selects the most appropriate model (linear, quadratic, or cubic) for your data.
The Best Fit method uses backward variable selection to select the highestorder model that is significant. To see the final model that was used, select
from the visualization legend.
Linear
creates a linear fit line from a linear regression algorithm. A linear fit line
produces the straight line that best represents the relationship between two
measures. For more information about the linear fit line, select
visualization legend.

from the

For a linear fit, correlation is automatically added to the visualization.

Correlation is not available with other fit types.
Quadratic
creates a quadratic fit line. A quadratic fit produces a line with a single curve.
A quadratic fit line often produces a line with the shape of a parabola. For
more information about the quadratic fit line, select
legend.

from the visualization

Cubic
creates a cubic fit line. A cubic fit line produces a line with two curves. A
cubic fit line often produces a line with an S shape. For more information
about the cubic fit line, select

from the visualization legend.

PSpline
creates a penalized B-spline. A penalized B-spline is a smoothing spline that
fits the data closely. A penalized B-spline can display a complex line with
many changes in its curvature. For more information about the penalized Bspline, select

from the visualization legend.

Add Forecasting to an Existing Visualization

225

Forecasting
Forecasting estimates future values for your data based on statistical trends.
Forecasting is available only for line charts that contain date or datetime data
items.
A forecast adds a line with predicted values to your visualization and a colored
band that represents the confidence interval. For example, a 95% confidence
interval is the data range where the forecasting model is 95% confident what the
future values will be.
The explorer automatically tests multiple forecasting models against your data,
and then selects the best model. To see which forecasting model was used,
select

from the visualization legend.

The forecast model can be any one of the following:

n Damped-trend exponential smoothing
n Linear exponential smoothing
n Seasonal exponential smoothing
n Simple exponential smoothing
n Winters method (additive)
n Winters method (multiplicative)

Note: Forecasting accounts for cyclical patterns by using standard intervals of

time (for example, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and so on). If your
data uses nonstandard intervals (for example, 48 30-minute cycles per day),
then cyclical patterns are not considered in the forecast.

Add a Fit Line to an Existing Visualization

To add a fit line to a scatter plot or heat map, select the
drop-down list from
the visualization toolbar, and then select Fit Line fit-type. For information
about the fit types that are available, see Fit Lines on page 224.

Add Forecasting to an Existing

Visualization
To enable forecasting for a line chart, select Forecasting on the Roles tab.
Note: To apply forecasting, the line chart must contain a date or datetime item.
On the Properties tab for the line chart visualization, you can adjust the number
of data points to predict by using the Duration option. You can also specify the
degree of confidence for the confidence band by using the Confidence option.
On the Roles tab, you can add measures to the forecast as Underlying factors.
The forecasting model evaluates the additional measures to determine whether
they contribute to the accuracy of the forecast. If the additional measures do not

226 Chapter 29 / Performing Data Analysis

increase the accuracy of the forecast, then they are not used. If the additional
measures do increase the accuracy of the forecast, then the forecast line is
adjusted, and the confidence bands are narrowed.
Note: Underlying factors are available only if your line chart contains a single
measure in the Measures role.
If your forecast includes underlying factors, then you can apply scenario analysis
and goal seeking to the forecast. For more information, see Working with
Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking on page 226.

Working with Scenario Analysis and Goal

Seeking
About Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking
Scenario analysis enables you to forecast hypothetical scenarios by specifying
the future values for one or more underlying factors that contribute to the
forecast.
For example, if you forecast the profit of a company, and material cost is an
underlying factor, then you might use scenario analysis to determine how the
forecasted profit would change if the material cost increased by 10%.
In addition to scenario analysis, you can perform goal seeking. Goal seeking
enables you to specify a target value for your forecast measure, and then
determine the values of your underlying factors that would be required to
achieve the target value.
For example, if you forecast the profit of a company, and material cost is an
underlying factor, then you might use goal seeking to determine what value for
material cost would be required to achieve a 10% increase in profit.
Scenario analysis and goal seeking can be used together in the same forecast.

Apply Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking to a

Forecast
To apply scenario analysis and goal seeking:
1 On the Roles tab, select Scenario Analysis. The Scenario Analysis window

appears.
Note: The Scenario Analysis option is available only if one or more
underlying factors contribute to the forecast.
2 For the forecast measure and for each of the measures that are assigned to

the forecast as underlying factors, a line displays the values of the measure,
and a series of points enables you to set the future values for the measure.
Note: You can also display the forecast values as a table. Click
the table mode.

to display

To perform scenario analysis, set the future values for the underlying factors.
To perform goal seeking, set the target future values for the forecast
measure.

Working with Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking

227

You can set the values by using any of the following methods:
n drag each data point upward or downward on the line chart. To select the

accuracy of the points, click the measure heading on the plot axis, and
select Snap Interval.
n enter the value for each data point. Right-click on a data point, and select

Set Point Value.

n set all of the values for the measure. Click the measure heading on the

plot axis, and select Set Series Values. The Change Future Values
window enables you to set all of the values to a specific value or to adjust
the future values relative to the forecasted values of the measure.
Note: The Progressively by option increments future values by the
amount that you specify. For example, if you specify 100, then the first
future value is increased by 100, the second future value is increased by
200, the third future value is increased by 300, and so on.
Note: If you change future values for either scenario analysis or goal
seeking, you must apply your changes before you can change future values
for a different analysis type.
To reset any data point to its original value, right-click on the data point, and
then select Reset Point.
To reset all of the data points for a measure, click the measure heading on
the plot axis, and then select Reset Entire Series.
3

If you perform goal seeking and there are multiple underlying factors, then
choose which of the underlying factors are optimized to achieve the target
value.

(Optional) If you perform goal seeking, you can set bounds for each
underlying factor to limit the minimum and maximum values that are possible.
To set the minimum value for an underlying factor, click the measure
heading, and then select Bounds Add Lower Bound.
To set the maximum value for an underlying factor, click the measure
heading and then select Bounds Add Upper Bound.

5 When you are finished setting the future values for the scenario, click Apply

to apply the scenario to the forecast.

The forecast is updated to show the results of the scenario. The original
forecast is displayed as an additional line that is labeled (Baseline).

Remove Scenario Analysis and Goal Seeking from

Your Forecast
To remove the scenario analysis and goal seeking from a forecast, follow these
steps:
1

On the Roles tab, select Scenario Analysis. The Scenario Analysis window
appears.

For each measure, click the measure heading, and then select Reset Entire
Series.

3 Click Apply to apply your changes.

228 Chapter 29 / Performing Data Analysis

229

30
Sharing Comments in the Explorer
Sharing Comments in the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
About Comments in the Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
View Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Create a Comment under an Existing Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Create a Comment under a New Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Edit a Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Delete a Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Sharing Comments in the Explorer

About Comments in the Explorer
Comments enable you to share feedback with other users. You can create
comments for visualizations and for explorations. Exploration comments can be
viewed both in the explorer and on the SAS Visual Analytics home page.

View Comments
To display the comments for the current exploration, select File Exploration
Comments from the main menu.
To display comments for a visualization, select the visualization and then select
the Comments tab from the right pane.
Comments are grouped by topic. If there are many comments in a topic, then
only the most recent comments are displayed. Click Show All Comments to
view all of the comments for a topic.
To search the comments, enter a search term in the Search within comments
field.

Create a Comment under an Existing Topic

To create a comment under an existing topic:
1 Enter your comment text in the Respond to topic field that is beneath the

topic that you want to comment on.

2 (Optional) Click

to attach a file to the comment.

230 Chapter 30 / Sharing Comments in the Explorer

3

When you are finished with the comment, click Post. Your comment is saved
and shared immediately.

Create a Comment under a New Topic

To create a comment under a new topic:
1 Enter the name of the topic in the Enter a topic name field.
2

Enter your comment text in the Enter a comment field.

(Optional) Click

When you are finished with the comment, click Post. Your comment is saved
and shared immediately.

to attach a file to the comment.

Edit a Comment
To edit a comment, select the comment that you want to edit, and then click
Edit.
Note: To edit other users comments, you must belong to the
Comments:Administrator role.

Delete a Comment
To delete a comment, select the comment that you want to delete, and then click
Delete.
Note: To delete comments, you must belong to the Comments:Administrator
role.

231

Part 5
Building Models
Chapter 31
Specifying the Preferences for SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Chapter 32
Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Chapter 33
Modeling Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Chapter 34
Linear Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Chapter 35
Logistic Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Chapter 36
Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

271

Chapter 37
Decision Trees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Chapter 38
Clustering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Chapter 39
Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

232

233

31
Specifying the Preferences for SAS
Visual Statistics
Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Specify Your Preferences for SAS Visual Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Specify Global Preferences

See Specify Global Preferences on page 618 for details about global
preferences for SAS Visual Analytics.

Specify Your Preferences for SAS Visual

Statistics
Here are the steps to specify preferences that are specific to SAS Visual
Statistics:
1 Select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.
2 Select SAS Visual Analytics Explorer Models.
3 Specify a value for the p-value precision property. This value determines

the minimum number of decimal places used when displaying p-values.

4

To return to the default settings, select Reset to Defaults.

Click OK to apply your changes. Your preferences persist between sessions.

234 Chapter 31 / Specifying the Preferences for SAS Visual Statistics

235

32
Getting Started with SAS Visual
Statistics
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Create the Exploration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Create a Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Create a Linear Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Create a Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Perform a Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Overview
This is a brief overview of using SAS Visual Statistics to derive a new variable,
create two different models, and compare those models. This example uses the
Framingham Heart Study data set, located in SASHELP.HEART, to compare the
performance of a Linear Regression model and a Generalized Linear Model.
The goal is to predict a persons age of death based on a collection of health
factors. These factors include gender, weight, height, whether the person is a
smoker, blood pressure, and more. The focus of this example is how to use SAS
Visual Statistics, not how to build the best model.
This example assumes that you have access to the SASHELP.HEART data set.
It is beyond the scope of this example to provide instructions about how to
access individual data sets at your location. Your system administrator should be
able to provide you access to this data set.

Create the Exploration

This example assumes that you have already signed on to SAS Visual Analytics
and you are on the home page. From the home page, click Data Explorer. This
opens the explorer and enables you to open a recent exploration or to create a
new exploration. Click Select a Data Source, located under Start a new
exploration, to create a new project.
A window appears that enables you to select the data source for this exploration.
Select the data source that corresponds to SASHELP.HEART. Click Open.

236 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

By default, the exploration is named Exploration 1, which is displayed in the
upper left corner of the explorer. Before continuing with the example, rename the
exploration by saving it. Click File Save from the main menu. This opens the
Save As window. In the SAS Folders pane, navigate to a location where you
have Write permission. Typically, you can save your work in My Folder. In the
Name field, enter Heart Study, and click Save.
By default, an automatic visualization is immediately available for usage.
However, in this exploration, a decision tree is created in order to derive a leaf ID
variable. The leaf ID variable is then used in the Linear Regression model and
Generalized Linear Model.

Create a Decision Tree

From the toolbar, click the
icon to create a decision tree. From the Data
pane, drag and drop the Age at Death variable into the Response field in the
right pane. In the Data pane, select Diastolic, Weight, Height, Cholesterol,
Age CHD Diagnosed, Sex, and Cause of Death. Drag and drop these items
into the model pane. The decision tree automatically updates.

Create a Decision Tree

237

Click the
icon in the upper right of the model pane. In the details table, select
the Node Rules tab. Notice that the only predictors used were Age CHD
Diagnosed and Cause of Death. You can adjust the decision tree properties to
include more predictors in the model.
Click the Properties tab in the right pane. The most obvious property to change
is Reuse predictors. When you deselect this property, each predictor variable is
used in at most one split. However, assume that reusing predictors creates the
best split in each node for this example. This might not always be the case for
your data.
Instead, set the value of Maximum levels to 10. The decision tree now has a
maximum depth of 10 levels, instead of the default 6. On the Node Rules tab of
the details table, every predictor is used at least once.
Set the value of Maximum branches to 4. This allows each non-leaf node to
split into at most four new nodes.

238 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

To view the Tree Overview window, click the

icon in the upper right corner of

the exploration workspace. In the Tree Overview window, click the

the entire decision tree into the Tree Overview window.

icon to fit

Although each node is difficult to see, your decision tree should resemble the
following:

In the Tree Overview window, right-click, and select Derive a Leaf ID Variable.
The default name for this variable is Leaf ID (1). In the New Calculated Item
window, click OK. The Leaf ID (1) variable appears in the Data pane.
Save the project.

Create a Linear Regression

From the toolbar, click the
icon next to the
icon. Select Linear Regression
from the drop-down list. Minimize the Decision Tree visualization and Tree
Overview window.
In this example, the variable of interest is Age at Death, which should be the
first variable listed in the Measure section of the Data pane. Because you want
this variable to be the response variable, click, drag, and drop Age at Death

Create a Linear Regression

239

from the Data pane onto the model pane. Notice that Age at Death now
appears in the Response field on the Roles tab.
The next step is to choose the effect variables or interaction terms that you want
to include in the analysis. One option is to make every available variable an
effect variable and let SAS Visual Statistics perform variable selection. However,
this is not always feasible from a computational resources perspective. This
example creates an interaction term to use as an effect variable and includes a
few other variables as effect variables.
Because you suspect that systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure
interact with each other, create an interaction term for these variables. In the
Data pane, click the
icon, and select New Interaction Effect. In the New
Interaction Effect window, move Diastolic and Systolic from the Available
columns area into the Effect elements area. Click Create. The interaction term
Diastolic*Systolic appears in the Interaction Effects group of the Data pane.
Click, drag, and drop Diastolic*Systolic onto the model pane. A model is
created based on that single effect because the Auto-update model option is
selected in the right pane. Each time a change is made to the model, the Linear
Regression automatically updates. If you anticipate making many changes or if
you are experiencing server performance issues, deselect the Auto-update
model option. When auto-updates are disabled, you must click Update in the
right pane to update the model.

Next, add more effects to the model. Hold down the Ctrl key, and select Blood
Pressure Status, Cause of Death, Leaf ID 1, Sex, Smoking Status,
Cholesterol, Height, Smoking, and Weight. Drag and drop these variables
onto the model pane. The Linear Regression updates to include these effects.

240 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

In the right pane, select the Properties tab. In this model, Informative
missingness and Use variable selection are not selected. Disabling
Informative missingness means that observations with missing values are not
included in the analysis. Disabling Use variable selection means that all
variables are used in the model, regardless of how significant they are to the
model. For this model, keep the default properties settings.
The Fit Summary window indicates that Cause of Death, Leaf ID (1), and
Height are the three most important effects in this model.
The Assessment window indicates that the observed average and predicted
average are approximately equal for most bins.
Save the project.

Create a Generalized Linear Model

From the toolbar, click the
icon next to the
icon. Select Generalized
Linear Model from the drop-down list. Minimize the Linear Regression
visualization.
From the Data pane, drag and drop the Age at Death variable into the
Response field in the right pane. In the Data pane, hold down the Ctrl key, and
select Blood Pressure Status, Cause of Death, Leaf ID (1), Sex, Smoking
Status, Cholesterol, Height, Smoking, Weight, and Diastolic*Systolic. Drag
and drop these variables onto the model pane.

Create a Generalized Linear Model

241

Click the Properties tab in the right pane. The Distribution property enables
you to specify the distribution of the response variable and to build a model
based on that distribution. The default distribution is Normal.
To determine whether the normal distribution applies to the response variable,
icon in the Data pane, and select Measure Details. In the Measure
click the
Details window, select Age at Death.

242 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

Notice that Age at Death is not normally distributed and is slightly skewed left.
Click Close.
Although the distribution is not exactly Poisson, use the Poisson distribution for
this example. For the Distribution property, select Poisson. Next, select
Identity for Link function.
Note: You are encouraged to repeat this example with different distributions and
link functions and compare their performance and to familiarize yourself with
SAS Visual Statistics.

Perform a Model Comparison

Save the project.

Perform a Model Comparison

From the toolbar, click the
icon to create a new model comparison. The
Model Comparison window appears.

243

244 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

The Response variable is already set to Age at Death, and Level and Group
By are unavailable. With these settings, the available models are Visualization
2 (the Linear Regression) and Visualization 3 (the Generalized Linear Model).
Click the

to select both models for comparison. Click OK.

Perform a Model Comparison

245

By default, the fit statistic average squared error ASE is used to compare the
models. The other available fit statistics are SSE and Observed Average.
Because smaller values are preferred, the Linear Regression is chosen as the
champion when ASE or SSE is the criterion. The models are very similar.
When the fit statistic is Observed Average, the Percentile slider is available.
This slider specifies the percentile where the observed average and predicted
average are compared. In some percentiles, the Generalized Linear Model might
be chosen over the Linear Regression.
If you view the Assessment plot, both the Observed Average and Predicted
Average plots show that the models are relatively similar.
Now that you have a champion model, you can export the model score code for
that model to score new data.
To export the model score code, complete the following steps:
1 Open Visualization 2, the Linear Regression.
2 Click the

icon, and select Export Score Code.

3 In the Export Score Code window, click Export.

4 In the Save As window, navigate to where you want to save the code, and

click Save.

246 Chapter 32 / Getting Started with SAS Visual Statistics

247

33
Modeling Information
Available Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Variables and Interaction Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Interaction Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Variable Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Missing Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Group By Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Filter Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Score Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Derive Predicted Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

Available Models
The following models are available in SAS Visual Statistics:
n Linear Regression on page 255 attempts to predict the value of an interval

response as a linear function of one or more effect variables.

n Logistic Regression on page 263 attempts to predict the probability that a

binary or ordinal response will acquire the event of interest as a function of

one or more effects.
n Generalized Linear Model on page 271 is an extension of a traditional linear

model that allows the population mean to depend on a linear predictor

through a nonlinear link function.
n Decision Tree on page 279 creates a hierarchical segmentation of the input

data based on a series of rules applied to each observation.

n Cluster on page 287 segments the input data into groups that share similar

features.

248 Chapter 33 / Modeling Information

Variables and Interaction Terms

Variables
Category Variables
Category variables are numeric or nonnumeric variables with discrete levels.
The levels of a category variable are considered unordered by SAS Visual
Statistics. Examples of category variables include drink size (small, medium, or
large), number of cylinders in an engine (2, 4, 6, or 8), or whether a customer
has made a purchase (yes or no).
You can create a category variable from a response variable by right-clicking the
variable, and selecting Category. In this case, each distinct value of the
measure variable is turned into a level for the category variable.
Category variables can be used as response variables for classification models,
classification effect variables, decision tree predictors, filter variables, and group
by variables.
Note: To ensure proper performance and valid modeling results, the maximum
number of distinct levels allowed for a category variable is limited based on the
model type and variable role.

Measure Variables
Measure variables are continuous numeric variables that can assume an infinite
number of possible values between two numbers. Even though some numeric
variables are not continuous, such as count variables, these variables can be
treated as continuous values for the purpose of modeling. Examples of measure
variables include the temperature of a drink, engine displacement amount, or a
customers total purchase amount.
Summary statistics and a histogram for each measure variable are obtained by
right-clicking the variable in the Data pane, and selecting Properties. Use the
Name drop-down menu to specify the variable that you want to view.
Measure variables can be used as response variables for continuous models,
continuous effect variables, decision tree predictors, offset variables, frequency
variables, weight variables, and filter variables.

Interaction Terms
Two variables, A and B, interact if the effect of one variable on the model
changes as the other variable changes. That is, the effects of variables A and B
are not additive in the model.
SAS Visual Statistics enables you to create interactions between two or more
input variables, including squared interactions. A squared interaction is the
interaction of a variable with itself. You cannot create squared interactions for
category variables.
For an example where interaction terms might be useful, consider a situation
where you are modeling the fuel mileage (MPG) for several cars. Two of your

Group By Variables

249

input variables are engine displacement in liters and engine size (number of
cylinders). You expect that as either value increases, fuel mileage will suffer.
However, if you suspect that the effects on fuel mileage that are attributable to
engine displacement are not constant across engine size, then you should
consider creating the interaction term between those variables.
SAS Visual Statistics is not limited to creating just two-way interactions. You can
create n-way interactions that include an arbitrary number of variables, but not
more than the number of available input variables.
The number of distinct levels for an interaction term is the product of the number
of levels for each variable in the term. Measure variables are treated as if they
contain one level. The number of levels in an interaction term counts against the
maximum number of distinct levels allowed in regression models.

Variable Selection
Variable selection is the process of reducing the number of input variables to
include just the most significant variables. The Linear Regression and Logistic
Regression models provide a property to automatically perform variable
selection. When you use this property, SAS Visual Statistics performs backward
selection on the input variables to determine the most significant variables.
Modeling with just the most significant variables is intended to avoid creating a
model that overfits the data. Automated variable selection can actually take
longer to run than not performing variable selection.

Missing Values
By default, SAS Visual Statistics handles missing values by dropping all
observations that contain a missing value in any assigned role variable.
However, the Linear Regression, Logistic Regression, and Generalized Linear
Model models provide the Informative missingness property. In some cases,
the fact that an observation contains a missing value provides relevant modeling
information. Selecting this property explicitly models missing values of variables
as a separate variable. For measure variables, missing values are imputed with
the observed mean, and an indicator variable is created to denote missingness.
For category variables, missing values are considered a distinct level.

Group By Variables
A group by variable enables you to fit a model for each data segment defined by
one or more category variables. Each unique combination of levels across all of
the group by variables is a specific data segment. For example, if you have one
group by variable with three levels, then there are three data segments. But, if
you have two group by variables, one with three levels and the other with four
levels, then there are at most 12 data segments. A data segment is not created
when there are no observations in a combination of classification levels.

250 Chapter 33 / Modeling Information

SAS Visual Statistics enforces a maximum number of BY groups, except when
you use the Advanced Group By feature. By default, the maximum number of
BY groups allowed is 1024. Empty data segments count against the maximum
number of BY groups allowed in a model.
When you specify two or more group by variables, the results are grouped in the
order in which the variables appear in the Group By field.
In the Fit Summary window, when you select a specific data segment, the
Residual Plot and Influence Plot windows are updated to include only the
observations in the specified data segment.
The Advanced Group By window provides more control over variable grouping.
To access the Advanced Group By window, click Advanced next to Group By in
the right pane.

The Group By field enables you to select the variable that is used for grouping.
Select the Use advanced features option to display aggregation statistics for a
specified measure variable. Specify the measure variable in the Measure field.
The Aggregation field specifies whether the Average or Sum is computed. Use
the Count field to specify whether you want the Top or Bottom n values. The
field below Count enables you to specify the value of n.

Score Code 251

Filter Variables
Filter variables are used to subset the modeling data. You can filter on any
variable included in the data, not just on variables used in the model. Filter
variables are applied only to the current model.
When you filter on a category variable, you are presented with a list of the levels
for that variable. Select only values that you want to include in the model. In the
following image, all levels are available.

When you filter on a measure variable, a slider lets you specify a range of
values. Use the triangles to specify the lower and upper limits of the filter
variable.

Score Code
Model scoring refers to the process of generating predicted values for a data set
that might contain the response variable of interest. Score code is exported as a
SAS DATA step that can be executed on new data sets in any SAS environment.
All variables used by the model in any capacity are included in the score code.
This includes interaction terms, group by variables, frequency variables, and
weight variables. Score code is not available for interactive decision trees.
To generate model score code, click the
icon, and select Export Score
Code. In the Export Model Score Code window, click Export. In the Save As
window, navigate to where you want to save the code, and click Save.
Score code is saved as a .sas file and can be viewed in any word processing
program.

252 Chapter 33 / Modeling Information

Note: It is possible for your exported score code to have lines of code that
exceed the maximum line length of 32768. There are two solutions for this issue.
The first solution requires that you edit the exported text file to include a line
break on each of the long lines and to insert / lrecl=1000000 in the %include
statement. The second solution requires that you open the exported text file in a
SAS Program Editor and insert a line break on each of the long lines. In the SAS
Program Editor there is a limit of 6000 characters per line.

Derive Predicted Values

For all three regression visualizations, SAS Visual Statistics creates two
variables that contain prediction information for each observation in the data set.
After these variables are created, they can be used in any other visualization,
including the other predictive models.
To create the two new variables, complete the following steps:
1

Create a valid linear regression, logistic regression, or generalized linear

model visualization.

2 Click the

in the upper right corner of the visualization and select Derive

Predicted Values.

In the New Prediction Variables window, enter a name for the Predicted
Values and either the Residual Values or the Probability Values. Residual
Values are available for linear regressions and generalized linear models.
Probability Values are available for logistic regressions.

Click OK. The predicted values for the logistic regression appear in the
Category variables section. All other variables, including the predicted
values for the other models, appear in the Prediction variables section.

Depending on the chosen visualization, the information contained in each

variable is slightly different.
Predicted Values
For linear regressions and generalized linear models, this is a numeric value
that is the value generated by the regression model. Or, this is the value that
would have been generated by the regression model if the observation was
scored by the model.
For logistic regressions, this is the decision generated by the logistic
regression based on the calculated probability and Prediction cutoff
property. All observations are classified into either the event level of interest,
not the event level of interest, or missing.
Residual Values
The computed residual for each observation. Available for the linear
regression and generalized linear model visualizations.
Probability Values
The computed probability for each observation. Observations with probability
values that are greater than or equal to the Prediction cutoff property are
predicted to be in the event level of interest. Observations with probability
values that are less than the Prediction cutoff property are considered to be
not in the event level or interest. That is, there is no prediction made

Derive Predicted Values

regarding each individual measurement level, only between the

measurement level of interest and everything else.

253

254 Chapter 33 / Modeling Information

255

34
Linear Regression Model
Overview of the Linear Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Linear Regression Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
About the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
With a Group By Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
About Residual Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Using the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
About the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Using the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Working with the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

Overview of the Linear Regression Model

A linear regression attempts to predict the value of a measure response variable
as a linear function of one or more effects. The linear regression model uses the
least squares method to determine the model. The least squares method
creates a line of best fit by minimizing the residual sum of squares for every
observation in the input data set. The residual sum of squares is the vertical
distance between an observation and the line of best fit. The least squares
method requires no assumptions about the distribution of the input data.
The linear regression model requires a measure response variable and at least
one effect variable or interaction term.

Linear Regression Model Properties

The following properties are available for the linear regression model:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this model.

256 Chapter 34 / Linear Regression Model

Informative missingness
specifies whether the informative missingness algorithm is used. For more
information, see Missing Values on page 249.
Use variable selection
specifies whether variable selection is performed. For more information, see
Variable Selection on page 249.
Significance level
specifies the significance level that is required in order for variables to be
considered for the model. This property is available only when Use variable
selection is selected.
Assessment
n Use default number of bins specifies whether you want to use the
default number of bins or to set your own value. By default, measure
variables are grouped into 20 bins.
n Number specifies the number of bins to use when the Use default

number of bins property is not selected. You must specify an integer

value between 5 and 100.
n Tolerance specifies the tolerance value that is used to determine the

convergence of the iterative algorithm that estimates the percentiles.

Specify a smaller value to increase the algorithmic precision.
Show diagnostic plots
specifies whether the Residual Plot, Assessment, and Influence Plot appear
in the model pane.

Working with the Fit Summary Window

About the Fit Summary Window
The Fit Summary plots the relative importance of each variable as measured by
its p-value. The p-value is plotted on a log scale and the alpha value (plotted as log(alpha)), is shown as a vertical line. To adjust the alpha value, click, drag, and
drop the vertical line. A histogram of the p-values is displayed at the bottom of
the window.

Working with the Residual Plot

257

With a Group By Variable

When your analysis includes a group by variable, the Fit Summary displays a
Goodness of Fit plot and Variable Importance plot.

The Variable Importance plot enables you to select a single variable to inspect
within each level of the group by variable. Use the drop-down menu to select
which variable you want to inspect. Each dot in the Variable Importance plot
represents a model effect. The bars are drawn for the effect selected in the dropdown menu.
The Goodness of Fit plot, which is not available when there is no group by
variable, displays how well the model predicts the response variable within each
level of the group by variable. Use this plot to determine whether your model has
a significantly different fit within different levels.
Notice that when you select a group by variable, the Residual Plot,
Assessment, and Influence Plot are updated. These plots enable you to
further inspect the variable within each level of the group by variable.
Use the

icon to specify how the plots are sorted.

Working with the Residual Plot

About Residual Plots
A residual plot shows the relationship between the predicted value of an
observation and the residual of an observation. The residual of an observation is
the difference between the predicted response value and the actual response
value. When using large data sets, the residual plot is displayed as a heat map
instead of as an actual plot. In a heat map, the actual observations are binned,

258 Chapter 34 / Linear Regression Model

and the color of each point indicates the relative number of observations in that
bin.
Residual plots have several uses when examining your model. First, obvious
patterns in the residual plot indicate that the model might not fit the data.
Second, residual plots can detect nonconstant variance in the input data when
you plot the residuals against the predicted value. Nonconstant variance is
evident when the relative spread of the residual values changes as the predicted
values change. Third, in combination with other methods, the residual plot can
help identify outliers in your data.
To change the residual that is plotted, click the

icon on the vertical axis.

By default, a scatter plot or heat map is displayed. However, a histogram of the

residuals is also available. To display a histogram of the residuals, right-click in
the Residual Plot, and select Use Histogram. In the histogram, you can
change the residual that is plotted by clicking the

icon on the horizontal axis.

From the histogram, it is easy to determine whether the distribution of the

residuals is approximately normal or skewed. A non-normal residual histogram
can indicate that the model does not fit the data.

Using the Residual Plot

The Residual Plot provides several features to investigate your data. These
features are available in both the scatter plot and histogram, and the process to
activate these features is the same in either plot. The available features enable
you to plot the residuals by a category variable, show only the selected
observations, exclude the selected observations, and remove all exclusions.
There are two ways to select observations in the Residual Plot. If you hold the
mouse pointer over an individual point, you can click on that point to select it. Or,
when you click and drag the mouse in the Residual Plot, a selection rectangle
appears. When you release the mouse, all points inside the rectangle are
selected.
To plot the residuals by a category variable, right-click in the Residual Plot,
select Plot By, and then select a category variable. A box plot of the residuals
appears. The residuals are grouped by the selected category variable.
To show the selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the
Residual Plot, and select Show Selected. A table of the selected observations
appears.
To exclude the selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the
Residual Plot, and select Exclude Selected. The selected observations are no
longer used to build the model.
To remove all exclusions, right-click in the Residual Plot, and select Remove
Exclusions. All observations are now used to build the model.

Fit Statistics 259

Working with the Assessment Window

About the Assessment Window
For a linear regression, the Assessment plots the average predicted and
average observed response values against the binned data. Use this plot to
determine how well the model fits the data.

Using the Assessment Window

The Assessment plot bins the data based on the values specified in the
Assessment properties. At each bin, you can hold the mouse pointer over one
or both of the lines to display a tooltip.

Working with the Influence Plot

The Influence Plot displays several measurements that are computed for each
observation. A histogram of the displayed measurements is also displayed.
When the input data contains a large number of observations, the observations
are binned. Use these measurements to help identify outliers and other data
points that greatly affect the predicted regression model.
To change the computed measurement that is plotted, click the
horizontal axis.

icon on the

Fit Statistics
The linear regression model computes several assessment measures to help
you evaluate how well the model fits the data. These assessment measures are
available at the top of the model pane. Click the currently displayed assessment
measure to see all of the available assessment measures.
Adjusted R-square
The Adjusted R-squared value attempts to account for the addition of more
effect variables. Values can range from 0 to 1. Values closer to 1 are
preferred.
AIC
Akaikes Information Criterion. Smaller values indicate better models, and
AIC values can become negative. AIC is based on the Kullback-Leibler
information measure of discrepancy between the true distribution of the
response variable and the distribution specified by the model.
AICC
Corrected Akaikes Information Criterion. This version of AIC adjusts the
value to account for sample size. The result is that extra effects penalize
AICC more than AIC. As the sample size increases, AICC and AIC converge.

260 Chapter 34 / Linear Regression Model

Average Squared Error
The average squared error (ASE) is the sum of squared errors (SSE) divided
by the number of observations. Smaller values are preferred.
F Value for Model
The value of the F test in a one-way ANOVA after the variances are
normalized by the degrees of freedom. Larger values are better, but can
indicate overfitting.
Mean Square Error
The mean squared error (MSE) is the SSE divided by the degrees of
freedom for error. The degrees of freedom for error is the number of cases
minus the number of weights in the model. This process yields an unbiased
estimate of the population noise variance under the usual assumptions.
Smaller values are preferred.
Observations
The number of observations used in the model.
Pr > F
The p-value associated with the corresponding F statistic. Smaller values are
preferred.
R-Square
The R-squared value is an indicator of how well the model fits the data. Rsquared values can range from 0 to 1. Values closer to 1 are preferred.
Root MSE
Square root of the MSE.
SBC
The Schwarzs Bayesian Criterion (SBC), also known as the Bayesian
Information Criterion (BIC), is an increasing function of the models residual
sum of squares and the number of effects. Unexplained variations in the
response variable and the number of effects increase the value of the SBC.
As a result, a lower SBC implies either fewer explanatory variables, better fit,
or both. SBC penalizes free parameters more strongly than AIC.

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the upper right of the model pane, the details table
is displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
Overall ANOVA
The analysis of variance results for the model, error, and corrected total.
Dimensions
An overview of the effect variables used in the model. This tab identifies how
many measures and classification effects were chosen for the model, the
rank of the cross-product matrix, how many observations were read, and how
many observations were used in the model.
Fit Statistics
Lists all of the fit statistics described in the previous section.
Model ANOVA
The analysis of variance results for the model.

Details Table

261

Type III Test

Provides details for the Type III test. A Type III test examines the significance
of each partial effect with all other effects in the model. For more information,
see the chapter The Four Types of Estimable Functions in the SAS/STAT
Users Guide.
Parameter Estimates
Gives the estimated values for the model parameters.

262 Chapter 34 / Linear Regression Model

263

35
Logistic Regression Model
Overview of the Logistic Regression Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Logistic Regression Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
About the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
With a Group By Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
About Residual Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Using the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
About the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Using the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Working with the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
About the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Using the Influence Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

Overview of the Logistic Regression Model

A logistic regression attempts to predict the value of a binary response variable.
A logistic regression analysis models the natural logarithm of the odds ratio as a
linear combination of the explanatory variables. This approach enables the
logistic regression model to approximate the probability that an individual
observation belongs to the level of interest.
The logistic regression model requires a category response variable and at least
one effect variable or interaction term. When your category response variable
contains more than two levels, SAS Visual Statistics prompts you to select the
level of interest. That is, SAS Visual Statistics treats all observations in the level
of interest as an event and all other observations as nonevents.

264 Chapter 35 / Logistic Regression Model

Logistic Regression Model Properties

The following properties are available for the logistic regression model:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this model.
Informative missingness
specifies whether the informative missingness algorithm is used. For more
information, see Missing Values on page 249.
Use variable selection
specifies whether variable selection is performed. For more information, see
Variable Selection on page 249.
Significance level
specifies the significance level that is required in order for variables to be
considered for the model. This property is available only when Use variable
selection is selected.
Link function
specifies the link function that is used in the logistic regression. Link functions
link the response mean to the linear predictor.
The following link functions are available:
n Logit (default) specifies the inverse of the cumulative logistic distribution

function.
g M = log

M
1M

n Probit specifies the inverse of the cumulative standard normal distribution

function.
gM =

1
M

Convergence
n Override function convergence enables you to manually specify the
function convergence value.
n Value specifies the function convergence value when Override function

convergence is selected. When you specify a larger value, the model will
converge sooner. This reduces the amount of time spent training the
model, but it can create a suboptimal model.
n Override gradient convergence enables you to manually specify the

gradient convergence value.

n Value specifies the gradient convergence value when Override gradient

convergence is selected. When you specify a larger value, the model will
converge sooner. This reduces the amount of time spent training the
model, but it can create a suboptimal model.
n Maximum iterations specifies the maximum number of iterations

performed during model training. If you specify a relatively small value,

you reduce the amount of time spent training the model, but it can create
a suboptimal model.

Working with the Fit Summary Window

265

Note: When you specify a gradient convergence or function convergence

criterion, it is possible for the model to converge based on an internal
convergence criterion before your specified criterion is reached. The reason
for convergence is on the Convergence tab of the details table.
Assessment
n Use default number of bins specifies whether you want to use the
default number of bins or to set your own value. By default, measure
variables are grouped into 20 bins.
n Number specifies the number of bins to use when the Use default

number of bins property is not selected. You must specify an integer

value between 5 and 100.
n Prediction cutoff specifies the value at which a computed probability is

considered an event.
n Tolerance specifies the tolerance value that is used to determine the

convergence of the iterative algorithm that estimates the percentiles.

Specify a smaller value to increase the algorithmic precision.
Show diagnostic plots
specifies whether the Residual Plot, Assessment, and Influence Plot
windows appear in the model pane.

Working with the Fit Summary Window

About the Fit Summary Window
The Fit Summary window plots the relative importance of each variable as
measured by its p-value. The p-value is plotted on a log scale and the alpha
value (plotted as -log(alpha)), is shown as a vertical line. To adjust the alpha
value, click, drag, and drop the vertical line. A histogram of the p-values is
displayed at the bottom of the window.

With a Group By Variable

When your analysis includes a group by variable, the Fit Summary window
displays a Goodness of Fit plot and Variable Importance plot.
The Variable Importance plot enables you to select a single variable to inspect
within each level of the group by variable. Use the drop-down menu to select the
variable that you want to inspect. Each dot in the Variable Importance plot
represents a model effect. The bars are for the model effect chosen in the dropdown menu.
The Goodness of Fit plot, which is not available when there is no group by
variable, displays how well the model predicts the response variable within each
level of the group by variable. Use this plot to determine whether your model has
a significantly different fit within different levels.
Notice that when you select a group by variable level, the Residual Plot,
Assessment, and Influence Plot windows are updated. This enables you to
further investigate each level of the group by variable.
Use the

icon to specify how the plot is sorted.

266 Chapter 35 / Logistic Regression Model

Working with the Residual Plot

About Residual Plots
A residual plot shows the relationship between the predicted value of an
observation and the residual of an observation. The residual of an observation is
the difference between the predicted response value and the actual response
value. When using large data sets, the residual plot is displayed as a heat map
instead of as an actual plot. In a heat map, the actual observations are binned,
and the color of each point indicates the relative number of observations in that
bin.
Residual plots have several uses when examining your model. First, obvious
patterns in the residual plot indicate that the model might not fit the data.
Second, residual plots can detect nonconstant variance in the input data when
you plot the residuals against the predicted values. Nonconstant variance is
evident when the relative spread of the residual values changes as the predicted
values change. Third, in combination with other methods, the residual plot can
help identify outliers in your data.
To change the residual that is plotted, click the

icon on the vertical axis.

By default, a scatter plot or heat map is displayed. However, a histogram is also

available. To display a histogram of the residuals, right-click in the Residual
Plot, and select Use Histogram. In the histogram, you can change the residual
that is plotted by clicking the

icon on the horizontal axis.

From the histogram, it is easy to determine whether the distribution of the

residuals is approximately normal or skewed. A non-normal residual histogram
can indicate that the model does not fit the data.

Using the Residual Plot

The Residual Plot provides several features to investigate your data. These
features are available in both the scatter plot and histogram. The process to
activate these features is the same in either plot. The available features are plot
the residuals by a category variable, show only the selected observations,
exclude selected observations, and remove all exclusions.
There are two ways to select observations in the Residual Plot. If you hold the
mouse over an individual point, you can click on that point to select it.
Alternatively, when you click and drag the mouse in the Residual Plot, a
selection rectangle appears. When you release the mouse, all points inside the
rectangle are selected.
To plot the residuals by a category variable, right-click in the Residual Plot,
select Plot By, and then select a category variable. A box plot of the residuals
appears. The residuals are grouped by the selected category variable.
To show selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the
Residual Plot, and select Show Selected. A table of the selected observations
appears.

Working with the Assessment Window

267

To exclude selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the

Residual Plot, and select Exclude Selected. The selected observations are no
longer used to build the model.
To remove all exclusions, right-click anywhere in the Residual Plot, and select
Remove Exclusions. All observations are now used to build the model.

Working with the Assessment Window

About the Assessment Window
For a logistic regression, the Assessment window plots lift, ROC, and
misclassification rates. Use the Assessment window to determine how well the
model fits the data.
Lift is the ratio of the percent of captured responses within each percentile bin to
the average percent of responses for the model. Similarly, cumulative lift is
calculated by using all of the data up to and including the current percentile bin.
A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) chart displays the ability of a model to
avoid false positive and false negative classifications. A false positive
classification means that an observation has been identified as an event when it
is actually a nonevent (also referred to as a Type I error). A false negative
classification means that an observation has been identified as a nonevent when
it is actually an event (also referred to as a Type II error).
The misclassification plot displays how many observations were correctly and
incorrectly classified for each value of the response variable. When the response
variable is not binary, the logistic regression model considers all levels that are
not events as equal. A significant number of misclassifications could indicate
that your model does not fit the data.

Using the Assessment Window

Lift
The default lift chart displays the cumulative lift of the model. To view the
noncumulative lift, click the

icon on the vertical axis, and select Lift.

For comparison, the lift chart plots a best model based on complete knowledge
of the input data.

ROC
The specificity of a model is the true negative rate. To derive the false positive
rate, subtract the specificity from 1. The false positive rate, labeled 1
Specificity, is the X axis of the ROC chart. The sensitivity of a model is the true
positive rate. This is the Y axis of the ROC chart. Therefore, the ROC chart plots
how the true positive rate changes as the false positive rate changes.
A good ROC chart has a very steep initial slope and levels off quickly. That is,
for each misclassification of an observation, significantly more observations are
correctly classified. For a perfect model, one with no false positives and no false
negatives, the ROC chart would start at (0,0), continue vertically to (0,1), and

268 Chapter 35 / Logistic Regression Model

then horizontally to (1,1). In this instance, the model would correctly classify
every observation before a single misclassification could occur.
The ROC chart includes two lines to help you interpret the ROC chart. The first
line is a baseline model that has a slope of 1. This line mimics a model that
correctly classifies observations at the same rate it incorrectly classifies them.
An ideal ROC chart maximizes the distance between the baseline model and the
ROC chart. A model that classifies more observations incorrectly than correctly
would fall below the baseline model. The second line is a vertical line at the false
positive rate where the difference between the Kolmogorov-Smirnov values for
the ROC chart and baseline models is maximized.

Working with the Influence Plot

About the Influence Plot
The Influence Plot displays several measurements that are computed for each
observation. When the input data contains a large number of observations, the
observations are binned. By default, the Likelihood Displacement value is
plotted on the X axis. Use these values to help identify outliers and other points
that greatly affect the predicted regression model.

Using the Influence Plot

By default, a horizontal bar chart of a selected measurement and a histogram of
its values are displayed. To view just the histogram, right-click in the Influence
Plot, and select Use Histogram.
In either view, you can change the measurement that is plotted by clicking the
icon on the horizontal axis.

Fit Statistics
The logistic regression model computes several assessment measures to help
you evaluate how well the model fits the data. These assessment measures are
available at the top of the model pane. Click the currently displayed assessment
measure to see all of the available assessment measures.
-2 Log Likelihood
The likelihood function estimates the probability of an observed sample given
all possible parameter values. The log likelihood is simply the logarithm of
the likelihood function. The likelihood function value is -2 times the log
likelihood. Smaller values are preferred.
AIC
Akaikes Information Criterion. Smaller values indicate better models, and
AIC values can become negative. AIC is based on the Kullback-Leibler
information measure of discrepancy between the true distribution of the
response variable and the distribution specified by the model.

Details Table

269

AICC
Corrected Akaikes Information Criterion. This version of AIC adjusts the
value to account for sample size. The result is that extra effects penalize
AICC more than AIC. As the sample size increases, AICC and AIC converge.
BIC
The Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), also known as Schwarzs Bayesian
Criterion (SBC), is an increasing function of the model's residual sum of
squares and the number of effects. Unexplained variations in the response
variable and the number of effects increase the value of the BIC. As a result,
a lower BIC implies either fewer explanatory variables, better fit, or both. BIC
penalizes free parameters more strongly than AIC.
R-Square
The R-squared value is an indicator of how well the model fits the data. Rsquared values can range from 0 to 1. Values closer to 1 are preferred.
Max-rescaled R-Square
The observed R-squared value divided by the maximum attainable Rsquared value. This value is useful when there are multiple independent
category variables. Values can range from 0 to 1. Values closer to 1 are
preferred.

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the top of the model pane, the details panel is
displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
Dimensions
An overview of the effect variables used in the model. This tab identifies how
many measures and classification effects were chosen for the model, the
rank of the cross-product matrix, how many observations were read, and how
many observations were used in the model.
Iteration History
The function and gradient convergence results. This tab shows at which
iteration the function and gradient converged.
Convergence
Provides the reason for convergence.
Fit Statistics
Lists all of the fit statistics described in the previous section.
Type III Test
Provides details for the Type III test. A Type III test examines the significance
of each partial effect with all other effects in the model. For more information,
see the chapter The Four Types of Estimable Functions, in the SAS/STAT
Users Guide.
Parameter Estimates
Gives the estimated values for the model parameters.
Response Profile
Displays the event and nonevent counts.

270 Chapter 35 / Logistic Regression Model

271

36
Generalized Linear Model
Overview of the Generalized Linear Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Generalized Linear Model Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Working with the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
About the Fit Summary Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
With a Group By Variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Working with the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
About Residual Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Using the Residual Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
About the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Using the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Fit Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

Overview of the Generalized Linear Model

A generalized linear model is an extension of a traditional linear model that
allows the population mean to depend on a linear predictor through a nonlinear
link function. A generalized linear model requires that you specify a distribution
and a link function. The distribution should match the distribution of the response
variable. The link function is used to relate the response variable to the effect
variables.
The generalized linear model requires a measure response variable and at least
one effect variable or interaction term. The distribution imposes range
requirements on the measure response variable. These requirements are
provided in the following table:
Distribution

Range Requirements

Beta

Values must be between 0 and 1,

exclusive

Binary

Two distinct values

Exponential

Nonnegative real values

272 Chapter 36 / Generalized Linear Model

Distribution

Range Requirements

Gamma

Nonnegative real values

Geometric

Positive integers

Inverse Gaussian

Positive real values

Negative Binomial

Nonnegative integers

Normal

Real values

Poisson

Nonnegative integers

Generalized Linear Model Properties

The following properties are available for the Generalized Linear Model:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this model.
Informative missingness
specifies whether the informative missingness algorithm is used. For more
information, see Missing Values on page 249
Distribution
specifies the distribution used to model the response variable.
Link function
specifies the link function used to relate the linear model to the distribution of
the response variable. Available link functions are different for each
distribution and are shown in the following table:
Distribution

Available Link Functions

Beta

Logit, Probit, Log-log, C-log-log

Binary

Logit, Probit, Log-log, C-log-log

Exponential

Log, Identity

Gamma

Log, Identity, Recip

Geometric

Log, Identity

Inverse Gaussian

Power(-2), Log, Identity

Negative Binomial

Log, Identity

Normal

Log, Identity

Poisson

Log, Identity

Working with the Fit Summary Window

273

Convergence
n Override function convergence enables you to manually specify the
function convergence value.
n Value specifies the function convergence value when Override function

convergence is selected. When you specify a larger value, the model will
converge sooner. This reduces the amount of time spent training the
model, but it can create a suboptimal model.
n Override gradient convergence enables you to manually specify the

gradient convergence value.

n Value specifies the gradient convergence value when Override gradient

convergence is selected. When you specify a larger value, the model will
converge sooner. This reduces the amount of time spent training the
model, but it can create a suboptimal model.
n Maximum iterations specifies the maximum number of iterations

performed during model training. If you specify a relatively small value,

you reduce the amount of time spent training the model, but it can create
a suboptimal model.
Note: When you specify a gradient convergence or function convergence
criterion, it is possible for the model to converge based on an internal
convergence criterion before your specified criterion is reached. The reason
for convergence is on the Convergence tab of the details table.
Assessment
n Use default number of bins specifies whether you want to use the
default number of bins or to set your own value. By default, measure
variables are grouped into 20 bins.
n Number specifies the number of bins to use when the Use default

number of bins property is not selected. You must specify an integer

value between 5 and 100.
n Tolerance specifies the tolerance value that is used to determine the

convergence of the iterative algorithm that estimates the percentiles.

Specify a smaller value to increase the algorithmic precision.
Show diagnostic plots
specifies whether the Residual Plot and Assessment windows appear in the
model pane.

Working with the Fit Summary Window

About the Fit Summary Window
The Fit Summary window plots the relative importance of each variable as
measured by its p-value. The p-value is plotted on a log scale and the alpha
value (plotted as -log(alpha)), is shown as a vertical line. To adjust the alpha
value, click, drag, and drop the vertical line. A histogram of the p-values is
displayed at the bottom of the window.

274 Chapter 36 / Generalized Linear Model

With a Group By Variable

When your analysis includes a group by variable, the Fit Summary window
displays a Goodness of Fit plot and Variable Importance plot.
The Variable Importance plot enables you to select a single variable to inspect
within each level of the group by variable. Use the drop-down menu to select the
variable that you want to inspect. Each dot in the Variable Importance plot
represents a model effect. The bars are for the model effect chosen in the dropdown menu.
The Goodness of Fit plot, which is not available when there is no group by
variable, displays how well the model predicts the response variable within each
level of the group by variable. Use this plot to determine whether your model has
a significantly different fit within different levels.
Notice that when you select a group by variable level, the Residual Plot,
Assessment, and Influence Plot windows are updated. This enables you to
further investigate each level of the group by variable.
Use the

icon to specify how the plot is sorted.

Working with the Residual Plot

About Residual Plots
A residual plot shows the relationship between the predicted value of an
observation and the residual of an observation. The residual of an observation is
the difference between the predicted response value and the actual response
value. When using large data sets, the residual plot is displayed as a heat map
instead of as an actual plot. In a heat map, the actual observations are binned,
and the color of each point indicates the relative number of observations in that
bin.
Residual plots have several uses when examining your model. First, obvious
patterns in the residual plot indicate that the model might not fit the data.
Second, residual plots can detect nonconstant variance in the input data when
you plot the residuals against the predicted values. Nonconstant variance is
evident when the relative spread of the residual values changes as the predicted
values change. Third, in combination with other methods, the residual plot can
help identify outliers in your data.
To change the residual that is plotted, click the

icon on the vertical axis.

By default, a scatter plot or heat map is displayed. However, a histogram is also

available. To display a histogram of the residuals, right-click in the Residual
Plot, and select Use Histogram. In the histogram, you can change the residual
that is plotted by clicking the

icon on the horizontal axis.

From the histogram, it is easy to determine whether the distribution of the

residuals is approximately normal or skewed. A non-normal residual histogram
can indicate that the model does not fit the data.

Fit Statistics 275

Using the Residual Plot

The Residual Plot provides several features to investigate your data. These
features are available in both the scatter plot and histogram. The process to
activate these features is the same in either plot. The available features are plot
the residuals by a category variable, show only the selected observations,
exclude selected observations, and remove all exclusions.
There are two ways to select observations in the Residual Plot. If you hold the
mouse over an individual point, you can click on that point to select it.
Alternatively, when you click and drag the mouse in the Residual Plot, a
selection rectangle appears. When you release the mouse, all points inside the
rectangle are selected.
To plot the residuals by a category variable, right-click in the Residual Plot,
select Plot By, and then select a category variable. A box plot of the residuals
appears. The residuals are grouped by the selected category variable.
To show selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the
Residual Plot, and select Show Selected. A table of the selected observations
appears.
To exclude selected observations, select some data points, right-click in the
Residual Plot, and select Exclude Selected. The selected observations are no
longer used to build the model.
To remove all exclusions, right-click anywhere in the Residual Plot, and select
Remove Exclusions. All observations are now used to build in the model.

Working with the Assessment Window

About the Assessment Window
For a Generalized Linear Model, the Assessment window plots the average
predicted and average observed response values against the binned data. Use
this plot to reveal any strong biases in your model. Large differences in the
average predicted and average observed values can indicate a bias.

Using the Assessment Window

The Assessment window bins the data based on the values specified in the
Assessment properties. At each bin, you can hold the mouse over one or both
of the lines to display a tooltip.

Fit Statistics
The Generalized Linear Model computes several assessment measures to help
you evaluate how well your model fits the data. These assessment measures
are available at the top of the model pane. Click the currently displayed

276 Chapter 36 / Generalized Linear Model

assessment measure to see all available assessment measures. The available
assessment measures are the following:
-2 Log Likelihood
The likelihood function estimates the probability of an observed sample given
all possible parameter values. The log likelihood is simply the logarithm of
the likelihood function. This value is -2 times the log likelihood. Smaller
values are preferred.
AIC
Akaikes Information Criterion. Smaller values indicate better models. AIC
values should be compared only when two models have an approximately
equal number of observations. AIC values can become negative. AIC is
based on the Kullback-Leibler information measure of discrepancy between
the true distribution of the response variable and the distribution specified by
the model.
AICC
Corrected Akaikes Information Criterion. This version of AIC adjusts the
value to account for a relatively small sample size. The result is that extra
effects penalize AICC more than AIC. As the sample size increases, AICC
and AIC converge.
BIC
The Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), also known as Schwarzs Bayesian
Criterion (SBC), is an increasing function of the models residual sum of
squares and the number of effects. Unexplained variations in the response
variable and the number of effects increase the value of the BIC. As a result,
a lower BIC implies either fewer explanatory variables, better fit, or both. BIC
penalizes free parameters more strongly than AIC.

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the top of the model pane, the details panel is
displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
Dimensions
An overview of the effect variables used in the model. This tab identifies how
many measures and classification effects were chosen for the model, the
rank of the cross-product matrix, how many observations were read, and how
many observations were used in the model.
Iteration History
The function and gradient iteration results. This tab shows the value of the
objective (likelihood) function, its change in value, and its maximum gradient.
Convergence
Provides the reason for convergence.
Fit Statistics
Lists all of the fit statistics described in the previous section.
Type III Test
Provides details for the Type III test. A Type III test examines the significance
of each partial effect with all other effects in the model. For more information,

Details Table

277

see the chapter The Four Types of Estimable Functions, in the SAS/STAT
Users Guide.
Parameter Estimates
Gives the estimated values for the model parameters.

278 Chapter 36 / Generalized Linear Model

279

37
Decision Trees
Overview of the Decision Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Decision Tree Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Information Gain and Gain Ratio Calculations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Pruning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Working with the Tree Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Working with the Leaf Statistics Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Working with the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
About the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Using the Assessment Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285

Overview of the Decision Tree

A decision tree creates a hierarchical segmentation of the input data based on a
series of rules applied to each observation. Each rule assigns an observation to
a segment based on the value of one predictor. Rules are applied sequentially,
which results in a hierarchy of segments within segments. The hierarchy is
called a tree, and each segment is called a node. The original segment contains
the entire data set and is called the root node. A node and all of its successors
form a branch. The final nodes are called leaves. For each leaf, a decision is
made about the response variable and applied to all observations in that leaf.
The exact decision depends on the response variable.
The decision tree requires a measure response variable or category response
variable and at least one predictor. A predictor can be a category or measure
variable, but not an interaction term.
The decision tree enables you to manually train and prune nodes by entering
interactive mode. In interactive mode, you are unable to modify the response
variable, growth properties are locked, and you cannot export model score code.
Certain modifications to predictors are allowed, such as converting a measure to
a category. When you are in interactive mode and modify a predictor, the
decision tree remains in interactive mode, but attempts to rebuild the splits and
prunes using the same rules.
To enter interactive mode, you can either start making changes to the decision
tree in the Tree window or you can click Use Interactive Mode on the Roles tab

280 Chapter 37 / Decision Trees

in the right pane. To leave interactive mode, click Use Non-Interactive Mode on
the Roles tab.
Note: When you leave interactive mode, you lose all of your changes.

Decision Tree Properties

The following properties are available for the decision tree:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this model.
Maximum branches
specifies the maximum number of branches allowed when splitting a node.
Maximum levels
specifies the maximum depth of the decision tree.
Leaf size
specifies the minimum number of observations allowed in a leaf node.
Response bins
specifies the number of bins used to categorize a measure response
variable.
Predictor bins
specifies the number of bins used to categorize a predictor that is a measure
variable.
Pruning
specifies the aggressiveness of the tree pruning algorithm. A more
aggressive algorithm creates a smaller decision tree. Larger values are more
aggressive.
Rapid growth
enables you to use the information gain ratio and k-means fast search
methods for decision tree growth. When disabled, the information gain and
greedy search methods are used, which generally produce a larger tree and
require more time to create.
Include missing
enables you to include observations with missing values. For category
variables, a missing value is assigned to its own level. For measure
variables, a missing value is assigned to the smallest available machine
value (negative infinity).
Reuse predictors
allows more than one split in the same branch based on a predictor.
Frequency
specifies whether nodes report how many observations they contain or what
percentage of the observations they contain.
Assessment
n Use default number of bins specifies whether you want to use the
default number of bins or to set your own value. By default, measure
variables are grouped into 20 bins.

Information Gain and Gain Ratio Calculations

281

n Number specifies the number of bins to use when the Use default

number of bins property is not selected. You must specify an integer

value between 5 and 100.
n Prediction cutoff specifies the value at which a computed probability is

considered an event.
n Tolerance specifies the tolerance value that is used to determine the

convergence of the iterative algorithm that estimates the percentiles.

Specify a smaller value to increase the algorithmic precision.
Show diagnostic plots
specifies whether the Leaf Statistics and Assessment windows appear in the
model pane.
Show tree overview
displays the tree overview. The tree overview enables quick navigation of
large decision trees. When you zoom in to view a specific area of the
decision tree, the tree overview shows the entire decision tree and highlights
the area that you are viewing. You can click and drag the highlighted area to
change the display of the decision tree. Click the

icon in the upper left

corner of the tree overview to view the entire decision tree. Click the
icon
in the upper left corner of the tree overview to minimize the tree overview.

Information Gain and Gain Ratio

Calculations
When the Rapid growth property is enabled, node splits are determined in part
by information gain ratio instead of information gain. The information gain and
information gain ratio calculations and their benefits and drawbacks are
explained in this section. In these explanations, an attribute is considered any
specific measurement level of a classification variable or bin of a measure
variable.
The information gain method chooses a split based on which attribute provides
the greatest information gain. The gain is measured in bits. Although this method
provides good results, it favors splitting on variables that have a large number of
attributes. The information gain ratio method incorporates the value of a split to
determine what proportion of the information gain is actually valuable for that
split. The split with the greatest information gain ratio is chosen.
The information gain calculation starts by determining the information of the
training data. The information in a response value, r, is calculated in the
following expression:
log2

f req r, T
T

T represents the training data and |T| is the number of observations. To

determine the expected information of the training data, sum this expression for
every possible response value:
IT =

i=1

f req ri, T
f req ri, T
log2
T
T

282 Chapter 37 / Decision Trees

Here, n is the total number of response values. This value is also referred to as
the entropy of the training data.
Next, consider a split S on a variable X with m possible attributes. The expected
information provided by that split is calculated by the following equation:
IS T =

j=1

Tj
I Tj
T

In this equation, Tj represents the observations that contain the jth attribute.
The information gain of split S is calculated by the following equation:
G S = I T IS T
Information gain ratio attempts to correct the information gain calculation by
introducing a split information value. The split information is calculated by the
following equation:
m

SI S =
j=1

Tj
Tj
log2
T
T

As its name suggests, the information gain ratio is the ratio of the information
gain to the split information:
GR S =

GS
SI S

Pruning
The Pruning property of the decision tree visualization determines how
aggressively your decision tree is pruned. The growth algorithm creates a
decision tree based on the properties that you specify. The pruning algorithm
considers each node to be a root node of its own subtree, starting from the
bottom. If the misclassification rate of the subtree is significantly better than the
misclassification rate of the root node, then the subtree is kept. If the
misclassification rate of the subtree is similar to the misclassification rate of the
root node, then the subtree is pruned. In general, smaller decision trees are
preferred.
If the Pruning property slider is closer to Lenient, then the difference in the
misclassification rates must be relatively small. If the Pruning property is closer
to Aggressive, then the difference in the misclassification rates must be
relatively large. That is, a lenient pruning algorithm allows the decision tree to
grow much deeper than an aggressive pruning algorithm.
Variables that are not used in any split can still affect the decision tree, typically
due to one of two reasons. It is possible for a variable to be used in a split, but
the subtree that contained that split might have been pruned. Alternatively, the
variable might include missing values, but the Include missing property is
disabled.
Note: If a predictor does not contribute to the predictive accuracy of the
decision tree or the contribution is too small, then it is not included in the final,
displayed decision tree.

Working with the Tree Window

283

Working with the Tree Window

The Tree window contains the decision tree, tree overview, and icicle plot.
TIP To navigate the decision tree, you can use the mouse and keyboard.
Hold down the Shift key and click anywhere in the Tree window to move the
decision tree within the window. Use your mouses scroll wheel to zoom in and
out of the decision tree. Scroll up to zoom in, and scroll down to zoom out.
The zoom is centered on the position of your cursor.

The color of the node in the icicle plot indicates the predicted level for that node.
When you select a node in either the decision tree or the icicle plot, the
corresponding node is selected in the other location. When you select a leaf
node, that node is selected in the Leaf Statistics window. A legend is available at
the bottom of the model pane.
When the response variable is a measure variable, a gradient is used to denote
the predicted bin. Darker colors represent larger values.
Right-click outside of a node in the Tree window to open a pop-up menu. The
first item in this menu is Derive a Leaf ID Variable. When you click this item,
SAS Visual Statistics creates a category variable that contains the leaf ID for
each observation. You can use this variable as an effect in other models.
Right-click inside a node to open a different pop-up menu. The available menu
options depend on whether you clicked a leaf node.
For leaf nodes, you can select from the following menu options:
Split
opens the Split Decision Tree window. Use this window to select the variable
that is used to split the node. Click OK to split the node based on the
selected variable. Click Cancel to not split the node. Variables are sorted in
descending order by their log worth.
Some variables are not available for a split if the value of the split is too small
or the split would violate the Leaf size property.
Split Best
splits the node based on the variable with the best information gain ratio
when Rapid growth is enabled. In addition, splits the node based on the
variable with the best information gain when Rapid growth is disabled.
Train
opens the Train Decision Tree window. Use this window to train more than
one level beyond the leaf node. First, select every variable that you want to
be available for training. Only those variables selected in the Train Decision
Tree window are available for training. Specify the maximum depth of training
in the Maximum depth of subtree property. Click OK to train the decision
tree.
For other nodes, select Prune to remove all nodes that follow the selected node.
This turns the selected node into a leaf node. After pruning a node, you can
select Restore to undo the prune.

284 Chapter 37 / Decision Trees

Working with the Leaf Statistics Window

The Leaf Statistics window plots the percentage of each observation in each leaf
node. The most common level in a node is the predicted value assigned to that
node. Leaf nodes that contain approximately equal amounts of more than one
level might benefit from additional training.
When you select a column in the Leaf Statistics window, the corresponding leaf
is selected in the Tree window.

Working with the Assessment Window

About the Assessment Window
For a decision tree, the Assessment window plots lift, ROC, and
misclassification rates. Use the Assessment window to determine how well the
model fits the data.
Lift is the ratio of the percent of captured responses within each percentile bin to
the average percent of responses for the model. Similarly, cumulative lift is
calculated by using all of the data up to and including the current percentile bin.
A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) chart displays the ability of a model to
avoid false positive and false negative classifications. A false positive
classification means that an observation has been identified as an event when it
is actually a nonevent (also referred to as a Type I error). A false negative
classification means that an observation has been identified as a nonevent when
it is actually an event (also referred to as a Type II error).
The misclassification plot displays how many observations were correctly and
incorrectly classified for each value of the response variable. When the response
variable is not binary, the logistic regression model considers all levels that are
not events as equal. A significant number of misclassifications could indicate
that your model does not fit the data.

Using the Assessment Window

Lift
The default lift chart displays the cumulative lift of the model. To view the
noncumulative lift, click the

icon on the vertical axis, and select Lift.

For comparison, the lift chart plots a best model based on complete knowledge
of the input data.

ROC
The specificity of a model is the true negative rate. To derive the false positive
rate, subtract the specificity from 1. The false positive rate, labeled 1
Specificity, is the X axis of the ROC chart. The sensitivity of a model is the true

Details Table

285

positive rate. This is the Y axis of the ROC chart. Therefore, the ROC chart plots
how the true positive rate changes as the false positive rate changes.
A good ROC chart has a very steep initial slope and levels off quickly. That is,
for each misclassification of an observation, significantly more observations are
correctly classified. For a perfect model, one with no false positives and no false
negatives, the ROC chart would start at (0,0), continue vertically to (0,1), and
then horizontally to (1,1). In this instance, the model would correctly classify
every observation before a single misclassification could occur.
The ROC chart includes two lines to help you interpret the ROC chart. The first
line is a baseline model that has a slope of 1. This line mimics a model that
correctly classifies observations at the same rate it incorrectly classifies them.
An ideal ROC chart maximizes the distance between the baseline model and the
ROC chart. A model that classifies more observations incorrectly than correctly
would fall below the baseline model. The second line is a vertical line at the false
positive rate where the difference between the Kolmogorov-Smirnov values for
the ROC chart and baseline models is maximized.

Misclassification
The misclassification plot displays how many observations were correctly and
incorrectly classified. A significant number of misclassifications might indicate
that the model does not fit the data.
When the ratio of events to non-events in your data is relatively large, the
misclassification plot might show a large number of true positives and false
positives. In this case, your model predicts most observations as events and is
correct more often than not.

Assessment
When the number of Response bins is set to more than 10, the Assessment
window plots the predicted average and observed average values. Use this plot
to determine how well the model fits the data.
The Assessment window bins the data based on the values specified in the
Assessment properties. At each bin, you can hold the mouse over one or both
of the lines to display a tooltip.

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the top of the model pane, the details panel is
displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
Node Statistics
provides summary statistics for each node in the decision tree. Available
statistics include Depth, Parent ID, N Children, Type, Observations, %
Observations, N Missing, Gain, Predicted Value, Split, and the number
and percentage of observations in each bin.
Node Rules
provides the sorting rule used for each node in the decision tree. Every
available variable is listed as a column in the table. If a rule was applied for a

286 Chapter 37 / Decision Trees

variable in a node or any of its parent nodes, then it is listed in the table.
Otherwise, the entry is blank.

287

38
Clustering
Overview of the Cluster Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Cluster Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Working with the Cluster Matrix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
About the Cluster Matrix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288
Using the Cluster Matrix Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Working with the Parallel Coordinates Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
About the Parallel Coordinates Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Using the Parallel Coordinates Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

Overview of the Cluster Tool

Clustering is a method of data segmentation that puts observations into groups
that are suggested by the data. The observations in each cluster tend to be
similar in some measurable way, and observations in different clusters tend to
be dissimilar. Observations are assigned to exactly one cluster. From the
clustering analysis, you can generate a cluster ID variable to use in other
explorations.
The cluster tool requires at least two measure variables as input. You cannot
specify an interaction term or category variable.

Cluster Properties
The following properties are available for the cluster tool:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this model.
Cluster Matrix
n Number of clusters specifies the number of clusters that are generated.
n Seed specifies the seed value of the random number generator that is

used during initial cluster assignments.

n Initial assignment specifies the method that is used to create the initial

cluster assignments. The available methods are:

288 Chapter 38 / Clustering

o

Forgy specifies that k data points are selected at random to use as

the centroids of the k clusters.

Random assigns observations to a cluster at random.

n Visible roles determines how many effects are shown in the Cluster

Matrix. Valid values are integers between 2 and 6, inclusive.

When you specify a value n, the first n effects listed in the Variables table
on the Roles tab are displayed. To change the effect pairs that are plotted
in the Cluster Matrix, you can remove an effect from the analysis, and
then immediately add it back in. The clustering results remain unchanged
because you are using the same input data. However, the Variables table
adds new effects to the bottom of the list.
n Variable standardization transforms the effect variables so that they

have a mean of zero and a standard deviation of 1. This property is

enabled by default and affects the results displayed in the details table.
The Cluster Matrix window and the Parallel Coordinates window display
the original variables.
Parallel Coordinates
n Number of bins specifies the number of bins used when generating the
parallel coordinate polyline plots.
n Maximum polylines specifies the maximum number of polylines

generated by the parallel coordinate algorithm.

n Visible roles determines how many effects are shown in the Parallel

Coordinates plot. Valid values are integers between 2 and 10, inclusive.
Show ellipses
enables you to display the cluster projection ellipses in the Cluster Matrix.
Show centroids
enables you to display the centroids in the Cluster Matrix.

Working with the Cluster Matrix Window

About the Cluster Matrix Window
The Cluster Matrix displays a two-dimensional projection of each cluster onto a
specified number of effect pairs. These projections are useful for spotting cluster
similarities and differences within the plotted effect pairs.
Each cluster is assigned a unique color. Although each cluster is unique in nspace, the two-dimensional projections will overlap. It is important to note that
every observation can belong to exactly one cluster. However, because the
Cluster Matrix displays a projection in just two dimensions, multiple clusters can
overlap an observation.
When a heat map is not used, individual observations are color-coded to
indicate cluster membership.

Working with the Parallel Coordinates Plot

289

Using the Cluster Matrix Window

To view a larger plot for an effect pair, right-click inside that plot, and click
Explore. In the Explore window, it is easier to view and select observations.
To view a box plot for a variable that segments the observations by cluster, rightclick inside a plot that contains the variable of interest, and select Plot
variable_name by Cluster ID. Each variable in the selected plot has a menu
item. The box plot is used to determine how similar the clusters are for the
selected variable.
To derive a cluster ID variable that can be used in other explorations, right-click
inside a plot and select Derive a Cluster ID Variable. When you select this item,
SAS Visual Statistics creates a category variable that contains the cluster ID for
each observation. Cluster ID -1 is reserved for observations with missing values.

Working with the Parallel Coordinates Plot

About the Parallel Coordinates Plot
The Parallel Coordinates plot shows patterns in the data and clusters. In this
plot, the cluster ID is on the far left, and each variable is a column with its binned
range of values displayed vertically. Color-coded polylines are drawn from each
cluster and show which range of values the cluster contains for every variable.

Using the Parallel Coordinates Plot

You can use the Parallel Coordinates plot to make several inferences. Adjust the
plot to explore the data based on cluster membership, a specified range for one
or more variables, or both.
To view just the polylines for a single cluster, select that cluster ID on the far left.
Notice that the polylines for all other clusters are grayed out. This enables you to
focus on a single cluster. To view multiple clusters, hold the Control key and
select the clusters that you want to view.
To view the Parallel Coordinates plot by a variable, click the button that
corresponds to that variable. This action changes the color gradient of the
polylines so that larger values are darker than smaller values. To undo the
variable selection, click anywhere to the left of Cluster ID.
To restrict the number of bins displayed for a variable, click the top or bottom of
a variables range and drag the selection rectangle to the desired range. To
move the selection rectangle, click inside the rectangle, and drag the rectangle
upward or downward. You can repeat this process for other variables. To undo
the selection for a variable, click the name of that variable at the top of the
Parallel Coordinates plot.
Combining these two features, you can restrict the display to specific clusters
and variable ranges that interest you.

290 Chapter 38 / Clustering

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the top of the model pane, the details table is
displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
n Cluster Summary provides summary statistics for each cluster. Available

statistics include Observations, RMS of STD, Within-Cluster SS, Min

centroid-to-observation, Max centroid-to-observation, Nearest Cluster,
and Centroid Distance.

291

39
Model Comparison
Overview of Model Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Model Comparison Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Model Comparison Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Model Comparison Results Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Fit Statistic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Details Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

Overview of Model Comparison

The model comparison tool enables you to compare the performance of
competing models using various benchmarking criteria. The comparison criteria
available depends on the models and response variable used in your analysis. A
model comparison requires that at least one model is trained before you can
perform a comparison.
Before performing a model comparison, ensure that all models are initialized and
updated. If the Auto-update model property is disabled for a model, you must
manually update it before you can compare it to another model. A model is not
considered initialized until it has been trained.
When you change a model after a comparison has been created, changes are
not carried over to the model comparison.

292 Chapter 39 / Model Comparison

Model Comparison Usage

When you click the
appears.

icon in the toolbar, the Model Comparison window

The Model Comparison window enables you to specify the response variable of
interest, the level of interest, a group by variable, and the models for
comparison. You must specify a response variable and at least two models.
Note: You are able to compare two or more models only when the response
variable, level of interest, and group by variable are identical.

Model Comparison Properties

The following properties are available for model comparison:
Name
enables you to specify the name for this comparison.
Fit statistic
specifies the comparison criterion that is plotted in the Fit Statistic window
and used to determine the champion model. The fit statistics available
depend on the models being compared.

Model Comparison Results Windows

293

For the error sum of squares (SSE) fit statistic, the linear regression model
and logistic regression model use the weighted SSE. The generalized linear
model uses the unweighted SSE.
Prediction Cutoff
specifies the cutoff probability that determines whether an observation is a
modeled event.
Percentile
when available, specifies the percentile at which the specified fit statistic is
plotted.

Model Comparison Results Windows

Assessment
The assessment plots available depend on the models being compared. For
classification models, the plots displayed are Lift, ROC, and Misclassification.
For numerical models, the plots displayed are observed response value and
predicted response value.

Fit Statistic
The Fit Statistic plot displays the criterion specified in the Fit statistic property.
In the following image, the observed average value is plotted for a linear

294 Chapter 39 / Model Comparison

regression and a GLM model. The champion model is indicated in the plot. It is
displayed different from the other models.

Details Table
When you click the
icon at the top of the model pane, the details panel is
displayed at the bottom of the model pane. The details table contains the
following information:
Statistics
Provides summary statistics for each model in the comparison. The value in
the Selected column, either Yes or No, indicates which model the model
comparison tool prefers based on the criterion specified in the Fit statistic
property. However, the statistics listed in the details table can differ from
those listed in the Fit statistic property.
Variable Importance
Indicates which variables had the greatest impact on each of the models in
the comparison.

295

Part 6
Designing Reports
Chapter 40
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Chapter 41
Creating and Working with Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Chapter 42
Using Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Chapter 43
Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349
Chapter 44
Working with Display Rules for Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Chapter 45
Working with Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Chapter 46
Working with Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Chapter 47
Working with Report Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

441

Chapter 48
Ranking Values in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

449

296
Chapter 49
Working with Parameters in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Chapter 50
Maintaining Multi-Section Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Chapter 51
Sharing Reports with Other Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461

297

40
Overview of SAS Visual Analytics
Designer
About the SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Your First Look at the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Understanding the Tabs in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Working with Tabs in the Left Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Working with Tabs in the Right Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
About the Canvas in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
About Report Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Specifying Your Preferences for the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify General Preferences for the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Preferences for the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

303
303
303
304

About the SAS Visual Analytics Designer

The SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) enables users to easily create
reports or dashboards that can be saved and viewed on either a mobile device
or in the viewer. The designer is part of the SAS Visual Analytics product that
enables a user with either the Visual Analytics: Analysis role or the Visual
Analytics: Administration role to view, interact with, and create reports. Simply
open an existing report and interact with the information based on your current
needs. Report designers can easily point and click to query central sources of
data. You can drag and drop tables, graphs, and gauges to create a welldesigned report. You can also add text, images, stored processes, and controls
to reports. All of this is accomplished by using the designer, which runs in a web
browser. You do not need to understand a programming language to create
reports.
Report designers can easily create reports and dashboards based on data
sources that have been provided by a system administrator. They can update
reports that were created from visual explorations. Report designers can create
reports by importing report objects or visuals from other reports. They can also
define interactions (either filtering or brushing) for report objects, and then
include SAS analytical results in a single report.

298 Chapter 40 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Your First Look at the Designer

When you are designing reports in SAS Visual Analytics, you see the designer.
In general, data-related tasks are initiated from the leftmost pane, and
presentation-related tasks are initiated from the rightmost pane.
Here are the features of the designer:
Figure 40.1 The Designer

1 The application bar enables you to return to the home page and to access

other parts of SAS Visual Analytics and other SAS applications that integrate
with the home page. You can access your recently created or viewed reports,
explorations, stored processes, data queries, or other objects in your recent
history. Buttons are displayed for each open application.
2 The menu bar provides menu items that apply to the entire report or to the

currently displayed report section. Actions include creating a new report,

adding a new section, inserting new report objects, adding interactions, and

Understanding the Tabs in the Designer

299

launching the viewer without returning to the home page. You can also sign
out of SAS Visual Analytics.
3 The toolbar contains icons that enable you to manage and print your reports.

You can click

to hide the left and right panes. Or, you can click
display the left and right panes.

to

4 The tabs in the left pane enable you to work with new report objects, data,

imported report objects, and shared rules.

5 The canvas is the workspace for building a report. The appearance of the

canvas is affected by the report theme.

6 The tabs in the right pane enable you to work with details about the report

and report objects.

Understanding the Tabs in the Designer

Working with Tabs in the Left Pane
The Objects, Data, Imports, and Shared Rules tabs are in the left pane. The
Objects, Data, and Imports tabs are displayed by default. You can choose to
display icons instead of names on the tabs. To display the icons on the tabs,
click
after the last tab name, and select Show icons only. From this menu,
you can also choose which tabs are displayed.
The following table lists the available tabs:
Tab

Description

Objects

This tab provides a list of the tables, graphs, gauges, controls,

containers, other objects, and custom objects that can be used
in a report or dashboard.
Note: You can use the Show or Hide Objects window to specify
which report objects are displayed on the Objects tab. For more
information, see Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects
Tab on page 319.

300 Chapter 40 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Tab

Description

Data

This tab enables you to select a data source (or data sources)
and the data items for your report. You can add, refresh, import,
or remove a data source using the icons above the list of data
items. Using the menu, you can change the data source, define
a hierarchy, define a calculated item, define an aggregated
measure, show or hide data items, and filter on a data item. You
can check the details for the measures in the data set. You can
use this tab to add parameters to a filter, a calculated item, a
display rule, or a rank.
The data item table on the Data tab provides information about a
selected item, including the name, classification, format,
aggregation, sort options, and parameters. These data item
properties can be modified, which impacts all of the report
objects that use the data item.
When a report has multiple data sources, the Data tab provides
information about the data source and data items for the
selected report object. When you select a report object that has
a different data source, the Data tab updates automatically to
provide information about the selected data source.

Imports

This tab provides a list of reports and report objects that have
been created in the designer or exported from the explorer. This
enables you to create reports from multiple data sources and
create full-featured reports. You can choose objects or sections
in these reports to include in either a new report or an existing
report.

Shared Rules

This tab enables you to create a new display rule for a gauge,
which is used by other gauges to designate intervals and colors
for ranges. You can edit or delete an existing shared display
rule. These display rules are shared across multiple gauges and
can be created at any time.

Working with Tabs in the Right Pane

The Properties, Styles, Display Rules, and Roles tabs are displayed by
default. You can choose to display icons instead of tab names on the tabs. To
display the icons on the tabs, click
after the last tab name, and select Show
icons only. From this menu, you can also choose which tabs are displayed.

About the Canvas in the Designer

301

The following table lists the available tabs:

Tab

Description

Properties

This tab lists the properties for the currently selected report,
section, info window, or report object.
n When a report is selected, the reports title and description

are listed.

n When a section is selected, the sections name and layout

are listed, as well as any section prompts. When an info

window is selected, the name and layout, any section
prompts, and the size of the window are listed. For more
information, see Overview of Report Sections and Info
Windows on page 457.

n When a report object is selected, the objects name, title, and

description are listed. Information that is specific to the report

object type, such as the axes and legend, is listed.

n If a report object is not selected on the canvas, then the

properties are for the section, info window, or report.

Styles

This tab enables you to specify the data styling, frame styling,
text styling, and data colors for a selected report object. You can
specify the report theme for the report.

Display Rules

This tab enables you to populate intervals, add intervals, or add

color-mapped values to an object that is currently selected on
the canvas. You can edit or delete an existing display rule for the
selected table, graph, gauge, or control.

Roles

This tab enables you to add or update data role assignments in

a selected report object that has a data source.

Alerts

This tab enables you to add, update, or delete alerts for report
objects.

Comments

This tab enables you to add comments to the report after you
save it.

Filters

This tab enables you to add a filter (or filters) to the selected
report object.

Interactions

This tab enables you to create interactions and links.

Ranks

This tab enables you to add rankings to report objects. For

example, you might want to see the top 10 products that sold
last year.

About the Canvas in the Designer

The canvas is the workspace for building a report.

302 Chapter 40 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer

You can change the report view by clicking the icons at the top of the canvas.
You can access the report views by clicking
beside the
icon. For more
information about report views, see Choose a Report View on page 307.
Above the canvas, there is an Auto-update check box. You can clear this check
box so that you can design your report without waiting for a query to finish.
When you are finished designing your report, select the Auto-update check box
to run and refresh all of the queries.
There is an area at the top of the canvas on which you can drag and drop filter
controls and then categories to create report-level prompts. If you do not want to
see this area, clear the Show report prompts check box. For more information,
see Use a Control to Create a Report Prompt on page 330.
A report can have multiple sections or info windows, which can be accessed by
using the tabs at the top of the canvas.
There is an area below the section tabs on which you can drag and drop filter
controls and then categories to create section prompts. For more information,
see Use a Control to Create a Section Prompt on page 331.

About Report Themes

Report themes are available in the designer. You can select a report theme for
each report using the Styles tab. Alternatively, you can set a preference for a
default report theme. For more information, see Specifying Your Preferences for
the Designer on page 303.
The designer provides the following report themes: SAS Snow, SAS Light, SAS
Dark, or SAS High Contrast. Starting in the 7.2 release, SAS Snow is the
default report theme for all new reports. If you want existing reports to use the
SAS Snow report theme, you can change the report theme using the Styles tab.
Your site might also have custom report themes. Custom report themes are
automatically created when a coordinating custom application theme is created
in SAS Theme Designer for Flex. For more information, see About Application
Themes in SAS Visual Analytics on page 9.
You can use the Styles tab in the designer to override the default report
background color, prompt background color, font, and font color for the report
theme. You can use the Reset Theme button on the Styles tab to reset the
default report style when you have overridden the background color, font, or font
color.
The Customize Theme button is displayed on the Styles tab for users who
have the Customize Themes capability (through a direct or indirect role
membership). For more information about application themes, see SAS Theme
Designer for Flex: User's Guide.

Specifying Your Preferences for the Designer

303

Specifying Your Preferences for the

Designer
Specify Global Preferences
If you receive distributed reports, it is recommended that you set the User locale
preference. The report distribution feature does not have access to the browser
locale, so it depends on the locale specified for the User locale. For more
information about setting global preferences, see Specify Global Preferences
on page 618.
Note: If you change the User locale preference, then you must sign out and
sign in to SAS Visual Analytics for the change to take effect.

Specify General Preferences for the Designer

To specify general preferences for how alert notifications are sent from both the
designer and the viewer:
1

Select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.

Click General in the left pane.

Specify your Alert Notifications preference. The options are Send e-mail
messages, Send SMS text messages, or Use the system default for alert
notifications.
Note: If your preference for alert notifications is set to e-mail when you add
an alert, you will always receive notifications for that alert via e-mail. If you
decide later that your preference for alert notifications is a text message, then
after you change your preference to Send SMS text messages, you will
have to delete your existing alerts and create new ones.
The Use the system default for alert notifications option specifies that you
want to use the system default that is set by your system administrator in the
SAS Preferences Manager. For more information, see the SAS Preferences
Manager topic in SAS Intelligence Platform: Middle-Tier Administration
Guide. When you select either Send e-mail messages or Send SMS text
messages, you override the system default.
TIP If you select the Send SMS text messages preference, and do not
receive alerts via text message, contact your system administrator. Your
mobile number must be set up correctly as an SMS type in SAS
Management Console.

To specify general preferences for SAS Visual Analytics, see Specify the SAS
Visual Analytics General Preferences on page 619.

304 Chapter 40 / Overview of SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Specify Preferences for the Designer

To specify preferences that are specific to the designer:
1 Select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.
2 Click SAS Visual Analytics Designer in the left pane.
3 Specify your Report preferences.
n Specify your default view for new or existing reports. Select Full screen,

Tablet, or Wide-screen tablet.

n Select your preferred report theme. The designer provides the following

report themes: Application theme, SAS Snow, SAS Light, SAS Dark,
or SAS High Contrast. Your site might also have custom report themes.
TIP Application theme specifies that reports match the selected

application theme. Application theme is available only as a

preference. It is not available as a report theme selection on the Styles
tab. For more information, see About Application Themes in SAS
Visual Analytics on page 9.
4 Specify your Geo Map preferences.
n Select your default Map provider mode. Your choices are

OpenStreetMap and Esri.

n If you select Esri as the map provider, you can specify the Esri map

service in the Esri Map Service Selector window. Your choices in the Esri
Map Service Selector window depend on your sites local Esri server.
Note: The Esri option is available only if your site has its own Esri server
and if your system administrator has set the va.SASGeomapEsriURL
configuration property in SAS Management Console.
5

Specify your Data Tab preference. If you are trying to optimize performance,
then select the Bypass cardinality checks check box.
Note: If you select the Bypass cardinality checks check box, then the
distinct counts of data items are not displayed on the Data tab.

6 Click OK to apply your changes.

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41
Creating and Working with Reports
About Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Create a New Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
Choose a Report View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
Choose a Report Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307
View Report Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308
Change a Reports Name or Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310
Import a Report or Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311
Repurpose an Existing Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Open a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Refresh a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Delete a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

About Reports
You can drag and drop tables, graphs, gauges, and controls to create a welldesigned report in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer). You can add
text, images, and other controls to reports. A report can be divided into one or
more sections. (Sections are like pages.) Each section can have a different
layout and contain different report objects.
When you design a report, keep in mind that it might look slightly different on a
mobile device or in the viewer. For example, the layout of the tiles in the treemap
is dependent on the size of the display area. This means that the same treemap
might appear slightly different in the designer than it does in the viewer or on a
mobile device.
Reports that are imported from SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer)
might look slightly different in the designer.
The designer provides a report view that enables you to change the size of the
canvas that you use for laying out reports. For more information, see Choose a
Report View on page 307.
Two report layouts are available in the designer: Precision and Tiled. For more
information, see Choose a Report Layout on page 307.

306 Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports

Create a New Report

There is no single process for creating a new report in the designer. For
example, some users select their data source (or data sources) before they add
the report objects while other users add report objects to the canvas and then
select their data source (or data sources). Some users choose to update the
properties and styles for their reports while other users choose not to. The
following list of steps is one way that you can create a new report in the
designer.
To create a new report:
1 Select one or more data sources with the associated data items.
2

(Optional) Select the layout (Precision or Tiled) for the first section of the
report using the Properties tab for Section 1.

3 Add report objects by dragging and dropping them onto the canvas or by

double-clicking the report object on the Objects tab. You can tab over a
report object and press Enter to add the report object to the canvas.
4

Add data items to report objects by dragging and dropping one or more data
items onto the report object or by right-clicking on the report object and using
the pop-up menu.

(Optional) Modify the report.

n Update the properties for the report and the report objects.
n Update the styles for the report objects.
n Modify data role assignments.
n Create or modify advanced data items (for example, hierarchies or

geographic data items).

n Create or modify display rules and add alerts for report objects.
n Add filters to the report.
n Add interactions between the report objects in a section.
n Add a rank to a report object.
n Import report objects from the explorer.
n Add a new section to the report.
n Add comments to the report.

Note: If you add a graph to your report, and there is not enough space for
both the graph and the legend to display, then the legend will be dropped.
6

(Optional) View the report in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the viewer) by
selecting File View Report. Once you have viewed the report, you can
return to the designer by selecting File Edit Report.

7 Save the report. The default location for the first save is My Folder. After

that, the default save location is the last accessed folder.

8

(Optional) View or change the report properties using the File menu.

Choose a Report Layout

9

307

(Optional) E-mail the report.

10 (Optional) Print the report.

You can create a new report based on an existing report or on existing report
objects. For more information, see Repurpose an Existing Report on page
312.

Choose a Report View

There are three report views available in the designer: Full Screen, Tablet, or
Wide-screen Tablet. The default report view is Full Screen. You can access the
report views from the View menu or by clicking
choose

, or

beside the

icon. You can

The report layout is not automatically adjusted for optimal viewing on a device.
However, the report does not necessarily display poorly. Before making the
report available to users, see how the report is displayed in each view.
Note: Reports can appear to be distorted when they are viewed using different
screen resolutions. It is recommended that you design a report using the
smallest resolution that you think a user would use to view the report.

Choose a Report Layout

The following report layouts are available in the designer:
Precision
enables you to place, align, and size report objects. The precision layout
allows report objects to overlap, and it lets users control the depth order of
these overlapping objects by sending objects backward or bringing them
forward. (For example, you might want your company logo to display behind
a bar chart and a pie chart in your report.)
This layout option is keyboard accessible.
Note: Stored processes are not allowed in the precision layout.
Tiled
enables you to place report objects directly next to other report objects. The
report objects cannot overlap. All report objects in the section are sized to fit
in one screen. If you adjust the size of an object, then the other objects
automatically resize to ensure that all objects continue to fill the entire
screen.
Note: You can switch from the tiled layout to the precision layout after you have
added report objects to your report. However, this action can change the size
and the position of the report objects. It can also change whether a report object
is allowed in the layout. For example, stored processes are not allowed in the
precision layout.
To choose your report layout:
1 Select a section tab.

308 Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports

2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3 For Layout, select either Precision or Tiled. The Tiled layout is the default.

(Optional) If you select Precision, then you can specify Fit to screen. The
Fit to screen option prevents objects from being sized too wide or too tall,
which can cause the report viewing area for the section to scroll.
Note: The Fit to screen option is only for designing reports. Your Fit to
screen selection is not saved with the report, so it does not affect the web
viewer or mobile devices.

View Report Properties

You can use the Report Properties window to get an overview of the report. With
the exception of the Name field, the information in the Report Properties window
is different from the information that appears on the Properties tab in the right
pane of the designer. The Report Properties window provides information such
as who created the report and when it was last modified.
All of the information in the Report Properties window is generated after a report
is saved. You can add or change only the Description and Keywords for the
report in the Report Properties window.
TIP Starting in the 7.2 release, text in the Location field in the Report

Properties window is now selectable, which makes it easier for you to share
the location of your report with other users.
To view a reports properties:
1

Select File Report Properties. The Report Properties window is

displayed.

(Optional) Update the Description or Keywords for the report.

View Report Properties

309

TIP There is a limit of 200 characters in the Description field.

TIP There is a limit of 60 characters for each keyword in the Keywords

field.
Here is an example of the Report Properties window:

By comparison, the Properties tab in the right pane of the designer can be used
to update the properties for individual report objects or report sections. The
available properties depend on the selected report object. To move to the
after the report
properties of different report objects or report sections, click
name, and then select another report object or report section from the list.

310 Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports

This example shows a report title and description and lists two sections.

For information about updating report object properties, see About Report
Objects on page 316.

Change a Reports Name or Title

A reports name and title are the same in the designer. The title is displayed on
the Properties tab and the name is displayed in the Report Properties window.
To change a reports name and title:
1

Select File Save As. The Save As window is displayed.

2 Enter a new Name, and click Save. The new report name is displayed as the

title on the Properties tab and as the name in the Report Properties window.

Import a Report or Report Objects 311

Import a Report or Report Objects

You can import an entire existing report, any section from an existing report, or
any report object from an existing report. You can immediately save the imported
report with a new name, or you can customize it, and then save it.
Note: Reports that you export from an exploration in the explorer might look
slightly different in the designer.
To import a report into the designer:
1 Click Imports in the left pane. If the Imports tab is not visible, select View

Imports.
2

Select a report name from Select a report to import, or click Import

another report to display the Open window, where you can select a report.
The report is displayed on the Imports tab.

Note: Report objects that cannot be imported from the explorer are not
displayed on the Imports tab.
3 In the tree view on the Imports tab, a list of the report name, the sections,

and the report objects is displayed. Drag the report, a single report object,
multiple report objects, or an entire section and drop it onto the canvas.

Select File Save As, or click , which displays the Save As window.
Enter a Name. Report names cannot use these characters: / \

5 Modify the report objects, properties, styles, roles, filters, display rules, ranks,

and interactions as needed.

6 Select File Save, or click

312 Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports

Repurpose an Existing Report

If there is an existing saved report that closely matches the report that you want
to create, then you can open the existing report that contains the report objects
that you want to reuse. (For example, you might want to reuse calculated data
items or hierarchies from an existing report in your current report.)
To base a new report on report objects in one or more existing reports:
1

Open the existing report by doing one of the following:

n On the home page, double-click on the report that you want to open.
n In the designer, do one of the following:
o

Select File Recent, and then select the report name.

Click
beside the recent content drop-down list at the top of the
window, and then select a report name.

Click

Select File Open to display the Open window and select a report.

on the menu bar to navigate to a report, and then select it.

2 Select File Save As, or click

, which displays the Save As window.

Enter a Name. Report names cannot use these characters: / \

3 Modify the report as needed.

n For existing objects, modify the properties, styles, roles, filters, display

rules, ranks, and interactions.

n To import objects from other reports, click Imports in the left pane. If the
Imports tab is not visible, select View Imports. From the Imports tab,

drag a single report object, multiple report objects, or an entire section

and drop it onto the canvas.
4 Select File Save, or click

Open a Report
Reports in the designer are saved when you use either the Save window or the
Save As window. A saved report contains at least one section. Typically, a
section uses data items from a data source to perform queries. The section
displays the results with one or more report objects (for example, a table, a
graph, a gauge, a control, and so on). For more information about sections, see
Overview of Report Sections and Info Windows on page 457.
A section is not required to contain any report objects. For example, you might
have a report that you use only as a template to create other reports if you want
all reports to have a similar appearance. A template-like report might contain
data sources, calculated items, global data filters, and shared display rules, but it
might not contain report objects.

Delete a Report

313

To open a report:
1

Select File Open or click

. The Open window is displayed.

(Optional) Search for a report by clicking . The Search window is

displayed. Enter your search criteria, and then click Search. When the
results are displayed, select the report name. Click OK to open the report.
TIP Searching does not include report content.

TIP If you search for a single word, then the search assumes a wildcard

character before and after the word. For example, if you perform a search
with low in the Name field, then the search results include report names
such as Low Activity, Regions with Lowered Sales, and Monthly Travel
Allowance.
TIP The search is not case sensitive. For example, if you search for profit,

then the search results include report names such as Sports Equipment
Profits and Company profits last year.
3 Select a report name, and then click Open. The report is displayed in the

canvas.
Alternatively, you can open a report using the object inspector on the SAS Visual
Analytics home page. For more information, see Discover Details Using the
Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page on page 615.

Refresh a Report
You can reopen the current report and save any unsaved changes by selecting
File Refresh Report. When you are prompted to save changes, choose Save
or Dont Save. Unsaved changes can include changes to the underlying data
sources or changes that another user might have saved to the report.
This is especially useful if you have closed the current report without saving your
changes.
Note: You are not prompted to save the report if there are no unsaved changes.

Delete a Report
To delete a report:
1

Select File Open. The Open window is displayed.

2 Select the report that you want to delete, and then click

314 Chapter 41 / Creating and Working with Reports

You can also delete a report from the home page. Click , and then click
Manage (next to My Content or Other Content). For more information, see
Manage Content on the Classic Home Page on page 610.

315

42
Using Report Objects
About Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316
Insert a Report Object into a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318
Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Using Tables to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About List Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Crosstabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Table Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Table Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add Sparklines to a List Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

320
320
320
321
322
323

Use the Combine Excluded Rows (or Cells) into All Other Properties . . . . 324
Using Graphs to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Graph Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Graph Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

326
326
326
328

Using Controls to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

About Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Specify Control Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329
Specify Control Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Use a Control to Create a Report Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330
Reordering Report Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Use a Control to Create a Section Prompt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
Reordering Section Prompts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332
Using Container Object Types in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Container Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Container Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Container Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

332
332
333
333

Using Other Object Types in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Use a Text Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use a Stored Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use a Geo Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use a Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Use a Word Cloud Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

334
334
335
337
339
341
342

Using Custom Graphs to Display Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

About Custom Graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
Specify Custom Graph Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

316 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

Specify Custom Graph Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Assign Colors to Overlays in Custom Graph Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344
Duplicate a Report Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346
Working with Alerts for Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Overview of Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add an Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit an Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Delete an Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

346
346
347
348
348

About Report Objects

After selecting your data source and data items, add one or more report objects
to display the results. The SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer)
provides report objects for all of your reports. (You can also select data after you
add report objects to the canvas.) Report objects in the designer are grouped
into types on the Objects tab in the left pane and in the Insert menu: Tables,
Graphs, Gauges, Controls, Containers, Other, and Custom. Custom is
displayed only if one or more custom graphs are saved in your My Folder
location or if custom graphs are selected in the Show or Hide Objects window.
For more information, see Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab on
page 319.
For a definition and a picture of each report object, see Appendix 2, Gallery of
Report Objects, on page 537.
The following table lists the available table objects:
Icon

Table Type
List Table
Crosstab

The following table lists the default graph objects:

Icon

Graph Type
Bar Chart
Targeted Bar Chart
Waterfall Chart
Line Chart
Pie Chart

About Report Objects 317

Icon

Graph Type
Scatter Plot
Time Series Plot
Bubble Plot
Treemap
Dual Axis Bar Chart
Dual Axis Line Chart
Dual Axis Bar-Line Chart
Dual Axis Time Series Plot

Note: You can display the additional graph objects using the Show or Hide
Objects window. For more information, see Show or Hide Report Objects in the
Objects Tab on page 319. The additional graph objects are displayed in the
gallery in the graph builder.
The following table lists the available controls:
Icon

Control Type
Drop-down List
List
Button Bar
Text Input
Slider

The following table lists the available containers:

Icon

Container Type
Vertical Container
Horizontal Container
Stack Container

318 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

Icon

Container Type
Prompt Container

The following table lists the other report objects:

Icon

Other Type
Text
Image
Stored Process
Geo Bubble Map
Geo Coordinate Map
Geo Region Map
Gauge
Word Cloud

Report objects of the Custom type are created using the graph builder. They are
identified by the
icon. For more information, see Using Custom Graphs to
Display Results on page 343.
In the designer, you have access to report objects from SAS Visual Analytics
Explorer (the explorer). You can open a histogram, heat map, box plot, or
correlation matrix in a report that has been exported from the explorer. However,
you cannot create new histograms, heat maps, box plots, or correlation matrices
in the designer.

Insert a Report Object into a Report

To insert a report object into a report, choose one of the following methods:
n Drag the report object from the Objects tab in the left pane and drop it onto

the canvas.
n Double-click the report object on the Objects tab in the left pane. The report

object is automatically placed in the canvas. If you want the report object to
appear in a different location, then drag and drop it in a new location.
n Select the report object on the Objects tab in the left pane, and press Enter.

The report object is automatically placed in the canvas. If you want the report

Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab

319

object to appear in a different location, then drag and drop it in a new

location.
TIP Use the Show or Hide Objects window to specify which report objects

are displayed on the Objects tab. For more information, see Show or
Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab on page 319.
n Use the Insert menu to select the report object that you want to insert. The

report object is automatically placed in the canvas. If you want the report
object to appear in a different location, then drag and drop it in a new
location.
Additional steps are required for some report objects.
n If you insert a container, then you can drag and drop other report objects

onto the container.

n Inserting images requires additional steps. For more information, see Insert

an Image into a Report on page 335.

n Inserting stored processes requires additional steps. For more information,

see Use a Stored Process on page 337.

TIP Use the Clear Selection or Select All option on the report objects popup menu to clear the selected data or to select data in the report object.

Show or Hide Report Objects in the

Objects Tab
You can customize which report objects you want to see on the Objects tab.
Once you hide a report object, it remains hidden until you choose to show it
again.
TIP To quickly hide a report object on the Objects tab, right-click the object,

and select Hide Object.

Note: Custom graphs appear under the Custom heading on the Objects tab if
they are saved to your My Folder location or if custom graphs are selected in
the Show or Hide Objects window.
To show or hide report objects:
1 On the Objects tab, click

, and then select Show or Hide Objects. The

Show or Hide Objects window is displayed. Report objects that are available
in the designer by default are selected. The list of report objects includes
additional graph objects, which are not selected by default. Graph objects are
also displayed in the graph builder gallery.

2 Select the report objects that you want to show on the Objects tab. If there

are report objects that you do not want to see on the Objects tab, then clear
one or more check boxes for one or more report objects.

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3

(Optional) To find a custom graph object that is not listed, click Select
Custom. The Choose an Item window is displayed. Select the custom graph
object, and click OK to return to the Show or Hide Objects window.

Click OK. The Objects tab is updated.

Using Tables to Display Results

For a definition and a picture of each table type, see Tables on page 538.

About List Tables

By default, a list table contains aggregated data with one row for each distinct
combination of category values. However, if the Show detail data check box
has been selected, then all of the data is not aggregated.
TIP To rearrange the columns in a list table, drag and drop the column

headings.
You can add sparklines to a column (if the data source contains a date data
item) when aggregated data is displayed in the list table. For more information,
see Add Sparklines to a List Table on page 323.
Starting in the 6.4 release, list tables are sorted in ascending order by the first
data item that you add. Only new list tables have a default sort selection. The
sorting of data items in list tables in existing reports does not change. To sort the
list table by a column, click on the column heading. An arrow appears in the
column heading to indicate the sorting.
Here are some key points about list tables:
n If you sort a list table, then the list table displays only the first 5,000 sorted

rows.
n You cannot select the totals in a list table.

About Crosstabs
You can show subtotals and totals by selecting the appropriate check box (or
check boxes) on the Properties tab for the crosstab. You can show a
percentage of total or percentage of subtotal in a crosstab. For more information
about percentage of total or percentage of subtotal, see Create Derived Items
for Measures on page 363.
You cannot add a sparkline to a crosstab.
You should consider placing lower cardinality (fewer distinct values) categories
on the columns and higher cardinality (more distinct values) categories on the
rows. Crosstabs can help you improve readability especially when there are
several category data items to include in your table.
By default, frequency is displayed only when there are no measures in the
crosstab. If you add a category data item first, then the Frequency column is
automatically added. When you add a measure data item, the Frequency
column is automatically replaced by the measure that you added. If you add a

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321

measure data item first, then the Frequency column is added only if you
manually add it.
Here are some key points about crosstabs:
n You can create a brush interaction for totals and subtotals in a crosstab.
n A crosstab does not show data if the query is too large.

Specify Table Properties

To specify the properties for list tables and crosstabs:
1 If it is not already selected, select the table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

Update the general properties for the table. You can update the Name, Title,
Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

4 Update the object-specific properties for the table. The available properties

depend on the selected table type.

Here are some details about the properties for list tables:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

list tables. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the list table, and click
to see the list table name and
any incoming filter information.
n You can use the Data Options properties to enable sorting, show detail

data, combine excluded rows into all other, and to show totals. These
properties are available when you use summarized data. They apply to
both ranks and post-aggregate filters.
Note: By default, a list table contains aggregated data with one row for
each distinct combination of category values. However, if the Show detail
data check box has been selected, then all of the data is not aggregated.
For list tables, you can select the Combine excluded rows into All
Other property, under the Data Options heading, to summarize all
excluded rows. For more information, see Use the Combine Excluded
Rows (or Cells) into All Other Properties on page 324.
TIP Select the Show labels for totals property to turn off or turn on

the aggregation labels for totals.

Here are some details about the properties for crosstabs:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

crosstabs. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the crosstab, and click
to see the crosstab name
and any incoming filter information.
n You can specify that you want to display missing labels as blanks instead

of the string (missing) being displayed.

n You can specify that you want an indented layout and totals and subtotals

for columns, rows, or both.

322 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

n You can specify the placement of totals and subtotals.

Specify Table Styles

To specify styles for tables:
1 If it is not already selected, select the table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the table. The available styles depend on the selected

table type. For example, you can specify Border and Fill, Cells, Column
Headings, and Totals for list tables and crosstabs.
Here are some details about the styles for list tables:
n Select Wrap text to wrap text in the cells of a list table.
n Select Enable alternating background color to specify that the color of

every other row appears darker in the list table. Use the Alternating
background color to specify the color of every other row in the list table.
Use the Selection color style to specify the color of the selected row in
the list table.

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323

Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. Here is an example:
Figure 42.1

A Color Palette in the Designer

Add Sparklines to a List Table

A sparkline is a small line graph that presents a single trend over time. A
sparkline is about the size of one or two words, so it fits in a single cell and
repeats for each row in a column. A sparkline does not have axes or labels.
They are frequently used to present stock trends or production rates over time. A
sparkline is intended to be both succinct and noteworthy.
In the designer, you can add sparklines to a column in a list table. The data
source for the list table must include a date, datetime, or time data item before
you can add a sparkline.
Here is an example of a simple list table with a sparkline:

324 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

To add sparklines:
1 If it is not already selected, select the list table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

Right-click the list table, and then select Add Sparkline. The Add Sparkline
window is displayed.

3 Enter a Column label.

4 For Time Axis, select a date, datetime, or time data item in the current data

source.
5 Select a Measure (line).
6

(Optional) Select the Set baseline check box. Enter a Value, and select a
Fill type. Your choices are Gradient or Solid.
The Set baseline option draws a horizontal line through the graph at the
point on the Y axis where the baseline value resides. Everything above or
below the baseline is filled in with either a solid or gradient color.

7 Click OK. The sparkline is added to the last column in the list table. You can

move the sparkline to another location in the table.

To edit a sparkline, right-click in the sparkline column in the list table, and then
select Edit Sparkline. The Edit Sparkline window is displayed. Update the
information, and then click OK to save your changes.
To delete a sparkline, right-click in the sparkline column in the list table, and then
select Remove Sparkline.

Use the Combine Excluded Rows (or Cells)

into All Other Properties
You can use the Combine excluded rows into All Other property for list
tables or the Combine excluded cells into All Other property for some
graphs. These properties combine content across categories (for example, the
content that is formed by combining the report objects visible categories). These
properties are frequently used with filters and ranks.
The effect of these properties can be influenced by certain types of interactions.
For example, if you have a list table with a Sales measure data item, the list
table might have the Combine excluded rows into All Other property
selected and be targeted by a slider showing a range of Sales figures. The
category combinations that are dropped based on the range selected in the
slider control are grouped into a category named "All Other."
Note: The Combine excluded rows into All Other property is not available
for crosstabs. And, the Combine excluded cells into All Other property is
not available for time series plots, bubble plots, scatter plots, step plots, geo
maps, or word clouds.
There is a similar, but distinct per-category All Other option that is provided for
ranking in the designer. For more information about the All Other concept for
ranking, see Add a New Rank on page 449.

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325

The following list table shows how the content of combining visible categories is
factored into All Other. The list table has two categories and a measure. The
Combine excluded rows into All Other property is selected on the
Properties tab. The list table is filtered by aggregate quantity values using the
adjacent slider control.

Here are some key points about the Combine excluded rows into All Other
property and the Combine excluded cells into All Other property:
n The property cannot be set when the report object is displaying detail data.
n The property cannot be set when the report object includes a rank with the

per-category All Other option selected.

n The property cannot be set for pie charts when the Create Other slice for

minimal values property is selected.

n The property cannot be set when a hierarchy is assigned to the report object.
n The property cannot be set for line charts that are imported from the explorer.

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Using Graphs to Display Results

About Graphs
For a definition and a picture of each graph type, see Graphs, Charts, and
Plots on page 539.
Some graphs are available by default in the designer. (These graphs are listed
under the Graphs heading on the Objects tab.) There are additional graph
objects, which are displayed in the graph builder gallery. For more information
about the gallery, see About the Graph Template Gallery on page 480. You
can also display the additional graph objects using the Show or Hide Objects
window in the designer. For more information, see Show or Hide Report Objects
in the Objects Tab on page 319.
You can also create custom graphs. For more information, see Using Custom
Graphs to Display Results on page 343.

Specify Graph Properties

To specify the properties for graphs:
1

If it is not already selected, select the graph in the canvas that you want to
update.

2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3 Update the general properties for the graph. You can update the Name, Title,

Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

4

Update the specific properties for the graph. The available properties depend
on the selected graph type.
Here are details about the properties for graphs:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

graphs. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the graph, and click
to see the graph name and any
incoming filter information.
n For select graphs only, you can use the Combine excluded cells into

All Other property under Data Options. This property applies to both
ranks and post-aggregate filters. For more information, see Use the
Combine Excluded Rows (or Cells) into All Other Properties on page
324.
n To add a new horizontal or vertical reference line to all graph types except

the pie chart and the treemap, select Create new reference line. You
can specify a Label, an Axis, a Value, and the Style of the new line.
Note: Properties for the axes or reference lines are not displayed for a
custom graph that has merged or common axes.
n To rotate a graphs X axis category labels by 45 degrees, select the

Rotate value label property. This property is available for the bar chart,
targeted bar chart, waterfall chart, line chart, dual axis bar chart, dual axis

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327

line chart, the dual axis bar-line chart, and custom graphs with a single X
axis that has discrete values.
Note: You cannot use the Rotate value label property if you assign a
data item to a lattice row or lattice column data role.
n For bar charts that are assigned multiple measure data items (in the

Measures role) or if you group a data item, you can create a 100%
stacked bar chart using the Grouping style and Grouping scale
properties. Select Cluster or Stack for the Grouping style. Select
Normalize groups to 100% for the Grouping scale.
Note: The Grouping scale property is not available for the dual axis bar
chart, the dual axis bar-line chart, or any custom graph with at least one
bar chart and a second Y axis.
Note: Negative values are ignored in the 100% stacked bar chart.
Note: If you select Normalize groups to 100% for a bar chart, then the
Set baseline property is not available.
Note: The Callout and Outside options for the Data label location are
not supported for grouped pie charts. Selecting either of these options
has no effect on the pie chart.
n To fill a line chart or a time series plot with color, select a Grouping style.

The style choices are Overlay Unfilled, Overlay Filled, and Stack
Filled. The default grouping style is Overlay Unfilled.
n To change the percentage for the other slice in a pie chart, change the

amount listed in the Minimum percentage for Other field. The default
is 4%.
n To display the measure label at the top of a pie chart, select the Show

label check box.

n To change the transparency of the markers in a scatter plot, needle plot,

step plot, or dot plot; or for the bubbles in a bubble plot or a bubble
change plot; or for the bars in a schedule chart, move the slider for
Transparency to any value between 0% and 100%. The default value for
transparency is 0%.
n For the treemap, the Layout property determines how the tiles are

arranged. The Show level indicator check box determines whether the
label of the data item that is in the Tile role is displayed above the
treemap.
n Use the Binning interval for a time series plot or a dual axis time series

plot when you have an uneven grouping of time data. The options are:
Automatic
Determines the best bin size for your data. This option is the default.
Fixed count
Enables you to specify an interval between 10 and 500 in the Fixed
bin count field.
Use format
Uses the format of the date data item as the interval.
n To set a baseline for a needle plot or butterfly chart, specify a number for

the Set baseline property.

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n To change the arrowheads for the vector plot or the stock high-low plot,

clear the Show arrowheads property. To change the transparency of the

vector plot or the stock high-low plot, move the slider for Transparency to
any value between 0% and 100%. The default value for transparency is
0%.

Specify Graph Styles

To specify styles for graphs:
1

If it is not already selected, select the graph in the canvas that you want to
update.

2 In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the graph. The available styles depend on the selected

graph type. For example, you can specify Border and Fill, Data Styling,
Frame Styling, Text Styling, and Data Colors for all graphs.
By default, the background of a graph is set to white. Use the Wall
background option (under Frame Styling) to specify a different color.
TIP Move the slider beside the color palette to set the transparency for

the Wall background, the Legend background, or the Header

background for graphs, except for treemaps. The default value for
transparency is 0%.
Note: A three-color Gradient data color style is available for bubble plots,
treemaps, some bar charts, some waterfall charts, and word clouds.
Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Using Controls to Display Results

For a definition and a picture of each control type, see Controls on page 554.

About Controls
A control is a report object that filters or narrows the scope of the data that you
are currently viewing. A control enables you to group your data by a selected
category, and then select which group you want to view. When you drag and
drop a data item onto a control, the control creates a group based on that data
item. For example, you might have a data item called Cars that contains all of
the models that a manufacturer produces. When you drag and drop the Cars
data item onto a drop-down list, the control groups the car models, and then you
can select a car model to use as a filter. Controls can be used in a report with
interactions.
Report prompts are controls that are placed in the special area at the top of the
canvas. A report prompt automatically filters all of the other report objects as
long as the report object uses the same data source as the report prompt

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329

control. For more information, see Use a Control to Create a Report Prompt on
page 330.
Section prompts are the controls that are placed in the special row area below
the section tabs at the top of the canvas. A section prompt automatically filters
all of the other report objects in the same section, as long as the report object
uses the same data source as the section prompt control. For more information,
see Use a Control to Create a Section Prompt on page 331.
You can place any control in the main area of the canvas below the section
prompt row. You must define explicit interactions (using either the Interactions
tab or the Interactions view) between these controls (as the source report
objects) and one or more target report objects. For more information about
interactions, see Overview of Interactions on page 427.
The text input control, button bar control, drop-down list control, and slider
control (single-point only) support parameters. For more information, see
Overview of Parameters on page 453.
The following controls are available in the designer:
n drop-down lists
n lists
n button bars
n text input fields
n sliders

Controls support parameters. For more information, see Chapter 49, Working
with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.

Specify Control Properties

To specify the properties for a control:
1 If it is not already selected, select the control in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

Update the general properties for the control. You can update the Name,
Title, Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

4 Update the specific properties for the control. The available properties

depend on the selected control.

Here are some details about the properties for controls:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is not selected

for controls. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device cannot select the control, and click
to see the control name and
any incoming filter information. However, users can still modify values for
the control.
n For drop-down lists, lists, and button bars, select the Required property if

you want to require users to make a selection in the control. If you select
the Required property for a list, at least one check box must always be
selected.

330 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

n By default, the Allow multiple selection property is selected for lists. If

you clear the Allow multiple selection check box, radio button are
displayed instead of check boxes and the Required property is applied
automatically.
n For button bars and sliders, the Horizontal property is selected by

default.
n For sliders, select the Interact on the data in view property if you want

to have the control interactively filter the post-aggregated data.

n For sliders, select the Set fixed range property so that you can specify

the Minimum and Maximum properties for the slider end points.
Note: You cannot have a filter or rank when the Set fixed range property
is selected for a slider.

Specify Control Styles

To specify styles for controls:
1

If it is not already selected, select the control in the canvas that you want to
update.

2 In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the control. The available styles depend on the selected

control type. For example, for a drop-down list, you can specify Border and
Fill, Drop-down Styling, and Text Styling.
Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Use a Control to Create a Report Prompt

If you use a control to create a report prompt, then the user can select a value to
filter the data in the report. For some control types, when the Required property
is not selected, the user might need to press Ctrl+click to clear the value in the
filter.
You cannot create cascading (or dependent) report prompts. However, you can
use a report prompt to cascade filters to section prompts.
To use a control to create a report prompt:
1 Drag the control icon from the Objects tab in the left pane and drop it onto

the area above the tabs on the canvas. (Look for the hint text that says,
Drop controls here to create a report prompt.) The control appears above
the tabs on the canvas.
Note: You can also use a prompt container to create a report prompt.
2 Drag and drop a category, measure, or parameter onto the control. For

example, if you drag and drop a drop-down list control, then you can assign a
category like Facility City or Facility State. Then, the drop-down list is
populated with the cities or states that are used in that category.
You can also use the Roles tab in the right pane to specify the Category and
Frequency roles for the report prompt.

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331

(Optional) Update the general properties for the report prompt. You can
update the Name and Description.

(Optional) Update the specific properties for the report prompt. The available
properties depend on the selected control.
Here are some details about the properties for controls:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is not selected

for controls. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device cannot select the control, and click
to see the control name and
any incoming filter information. However, users can still modify values for
the control.
n For drop-down lists and button bars, select the Required property if you

want to require a user to make a selection in the control. If you select the
Required property for a drop-down list, at least one check box must
always be selected.
n For sliders, for Value, the Range property is selected by default. Select

the Interact on the data in view property to have the control filter only
the aggregated data that is currently displayed in the report. If you clear
this property, then the detail data is filtered.
Note: If the Interact on the data in view property is not selected, then a
slider does not filter crosstabs or time series plots.
n For button bars and sliders, the Horizontal property is selected by

default.
If the report prompt uses one data source and the report objects on the canvas
use another data source, you can change the data source mappings by rightclicking the control, and then selecting Edit Data Source Mapping. For more
information, see Map Data Sources on page 438.

Reordering Report Prompts

You can reorder the display of report prompts.
To change the order in which report prompts are displayed:
1

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

2 Select the report name in the drop-down list.

3 In the Report Prompts area, select a report prompt. Click

or

to

reorder the report prompts.

Use a Control to Create a Section Prompt

The drop-down list, button bar, and text input controls are the only controls that
can be used as section prompts.
If you use a control to create a section prompt, then the user can select a value
to filter the data. For some control types, when the Required property is not
selected, the user might need to press Ctrl+click to clear the value in the filter.
Section prompts can be affected by report prompts.
Note: You cannot create cascading (or dependent) section prompts.

332 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

To use a control to create a section prompt:
1 Drag the control icon from the Objects tab in the left pane and drop it onto

the area above the report objects and below the tabs on the canvas. (Look
for the hint text that says, Drop controls here to create a section prompt.)
The control appears below the tabs on the canvas.
Note: You can also use a prompt container to create a section prompt.
2

Drag and drop a category, a measure, or a parameter onto the control. For
example, if you drag and drop a drop-down list control, then you can assign a
category like Facility City or Facility State. Then the drop-down list is
populated with the cities or states that are used in that category.
You can also use the Roles tab in the right pane, and then specify the
Category and Frequency roles.

TIP If you move a section prompt from one section to another section in a
report, you must edit the data source mapping for an interaction to work.
Right-click the control, and select Edit Data Source Mapping. For more
information, see Map Data Sources on page 438.

If the section prompt uses one data source and the report objects on the canvas
use another data source, you can change the data source mappings by rightclicking the control, and then selecting Edit Data Source Mapping.

Reordering Section Prompts

You can reorder the display of section prompts.
To change the order in which section prompts are displayed:
1 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.
2

Select the section name in the drop-down list.

In the Section Prompts area, select a section prompt. Click

reorder the section prompts.

or

to

Using Container Object Types in Reports

About Container Objects
You can use containers to group other report objects. There are these types of
containers:
n Vertical and horizontal containers.
n Stack containers. The report objects are displayed as if they are in a slide

deck. Only one report object is displayed at a time. The stack container has a
control bar instead of a scroll bar that lets you move between report objects.
You cannot nest stack containers. However, you can place them side by side.
When you use precision layout, you can resize the stack container.

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333

n Prompt containers. These containers group prompt controls. Prompt

containers are affected by report prompts, but not by other section prompts.
They are not affected by interactions. Report objects inside prompt
containers are filtered by the same rules as other objects.
Prompt containers can be added to the report prompt area and section
prompt area on the canvas. This enables you to add control types (for
example, list controls) that are not otherwise allowed in those prompt areas.
TIP If a prompt container is open and there are unsaved changes, then

the button bar changes. An Apply button is displayed so that you can
apply changes.
Note: Stored processes cannot be added to any type of container.

Specify Container Properties

To specify the properties for a container:
1

If it is not already selected, select the container in the canvas that you want
to update.

2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3

Update the general properties for the container. You can update the Name,
Title, Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

Update the object-specific properties for the container. Here are some details
about the properties for containers:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

containers. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the container, and click
to see the container name
and any incoming filter information.
n Update the order in which the report objects appear inside the container.
n For stack containers, the Navigation control location property changes

the location of the control bar, and the Navigation button type property
changes the appearance of the control bar. You can reorder the display of
the report objects in the stack container using the Objects list.
n For prompt containers, you can select the Layout and Button text. The

Automatically apply values property is selected by default. If you clear

the Automatically apply values check box, then you cannot work with
any interactions to or from the prompt container until you apply or cancel
changes.

Specify Container Styles

To specify styles for containers:
1 If it is not already selected, select the container in the canvas that you want

to update.
2 In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

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3

Update the styles for the container. The available styles depend on the
selected container type. Border and Fill is available for all containers.
Prompt containers also have Drop-down Styling and Text Styling options.
The Button bar color style option for the prompt container enables you to
change the background around the Close button.
Here is an example of a prompt container that has the Background color
and Button bar color styles set.

Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Using Other Object Types in Reports

Use a Text Object
About Text Objects
Text objects display static text. You can use text to include company standards,
such as text that indicates confidentiality, in your reports. You can have
hyperlinks in text. For more information about links, see Create a Link from a
Text Object on page 445. You can also use text to annotate other objects in a
report.

Specify Text Object Properties

To specify the properties for a text object:
1 If it is not already selected, select the text object in the canvas that you want

to update.
2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

Update the general properties for the text. You can update the Name, Title,
Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

Using Other Object Types in Reports

4

335

(Optional) Update the object-specific properties for the text object. By default,
the Enable selection in the viewers property is not selected for text objects.
This means that users who view the report in the web viewer or a mobile
device cannot select the text in a report.

Specify Text Object Styles

You can use the floating toolbar to change the font, font size, text color, and text
background color. You can specify whether the text is bold, italic, or underlined,
and whether it is left-aligned, centered, or right-aligned. You can also use the
floating toolbar to create a link from a text object. For more information, see
Create a Link from a Text Object on page 445.
TIP You can use the pop-up menu to cut, copy, and delete text. However, you

have to use the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+V) to paste text.

Note: You cannot change text styles using the Styles tab.

Use an Image
About Images
You can use images to include your corporate logo or other graphics in your
reports. You can insert images from a repository or from your local machine. If
you select an image from your local machine, it is saved to the repository. You
can also add tooltip text to an image.

Insert an Image into a Report

To insert an image into a report:
1 Choose one of the following:
n Drag the

from the Objects tab in the left pane and drop it onto the
canvas. The Image Selection window is displayed.

n Select Insert Other Image. The Image Selection window is

displayed. The image object is automatically placed in the canvas. If you

want the image to appear in a different location, then drag and drop it in a
new location.
2

Select the image from one of the following locations:

Load from repository
Select this option to choose an image that is stored on the same server
as the reports.
Load from local machine
Select this option to choose an image from your local machine. Click
Browse to choose a file on your local machine. Specify a repository in the
Save the local image to the repository field. If you click Browse, the
Save As window is displayed. Select a folder and then click OK to return
to the Image Selection window.
A preview of the image is displayed.

3 (Optional) Specify the Scale type:

336 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

None
The actual size of the image is maintained. The image might or might not
fill the entire area of the image's visual container. If the image is larger
than the visual container, then scroll bars are displayed.
Stretch
The height and width of image are set to the height and width of the
images visual container. The images original aspect ratio is not
maintained.
Fit All
The image is modified to fit best into the image's visual container. The
images original aspect ratio is maintained.
Fit Width
The width of the image is set to the width of the image's visual container.
The height maintains the image's original aspect ratio. Scroll bars are
displayed if the set height of the image is greater than the height of the
visual container.
Fit Height
The height of the image is set to the height of the image's visual
container. The width maintains the image's original aspect ratio. Scroll
bars are displayed if the set width of the image is greater than the width of
the visual container.
Tile
The image is tiled in the visual container. The images original size is
maintained. There are no scroll bars.
4 (Optional) Specify the Tooltip text.
5 Click OK.

Specify Image Properties

To specify the properties for an image:
1

If it is not already selected, select the image in the canvas that you want to
update.

2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3 Update the general properties for the image. You can update the Name,

Title, and Description.

4

Update the properties specific for the image. Your choices are Location,
Scale type, and Tooltip text.
By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is not selected for
images. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile device
cannot select the image, and click
to see the image name.

Specify Image Styles

No styles are available for images.

Using Other Object Types in Reports

337

Use a Stored Process

About Stored Processes
A stored process is a SAS program that is stored on a server and that can be
executed as requested by client applications such as SAS Visual Analytics. The
embedded SAS code can contain instructions for displaying report elements that
include queries, prompted filters, titles, images, and statistical analyses.
You can add one or more stored processes to a report. You can edit the prompts
for a stored process using the Properties tab in the designer. When you set the
value for a prompt in the designer, that prompt value becomes the default value
for the viewer.
Any prompts in a stored process must follow the guidelines for entering prompt
values. This is important if the stored process contains date values. See
Entering Prompt Values in the SAS Stored Process Web Application in the
SAS Stored Processes: Developer's Guide.
You can also add a stored process report, which contains the predefined output
from a stored process.
There are prerequisites for printing stored process output. For more information,
see Printing Reports on page 463.
There are limitations to where stored processes can be used in the designer:
n A stored process cannot be used in the precision layout.
n A stored process cannot be the source or target of an interaction in a report.
n A stored process cannot be added to a container.

Note: Users who view stored processes using SAS Mobile BI cannot be
prompted. Instead, the stored process runs using the prompt values that were
added when the report was created.
Note: The stored process output in a report is rendered as HTML regardless of
the requested output type.
For information about creating a stored process and registering it in metadata,
see SAS Stored Processes: Developer's Guide.

Specify Stored Process Properties

To specify the properties for a stored process:
1 If it is not already selected, select the stored process in the canvas that you

want to update.
2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.
3

Update the general properties for the stored process. You can update the
Name, Title, Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

Update the properties specific to the stored process. Your choices are Show
metadata view and Show SAS log in the output. If the stored process
contains prompts, the Edit Prompts button is displayed.

338 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

stored processes. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the stored process, and click
to see the stored process
name.
Click Edit Prompts to open a new window where you can edit the
parameters for the stored process. Click OK to save your changes.
Selecting the Show metadata view check box can make it easier to work
with the stored process while you are designing a report. In the metadata
view, you can see information about when the stored process was created
and last modified. You can also see the name of the stored process file.
Here is an example of the metadata view for a stored process:

Selecting the Show SAS log in the output option means that both the log
output and the stored process output are displayed in the report. This can
assist you in debugging problems.

Using Other Object Types in Reports

339

Specify Stored Process Styles

No styles are available for stored processes.

Use a Geo Map

About Geo Maps
Many types of data have a spatial aspect, including demographics, marketing
surveys, and customer addresses. For example, if a user needs to evaluate
population data for U.S. Census tracts, a report designer could display the
information in a table. However, it would be easier and more effective for the
person using the report to see the information in the context of the geography of
the tracts. When evaluating information that has a spatial component, users
might find it easier to recognize relationships and trends in the data if they see
the information in a spatial context.
A geo map overlays your data on a geographic map. You can add a geo map
only if the report uses data items from a data source that is enabled for
geographic mapping.
You can create a filter or brush interaction between a geo map and another
report object in your report or dashboard. When you click on a specific region or
city in the geo map, the other report object filters or highlights to show the same
location.
The following geo maps are available in the designer:
Geo Bubble Map
A bubble plot that is overlaid on a geographic map. For a complete definition
and picture of a geo bubble map, see Other Report Objects on page 555.
A geo bubble map requires a geography variable with the role type of
geography.
Geo Coordinate Map
A simple scatter plot that is overlaid on a geographic map. For a complete
definition and picture of a geo coordinate map, see Geo Coordinate Maps
on page 555.
A geo coordinate map requires a geography variable with the role type of
geography.
Geo Region Map
A two-dimensional map that uses color combinations to represent different
regions on the map. For a complete definition and picture of a geo region
map, see Geo Region Maps on page 556.
A geo region map requires a geography variable with the role type of
geography. However, it does not support custom geography data items or
ZIP code data.
Here are some key points about geo maps:
n Calculated data items and grouped category data items can be changed into

geographic data items and used in geo maps.

n Certain geo maps that are exported from the explorer (for example, geo

maps that use custom roles or data sets that have centroids) cannot be fully
modified in the designer.

340 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

n When a Color data role and a display rule are applied to a geo bubble map

or geo region map, the Color data role takes precedence over the display
rule. The geo coordinate map does not have a Color data role. For more
information about data roles, see Working with Data Role Assignments on
page 379.

Specify Geo Map Properties

To specify the properties for a geo bubble map, geo coordinate map, or geo
region map:
1

If it is not already selected, select the geo bubble map, geo coordinate map,
or geo region map in the canvas that you want to update.

2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3

Update the general properties for the geo bubble map, geo coordinate map,
or geo region map. You can update the Name, Title, Format (for the title's
font style), and Description.

Update the properties that are specific to the geo bubble map, geo
coordinate map, or geo region map. You can update Show map navigation
control, Transparency, and Show legend.
Here are some details about the properties for geo maps:
n Use the Map Service property to change the map provider for a geo

bubble map, geo coordinate map, or geo region map after you have
placed it on the canvas. This property changes the map type from
OpenStreetMap to any available Esri service if an Esri service is
available.
n For a geo bubble map, you select the Transparency for the bubble plot.

For a geo coordinate map, you select the Transparency for the scatter
plot. For a geo region map, you select the Transparency for the regions.

Specify Styles for Geo Maps

To specify styles for a geo bubble map, geo coordinate map, or geo region map:
1

If it is not already selected, select the geo bubble map, geo coordinate map,
or geo region map in the canvas that you want to update.

In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the geo bubble map, geo coordinate map, or geo region

map. You can specify Border and Fill, Data Styling, Frame Styling, Text
Styling, and Data Colors for the geo bubble map, geo coordinate map, or
geo region map.
Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Using Other Object Types in Reports

341

Use a Gauge
About Gauges
A gauge is a dashboard indicator (also known as a KPI) that displays the status
or measure of a variable or variables in relation to a target, goal, or interval.
Gauges are designed to achieve this goal in a way that is familiar to users. Many
real-life objects use gauges, such as cars and machines. Gauges can be used
to display a quantity, range, variable, or status. They often appear in business
intelligence dashboards.
Qualitative ranges are required for all gauges in the designer. You can populate
the range intervals manually, or you can have them generated for you based on
the range of the actual data.
Gauges in the designer support high cardinality.
For a definition and a picture of each gauge type, see Gauges on page 557.

Specify Gauge Properties

Starting in the 7.1 release, there is one gauge object on the Objects tab. When
the gauge is on the canvas, you can use Type on the Properties tab to specify
which type of gauge (bullet, dial, slider, speedometer, or thermometer) you want
displayed in a report.
To specify properties for a gauge:
1 If it is not already selected, select the gauge in the canvas.
2 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.
3

Update the general properties for the gauge. You can update the Name,
Title, Format (for the title's font style), and Description.

4 Update the specific properties for the gauge. The available properties

depend on the selected gauge type.

Here are some details about the properties for gauges:
n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

gauges. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the gauge and click
to see the gauge name and any
incoming filter information.
n (Optional) Clear Show value label, Show range labels, or both

properties.
n Select a Type for the gauge. You can choose Bullet, Dial, Slider,

Speedometer, or Thermometer.
n For the bullet, slider, and thermometer gauges, you can specify the

Direction for displaying the gauge. The default for the bullet and slider
gauges is Horizontal. The default for the thermometer gauge is Vertical.

342 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

Specify Gauge Styles

To specify styles for gauges:
1 If it is not already selected, select the gauge in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the gauge. The available styles depend on the selected

gauge type. For example, you can specify Border and Fill, Data Styling,
Frame Styling, Text Styling, and Data Colors for gauges.
Note: The Header value enables you to set only the text color.
Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Use a Word Cloud Object

About Word Cloud Objects
A word cloud displays a set of words from a character data item. Depending on
the type of word cloud and your data roles, the size of each word in the cloud
can indicate the relevance of the word to a topic, the frequency of the word in a
category, or the value of a measure.
Every word cloud has a descending sort based on its size.
TIP There is a limit of 100 rows for a word cloud. To reduce the amount of

data, add a rank for the word cloud, and use a number less than 100. For
more information, see Add a New Rank on page 449.
Word clouds support display rules and interactions.

Specify Word Cloud Properties

To specify the properties for a word cloud:
1 If it is not already selected, select the word cloud in the canvas that you want

to update.
2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3 Update the general properties for the word cloud. You can change the Name,

Title, Format (for the titles font style), and Description.

4 Update the object-specific properties for the word cloud. Here are some

details about the properties for word clouds:

n By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for

word clouds. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the word cloud, and click
to see the word cloud
name and any incoming filter information.
n Use the Arrangement property to specify how the words are displayed in

the word cloud. Cloud is the default. Use Rows to display the words in
rows as if you were reading text in a book.

Using Custom Graphs to Display Results

343

n Use the Font scale to control the difference in the size of the smallest

and largest words. If you select 1, there is a one-to-one ratio, so the

smallest and largest words are displayed as the same size.
n By default, the word cloud has a limit of 100 terms. After the results of a

query come back, only the top 100 terms, based on a descending sort of
the size measure, will be displayed. Use the Word display limit property
to display fewer terms. The slider can be set to a number between five
and 100.

Specify Word Cloud Styles

To specify styles for word clouds:
1 If it is not already selected, select the word cloud in the canvas that you want

to update.
2 In the right pane, click the Styles tab.
3

Update the styles for the word cloud. For example, you can specify Border
and Fill, Frame Styling, Text Styling, and Data Colors.
TIP A three-color Gradient data color style is available for word clouds

that have at least two measures.

Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Using Custom Graphs to Display Results

About Custom Graphs
The graph builder enables you to create custom graph objects. To access the
graph builder, on the Objects tab, click . The Create Custom Graph window is
displayed. For more information, see Chapter 52, Creating and Using Custom
Graph Objects, on page 479.
When a custom graph is saved in the My Folder location, it is displayed under
the Custom heading on the Objects tab. Then, you can insert the custom graph
into a report and add data to it. For information about adding a custom graph to
the Objects tab, see Show or Hide Report Objects in the Objects Tab on page
319.
For a definition and a picture of each custom graph type, see Graphs, Charts,
and Plots on page 539.

Specify Custom Graph Properties

To specify the properties for custom graphs:
1 If it is not already selected, select the custom graph in the canvas that you

want to update.

344 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

2

In the right pane, click the Properties tab.

3 Update the general properties for the graph. You can update the Name, Title,

Format (for the titles font style), and Description.

4 Update the specific properties for the graph. The available properties depend

on the selected custom graph type.

By default, the Enable selection in the viewers property is selected for
custom graphs. This means that users who use the web viewer or a mobile
device can select the custom graph and click
to see the custom graph
name and any incoming filter information.
Note: No properties are available for the schedule chart.

Specify Custom Graph Styles

To specify styles for custom graphs:
1 If it is not already selected, select the custom graph in the canvas that you

want to update.
2

In the right pane, click the Styles tab.

3 Update the styles for the graph. The available styles depend on the selected

custom graph type. For example, you can specify Border and Fill, Data
Styling, Frame Styling, Text Styling, and Data Colors for custom graphs.
By default, the background of a graph is set to white. Use the Wall
background option (under Frame Styling) to specify a different color.
Note: A three-color Gradient data color style is available for custom graphs
that have a Color role.
Your custom colors are saved between SAS Visual Analytics sessions. Your
custom colors are displayed in the color palette. For an example of the color
palette, see Figure 42.1 on page 323.

Assign Colors to Overlays in Custom Graph

Elements
Each time a new graph element is overlaid on top of an existing graph element,
the data colors that are assigned to each subsequent graph element are the
colors after all of the colors have been assigned to the first graph and its
elements. If 12 colors are assigned to the first graph element (for example, a bar
chart), then the graph element that is overlaid (for example, a line chart) is
assigned color 13.
To have the overlaid graph element start with the first color, change the Overlaid
plot colors property for the cell in the graph builder to All graphs start with the
same color.

Using Custom Graphs to Display Results

345

Setting the Overlaid plot colors property affects the Fill colors on the Styles
tab when you open the custom graph in the designer.
Figure 42.2

Data Colors on the Styles Tab in the Designer

If a custom graph contains more than eight groupings, the Fill colors are
repeated. Here is the pattern for colors:
Colors

Pattern

1-8

The colors are specified in the Fill color palette.

9-16

Repeat colors 1 through 8 in a lighter hue.

17-24

Repeat colors 1 through 8 in a darker hue.

25-32

Repeat colors 1 through 8 in the Fill color palette.

33-40

Repeat colors 1 through 8 in a lighter hue.

41-48

Repeat colors 1 through 8 in a darker hue.

More than 48
colors

Repeat the color patterns above.

346 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

Duplicate a Report Object

Duplicating a report object in the designer enables you to use a copy of the
same object in the same section or another section of your report.
Note: If you duplicate a control with a parameter, the parameter is not copied
from the original control because the parameter can get its value from only one
control.
To duplicate a report object:
1 On the canvas, right-click the report object that you want to duplicate.
2 Select Duplicate <ReportObject>, where <ReportObject> is the name of

the report object in the report. (For example, List Table 1, Bar Chart 1,
and so on.) The duplicated report object is placed on the canvas with a name
based on the original name. For example, if the original report object name is
List Table 1, then the duplicate report object is displayed as List Table
1 (1). If you choose to duplicate the same report object again, then it is
displayed as List Table 1 (2).
3 (Optional) Move the duplicate report object to another section. Right-click the
report object that you want to move. Select Move <ReportObject> to

<SectionName>, where <ReportObject> is the name of the report object

and <SectionName> is the name of the section.
4

(Optional) If you want the report object to appear in a different location, then
drag and drop it in a new location.
If you move an object to a section with precision layout, then you must
manually move the object to its proper location. All objects are put in the top
left corner by default.

Working with Alerts for Report Objects

Overview of Alerts
You can create alerts for a report object so that subscribers are notified via email or a text message when the alert condition is met. You can specify how
frequently the system checks to see whether the alert condition is been met.
You can add alerts to report objects using the Alerts tab. You can also add
alerts when you create a display rule. For more information about display rules,
see Adding Table-Level Display Rules on page 397.
Note: You can specify a preference for receiving alert notifications via e-mail or
a text message in both the designer and the viewer. For more information, see
Specify General Preferences for the Designer on page 303.

Working with Alerts for Report Objects

347

Add an Alert
To add an alert to a report object:
1

If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas to which
you want to add an alert.

Do one of the following:

n Right-click the report object, and select Add Alert. The Add Alert window

is displayed.
n In the right pane, click the Alerts tab. Click

. The Add Alert window is

displayed.
3

On the Expression tab, specify the criteria for the alert. You can create a
new expression or use an existing expression.

(Optional) Specify how often you want the system to check for the criteria.
You can use the system default, which is set by your administrator, or you
can limit the check to a minute or hourly increment.

On the Subscription and Notification tab, add or remove subscribers for

the alert. You can specify how frequently alert notifications are sent. For
example, suppose that you specify that you want alert notifications sent
every five days. Then, it will be at least five days before you receive an alert
notification.
Note: Only users who have e-mail addresses stored in metadata are
displayed in the Manage subscribers list on the Subscription and
Notification tab.
Note: The timing of when alert notifications are sent can vary depending on
when the alert condition is met.

6 Click OK. The details for the alert are displayed at the bottom of the Alerts

tab.

348 Chapter 42 / Using Report Objects

Note: An alert notification has a blank subject. Some cellular carriers convert
text messages to e-mail messages. When a subject is not specified in an e-mail,
these carriers try to add a subject. Some carriers add the alert condition as the
subject. Other carriers cannot add the subject, so the e-mail message has a
blank subject.

Edit an Alert
To edit an alert:
1 In the right pane, click the Alerts tab.
2 Select the alert that you want to edit, and click

. The Edit Alert window is

displayed.
3

Update the alert criteria, and then click OK to save your changes.

Delete an Alert
Alerts are not automatically deleted when a report is deleted. You can delete an
alert on the Alerts tab. Select the alert that you want to delete, and click
Then, click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed.

349

43
Working with Data in SAS Visual
Analytics Designer
Overview of Data Sources and Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Working with Data Sources in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
About Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
Import a Data Source for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Add a Data Source to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351
Refresh a Data Source for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Remove a Data Source from a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
Change a Data Source in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353
View Measure Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Show or Hide Data Items on the Data Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354
Sort Data Items on the Data Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Group Data Items on the Data Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Working with Hierarchies in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
About Hierarchies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355
Create a New Hierarchy for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Edit a Hierarchy for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Delete a Hierarchy for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Working with Data Items in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
About Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Assign Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359
Automatic Data Item Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Duplicate Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361
Rename Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Search for Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362
Create a Distinct Count for a Category Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Create Derived Items for Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
Create a Percentage of Total Using the Data Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
Create a Custom Category . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366
Modify Data Item Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
Delete Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Working with Geography Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
About Geographic Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372
Use a Predefined Geography Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Create a Custom Geography Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373
Working with Calculated Items in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374
About Calculated Data Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374

350 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Add a New Calculated Data Item to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Preview the Expression for a Calculated Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit a Calculated Data Item . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Add a New Aggregated Measure to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Edit an Aggregated Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

375
376
377
377
379

Working with Data Role Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379

Modify Data Role Assignments in Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379
Add Animation to Charts, Bubble Plots, and Geo Bubble Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385
Add Data Roles for Lattice Columns or Lattice Rows in a Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . 386
Remove Data Role Assignments from Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Sorting Data in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
How Sorting Can Help with Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388
Sort Data in a List Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Sort Data in a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389
Sort Data in a Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390
Using a Custom Sort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391
Cancel a Slow-Running Query for a Report Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393

Overview of Data Sources and Data Items

Each data source that is available in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the
designer) includes one or more data items that you can use in reports. For
example, a data source named Order Information might include standard
data items such as Order ID, Product ID, Unit Cost, Order Date, and
Order Amount. You decide which data items to use. You can select all of the
data items in the data source or a subset of the data items.
For information about exporting data, see Exporting Content from the Designer
on page 466.

Working with Data Sources in Reports

About Data Sources
Many data sources that are available in the designer are prepared by a data
administrator or analyst so that you can easily define a report. Data
administrators load tables into memory using SAS Visual Analytics Administrator
(the administrator). Analysts can use SAS Visual Data Builder (the builder) to
design queries that load tables into memory too.
The Add Data Source window can be used to add or import data sources. If you
have the Import and Load Data capability, then you can import data from a file
into the designer. Supported files are SAS data sets, Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets, and delimited text files (such as CSV files). If you can import data
sources, the Add Data Source window has Import Data in the right pane.
All data sources contain data items, which can refer to calculations or columns in
physical data (tables). Reports can include query results from more than one
data source.

Working with Data Sources in Reports

351

Import a Data Source for a Report

If you have the Import and Load Data capability, then you can import a data
source into the designer using either the Add Data Source or the Change Data
Source window. When you import data, the data source is automatically added
to the open report. For more information about importing, see Chapter 4,
Importing Local Data Files, on page 17 or Chapter 5, Importing Data from
Servers, on page 23.
To import a data source for a report using the Add Data Source window:
1

On the Data tab, click

beside the Select a data source text to display the
Add Data Source window.

In the Import Data pane, select a data source that you want to import.
TIP If you select a delimited text file, then you can specify additional

options. For example, you can specify the delimiter, whether the first row
contains column heading names, and where the data rows begin.
TIP If you select a spreadsheet, then you can specify additional options.

For example, you can specify which worksheets to import, whether the first
row contains column heading names, and where the data rows begin.
3

Click Add.

Add a Data Source to a Report

You can use one or more data sources in a report in the designer.

352 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

To add a data source to a report:
1

On the Data tab, click

beside the Select a data source text.

The Add Data Source window is displayed.

2

In the Add Data Source window, select one or more data sources.
TIP Use the Search field to narrow the list of data sources that are

displayed in the Add Data Source window. The search searches the Name
and Description fields. It is a begins with search rather than a contains
search. If you receive a message that a data source is not available,
contact your data administrator.
3 Click Add. The list of available data items is displayed on the Data tab.
4 (Optional) To add additional data sources, click

on the Data tab, which

displays the Add Data Source window. Select the data sources that you
want, and then click Add. The Data tab is populated with a list of all of the
data items that are in the data sources.
When you add multiple data sources, the last data source that you selected
is displayed on the Data tab. If one of the data sources that you selected is
not available, the last available data source that you selected is displayed on
the Data tab.
Note: When you open a saved report that has multiple data sources, the
designer displays the same data source that was displayed in the Data tab
when the report was saved.

Working with Data Sources in Reports

353

Refresh a Data Source for a Report

You can refresh the columns in a data source in the designer at any time. Be
aware that refreshing a data source means that all live report objects that are
connected to that data source will have their queries rerun.
Note: Refreshing a data source adds any new columns that have been added
to the table metadata in the SAS LASR Analytic Server. The default formats and
names of existing columns will be updated the next time you open the report.
Note: Data is refreshed from the table that is currently loaded into the SAS
LASR Analytic Server.
To refresh a data source for a report, on the Data tab, select the data source,
and then click

To refresh the list of data sources when you are using the Add Data Source
window, click
beside the search field. This updates the list of all possible data
sources. Individual data sources are not refreshed.
When you refresh a data source for a report, columns that have been deleted
from the table metadata in the SAS LASR Analytic Server are automatically
removed if they do not impact any objects in the report. If deleted columns do
impact objects in the report, then the Repair Report window is displayed so that
you can repair the objects that are impacted by the deleted columns. For more
information, see Appendix 8, Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics
Designer, on page 597.

Remove a Data Source from a Report

You can remove all references to a data source from a report in the designer. Be
aware that removing a data source means that all related data items are also
removed from the report objects within the report.
Note: Other reports that use the same data source are not affected when you
remove a data source from a report.
To remove a data source from a report:
1

On the Data tab, select the data source, and then click

2 Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed.

Change a Data Source in a Report

Note: The currency format will not adjust the locale if you change the data
source and the locale associated with the second data source is different from
the first data source.
To change a data source in a report:
1

On the Data tab, click , and then select Change Data Source. The
Change Data Source window is displayed.

In the Change Data Source window, select a data source.

3 Click Change.

354 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

If a data item with the same name does not exist in the replacement data
source, then it is automatically removed from the replacement data source if
there are no report objects that use the data item. If there are report objects
that use the data item, then those report objects will not work. The Repair
Report window is displayed so that you can repair the objects that use the
data item. For more information about repairing reports, see Appendix 8,
Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics Designer, on page 597.
Data items in the replacement data source that have names that do not exist
in the original data source are added to the Data tab automatically.
Note: For data item names, the case is ignored when data sources are
compared by the designer.

View Measure Details

To view the details about all of the measures in a data source:
1

On the Data tab, click , and then select Measure Details. The Measure
Details window is displayed.

Click Close.

Show or Hide Data Items on the Data Tab

You can specify which data items you want to see for the data source on the
Data tab. Your selections for which data items are shown or hidden are stored
with the report. For example, suppose that you hide data items in one report,
and then you open a second report that uses the same data source. The data
items in the second report are not hidden unless you specifically hid them in that
report, too.
To show or hide data items:
1 On the Data tab, click

, and then select Show or Hide Items. The Show

or Hide Data Items window is displayed.

2 Select the data items that you want to appear on the Data tab. If there are

data items that you do not want to see on the Data tab, then clear the check
box (or check boxes) for that data item (or data items).
3 Click OK. The Data tab is updated.

Alternatively, you can select a data item that you want to hide on the Data tab.
Right-click the data item, and select Hide Data Item.
TIP Starting in the 7.2 release, you can hide all of the data items that are not

used in the current report. On the Data tab, click

Show Used Items.

, and then select Only

You can also use a data source filter to restrict the data that is displayed in a
report. For more information, see Use a Data Source Filter in a Report on page
421.

Working with Hierarchies in a Report

355

Sort Data Items on the Data Tab

To sort data items on the Data tab, click

, and then select one of the following:

n Sort Items Ascending By Name

n Sort Items Descending By Name

The data items are sorted on the Data tab within each grouping. The default sort
is Ascending By Name.
For information about sorting data values in report objects, see Sorting Data in
Reports on page 388.

Group Data Items on the Data Tab

To group data items on the Data tab, click
following:

, and then select one of the

n Group Items By First Letter

n Group Items By Data Type
n Group Items By Classification
n Group Items By Format
n Group Items By Aggregation

The data items are grouped on the Data tab. The default is grouping By Role.

Working with Hierarchies in a Report

About Hierarchies
Creating hierarchies enables you to add drill-down functionality to your reports.
A hierarchy is an arrangement of category columns that is based on parent-child
relationships. The levels of a hierarchy are arranged with more general
information at the top and more specific information at the bottom. For example,
you might create a hierarchy of datetime columns with Year as the top level,
Month as the next level, and Day as the bottom level.
You can also have a geographic hierarchy. For example, you might have a
hierarchy with Region as the top level, State as the next level, and City as the
bottom level.
You can have a maximum of two hierarchies for a report object.
Keep the following considerations in mind:
n List tables, controls, and gauges do not support hierarchies.
n Data item auto-assignment does not support hierarchies.
n Crosstabs can have either a hierarchy or categories on each row or column,

but not both.

n Time series plot report objects allow only datetime data items in a hierarchy.

356 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

n Geo bubble maps, geo coordinate maps, and geo region maps allow only

geographic data items in a hierarchy.

You can also have a date hierarchy.

Create a New Hierarchy for a Report

To create a new hierarchy:
1

On the Data tab, click , and then select New Hierarchy. The New
Hierarchy window is displayed.

2 Enter a Name.
3 Select at least two categories, and drag them to the Hierarchy list.
4 (Optional) Use the up and down arrows to arrange the data items in the

Hierarchy list.
5

Click OK to save the new hierarchy. The

in the list of data items on the Data tab.

icon identifies the new hierarchy

TIP You can create a date hierarchy by right-clicking a date or datetime data

item on the Data tab, and selecting Create Date Hierarchy. If you use a date
data item, it must have a format that specifies the year or the Create Date
Hierarchy option is not available.
Crosstab report objects enable you to create hierarchies from the categories on
a crosstab axis. To create a hierarchy, right-click a category heading, and then
select Create Hierarchy. The categories are replaced with a new hierarchy. The
name of the new hierarchy is generated from the name of the outermost
category with the suffix Hierarchy.

Edit a Hierarchy for a Report

To edit a hierarchy:
1

Right-click the hierarchy name on the Data tab, and select Edit Hierarchy.
The Edit Hierarchy window is displayed.

2 (Optional) Edit the Name.

3

Add and remove categories. There must be at least two categories.

Note: If a geographic hierarchy is used in a geo bubble map, geo coordinate
map, or geo region map, only geographic data items are displayed when you
edit the hierarchy.

4 Click OK to save the updated hierarchy.

If the hierarchy that you edit is already used in a report object and is drilled or
expanded, it returns to the top level after it is edited.

Working with Data Items in a Report 357

Delete a Hierarchy for a Report

To delete a hierarchy:
1 Right-click the hierarchy name on the Data tab, and select Delete Hierarchy.
2 Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed. The hierarchy is

removed from the list of data items, as well as from any report objects, filters,
or ranks that were using it.

Working with Data Items in a Report

About Data Items
You decide which data items to use to define a query for each report object. You
can use all the data items in the data source or a subset of data items. Each
data item is classified as either a category or a measure.
The designer can display data items using an existing user-defined format that
has already been specified externally for a data column in a data source.
However, you cannot specify a new or different user-defined format for a data
item in the designer.
You can create a custom sort so that data items in a table or graph can sort to
the top or to the bottom. Category data items, calculated items that are
categories, and custom categories also support custom sorts. For more
information, see Using a Custom Sort on page 391.
For information about filtering data items, see Use a Data Source Filter in a
Report on page 421.
Table 43.1
Data Item
Aggregated
Measure or
Time Period
Calculation

Data Items That Are Available in the Designer

Icon

Description
A data item that represents special predefined
operations, like distinct count, percentage of totals,
percentage of subtotals, or frequency percent. Or,
users can define their own aggregated measure
calculations.
Aggregate measures can be used in only some report
objects. They cannot be used in filters, controls, spark
lines, or time series graphs. Percentage of subtotal
items (including row total, row subtotal, column total,
and column subtotal) can be used only in crosstabs.
Some aggregated measure calculations cannot be
used in a detail rank.

358 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Data Item

Icon

Calculated

,
or

Description
,

A data item that is calculated from existing data items

by using an expression. For example, you could create
a calculated data item called Profit, which is created by
using this expression: [Revenue] [Cost],
where Revenue and Cost are measures in a data
source.
Calculated dates and times are treated as categories
with distinct values being governed by the date or time
format that you have chosen. Numeric calculated items
can be treated as measures (with an aggregation type
such as Sum, which is applied to each distinct
category combination). Or, you can change numeric
calculated items into category data items with distinct
values being governed by the number of decimal
places in the numeric format.

Category

A data item whose distinct values are used to group

and aggregate measures. There are five types of
categories: alphanumeric, date, datetime, time, and
numeric. Alphanumeric categories can be made up of
all letters, all digits, or a combination of the two.
Categories that have values that are all digits might be
physically stored as character or numeric data. The
data type affects how values are handled in relation to
some functionality, such as filtering, sorting, and
formatting.
Examples of alphanumeric categories include data
items such as Product ID, Country, Employee Number,
and Employee Name. Alphanumeric categories sort
lexically.
Date, datetime, time, and numeric categories are
sorted by their underlying numeric values.
Category data items can also be numeric. A category
data item sorts differently than an alphanumeric data
item. Numeric category data items sort by number.
Note: If you change a measure to a category, then it
uses this category icon.
The
icon indicates a user-defined format category
data item. User-defined format categories can be
based on underlying numeric or character data.

Date and Time

A category data item whose distinct values are used to

group and aggregate measures. There are three types
of date categories: date, datetime, and time.
Examples of date, datetime, and time categories are
Order Year, Date and Time of Sale, and Customer
Wait Time.

Working with Data Items in a Report 359

Data Item
Geography

Icon

Description
A category data item whose values are mapped to
geographical locations or regions. Geography data
items can be used in reports to show your data on a
geographic map. For example, a geography data item
can identify geographic information that is specific to
your organization (for example, sales regions,
warehouse locations, oil platforms, and so on). For
more information, see Working with Geography Data
Items on page 372.
The geography icon can also indicate that all data
items in a hierarchy are based on geography.

Hierarchy

A data item whose values are arranged with more

general information at the top and more specific
information at the bottom. The first level in the
hierarchy is the root level. For example, you might
have a Date hierarchy, which includes the Year (the
root level), the Quarter, and then the Month. You can
also have geographic hierarchies.

Measure

A data item whose values can be used in

computations. These values are numeric. Examples of
measures include Sales Revenue, Units Sold, and
Salary.
The designer assigns a default aggregation method to
every measure. Almost all measures are assigned
Sum. You can change the aggregation method.

Note: Report objects that are imported from SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the
explorer) use either live or on-demand data. For on-demand data, you can
update the properties and styles for these report objects in the designer, but you
cannot change the data assigned to them.

Assign Data Items

To assign data items to use in queries for the current report section:
1

On the Data tab in the left pane, click the down arrow to display a list of
available data sources. Select a data source, and the Data tab is populated
with a list of all of the data items that are in the data source.
If the data source that you want is not in the list, click , which displays the
Add Data Source window. Select the data source that you want, and then
click Add. The Data tab is populated with a list of all of the data items that
are in the data source.
If you do not want to use the data source that you originally selected, click
. Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed.

Select an existing report object that uses the same data source name or add
a new report object to the section.

Drag and drop a data item onto the canvas. The data item is automatically
assigned a data role. For more information, see Automatic Data Item
Assignments on page 361.

360 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Note: You can use the Ctrl key to select multiple data items, and then drag
and drop them onto the canvas.
Alternatively, you can right-click on a data item, and select Add Data Item to
<ReportObject>, where <ReportObject> is the name of the report object in
the report. (For example, List Table 1, Bar Chart 1, and so on.)
Note: You cannot double-click the icon for a data item and assign it to the
report.
4

If the selected data item can replace a current data item in the report object
or if the selected data item is valid for multiple data roles, then select the data
assignment from the Assign <DataItemName> as window. A data
assignment that is marked with a red asterisk (*) is required before the query
can be run.

For more information about aggregations, see Appendix 4, Aggregations for

Measures, on page 565.
5

(Optional) To see more information about a data item, select it in the list. The
Name, Classification, Format, and Aggregation are displayed in the data
item table below the list of data items. For a category data item with a userdefined format that has an underlying numeric value, you can specify Sort
Options.

Working with Data Items in a Report 361

Automatic Data Item Assignments

When you drag and drop data items on a report object, the designer
automatically assigns them a data role. For a single data item, the data item is
assigned to an empty and required data role before you are prompted to replace
an already assigned data item. For multiple data items, the data items are
assigned to all empty and required data roles that accept the data items. There
is a special case for a measure data role that allows multiple data items. In this
special case, the designer automatically assigns all of the data items to the
Measures data role.
Note: Hierarchy data items cannot be used in the automatic assignment of
multiple data items. Also, the animation role and data tip role are not
automatically assigned.
For more information about data roles, see Working with Data Role
Assignments on page 379.

Duplicate Data Items

Duplicating measure data items in the designer enables you to see the
aggregations of a data item side by side in a table. For a list of the available
aggregation types, see Appendix 4, Aggregations for Measures, on page
565.You can duplicate a numeric measure if you want to use it as a category to
group other values in some tables or graphs. If you save a report with duplicate

362 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

data items, then those data items are available when you edit the report the next
time.
You can duplicate a calculated data item to make a variation of a calculation. For
example, you might make similar calculations involving miles per gallon for a
vehicle, but you create one calculation using MPG (City) and another using
MPG (Highway). You can duplicate any data item if you want to use it with more
than one format in your report. For example, you might change Month to Year
for a date data item.
To duplicate a data item:
1

On the Data tab in the left pane, right-click the data item that you want to
duplicate. Select Duplicate Data Item.
All of the properties of the original data item are copied to the duplicate data
item. The duplicate data item appears in the list of data items on the Data
tab. For example, if the original data item name is Engine Size, then the
duplicate data item is displayed as Engine Size (1). If you choose to
duplicate the same data item again, then it is displayed as Engine Size
(2).

(Optional) Rename the duplicate data item.

3 (Optional) Change the format or aggregation for the duplicate data item.
4 (Optional) Edit the calculation for a calculated data item or aggregated

measure.
5

(Optional) Change the sort options for a category data item with a userdefined format that is based on an underlying numeric value.

(Optional) Change the classification for the data item. For example, a
numeric data item that has been duplicated and is not yet assigned to a
report object can be a category or a measure.

Rename Data Items

You can rename data items in the data source using the Data tab.
To rename data items:
1 On the Data tab, right-click on a data item, and then select Rename Data

Item. The Rename Data Item window is displayed.

2

Enter a new name. The name cannot be used by another data item in the
same data source.

Click OK.

Alternatively, you can use the data item table at the bottom of the Data tab to
rename a data item. For the Name property, enter a new name for Value.

Search for Data Items

If your data source contains many data items, you can search for particular data
items using the Data tab.

Working with Data Items in a Report 363

To search for data items:

1

Enter the name of a data item in the search field on the Data tab. The field is
located above the list of data items.

to collapse the list of data item groupings or click

(Optional) Click
expand the list of data item groupings.

Click
to clear the search term and display all of the data items in the data
source.

to

Create a Distinct Count for a Category Data Item

A distinct count query is useful in many ways. For example, you might want to
know the number of distinct products that were purchased during a specific time
period. Or, you might want to know which products have the most customers or
which products have the most customers in a particular geographic region. You
can create a distinct count for category data items only.
To create a distinct count aggregated measure data item:
1 On the Data tab in the left pane, right-click the category data item that you

want to use for the distinct count.

2 Select Create Distinct Count.

The distinct count data item appears in the list of data items with a name that
is derived from the original name. For example, if the original data item name
is Date, then the distinct count data item is displayed as Date (Distinct
Count). The
icon identifies the new distinct count data item on the Data
tab.

Create Derived Items for Measures

You can create derived data items that are aggregated measures in the
designer. The aggregated measure does not contain data values in itself, but
when it is used in a report object, it displays the value for the measure and
formula type on which it is based. An example is a percentage of total.
Here are some key points about derived items:
n Derived data items cannot be used in filters or controls.
n Period calculations cannot be derived from measures with certain

aggregations.
To create a derived item from a report object:
1

In the report object, right-click on the measure data item that you want to use
for the derived item.

2 Select Create and Add, and then select one of the following:

364 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Difference from Previous Period
Displays the difference between the value for the current time period and
the value for the previous time period. For example, you might derive the
difference between sales for the current month and sales for the previous
month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Difference from Previous Parallel Period
Displays the difference between the value for the current time period and
the value for the previous parallel time period within a larger time interval.
For example, you might derive the difference between sales for the
current month and sales for the same month of the previous year.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Percent Difference from Previous Period
Displays the percentage difference between the value for the current time
period and the value for the previous time period. For example, you might
derive the percentage difference between sales for the current month and
sales for the previous month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Percent Difference from Previous Parallel Period
Displays the percentage difference between the value for the current time
period and the value for the previous parallel time period within a larger
time interval. For example, you might derive the percentage difference
between sales for the current month and sales for the same month of the
previous year.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Percent of Subtotals
Displays the percentage of the subtotal value for the measure on which it
is based. You can create a percentage of subtotals only when the source
data item has an aggregation of Sum or Count.
Note: The percentage of the subtotal is available only for crosstabs.
Note: The percentage of subtotals is relative to the subset of data that is
selected by your filters and ranks.
Percent of Total
Displays the percentage of the total value for the measure on which it is
based. You can create a percentage of total only when the source data
item has an aggregation of Sum or Count. For example, you might create
the percentage of the total value for a measure that contains revenue
values. If you create a bar chart of the aggregated measure and a
category that contains product lines, then the bar chart shows the
percentage of total revenue for each product line.
Note: The percentage of the total value is relative to the subset of data
that is selected by your filters and ranks.

Working with Data Items in a Report 365

Period to Date
Displays the aggregated value for the current time period and all of the
previous time periods within a larger time interval. For example, you might
derive the year-to-date total for each month.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Year to Date
Displays the aggregated value for the current time period and all of the
previous time periods within the year. For example, you might derive the
year-to-date total for each month.
The year-to-date calculation subsets the data for each year using todays
date (where today is evaluated each time you view the report). To use all
data for every period, edit the expression for the derived item.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Year to Date Growth
Displays the percentage difference between the year-to-date value for the
current time period and the year-to-date value for the same time period of
the previous year. For example, you might derive the difference in yearto-date sales between the current month and the same month of the
previous year.
The year-to-date calculation subsets the data for each year using todays
date (where today is evaluated each time you view the report). To use all
data for every period, use a Period to Date item or edit the expression for
the derived item.
For the month that contains todays date, the data for an earlier year is
subset to the same corresponding date.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Year over Year Growth
Displays the percentage difference between the current time period and
an equivalent time period from the previous year. For example, you might
derive the difference in sales between the current month and the same
month of the previous year.
The year-over-year growth calculation subsets the data for each year
using todays date (where today is evaluated each time you view the
report). To display a percentage of growth using full periods, use Percent
Difference from Previous Parallel Period or edit the generated formula.
For the month that contains todays date, the data for an earlier year is
subset to the same corresponding date.
Note: This derived item is not available if your data source does not
contain a date data item that includes the year.
Alternatively, you can use the Data tab to create derived data items.

Create a Percentage of Total Using the Data Tab

A measure is required to have a Sum or Count aggregation before you can
create a percentage of total.

366 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

To create a percentage of total from a measure data item using the Data tab:
1 On the Data tab in the left pane, right-click on the measure data item that you

want to use for the percentage of total.

2

Select Create Percent of Total.

The percentage of total measure data item appears in the list of aggregated
data items with a name that is derived from the original name. For example, if
the original measure data item name is Revenue, then the percentage of
total measure data item is displayed as Revenue (Percent of Total).
icon identifies the new percentage of total measure data item on the
The
Data tab.

Create a Custom Category

You can create a custom category based on either a category or measure data
item. A custom category data item is always a category data item with an
alphanumeric value.
When you create a custom category from a measure, you can use intervals,
ranges, or specific values to group the data.
TIP The labels for your custom categories must use characters that are

compatible with the locale of the data source. If the data source uses Unicode,
then your labels can contain characters from any locale.
To create a custom category:
1

On the Data tab, right-click on the category or measure data item that you
want to use to create the new custom category. Select New Custom
Category. The New Custom Category window is displayed.

Working with Data Items in a Report 367

Note: In the New Custom Category window, Based on identifies the type
and the name of the data item that the custom category is based on.
2 Select the Values that you want to include. Drag and drop the values onto

the right pane under

New label.

TIP To rename a custom group label, right-click the label name, and

select Edit.
3

(Optional) Specify the Options for remaining values. You can specify a
name when you select Group remaining values as. The default label for
Group remaining values as is Other. Alternatively, you can specify Show
as missing or Show as is.
Note: The Show as is option is available only for data items that are based
on string categories. It is not available for numeric or date values.

4 Specify a Name for the new custom category. The default name is

CustomCategory1.
5 Click OK. The new custom category is displayed on the Data tab.

Modify Data Item Properties

Rename a Data Item
To rename a data item:
1 Select a data item on the Data tab.
2 In the data item table, select the existing name for the data item, and then

enter a new name. The name cannot be used by another data item in the
same data source. Your change is saved automatically.
Alternatively, you can right-click the data item, and select Rename Data Item.

Modify a Data Items Classification

You can modify a data items classification. For example, you might want to
modify a measure data item to be a category data item. A data items
classification cannot be modified if that data item is in use in the report or if the
data item can have one classification only. However, duplicating the data item
allows the new data item to have a different classification.
Here are some key points about modifying a data items classification:
n You can modify a category data item to be a measure data item only if the

data item started as a numeric measure. For example, if you change a

measure to a category in the report, then the designer allows you to change
it back to a measure. In addition, you can change a category to a measure if
it was originally in the data source as a numeric column. In this case, your
data administrator converted the numeric column to a character string by
applying a user-defined format. As a result, you can use the designer to
change the categorys format to one of the standard numeric formats, and
then you can change it to a measure.

368 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

n You cannot change the classification for the frequency data item or the

frequency percent data item.

n You cannot change the classification for an aggregated measure.
n You cannot convert calculated data items into geography data items.

TIP For geography data items, use the pop-up menu instead of the dropdown menu to change the classification. The pop-up menu enables you to
specify additional classification information for the geography data item.

To modify a data items classification:

1 Select a data item on the Data tab.
2 In the data item table, select the existing classification for the data item.
3 Click

to open the drop-down menu. Select Measure or Category. Your

change is saved automatically.

Modify the Format of a Numeric Measure Data Item or a

Date, Datetime, or Time Data Item
You can modify the format of a numeric measure data item or a date, datetime,
or time data item. You can also modify the format of a data item with a userdefined format as long as the user-defined format is based on an underlying
numeric value. For more information about user-defined formats, see Modify
User-Defined Formats on page 369.
Note: You cannot modify the format of a data item that is being used in a filter,
as part of a calculated or aggregated measure, or in a custom category.
To change the format:
1

Select a data item on the Data tab.

2 In the data item table, select the existing format. A list is displayed with the

Format type, Width, and Decimals (for numeric data items). Make your
selections. A sample of your selection is displayed under the list.
Note: There are different format variations available for some format types
for date, datetime, and time data items. Select the format variation based on
the sample value displayed in the Format drop-down list.

Working with Data Items in a Report 369

Here is an example of the list for a numeric data item:

Here is an example of the list for a date data item:

Note: The Reset to Default option is displayed only if the format has been
changed from the default.
Note: The Reset to Default option is available for user-defined format data
items after they have been modified to a standard numeric format as long as
the data item is still a category data item.
3

Click OK to save your changes.

Modify User-Defined Formats

In the designer, user-defined formats that are defined in the SAS LASR Analytic
Server are applied to the results. You can change the format for an underlying
numeric data item, but you cannot change the format for an underlying
character-based data item. If you change the format for an underlying numeric
data item, you can restore the user-defined format by selecting Reset to
Default.
The Format property of the data item displays the name for a user-defined
format.
The
icon identifies a category data item with an active user-defined format on
the Data tab.

370 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Modify How a Measure Is Aggregated

You can change the aggregation method for a measure in a data source using
the Data tab or a report object in the canvas.
Note: You need to understand your data because some aggregation methods
are not always appropriate. For example, an average of an average is not valid.
To change the aggregation method using the Data tab:
1 Select a measure data item on the Data tab.
2 In the data item table, select the existing aggregation, and then click

.A
drop-down list is displayed with aggregations. For a list of the available
aggregation types, see Appendix 4, Aggregations for Measures, on page
565.
When you select an aggregation, your change is saved automatically.
Note: All of the report objects in the report that use this data item are
affected by this change unless you have selected a local aggregation
override.
Note: Depending on the aggregation, formats might be overridden when
they are used in report objects. For example, skewness becomes a floating
point number with four decimals.

To change the aggregation method when you are working with a report object in
the canvas:
1

Choose one of the following:

n For a list table, right-click on a measure header in the report object.

Working with Data Items in a Report 371

n For a crosstab, right-click on the header row with the measure.

Depending on the aggregation, formats might be overridden when they

are used in a crosstab.
n For a graph, right-click on the measure name hotspot. Or, you can right-

click on a measure data item name on the Roles tab.

Select Aggregation <aggregation-name>, where aggregation-name is

one of the available aggregations. For a description of the available
aggregation types, see Appendix 4, Aggregations for Measures, on page
565.
Your change is saved automatically.
Note: This is a local override for only this report object. It does not affect the
default aggregation for this data item in other report objects.

372 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Modify the Sort Options for a Category Data Item

Using the data item table on the Data tab, you can change the Sort Options for
a category data item with a user-defined format that is based on an underlying
numeric value. The sort options are the following:
Formatted
Uses the formatted character output of the user-defined format and sorts
lexically. (For example, the names of the months in the year would sort as
April, August, December, February, and so on.) Formatted is the default.
Unformatted
Uses the underlying numeric value and sorts numerically. (For example, if the
underlying numeric value for January is 1, for February is 2, for March is 3,
and for April is 4, then the months of the year would sort as January,
February, March, April, and so on.)

Delete Data Items

You can delete data items that you have created in the designer (for example,
calculated data items or duplicated data items) so that they no longer appear on
the Data tab in the left pane.
You cannot delete a data item that is inside a hierarchy if it reduces the
hierarchy to a single level. You cannot delete a data item if it is the last or only
reference to a column in the original data source. You cannot delete a data item
if it is used in a calculated data item, aggregated measure, a geography data
item, or a custom category.
TIP You can hide a data item that you cannot delete by right-clicking on the
data item name in the Data tab, and then selecting Hide Data Item. For more
information, see Show or Hide Data Items on the Data Tab on page 354.

To delete a data item:

1

On the Data tab in the left pane, right-click the data item that you want to
delete.

Select Delete Data Item.

Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed. The data item is
removed from the list of data items, as well as from any report objects, filters,
or ranks that were using it.

Working with Geography Data Items

About Geographic Data Items
A geography data item can be useful if your data contains values that are
mapped to geographical locations or regions. For example, a geography data
item can identify geographic information that is specific to your organization (for
example, sales regions, warehouse locations, oil platforms, and so on).

Working with Geography Data Items

373

If you change a numeric measure to a geography data item, then it automatically

becomes a category data item.
Note: Custom data items cannot be changed into geography data items.

Use a Predefined Geography Data Item

You can use the geography data items that are available in SAS Visual Analytics
or you can create custom geography data items. To access existing geography
data items, select the Data tab in the left pane. Right-click the data item that you
want to use for the geography data item, and then select Geography. Then,
select one of the following items:
n Country or Region Names
n Country or Region ISO 2-Letter Codes
n Country or Region ISO Numeric Codes
n Country or Region SAS Map ID Values
n Subdivision (State, Region, Province) Names
n Subdivision (State, Region, Province) SAS Map ID Values
n US State Names
n US State Abbreviations
n US ZIP Codes

Note: For predefined geographic roles, the values of your geography data items
must match the lookup values that are used by SAS Visual Analytics. To view
the lookup values, see http://support.sas.com/va72geo.
TIP To get geographic maps to work with any data set, add a column with
the predefined lookup values to your data set.

Create a Custom Geography Data Item

A custom geography data item consists of three values:
n Latitude
n Longitude
n A category (other than the latitude or the longitude)

For example, suppose you have data that includes airport location identifiers,
latitude, and longitude. You can convert the airport location identifiers to custom
geography data items.
To create a custom geography data item:
1 On the Data tab in the left pane, right-click the data item that you want to use

for the custom geography data item. Select Geography, and then select
Custom. The Geography window is displayed.
TIP Make sure that the data item that you select is a category data item

other than the latitude or the longitude.

374 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

2

Select a measure for the Latitude. You can also enter the first letter of the
name of the latitude column to quickly search for it in the drop-down menu.

Select a measure for the Longitude. You can also enter the first letter of the
name of the longitude column to quickly search for it in the drop-down menu.

Select a Coordinate space (coordinate system) that is used to project the

longitude and latitude coordinate values. Your choices are World Geodetic
System (WGS84), Web Mercator, and British National Grid (OSGB36).
The default is World Geodetic System (WGS84).
Note: The coordinate space should match the projection that your data is in.
The designer supports the World Geodetic System (WGS84), Web Mercator
(EPSG:3857), and British National Grid (EPSG:27700) for data coordinate
space.

5 Click OK. The

icon identifies the new geography data item on the Data

tab.

Working with Calculated Items in Reports

About Calculated Data Items
The designer enables you to calculate new data items from your existing data
items by using an expression. For example, you might want to calculate a
companys profits by subtracting expenses from revenues.
In addition to performing mathematical calculations on numeric values, you can
use calculated data items to create date and time values. For example, if your
data contains separate categories for month, day, and year, then you can
calculate a date value from those categories.
Here are some key points about calculated data items:
n All calculations are performed on unaggregated data. The calculation

expression is evaluated for each row in the data source before aggregations
are performed. To perform calculations on aggregated data, see Add a New
Aggregated Measure to a Report on page 377.
n Calculated data items can accept parameters. For more information, see

Chapter 49, Working with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.

n A hierarchy can contain calculated data items as long as they are categories.
n Starting in the 7.2 release, calculated data items can be changed into

geographic data items and used in geo maps.

Using the designer, you can work with calculated data items or aggregated
measures.
For information about deleting calculated data items, see Delete Data Items on
page 372.

Working with Calculated Items in Reports

375

Add a New Calculated Data Item to a Report

To add a new calculated data item:
1 On the Data tab, click

, and then select New Calculated Item. The New

Calculated Item window is displayed.

Enter a Name.

3 Select a Result type from the drop-down list. Numeric is the default data

type.
The following table lists the available result types:
Icon

Result Type
Character
Date
Datetime
Numeric
Time

Calculated data items in the designer always default to the following formats,
which are based on the data type:
n Date: DATE9
n Datetime: DATETIME10
n Time: TIME8

376 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

n Numeric: COMMA12.2

After you create the new calculated data item, you can change its format
using the data item table on the Data tab unless it is a character calculated
data item. You cannot specify a format for a character calculated data item.
Sum is the default aggregation for new numeric calculated data items in the
designer. You can change the aggregation for numeric calculated data items
using the data item table on the Data tab.
4 (Optional) Click

beside Detail mode to clear the Show all drop zones

option. You can also select Show display text, which adds a new tab
between the Messages and Scratch tabs.

Use the Visual tab to build the expression for your calculated data item by
dragging Data Items and Operators onto the expression in the right pane.
For each rectangular field in the expression, you can insert a data item, an
operator, or a specific value.
When you drag and drop data items or operators onto your expression, the
precise location of the cursor determines where and how the new element is
added to the expression. As you drag the new element over the expression,
a preview appears that displays how the expression changes if you drop the
element at that location.
For example, if your current expression is ( Profit / Revenue ), and you
drag and drop the x - y (subtract) operator inside the open parenthesis
symbol, then the expression changes to ( [number] ( Profit /
Revenue )). If you drag and drop the operator over the division symbol,
then the expression changes to ( Profit Revenue ), and so on.
Alternatively, you can use the Text tab to enter the expression.
You can use the Scratch tab to build temporary expressions.
There are a large number of operator types available to perform
mathematical functions, process datetime values, handle text, and evaluate
logical processing such as IF clauses. For more information, see Appendix 5,
Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567.

6 (Optional) Click Preview to preview the results of the calculation. The

Preview Results window is displayed. Click Close to return to the New

Calculated Item window.
7 Click OK. The new calculated data item appears on the Data tab. The

, or

icon identifies the new calculated data item on the Data tab.

Note: The
icon is displayed if you change a calculated numeric measure
to a category data item. It is also displayed for a character calculated data
item (which is always a category).

Preview the Expression for a Calculated Data

Item
For calculated data items only, you can preview the results of your expression by
clicking Preview.
You can preview the results of a subset of your expression by right-clicking a
part of your expression, and then selecting Preview Subexpression Results.

Working with Calculated Items in Reports

377

Edit a Calculated Data Item

To edit a calculated data item:
1 Right-click on a calculated data item on the Data tab, and select Edit

Calculated Item. The Edit Calculated Item window is displayed.

Modify the Data Items and Operators for the calculated data item as
needed. For information about the operators that are available, see Appendix
5, Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567.
Note: If the calculated data item has not been used in a report, then you can
modify the Result type.

3 Click OK.

You can duplicate, rename, hide, and delete calculated data items using the
same steps as any other data item. If a calculated data item is used inside
another calculated data item, then it cannot be removed.
TIP You can cut and paste from the Text area between different reports as
well as between the explorer and the designer to transfer calculations or to email them to others. For more information, see Editing a Data Expression in
Text Mode on page 561.

Add a New Aggregated Measure to a Report

Aggregated measures enable you to calculate new data items by using
aggregated values. For example, you might want to calculate a company's profit
margin by region by taking the aggregated sum of the profit for all of the stores
in a region group and dividing it by the aggregated sum of the revenue for all of
the stores in that same region group. Aggregations are evaluated as part of a
calculated expression.

378 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

To add an aggregated measure:
1

On the Data tab, click , and then select New Aggregated Measure. The
New Aggregated Measure window is displayed.

Enter a Name.

3 (Optional) Click

to Show all drop zones. You can also choose to Show

scratch area to build temporary expressions.

Use the Visual tab to build the expression for your aggregated measure by
dragging and dropping Data Items and Operators onto the expression in the
right pane. For each field in the expression, you can insert a data item, an
operator, or a specific value.
When you drag and drop data items and operators onto the expression, the
precise location of the cursor determines where and how the data item or
operator is added to the expression. As you drag the new element over the
expression, a preview appears, which displays how the expression would
change if you drop the element at the current location.
Alternatively, you can use the Text tab to enter the expression.
There are a large number of operator types available to perform
mathematical functions and evaluate logical processing such as IF clauses.
For more information, see Appendix 5, Operators for Data Expressions, on
page 567.

5 For each data item in your expression, select an aggregation type. By

default, Sum is used for measures and Distinct is used for categories. To
select a new aggregation type, drag and drop an aggregated operator from
the Operators list onto the aggregation type in the expression. See Appendix
5, Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567 for a list of the aggregated
operators that are available.
6 For each aggregation in your expression, select the aggregation context. A

drop-down list beside each aggregation enables you to select one of the
following context values:

Working with Data Role Assignments

379

ByGroup
calculates the aggregation for each subset of the data item that is used in
a visualization. For example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with
the ByGroup context calculates a separate aggregated value for each
bar in the chart.
ForAll
calculates the aggregation for the entire data item (after filtering). For
example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with the ForAll context
uses the same aggregated value (calculated for the entire data item) for
each bar in the chart.
By using the ForAll and ByGroup contexts together, you can create
measures that compare the local value to the global value. For example, you
might calculate the difference from mean by using an expression such as the
following:
Avg ByGroup(X) - Avg ForAll(X)

For more information, see Periodic Operators on page 575.

7 Click OK. The new aggregated measure appears on the Data tab. The

icon identifies the new aggregated measure.

Edit an Aggregated Measure

To edit an aggregated measure:
1 Right-click on an aggregated measure on the Data tab, and select Edit

Aggregated Measure. The Edit Aggregated Measure window is displayed.

2 Modify the Data Items and Operators for the aggregated measure as

needed. For information about the operators that are available, see Appendix
5, Operators for Data Expressions, on page 567.
3

Click OK.

You can duplicate, rename, hide, and delete aggregated measures using the
same steps as any other data item.
TIP You can cut and paste from the Text area between different reports, as
well as between the explorer and the designer, to transfer calculations or to email them to others. For more information, see Editing a Data Expression in
Text Mode on page 561.

Working with Data Role Assignments

After you have selected a report object and a data source, the Roles tab in the
right pane shows which data items have been assigned to which roles.

Modify Data Role Assignments in Report Objects

Note: You cannot change data role assignments for any report object that is
imported from the explorer and uses on-demand data.

380 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

To modify data role assignments:
1

Select a report object in the canvas that has one or more data items
assigned.

2 Click the Roles tab in the right pane.

3 Click

beside the role that you want to edit. For data roles that allow
multiple data items, the menu items that are available can vary.
If you select a data item in Roles, then the Aggregation (if appropriate),
Add, Remove, and Replace menu items are displayed. You can also rightclick on a data item and the actions specific to that data item are displayed.

Different data roles are available for different report objects.

In addition to the basic data roles, you can assign additional data roles. Here
is a list of all the data roles available for each report object:
Report Object

Basic Data Roles

Additional Data Roles

List table

Columns

None

Crosstab

n Columns

Measures

Tables

n Rows

Graphs
Bar chart

n Category

n Group

n Measures

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows
n Data tip values
n Animation

Targeted bar chart

n Category

n Lattice columns

n Measure

n Lattice rows

n Target

n Data tip values

n Animation

Waterfall chart

n Category

n Lattice columns

n Measure

n Lattice rows
n Data tip values

Line chart

n Category

n Group

n Measures

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows
n Data tip values
n Animation

Working with Data Role Assignments

Report Object

Basic Data Roles

Additional Data Roles

Pie chart

n Category

n Group

n Measures

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows
n Data tip values
n Animation

Scatter plot

n X axis

n Color

n Y axis

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows
n Data tip values

Time series plot

Bubble plot

n Time axis

n Group

n Measure (line)

n Data tip values

n X axis

n Group

n Y axis

n Color

n Size

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows
n Data tip values
n Animation

Treemap

Dual axis bar chart

n Tile

n Color

n Size

n Data tip values

n Category

n Lattice columns

n Measure (bar)

n Lattice rows

n Measure (bar 2)

n Data tip values

n Animation

Dual axis line chart

n Category

n Lattice columns

n Measure (line)

n Lattice rows

n Measure (line 2)

n Data tip values

n Animation

Dual axis bar-line chart

n Category

n Lattice columns

n Measure (bar)

n Lattice rows

n Measure (line)

n Data tip values

n Animation

Dual axis time series

plot

n Time axis
n Measure (line)
n Measure (line 2)

Data tip values

381

382 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Report Object

Basic Data Roles

Additional Data Roles

Schedule chart*

n Task

n Group

n Start

n Label

n Finish

n Data tip values

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Vector plot*

n X axis

n Color

n Y axis

n Group

n X Origin

n Data tip values

n Y Origin

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Numeric series plot*

n X axis

n Group

n Y axis

n Label
n Data tip values
n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Needle plot*

n X axis

n Group

n Y axis

n Data tip values

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Step plot*

n X axis

n Group

n Y axis

n Label
n Data tip values
n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Dot plot*

n X axis

n Data tip values

n Y axis

n Lattice columns
n Lattice rows

Butterfly chart*

n Category

Data tip values

n Measure (bar)
n Measure (bar 2)

Stock high-low plot*

n Time axis
n Close
n High
n Low

None

Working with Data Role Assignments

Report Object

Basic Data Roles

Additional Data Roles

Stock volume and

volatility plot*

n Time axis

None

n Bollinger Upper
n Bollinger Lower
n Moving Average
n High
n Low
n Close
n Volume

Bubble change plot*

n Group

None

n Y end
n X end
n Y start
n X start
n Size start
n Size end

Comparative time
series plot*

n Time axis

Data tip values

n Measure (time

series)

n Measure (time

series 2)

Controls
Drop-down list

n Category

None

n Frequency
n Parameter

List

n Category

None

n Frequency

Button bar

n Category

None

n Frequency
n Parameter

Text input

n Category

None

n Frequency
n Parameter

Slider

n Measure/Date
n Parameter

Containers

None

383

384 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Report Object

Basic Data Roles

Additional Data Roles

Vertical container

None

None

None

None

Geography

n Size

Horizontal container
Stack container
Prompt container
Other
Text
Image
Stored process
Geo bubble map

n Color
n Data tip values
n Animation

Geo coordinate map

Geography

Data tip values

Geo region map

Geography

n Color
n Data tip values

Gauge

Measure

n Target
n Group
n Data tip values

Word cloud

n Word

None

n Size
n Color

* This report object is not displayed by default in the designer.

Here are definitions for some of the additional data roles:

Animation
animates the date category that you assign. You can specify a Loop for
the animation, and you can specify the Speed of the animation. For more
information, see Add Animation to Charts, Bubble Plots, and Geo Bubble
Maps on page 385.
Note: For a bubble plot only, you must assign the Group role to enable
the Animation role. If you remove the Group role after assigning
animation, the animation control is disabled.
Data tip values
enables you to add more measures to your data tips.
Note: For pie charts, the Other slice does not show the additional
information.
Group
groups the data based on the category data item that you assign.

Working with Data Role Assignments

385

Lattice columns
creates a lattice of charts with a column for each value of the category
data item that you assign.
Lattice rows
creates a lattice of charts with a row for each value of the category data
item that you assign.

Add Animation to Charts, Bubble Plots, and Geo

Bubble Maps
An animated bubble plot displays the changes in your data values over time.
Each frame of the animation represents a value of the datetime data item that is
assigned to the Animation data role.
For example, if you assign a category with the Year format to the Animation
data role, then each frame of the animation displays a bubble plot of your data
for a specific year.
Starting in the 7.1 release, you can select bubbles, bars, pie slices, and lines in
an animated graph. The interaction filter is based on the category value (or
values) and the selected frame in the animation. When a bubble, bar, pie slice,
or line is selected, its row lists all of the category and date values of the
selection. For example, the resulting filter that is applied to any downstream
interactions could be filtered by car=Toyota and year=2014.
If you select a bubble for one frame in the animation and click , then any
downstream interactions play with the animation. This means that as the
animation is running, the interaction targets are filtered with each frame in the
animation.
TIP To improve animation performance, use a color for the graphs reference
line instead of a pattern.

TIP When you add animation to a pie chart, it is recommended that you sort

the Category in ascending or descending order. To sort, right-click on a

category name in the pie chart, and select Sort. Then, select either
Ascending or Descending.
To add animation:
1

Select an existing chart, bubble plot, or geo bubble map, or create a new
one.

Add the required roles:

n For a bubble plot, on the Role tab, assign a data item to the Group data

role.
Note: If you remove the Group data role after assigning animation, the
animation control is disabled.
n For a bar chart or geo bubble map, on the Role tab, assign the other

required roles.
3

Assign a data item with a datetime format to the Animation data role.

386 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

When an animated bubble plot is displayed, a set of animation controls appears
at the bottom of the report object.
Table 43.2

Animation Controls

Task

Action

Start the animation.

Click

Go to the previous animation frame.

Click

Go to the next animation frame.

Click

Jump to a specific animation frame.

Use the slider.

Specify whether to repeat the animation.

Select or deselect Loop.

Select the animation speed.

Use the Speed slider.

Track the movement of a specific bubble.

Click the bubble that you want to track.

Note: If you select a bubble to track, the selected bubble is highlighted in the
current animation frame.

Add Data Roles for Lattice Columns or Lattice

Rows in a Graph
A lattice is a multi-cell graph in which you create each cell independently. Each
cell can contain different types of plots. In the designer, you can create a multicell graph by using data roles to add lattice columns, lattice rows, or both.For a
list of graphs that have lattice column or lattice row data roles, see Modify Data
Role Assignments in Report Objects on page 379.
To add a lattice column or lattice row data role:
1

Select a report object in the canvas that has one or more data items
assigned and that allows a lattice data role.

Click the Roles tab in the right pane.

Click
edit.

beside the Lattice columns or Lattice rows role that you want to

Working with Data Role Assignments

387

The following example shows a bar chart with a lattice column specified for
the data role:

TIP Scroll bars are generated by the graph if you have a lot of data. These
scroll bars work differently than other scroll bars in the designer. They initially
fill the maximum area so that you can see all of the bars in the lattice row or
lattice column. To zoom in and see specific bars, you have to drag the top or
the bottom of the scroll bar to adjust the height of the scrolling bar. Labels are
added as space becomes available.

The following example shows a horizontal bar chart with lattice columns. It has a
scroll bar activated so that you are zoomed in on the bars for the West region.

388 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Remove Data Role Assignments from Report

Objects
To remove data items from their assigned data roles in a specific report object:
1 Right-click the report object in the canvas. A menu is displayed.

Here is an example of a bar chart with the object menu:

Select Remove All Data Items. All data items are removed from the
assigned data roles as well as the data-dependent features like filters, ranks,
conditions, and so on. The report object turns gray, and the
status icon
appears in the lower right corner to let you know that the required data roles
are not assigned.
Here is an example of what a bar chart looks like after all the data items have
been removed from their assigned data roles:

Sorting Data in Reports

How Sorting Can Help with Analysis
Information can be easier to understand when it appears in an intentional order.
Applying a sort order to one or more data items in the designer enables you to
arrange rows and columns in tables and axis labels on charts in some order,

Sorting Data in Reports

389

such as alphabetically or highest to lowest numerically. Interactively changing

the order of data can provide you with a different perspective that often
facilitates valuable insight. For example, in a report, sales employees who are
initially arranged alphabetically can be re-sorted by sales amount.
You can create a custom sort so that data items in a table or graph can sort to
the top or to the bottom. For more information, see Using a Custom Sort on
page 391.
Ranking can help reduce the amount of visible data and is often used in
combination with sorting. For more information, see Add a New Rank on page
449.
Note: The designer uses the locale of the SAS LASR Analytic Server to sort
data items. For example, if you want to sort data items in the Swedish language,
then the table needs to be loaded into a SAS LASR Analytic Server that is
initialized for the Swedish locale (sv_SE). Contact your system administrator for
additional assistance.

Sort Data in a List Table

To sort values in a list table, right-click on a column heading, and select Sort.
Then, select either Ascending or Descending.
Figure 43.1

Sort Menu Items for List Tables

Note: You can also press the spacebar to sort a single column in a table.
TIP Use the Ctrl key to select and sort multiple columns.

Sort Data in a Crosstab

To sort by category or measure values in a crosstab, right-click on a column or
row heading, and select Sort. Then, select either Ascending or Descending.

390 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Figure 43.2

Sort Menu Items for a Crosstab

You can also sort categories, rather than measures, by clicking the category
name.

Sort Data in a Graph

To sort by values in a graph, right-click on a measure name or category name,
and select Sort. Then, select either Ascending or Descending.
Here are some key points about sorting data in a graph:
n Sorting in a pie chart is based on the measure. If you do not use a measure,

then sorting is based on the frequency (and automatically applied).

n Only the Category role in a schedule chart can be sorted.
Figure 43.3

Sort Menu Items for a Graph

Sorting Data in Reports

391

Using a Custom Sort

Add a Custom Sort
You can create a custom sort so that data items in a table or graph can sort to
the top or to the bottom. Category data items, calculated items that are
categories, and custom categories support custom sorts. You can select up to
25 data items for a custom sort. For example, suppose that your company has
manufacturing facilities in multiple cities across the country. You can use a
custom sort to make sure that certain cities are always sorted before or after
other cities in a list table.
Here are some key points for custom sorting:
n For graphs, a custom sort works only if the data item containing the custom

sort is on the X axis, Y axis, or the outermost lattice role.

n For graphs, a custom sort does not work if the data item is assigned to one of

the legend data roles (either Color or Group). The same restriction applies
when sorting on the raw values of a data item that has a user-defined format.
n Because user-defined formats have their own sort order, a custom sort works

only on the X axis (the Category role).

n A custom sort takes precedence over user-defined formats.

To create a custom sort:

1 On the Data tab, select a category data item. Right-click, and select New

Custom Sort. The New Custom Sort window is displayed.

2

Select the category data items that you want to sort. Click
to move the
data items to the Sorted Items list. You can also drag and drop data items in
the New Custom Sort window. Use the Ctrl key to select multiple data items.

392 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

(Optional) Use the up and down arrows to arrange the data items in the
Sorted Items list.

4 Click OK.

Edit a Custom Sort

To edit a custom sort:
1 On the Data tab, select a category data item, calculated item that is a

category, or a custom category. Right-click, and select Edit Custom Sort.

The Edit Custom Sort window is displayed.
2 Modify the Sorted Items list.
3

Click OK.

Delete a Custom Sort

You can delete a custom sort on the Data tab. Select the category data item with
a custom sort. Right-click, and select Delete Custom Sort. Click Delete in the
confirmation message that is displayed.
When you delete a custom sort, the data item is sorted on the data.

Cancel a Slow-Running Query for a Report Object

393

Cancel a Slow-Running Query for a Report

Object
To cancel slow-running queries for a report object, position your mouse over the
progress indicator for the report object, and click the icon.
Here is an example of the progress indicator for a list table with a slow-running
query:
Figure 43.4 The Progress Indicator for List Table with a Slow-Running Query

After you cancel the query, the progress indicator is replaced by the refresh icon.
To resume a query that you canceled, click

394 Chapter 43 / Working with Data in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Here is an example of a list table after a query was canceled:
Figure 43.5 The Progress Indicator for List Table with Query That Has Been Stopped

395

44
Working with Display Rules for
Reports
Overview of Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395
Add Report-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396
Adding Table-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Add Display Rules to a List Table Using an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397
Add Display Rules to a List Table Using a Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400
Add Display Rules to a List Table Using Color-Mapped Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402
Adding Display Rules to a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403
Adding Graph-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Add Display Rules to a Graph Using an Expression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 405
Add Display Rules to a Graph Using Color-Mapped Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407
Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 409
Add Display Rules to a Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410
Add a Shared Display Rule for Gauges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410

Overview of Display Rules

Display rules include all types of highlighting of report objects. They provide a
flexible structure to specify conditions. There are several types of display rules.
Display rules enable conditions to be shared across objects, but not all display
rules apply across all report object types.
SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) provides the following interfaces
for display rules:
n The Display Rules tab in the right pane enables you to populate intervals,

add intervals, or add color-mapped values for the report object that is
currently selected in the canvas. You can use this pane to specify both
report-level or object-level display rules, depending on what you have
selected in the canvas.
n The Shared Rules tab in the left pane enables you to create a new display

rule for a gauge, which is used by other gauges to designate intervals and
colors for ranges. You can edit or delete an existing shared display rule.
These rules are shared across multiple gauges and can be created at any
time.

396 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

TIP The Shared Rules tab is not displayed by default. To display the tab,

click

after the last tab name, and select Shared Rules.

Display rules can accept parameters. For more information, see Chapter 49,
Working with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.
For list tables and graphs, you can create display rules that reference a measure
that is not included in the currently displayed report object. This feature is not
available for crosstabs.
Here are some key points about color-mapped display rules:
n Color-mapped display rules are not allowed if there are multiple overlays.
n Color-mapped values for a report object can be applied only to category data

items.
The following report objects that are imported from SAS Visual Analytics
Explorer (the explorer) or created in SAS Visual Analytics Graph Builder (the
graph builder) do not support display rules:
n heat maps (which are imported from the explorer)
n band plots (which are created in the graph builder)
n step plots (which are created in the graph builder)

Add Report-Level Display Rules

To add a report-level display rule:
1

Without any report objects or the section selected in the canvas, click the
Display Rules tab in the right pane. Click New. The Add New Display Rule
window is displayed.

Enter a value for the display rule in the field.

3 Select a color for the display rule.

4 (Optional) Repeat the steps for entering a value and selecting a color.
5 (Optional) Select the Other check box. Then, select a color so that any of the

other categories that do not have a color will have the one that you just
selected.
In the following example, values and colors have been specified for each
region in a list table. And, a color has been selected for the Other check box.

Adding Table-Level Display Rules

6

397

Click OK. The report objects in the report update with the new display rule.
And, the display rule appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

The following table illustrates the report-level display rules that were defined in
the Add New Display Rule window above.

Adding Table-Level Display Rules

You can add three different types of display rules to tables. You cannot create a
display rule to highlight dates in a table.

Add Display Rules to a List Table Using an

Expression
To specify a new display rule for a table using an expression:
1 If it is not already selected, select the table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New
Display Rule window is displayed.

398 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

3

Click Expression. The Add New Display Rule window expands to show the
details for the expression.

On the Expression Details tab, select the Column or any measure value.

5 Select the Operator. You can select =, < >, BetweenInclusive, <, <=, >, >=,

Missing, or NotMissing. The default is >.

6 Enter or select a Value.
7

Modify the style, size, and color of the font. There is no default style for list
table display rules. You must specify a style to enable the OK button in the
Add New Display Rule window.

Select the row or column in the Applies to drop-down list.

(Optional) On the Alert Options tab, select the Create an alert based on
this rule check box. For more information about alerts, see Working with
Alerts for Report Objects on page 346.

Adding Table-Level Display Rules

399

Click
beside the Manage subscribers list to add users who you want
notified when the alert condition is met. The Add Recipients window is
displayed.

Select one or more users. Click OK to return to the Add New Display Rule
window.
Note: A users e-mail address must be stored in metadata to be
displayed on the View All tab in the Add Recipients window.

10 Click OK. The table updates with the new display rule. The display rule

appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

Here is an example of a display rule that uses an expression:

11 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to edit the new display rule.

400 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

Add Display Rules to a List Table Using a Gauge

To specify a new display rule for a table using a gauge:
1 If it is not already selected, select the table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New
Display Rule window is displayed.

3 Click Gauge. The Add New Display Rule window expands to show the

details for the gauge.

Select a Gauge type from the drop-down list. Your choices are a bullet, an
icon, a slider, or a thermometer. Icon is the default.

Using the Based on column drop-down list, specify which column the rule
should be based on in the report.

6 Specify where the gauge should appear in the column for the Cell

placement. Your choices are Left of text, Right of text, or Replace text.
7 Define the intervals and colors for the rule:
n Enter the individual values for the intervals and then select a color. You

can click the operator between the intervals to change it.

n Click

to automatically populate the intervals. The Populate Intervals

window is displayed.

Adding Table-Level Display Rules

401

You can specify Number of intervals, Lower bounds, and Upper

bounds. Click OK.
8 Specify the Column in which you want the gauge to be displayed
9 Click OK. The table updates with the new display rule. The display rule

appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

Here is an example of an automatically populated display rule that uses an
icon:

Here is a list table with the display rules applied:

Note: If a value falls outside the bounds of the display rule intervals, no icon
is displayed in the list table
10 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to edit the new display rule.

402 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

Add Display Rules to a List Table Using ColorMapped Values

To specify a new display rule for a list table using color-mapped values:
1 If it is not already selected, select the list table in the canvas that you want to

update.
2

In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New
Display Rule window is displayed.

3 Click Color-mapped Values. The Add New Display Rule window expands to

show the details for the color-mapped values.

Select the Column or value to which you want to apply the display rule.
Note: Color-mapped values for a report object can be applied only to
category data items.

Click in the box to enter a value for the display rule.

Select a color for the display rule.

7 (Optional) Repeat the steps for entering a value and selecting a color.
8

(Optional) Select the Other check box. Then, select a color.

Using the list, specify where you want to apply the colors.

Adding Table-Level Display Rules

403

In the following example, values and colors have been specified for products
in a list table.

10 Click OK. The table updates with the display rules.

The display rule appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

11 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to change the table-level

display rule to a report-level display rule.

Adding Display Rules to a Crosstab

To specify a new display rule for a crosstab using an expression:
1 If it is not already selected, select the crosstab in the canvas that you want to

update.
2 In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New

Display Rule window is displayed.

404 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

On the Expression Details tab, select the Column or any measure value.

4 Select the Operator. You can select =, < >, BetweenInclusive, <, <=, >, >=,

Missing, or NotMissing. The default is >.

5 Enter or select a Value.
6

If your crosstab contains a hierarchy, then you can specify the hierarchy
levels in which the display rule is applied.
a Click Specify Intersections. The Specify Intersections window is

displayed.

Select one or more hierarchy levels, the grand total, or all of the levels.
Click OK to return to the Add New Display Rule window. The intersections
that you selected are displayed above the Edit Intersections button.

7 Modify the style, size, and color of the font.

8

Select the row or column in the Applies to drop-down list. For crosstabs, the
Applies to drop-down list displays only the measures that have been added
to the crosstab. There are no row or column options.

Adding Graph-Level Display Rules

9

405

(Optional) On the Alert Options tab, select the Create an alert based on
this rule check box. For more information about alerts, see Working with
Alerts for Report Objects on page 346.
a

Click
beside the Manage subscribers list to add users who you want
notified when the alert condition is met. The Add Recipients window is
displayed.

Select one or more users. Click OK to return to the Add New Display Rule
window.
Note: A users e-mail address must be stored in metadata to be
displayed on the View All tab in the Add Recipients window.

10 Click OK. The crosstab updates with the new display rule. The display rule

appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

11 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to edit the new display rule.

Adding Graph-Level Display Rules

You can add display rules to graphs. Note that you cannot create a display rule
to highlight dates in a graph.

Add Display Rules to a Graph Using an Expression

Here are some key points about adding an expression-based display rules to a
graph:
n Display rules can be added to a waterfall chart only if you clear the Color by

response sign check box on the Properties tab in the right pane.
n You can create an expression-based display rule for a 100% stacked bar

chart, which uses the Grouping style and Grouping scale properties.
However, the display rule cannot be based on a percentage.
To specify a new expression-based display rule for a graph:
1

If it is not already selected, select the graph in the canvas that you want to
update.

In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New
Display Rule window is displayed.

Click Expression. The Add New Display Rule window expands to show the
details for the expression.

406 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

On the Expression Details tab, select the Column or any measure value.

5 Select the Operator. You can select =, < >, BetweenInclusive, <, <=, >, >=,

Missing, or NotMissing. The default is >.

6 Enter or select a Value.
7

If your graph contains a hierarchy, then you can specify the hierarchy levels
in which the display rule is applied.
a

Click Specify Intersections. The Specify Intersections window is

displayed.

Select one or more hierarchy levels. Click OK to return to the Add New
Display Rule window. The intersections that you selected are displayed
above the Edit Intersections button.

8 Modify the Style, which includes color and graph or background.

Note: Background is available only for bar charts, waterfall charts, line
charts, scatter plots, time series plots, and bubble plots. It is also available
for needle plots, which are created in the SAS Visual Analytics Graph Builder
(the graph builder).
9

(Optional) On the Alert Options tab, select the Create an alert based on
this rule check box. For more information about alerts, see Working with
Alerts for Report Objects on page 346.

Adding Graph-Level Display Rules

407

Use the Manage subscribers list to add users who you want notified when
the alert condition is met.
10 Click OK. The graph updates with the new display rule. The display rule

appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

Here is an example of a display rule that uses an expression:

11 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to edit the new display rule.

Note: A warning badge is displayed on a graph when the color is overloaded.

This happens when multiple measures are assigned, a color or group role is
assigned, or multiple overlays are present (which have cycling colors).

Add Display Rules to a Graph Using Color-Mapped

Values
Note: Display rules can be added to a waterfall chart only if you clear the Color
by response sign check box on the Properties tab in the right pane.

408 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

To specify a new display rule for a graph using color-mapped values:
1

If it is not already selected, select the graph in the canvas that you want to
update.

2 In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab. Click New. The Add New

Display Rule window is displayed.

3

Click Color-mapped Values. The Add New Display Rule window expands to
show the details for the color-mapped values.

Select the Column or value to which you want to apply the display rule.
Note: Color-mapped values for a report object can be applied only to
category data items.

Click in the box to enter a value for the display rule.

Select a color for the display rule.

7 (Optional) Repeat the steps for entering a value and selecting a color.
8

(Optional) Select the Other check box. Then, select a color.

Using the list, specify where you want to apply the colors.

Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules

409

In the following example, values and colors have been specified for products
in a graph.

10 Click OK. The graph updates with the display rules.

The display rule appears on the Display Rules tab in the right pane.

11 (Optional) Click

on the Display Rules tab to change the graph-level

display rule to a report-level display rule.

Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules

A display rule is used by a gauge to designate intervals and colors for ranges.
You can add a shared display rule for a gauge, which is used by other gauges to
designate intervals and colors for ranges.

410 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

Add Display Rules to a Gauge

To specify a new display rule for a gauge:
1

If it is not already selected, select the gauge in the canvas that you want to
update.

In the right pane, click the Display Rules tab.

Here is an example of the Display Rules tab for a gauge:

Specify (or modify) the display rules for the gauge. You can populate
intervals, edit the display rule, and specify the Type.
To automatically populate the intervals:
a Click

beside the Add an interval field to display the Populate Intervals

window.
b

(Optional) Review or change the values for the Number of intervals,

Lower bounds, and Upper bounds fields.

Click OK. The gauge updates and the new display rule is displayed on
the Display Rules tab.

To edit the display rule for a gauge, use the fields on the Display Rules tab. You
can update the conditions for the values, the intervals, and the color for the
range. Select a color to open the color palette. To add new intervals to the
display rule, enter a number, and click

beside the Add an interval field.

Add a Shared Display Rule for Gauges

There are two ways to create a shared display rule for a gauge in the designer.
You can use either the Shared Rules tab in the left pane or the Display Rules
tab in the right pane.
To create a shared display rule for a gauge using the Shared Rules tab:
1 Click

on the Shared Rules tab. The Create Display Rule window is

displayed.

Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules

411

Enter a Name.

3 Add an interval or automatically populate the intervals.

To automatically populate the intervals:

a

Click
beside the Add an interval field to display the Populate Intervals
window.

(Optional) Review or change the values for the Number of intervals,

Lower bounds, and Upper bounds fields.

Click OK to return to the Create Display Rule window.

4 Click OK. The new shared display rule is added to the Shared Rules tab.

To create a shared display rule for a gauge using the Display Rules tab:
1

Click
on the Display Rules tab. The Shared Rule Name window is
displayed.

Enter a Name.

3 Click OK. The new shared display rule is displayed below the Type field on

the Display Rules tab. The new shared display rule is also added to the
Shared Rules tab.
To edit a shared display rule for a gauge:
1

Select the shared display rule on the Shared Rules tab, and then click
The Edit Display Rule window is displayed.

Update the conditions for the values, the intervals, and the color for the
range. Select a color to open the color palette. To add new intervals to the

412 Chapter 44 / Working with Display Rules for Reports

shared display rule, enter a number, and click
field.
3 Click OK.

beside the Add an interval

413

45
Working with Report Filters
About Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413
Using Detail Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Use a Basic Report Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414
Use an Advanced Report Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418
Use a Data Source Filter in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421
Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
About Post-Aggregate Report Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Create a Post-Aggregate Report Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423
Edit a Post-Aggregate Report Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424
Delete a Post-Aggregate Report Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

About Report Filters

In SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer), you can create filters to subset
your data. These types of filters are available:
n Detail Report Filters

Basic filters
subset the data for individual report objects in your reports by using a
single data item. A basic filter is constrained to use only the data item that
was selected when the basic filter was created. Basic filters can be
created and modified by using the pop-up menu for a report object or by
using the Edit Filter window. For more information, see Use a Basic
Report Filter on page 414.
Advanced filters
subset the data for individual report objects in your reports by using any
number of data items and operators (for example, OR and AND) in the
same expression. Advanced filters can be created and modified by using
the Advanced Filter window. For more information, see Use an Advanced
Report Filter on page 418.
Data source filters
subset the data for the entire report. The data source filters that you
create are applied to every report object in the report that uses that data
source. For more information, see Use a Data Source Filter in a Report
on page 421.
n Post-aggregate Report Filters

414 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

For more information, see Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters on page
423.
Here are some key points about report filters:
n If you change a report filter from a detail filter to a post-aggregate filter, then

all of the selections for the filter will be lost. The same is true if you change a
post-aggregate filter to a detail filter. There is a warning message for both
cases.
n One data item cannot have both a detail data item filter and a post-aggregate

data item filter.

n Clear the Auto-update check box above the report canvas until you are

ready to apply your filter changes.

All of your filters are saved when you save your report.
Filters can accept parameters. For more information, see Chapter 49, Working
with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.
When a report object imported from SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer)
has a local filter, that filter is displayed on the Filters tab. You cannot edit or
delete these filters on imported report objects that use on-demand data.
Note: Report linking is a type of filter. The report section that is the target of the
link is filtered by the values selected in the linked report object. For more
information, see Overview of Linking on page 441.

Using Detail Report Filters

Use a Basic Report Filter
About Basic Report Filters
For certain report objects, you can subset your data by using the Filters tab in
the right pane of the designer. You can base your filters on any data item in the
current data source for this report object, regardless of whether the data item is
assigned to a report object in the current report.
Note: If you have multiple basic filters, the designer assumes that there is an
AND operator between the filters.

Create a Basic Report Filter

To create a basic report filter:
1

If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you
want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.
TIP Clear the Auto-update check box above the report canvas until you
are ready to apply your filter changes.

2 In the right pane, click the Filters tab.

Using Detail Report Filters

3

415

Click
beside the Add Filter button, and select a data item from the list.
Then, click Add Filter. The filter appears on the tab.

4 Select the data values for the filter.

TIP Use the arrow to the left of the filter name on the Filters tab to

expand or collapse the filter details when you are working with multiple
filters.
n For a basic filter that uses discrete values, a check box is displayed for

each distinct value that uses the current format applied to the data item.
To the right of each value, a bar indicates the frequency. Select the data
values that you want to filter or clear the selections for the data values
that you do not want to filter. Select All to select all of the values.
Here is an example of a basic filter for discrete values:

n For a filter that uses continuous values, a slider shows you the maximum

values and the minimum values that exist for the data item using the
current data item format. Use the slider to select a range of target values.
Here is an example of a basic filter for continuous values:

(Optional) If your data contains missing values, and you want to exclude
those missing values from your report, then clear the Include missing
values check box.

Click
(to the left of the delete icon) for options. The available options
depend on whether you are filtering characters, dates, or numerics. You can
sort the values or frequencies in the filter.

416 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

The following options are available:

Option

Availability

Edit Filter

This option is always available.

Delete Filter

This option is always available.

Filter Detail
Values

This option is available only for detail values.

Filter Aggregated
Values

This option is available only for aggregated values.

Filter using
continuous
values

This option is available only for measure data items.

Filter using
discrete values

This option is available for measure and category data items.

Include Missing
Values

This option is available when you filter continuous values. It

works the same as selecting the Include missing values
check box.

Exclude Missing
Values

This option is available when you filter continuous values. It

works the same as clearing the Include missing values
check box.

Select All

This option is available when you filter discrete values. It

selects all of the current discrete values that are listed. This
option does not affect the Include missing values setting.

Clear All

This option is available when you filter discrete values. It

clears the selections of all of the current discrete values that
are listed. This option does not affect the Include missing
values setting.

Invert Selection

This option is available when you filter discrete values. It

changes all of the discrete value check boxes so that if they
are selected, then they are cleared. If they are cleared, then
they are selected. This option does not affect the Include
missing values setting.

Sort by Values

This option enables you to sort by the values in the filter.

Sort by
Frequency

This option enables you to sort by the frequencies in the filter.

Show Selected at
Top

This option is available for basic filters that use discrete

values.

(Optional) If you cleared the Auto-update check box above the report
canvas while you worked on your filter, then select it when you are ready to
apply your filter changes.

Using Detail Report Filters

417

Edit a Basic Report Filter

To edit a basic report filter:
1

If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you
want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.

2 In the right pane, click the Filters tab.

3

Click
beside the filter name. Then, select Edit Filter. The Edit Filter
window is displayed.

Edit the expression for your filter.

n You can drag and drop conditions and operators onto the expression on

the Visual tab in the right pane.

n You can enter the expression on the Text tab in the right pane.
n You can create an expression using both the Visual and Text tabs in the

right pane.
For information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.
Note: The AND and OR operators can accept more than two conditions. To
add a condition to the operator, drag and drop a condition onto the operator
name in the right pane. For example, to add a third condition to an AND
operator, drag and drop the new condition onto AND in the expression.

418 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

TIP Right-click the AND or OR operator in the expression, and then select
Add New Condition.
5

Click OK to apply the filter.

Delete a Basic Report Filter

To delete a basic report filter, click

beside the filter on the Filters tab.

Use an Advanced Report Filter

About Advanced Report Filters
For most report objects, you can create advanced filters to subset your data by
using the Filters tab in the right pane of the designer.
Advanced filters enable you to create filters that use more than one data item.
Here are some key points about advanced filters:
n Advanced filters that are created in the explorer might contain expressions

that you cannot create in the designer.

n Advanced global filters that are created in the explorer are supported by the

designer, but you cannot create advanced global filters in the designer.

Create an Advanced Report Filter

To create an advanced report filter:
1 If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you

want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.
TIP Clear the Auto-update check box above the report canvas until you
are ready to apply your filter changes.
2 In the right pane, click the Filters tab.
3 Click

to select Advanced instead of a specific data item.

4 Click Add Filter. The Edit Advanced Filter window is displayed.

Using Detail Report Filters

419

Specify a Filter name. The filter name identifies the advanced filter on the
Filters tab.

6 Create a condition for the filter. You can use the Visual tab, Text tab, or a

combination of both tabs.

To create a condition using the Visual tab:
a

From the Data Items list, select the data item on which the condition is
based.

From the Column Templates list, select a condition. For information, see
Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.

Drag and drop the condition onto the expression.

d For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value, or

right-click on the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a

data item.
7

(Optional) Add operators to the expression. You can use the Visual tab, Text
tab, or a combination of both tabs.
To add operators using the Visual tab:
a

From the Operators list, select an operator to join the conditions in your
expression. For more information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for
Filters, on page 589.

Drag and drop the operator onto the expression.

420 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

c

From the Column Templates list, select another condition. Then, drag
and drop the additional condition onto the expression. Complete any
required parameters.
TIP Right-click the AND or OR operator in the expression, and then
select Add New Condition.

8 Click OK to apply the filter.

9

(Optional) If you cleared the Auto-update check box above the report
canvas while you worked on your filter, then select it when you are ready to
apply your filter changes.

Edit an Advanced Report Filter

To edit an advanced report filter:
1

If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you
want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.

In the right pane, click the Filters tab.

3 Click

beside the advanced filter name. Then, select Edit Filter. The Edit
Advanced Filter window is displayed.

4 Edit or add a condition for the filter. You can use the Visual tab, Text tab, or

a combination of both tabs.

To add conditions using the Visual tab:
a

From the Data Items list, select the data item on which the condition is
based.

b From the Column Templates list, select a condition. For more

information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.

Drag and drop the condition onto the expression.

For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value, or
right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data
item.

(Optional) Replace a condition by dragging and dropping a new condition

onto the existing condition in the expression on the Visual tab. Or, remove a
condition using the Text tab.

6 (Optional) Add an operator to the expression. You can use the Visual tab,

Text tab, or a combination of both tabs.

To add an operator using the Visual tab:
a From the Operators list, select an operator to join the conditions in your

expression. For more information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for

Filters, on page 589.
b Drag and drop the operator onto the expression.
c (Optional) Add a condition.

Using Detail Report Filters

421

TIP Right-click the AND or OR operator in the expression, and then

select Add New Condition.
7

(Optional) Delete part of an expression by highlighting the part of the

expression that you want to delete, and then selecting Delete or Clear.

Click OK to apply the advanced filter.

Delete an Advanced Report Filter

To delete an advanced filter, click

on the filter on the Filters tab.

Use a Data Source Filter in a Report

About Data Source Filters
Data source filters are used to restrict the data that is displayed in a report. The
data source filters that you create in the designer are applied to every report
object in the report that uses the data source. A report that has multiple data
sources can contain multiple data source filters.
You can use either continuous values or discrete values to create a data source
filter. Continuous value filters can be used only for measures. Discrete value
filters can be used for any character; numeric; or date, datetime, or data item; as
long as the total number of distinct values does not exceed a maximum number.
Data source filters are not displayed on the Filters or the Data tabs. A data
source filter updates the cardinality values that appear on the Data tab.
There is a limit of one data source filter per data source. However, if you want to
filter on more than one data source, you can create a combination filter.

Create a Data Source Filter

1

On the Data tab, click , and then select New Data Source Filter. The New
Data Source Filter window is displayed.

Add a condition for the filter. You can use the Visual tab, Text tab, or a
combination of both tabs.
To add conditions using the Visual tab:
a

From the Data Items list, select the data item on which the condition is
based.

b From the Column Templates list, select a condition. For more

information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.

c

Drag and drop the condition onto the expression.

d For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value, or

right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data
item.
3

(Optional) Replace a condition by dragging and dropping a new condition

onto the existing condition in the expression on the Visual tab. Or remove a
condition using the Text tab.

422 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

4

(Optional) Add an operator to the expression. You can use the Visual tab,
Text tab, or a combination of both tabs.
To add an operator using the Visual tab:
a From the Operators list, select an operator to join the conditions in your

expression. For more information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for

Filters, on page 589.
b

Drag and drop the operator onto the expression.

(Optional) Add a condition.

TIP Right-click the AND or OR operator in the expression, and then

select Add New Condition.

5

(Optional) Delete part of an expression by highlighting the part of the

expression that you want to delete, and then selecting Delete or Clear.

6 Click OK to apply the filter.

Edit a Data Source Filter

1 If a data source is not already added, add a data source.
2

On the Data tab, click , and then select Edit Data Source Filter. The Edit
Data Source Filter window is displayed.

Add or modify the condition for the filter. You can use the Visual tab, Text
tab, or a combination of both tabs.
To edit conditions using the Visual tab:
a

From the Data Items list, select the data item on which the condition is
based.

b From the Column Templates list, select a condition. For more

information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.

c Drag and drop the condition onto the expression.
d

For any required parameters, select the parameter, and enter a value, or
right-click the parameter field, and select Replace with to select a data
item.

Edit the operator in the expression. You can use the Visual tab, Text tab, or
a combination of both tabs.

Click OK to apply the filter.

Delete a Data Source Filter

To delete a data source filter:
1

On the Data tab, click

, and then select Delete Filter.

2 Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed.

Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters

423

Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters

About Post-Aggregate Report Filters
Post-aggregate filters subset the data for individual report objects in your reports
by using the aggregated values, not the summarized values. You can use the
Filters tab in the right pane of the designer to filter data in a report object using
an aggregated value instead of a detail value. Post-aggregate filters are
available only for measure data items.
When a report object has both ranks and post-aggregate filters applied, the
ranks are applied before the post-aggregate filters.
Here are some key points about post-aggregate filters:
n Post-aggregate filters are not available for report objects that use detail data.
n Crosstabs, time series plots, and dual axis time series plots do not support

post-aggregate filters.

Create a Post-Aggregate Report Filter

To create a post-aggregate filter:
1 If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you

want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.
TIP Clear the Auto-update check box above the report canvas until you
are ready to apply your filter changes.
2

In the right pane, click the Filters tab.

3 Click

beside the Add Filter button, and select a measure data item from
the list. Then, click Add Filter. The filter appears on the Filters tab.

Select the data values for the post-aggregate filter. If the data item allows
aggregate values, the Filter aggregated values check box is displayed. A
slider shows you the maximum and minimum data values that exist for the
data item using the current data item format. Use the slider to select a range
of target values.

424 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

Note: The post-aggregate filter tracks the aggregation associated with the
data item. If you change the Aggregation using the data item table on the
Data tab, then the filter name on the Filter tab reflects that change. For
example, if you create a post-aggregate filter for a data item called Sales, it is
initially displayed on the Filters tab as Sales(Sum). In the data item table,
you change the aggregation to Average. On the Filters tab, the filter name is
displayed as Sales(Average). The post-aggregate filter attempts to keep
the same range of data values that you originally selected for the
aggregation.
TIP Use the arrow to the left of the filter name on the Filters tab to
expand or collapse the filter details when you are working with multiple
filters.
5

(Optional) Click
beside the filter name to change the operator. Select
Condition Type, and then select an operator.

(Optional) Change the lower and upper values for the post-aggregate filter by
clicking the value, and then entering a new value.

7 (Optional) If your data contains missing values, and you want to exclude

those missing values from your report, then clear the Include missing
values check box.
8 (Optional) If you cleared the Auto-update check box above the report

canvas while you worked on your filter, then select it when you are ready to
apply your filter changes.

Edit a Post-Aggregate Report Filter

To edit a post-aggregate filter:
1

If it is not already selected, select the report object in the canvas that you
want to filter. The report object must have at least one data item assigned.

2 In the right pane, click the Filters tab.

3

Click
beside the filter name. Then, select Edit Filter. The Edit Filter
window is displayed.

Using Post-Aggregate Report Filters

4

425

Edit the expression for your post-aggregate filter.

n You can drag and drop conditions and operators onto the expression on

the Visual tab in the right pane.

n You can enter the expression on the Text tab in the right pane.
n You can create an expression using both the Visual and Text tabs in the

right pane.
For information, see Appendix 6, Conditions for Filters, on page 589.
Note: The AND and OR Boolean operators can accept more than two
conditions. To add a condition to the operator, drag and drop a condition onto
the operator name in the right pane. For example, to add a third condition to
an AND operator, drag and drop the condition onto AND in the expression.
TIP Right-click the AND or OR operator in the expression, and then select
Add New Condition.
5 Click OK to apply the post-aggregate filter.

Delete a Post-Aggregate Report Filter

To delete a post-aggregate filter, click
Filters tab.

beside the post-aggregate filter on the

426 Chapter 45 / Working with Report Filters

427

46
Working with Interactions
Overview of Interactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427
Creating an Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Filter Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Create a Data Brushing Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Map Data Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

428
428
433
438

Delete an Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 440

Overview of Interactions
Interactions are used to direct a report viewers attention to specific results in a
report. Interactions allow data to be subset to reduce the amount of data, and
enables users to understand it within a particular context.
The interactions view in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) enables
report designers to specify which interactions they would like to add to tables,
graphs, gauges, and controls in a report.
There are these types of interactions:
filter
is used to restrict the data that is returned from a query to a data source.
Filters are simply a set of rules or conditions that you specify to subset the
data that is displayed in a table or graph. The goal is to display only the data
that you need to see to perform your analysis.
brush
is short for data brushing, which enables you to show the same data selected
simultaneously in two or more tables, graphs, or controls. Brushing highlights
a percentage that reflects the number of shared observations in the data set.
Brushing does not highlight a percentage that corresponds to the aggregated
value. The brushed data has the same appearance in each object, which
makes the data easily apparent to report viewers.
Tables, graphs, and gauges can be the source of an interaction, with the
exception of time series plots. Report objects that use detail data cannot be the
source of an interaction. Controls that are used on the canvas can also be the
source of an interaction. Controls that are used as section prompts are treated
as automatic filters and are not displayed in the interactions view.
The Interactions tab in the right pane enables you to create interactions and
links.

428 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

Here are some key points about interactions:
Note: Interactions are available only for report objects in the same section.
Note: Report linking is a type of interaction. The report section that is the target
of the link is subset by the values selected in the linked report object. For more
information, see Overview of Linking on page 441.

Creating an Interaction
Create a Filter Interaction
You can create interactions using the interactions view or the Interactions tab in
the right pane.
The following objects that are imported from the explorer can be the source of a
filter interaction:
n Box plots
n Heat maps with a relational category measure
n Forecast plots
n Geo maps

Imported correlation matrices, histograms, scatter plots with fit lines, heat maps
without a selectable relational category measure, and box plots without a
selectable relational category measure cannot be the source of an interaction.
Hierarchy data items are not supported for interactions.
Here are some key points about creating filter interactions:
n You cannot create interactions from list tables, bubble plots, and scatter plots

that use detail data. However, a list table that uses detail data can be the
target of an interaction.
n Scatter plots cannot be the source of an interaction.
n Bubble plots can be the source of an interaction only if they have a

Grouping role assigned.

n Sliders can be the target of an interaction. However, a slider that has the Set

fixed range property set will not do anything when it is filtered because its
data is fixed.
n Prompt containers enable you to delay the execution of interactions to report

objects that are outside of the prompt container. However, interactions

between report objects that are inside a prompt container are never delayed.
To create a filter interaction using the interactions view:
1

Add the report objects that you want to use to the canvas. For example, you
might have a bar chart, a line chart, and a list table.

Click Interactions View on the Interactions tab to switch to the interactions

view. You can also select View Show Interactions.

3 In the interactions view, draw a connection between the source and target

report objects. When you have created an interaction, the

is displayed

Creating an Interaction

429

between the report objects. Here is an example of an interaction between a

bar chart (the source) and a list table (the target):
Note: The source and target of an interaction should be based on the same
data source. If you have multiple data sources, you are prompted to map the
data sources to create the interaction. For more information, see Map Data
Sources on page 438.

Right-click

. Then, select Interaction Type Filter.

430 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

(Optional) Select the Show parameter interactions check box. (Parameter

interactions are represented by dashed lines in the Interactions View. If the
parameter is affecting a report object in another section, a link is drawn to
that section. If a section contains a parameter that is targeting a report object
in the current section, then a link is drawn from that section to the report
object in the current section.)

6 (Optional) Clear the Show derived interactions check box. (Derived

interactions are represented by dashed lines in the Interactions View.)

7 (Optional) Add other filter interactions.
8

Click Close. The new interaction (or interactions) appears on the

Interactions tab in the right pane.
The following example shows the Interactions tab for the filtering example
shown in Figure 46.1 on page 430.

Select data in the source report object to filter data in the target report object (or
objects). In the following example, the promotional product line was selected in

Creating an Interaction

431

the bar chart. Simultaneously, the line chart and the list table show the same
filter.
Figure 46.1

A Filtering Example with a Bar Chart, a Line Chart, and a List Table

Clicking on another selection applies the filter based on your new selection. For
example, in the report above, you can click on the game product line to change
the filter. An icon is added to the report object that is filtered.
Here is the line chart that was used in the previous example. The incoming filter
icon appears above the report object when it is selected in the canvas. Click
to get details about the filter that has been applied. Click Details to find out more

432 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

about the filter. The Visual Element Filters window is displayed. It shows the
exact query that was sent to the server.

TIP To clear the selection and reset the filter (or filters), press Ctrl+click while
viewing the original report object.

To create an interaction using the New button on the Interactions tab:

1

Select a report object in the canvas. For example, you might have a bar
chart.

Select the Interactions tab.

Click New, and then select Interaction. The Edit Interaction window is
displayed.

Creating an Interaction
4

433

In the Edit Interaction window, select the report object that you want to use
as the source of a filter or brush interaction. For example, if your report has a
list table, and you want it to filter a line chart, the first line should read List
Table 1 filters Line Chart 1.
The Edit Interaction window disables options for filter or brush interactions if
they are not possible.

When you are finished working with interactions, click OK. The new
interaction is displayed in the Interactions tab.

Create a Data Brushing Interaction

The following objects that are imported from the explorer cannot be the source
of a brush interaction:
n Box plots
n Heat maps with a relational category measure
n Forecast plots
n Geo maps

To create an interaction using data brushing:

1

Add the report objects that you want to use to the canvas. For example, you
might have a bar chart, a line chart, and a list table.

2 Select the Interactions tab.

3 Click Interactions View on the Interactions tab to switch to the interactions
view. You can also select View Show Interactions.
4 In the interactions view, draw a connection between the source and target

report objects. When you have created an interaction, the

between the report objects.

is displayed

Note: The source and target of a data brushing interaction should be based
on the same data source. If you have multiple data sources, you are
prompted to map the data sources to create the interaction. For more
information, see Map Data Sources on page 438.
5 Right-click

changes to

. Then, select Interaction Type Brush. The filter icon

.

6 Click Close. The new interaction (or interactions) appears on Interactions

tab in the right pane.

Select data in the source report object to brush data in the target report object
(or objects). In the following example, the stuffed animal product line was
selected in the bar chart. Simultaneously, the line chart and the list table
highlight the same data.

434 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

Figure 46.2

A Data Brushing Example with a Bar Chart, a Line Chart, and a List Table

Note: If a graph contains a frequency measure, then a crosshatch pattern

indicates when it is selected or brushed.
The brush interaction between controls behaves differently than a brush
interaction between tables and graphs. When there is a brush interaction
between controls, instead of highlighting or selecting the values in the other
control, the values that match are moved to the top of the control, and the values
that do not match are grayed out. If a frequency data item exists, then the
frequency value is updated.

Creating an Interaction

435

Here is an example of a report with three list controls that have brush
interactions:
Figure 46.3 Example: Three List Controls in a Report

The first list contains three countries listed as the Origin. The second list
contains six types of vehicles. The third list contains 38 car manufacturing
companies. There is a brush interaction between the first list and the second list.
There is a second brush interaction between the second list and the third list.

436 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

Here is an example of the interactions view for the report:
Figure 46.4

Three List Controls with Brush Interactions

In step 1, the user has selected Europe as the country of Origin in the first list.
Notice the changes in the second list. Hybrid and Truck are grayed out, and
their frequency values have both changed to 0. In the third list, all of the car

Creating an Interaction

437

manufacturers that are not located in Europe are grayed out, and their frequency
values have all changed to 0.
Figure 46.5

Example: Three List Controls in a Report with One Brush Interaction

In step 2, the user has selected Porsche as the car manufacturing company in
the third list. Notice the changes in the second list. Hybrid, Sedan, Truck, and
Wagon are grayed out, and their frequency values have all changed to 0.
Figure 46.6

Example: Three List Controls in a Report with Two Brush Interactions

438 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

Map Data Sources

The source and target of an interaction or link should be based on the same
data source. You might be prompted to map data sources so that an interaction
or link works properly in these situations:
n When you try to create an interaction or link between a report object that

uses one data source and another report object that uses a different data
source.
n When you try to create a link between a report object that uses one data

source and a report section that uses a different data source.

n When you try to create a link between a report object that uses one data

source and a report that uses a different data source.

Here are some key points about mapping columns in data sources:
n A column in one data source can be mapped only once to another data

source. If you need to map a column more than once, then the column needs
to be duplicated in the data source.
n Mapped columns must share the same format for filters to work. For

example, if the format of the source column is MMDDYYYY and the format of
the target column is DDMMYYYY, then a filter will not work.
To map data sources using the Map Data Sources window:
1

Use the Source drop-down list to select a column from the first data source.

Use the Target drop-down list to select a corresponding column from the
second data source.
Here is an example of the Map Data Sources window for an interaction
between two list tables that have different data sources:

Creating an Interaction

439

TIP If there are multiple data sources, and you do not want to link to all of
them, you can select the Enable data source mapping check box. For
more information, see Map Data Sources on page 438.

For section links, you are not required to map the data sources. If you
choose not to map the data sources, then the filters are not carried over. For
more information, see Create a Link to One or More Sections in a Report
on page 443.
Here is an example of the Create Section Link window with the map data
sources information.

(Optional) Map additional data items. Click

Map Data Sources window.

. A new row is displayed in the

The lower half of the window shows you how the mappings are applied to the
objects shown in the Source and Target relationship. Depending on the
interaction or link, you might need to map additional Source and Target
objects.

Click OK.

440 Chapter 46 / Working with Interactions

Delete an Interaction
You can delete an interaction using the interactions view or the Interactions tab
in the right pane.
To delete either a filter or data brushing interaction using the interactions view:
1

Select the Interactions tab.

2 Click Interactions View to switch to the interactions view. You can also
select View Show Interactions.
3 Right-click

or the , depending on which type of interaction you want to

delete. Then, select Delete Interaction.

4 Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed.

5 (Optional) Remove other interactions.

You can delete an interaction using the Interactions tab. Click

next to the
interaction that you want to delete. Then, click Delete in the confirmation
message that is displayed.

441

47
Working with Report Links
Overview of Linking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441
Creating Links . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Create a Link to Another Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442
Create a Link to One or More Sections in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Create a Link to One or More Info Windows in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Create a Link to an External URL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444
Create a Link from a Text Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445
Edit a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Delete a Link . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446
Example: How Linking and Interactions Work Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446

Overview of Linking
Report links enable single-step access to a report or web page that is related to
a report that you are currently viewing. For example, you might be looking at a
bar chart that has sales information for each geographical region of your
company. If you click the bar for the Northeast region, then a report link
associated with the graph could take you to a different report that provides
information about employees in each region. You can click
in the top left
corner of a destination report to return to the previous report.
Using SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer), you can add a link from a
report object to another report, to a specific section or an info window in the
current report, or to an external URL. If a destination report contains multiple
sections, then you are able (when defining the link) to choose the initial section
of the destination report that you want to open first.
When a report has an info window, you can provide additional information to a
user who is viewing the report. For example, you might want a list table to
provide additional information for a bar chart, or you might want to provide
additional text about what is displayed in the data for a particular report object. In
the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the viewer), a user double-clicks the data (for
example, a bar, a bubble, a pie slice, a table row, and so on) in a report object
that has an info window, and then the additional information is displayed in a
new window in the viewer. For more information, see Overview of Report
Sections and Info Windows on page 457.

442 Chapter 47 / Working with Report Links

Linking has elements of both a filter and an interaction. A report section that is
the target of a link is filtered by the values that are selected in the linked report
object.
For information about how links appear in the viewer, see View Links in
Reports on page 527.
Imported box plots and heat maps with a relational category measure and
imported forecast plots can be the source of section, report, or external links.

Creating Links
Create a Link to Another Report
Note: The following steps do not apply to text objects. For more information,
see Create a Link from a Text Object on page 445.
To add a link from a report object or image to another report:
1

Click the Interactions tab.

Click New, and then select Report Link. The Choose an Item window is
displayed.

Select a target report, and then click OK. The Create Report Link window is
displayed.

Verify the name of the target report. If you want to select a different target
report, click Browse.
Note: The source and target of report link should be based on the same
data source. If you have multiple data sources, you are prompted to map the
data sources to create the report link. For more information, see Map Data
Sources on page 438.
If the target report contains more than one section, then select the report
section that you want to open first.

Click OK. The new report link is displayed on the Interactions tab in the right
pane.

Double-click on an item in the report object (for example, a bar, a row in a table,
a pie slice, and so on) to activate the report link. You are prompted to save

Creating Links

443

changes to the report object before you can follow the link to the target report. To
return to the source report object, use the button above the canvas.
Here is an example of the button that enables you to return to the source report
object:

Create a Link to One or More Sections in a Report

Note: The following steps do not apply to text objects. For more information,
see Create a Link from a Text Object on page 445.
To add a link from a report object, text, or image to a specific section in the same
report:
1 Click the Interactions tab.
2

Click New, and then select Section Link. The Create Section Link window is
displayed.

Select All to link to all of the sections in the report or select a specific section
(or sections) in the report.
Note: The source and target of section link should be based on the same
data source. If you have multiple data sources, you are prompted to map the
data sources to create the section link. For more information, see Map Data
Sources on page 438.

Click OK. The new section link is displayed on the Interactions tab in the
right pane. If you selected multiple sections, those links are displayed on the
Interactions tab.

Alternatively, you can create a section link using the interactions view.
Note: If you use a section link to navigate to another section, and then you
change the value of a report prompt, the section link filter is removed.

Create a Link to One or More Info Windows in a

Report
Note: The following steps do not apply to text objects. For more information,
see Create a Link from a Text Object on page 445.
To add a link from a report object, text, or image to an info window in the same
report:
1 Click the Interactions tab.

444 Chapter 47 / Working with Report Links

2

Click New, and then select Info Window Link. The Create Info Window Link
window is displayed.

Select All to link to all of the info windows in the report, or select a specific
info window in the report.
Note: The source and target of the info window link should be based on the
same data source. If you have multiple data sources, you are prompted to
map the data sources to create the info window link. For more information,
see Map Data Sources on page 438.

4 Click OK. The new info window link is displayed on the Interactions tab in

the right pane. If you selected multiple info windows to link to, those links are
displayed on the Interactions tab.

Create a Link to an External URL

You can add a link from a report object, text, or image to an external URL. The
http:// part of the link is provided. The link can be relative to the current web

application server. For example, you can link to a stored process, which means
that you would not need to specify http://server-name:port because you are
already logged on to that server.
TIP Click the Link to Stored Process button in the Create External Link

window to link to a stored process without having to enter the required link
information.
Note: UTF-8 is supported for external URL links.
Note: The following steps do not apply to text objects. For more information,
see Create a Link from a Text Object on page 445.
To add a link to an external URL:
1 Click the Interactions tab.
2

Click New, and then select External Link. The Create External Link window
is displayed.

Enter a Label and a URL for the link.

4 (Optional) Click Link to Stored Process. The Open window is displayed.

Select a stored process, and then click Open. The Label field shows the
name of the stored process, and the URL field shows the link information for
the stored process.
Note: If the stored process accepts prompts, they are automatically added to
the Parameters.

Creating Links
5

445

(Optional) Click
to specify additional parameters for the link. You can
specify the Format value option, a Source, and a Target. The Format value
option applies only to dates and numbers. You can add multiple parameters.
For example, you might have a report for your companys product lines.
When a user views the report, you want them to be able to double-click a
product line in the line chart, and then link to a Google search for that product
line. In the Create External Link window for this example, you would enter
http://www.google.com/search as the URL, select ProductLine as the
Source, and then enter q as the Target.

Press Enter or Tab to activate the OK button. Click OK. The new external link
is displayed on the Interactions tab in the right pane.

Double-click on a report object to link to the external URL.

Create a Link from a Text Object

You can add a link from text to an external URL, to another report, or to a
specific section or an info window in the current report.
To add a link from a text object:
1

Double-click inside a text object on the canvas and enter the text.

Selecting some or all of the text, and then click

Link Setup window is displayed.

. Select Hyperlink. The

TIP To change the default color of the hyperlinked text, you need to select

a leading blank space and a trailing blank space around the hyperlinked
text.
3 Select the link Type. The options are:

External URL
The link target is an external URL. For example, you might want to link
some text to your companys web page or Twitter feed. The link can be
relative to the current web application server. Enter a URL. The http://
part of the link is provided.
Report Link
The link target is another report. Enter the name of the Target report or
browse to find it. If the target report has multiple sections, you can select
which report section opens first.

446 Chapter 47 / Working with Report Links

Section Link
If your report has multiple sections, then the link target can be a section in
the report. Select a Target section from the list.
Info Window Link
If your report has one or more sections and one or more info windows,
then the link target can be an info window in the report. Select a Target
info window from the list.
4

Click OK. The text that you selected is a link in the text object.

Edit a Link
To edit a report link or an external link:
1 Click

next to the link on the Interactions tab. For a report link, the Edit
Report Link window is displayed. For an external link, the Edit External Link
window is displayed.

2 Make changes to the link.

3

Click OK to save your changes.

Note: You cannot edit a section link.

Delete a Link
You can delete a section, report, or external link using the Interactions tab.
next to the link that you want to delete. Click Delete in the confirmation
Click
message that is displayed.
To delete a link from a text object, select the linked text, and then click
Select Delete Link.

Example: How Linking and Interactions

Work Together
Suppose that you have two reports about furniture sales. The first report
contains an interaction between a bar chart and a list table. The bar chart links
to a second report. The filter interaction and the link are displayed on the
Interactions tab. Currently, CANADA is selected in the bar chart, so the list table
is filtered by that country. Here is an example of the first report:

Example: How Linking and Interactions Work Together

Figure 47.1

447

Example: Furniture Sales Report

When you double-click the CANADA bar in the first report, the second report
(which is the target of the report link) is displayed. The filter interaction for
country in the first report is automatically passed to the second report when you
link to it. Here is an example of the second report:

448 Chapter 47 / Working with Report Links

Figure 47.2

Example: Furniture Sales Report

You can remove the applied filter by clicking

beside the
in the upper left
corner. Select the Apply report link filters option. After you remove the applied
filter, you can choose to apply it again by selecting the Apply report link filters
option.
You can return to the source report by clicking

For information about how links appear in the viewer, see View Links in
Reports on page 527.

449

48
Ranking Values in Reports
Overview of Ranking in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Add a New Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449
Delete a Rank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452

Overview of Ranking in Reports

Using SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer), you can rank the data in a
report object to show the top (greatest) value or bottom (least) value for a
category that is based on a measure. For a list table, you can also rank across a
set of categories for the top value or bottom value in the set. A rank filters the
values of a category based on the aggregated measure by the top or bottom of
the values. A rank greatly reduces the visible categories to make it easier to
focus on the top value or bottom value that interests a user.
For example, you might create a rank of the top 10 countries by frequency to
select the 10 countries that are most represented in your report. As another
example, you might create a rank of the top 10 countries by population to select
the 10 countries with the greatest populations.
Ranks can accept parameters. For more information, see Chapter 49, Working
with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.
Note: Rank descriptions are displayed for report objects that are imported from
SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer) and that use on-demand data. You
cannot edit or delete the ranks for imported objects.

Add a New Rank

You can use the Ranks tab to create ranks to subset the data in your reports.
You can also right-click on your graphs and tables to add a rank to limit the
number of bars, rows, and so on. Controls and gauges support ranks.
A single category rank ranks the top of a single category.
To add a rank:
1 Click the Ranks tab.

450 Chapter 48 / Ranking Values in Reports

2

Select a data item. You can select any category or geography data item,
regardless of whether it is assigned to the current report object.
For list tables only, you can select All visible categories. This rank ranks
across the intersection. The top or bottom combination of the visible
categories is displayed. For example, you select the region and product data
items. You rank on the top 10 by profit. The top 10 region and product
combinations are displayed. In this case, the column is no longer considered
a single column, it is considered the crossing of the columns.
Note: If a list table has a rank for All visible categories, then that is the
only rank that it can have.
The Detail rank option is available for list tables, bubble plots, and scatter
plots that show detail data. If the report object has a detail rank, then it is the
only rank that it can have. Otherwise, report objects can have multiple ranks.

Click Add Rank. The Ranks tab expands.

Select the type of rank from the drop-down list. These types are available:
n Top Count specifies that the rank selects the greatest values.
n Bottom Count specifies that the rank selects the least values.
n Top Percent specifies that the rank selects the greatest percentages.
n Bottom Percent specifies that the rank selects the least percentages.

If you selected Top Count or Bottom Count for the rank, then specify one of
the following:
n Select Count, and then select a number for the rank. For example, if you

select 5, then the rank selects the five greatest values.

n Select a Parameter. If there is more than one parameter available, use

the drop-down list to select the one that you want. For more information,
see Chapter 49, Working with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.
6 If you selected Top Percent or Bottom Percent for the rank, then specify

one of the following:

n Select Percent, and then enter a number between 0.1 and 99.9 in the %

field.
n Select a Parameter. If there is more than one parameter available, use

the drop-down list to select the one that you want. For more information,
see Chapter 49, Working with Parameters in Reports, on page 453.

Add a New Rank

451

From the By drop-down list, select the measure that is used to create the
rank. You can select any measure.

(Optional) Select Ties to include ties in the rank.

If you select Ties, then the rank selects as many values as necessary to
include all of the ties. If you do not select Ties, then the rank selects only the
number of values that are specified by the rank parameters.
For example, if your rank selects the top three values, but there are five
values tied for the greatest value, then the number of values that are
selected by the rank depends on the Ties option. If you select Ties, then the
rank includes all five of the tied values. If you do not select Ties, then the
rank includes only three of the tied values.

9 (Optional) For category-specific ranks, you can select All Other to show the

measurements for the categories that did not qualify as a top or bottom
value. This option is not available if the report object is showing only detail
values.
Here are some key points about the All Other option:
n The option is available when you are ranking visible categories in certain

types of report objects.

n The option applies only to the category that is being ranked. For example,

suppose that you have Region and Product categories assigned to a list
table. Then, you apply a Region rank with the All Other option set, so the
All Other value might appear as a Region value, but not as a Product
value.
If you want to combine category values that are excluded by rank into All
Other, then you need to use the All Other property. For more
information, see Use the Combine Excluded Rows (or Cells) into All
Other Properties on page 324.
n The option is not available if the rank is on a prompt control, geo bubble

map, geo coordinate map, or geo region map.

n When the option is specified for a report object, the total, subtotal, and

percent of total show values with respect to all of the data, rather than
data just relative to data qualifying under the rank. The data that does not
fit into the top or bottom of the rank is aggregated in the All Other
category.
n You can use this option with a ranking to reduce the number of slices in a

pie chart. However, this means the Other slice must be removed from
the pie chart.
n If this option is selected, then any All Other value that appears in a table

or graph cannot be selected. This means that the All Other value cannot
be the source value for an interaction.
n If you do not select All Other, then the rank shows only the data as

filtered by the category values that qualify as the top or bottom value.
By default, your new rank is applied automatically to the report object.
You can add more than one rank to a report object, as long as the first rank is
not a Detail rank, or an All visible categories rank.

452 Chapter 48 / Ranking Values in Reports

Here is an example of a pie chart that shows the profit for multiple product lines
before a rank is applied:
Figure 48.1

Pie Chart with Profits for Each Product Line Displayed

Here is the same pie chart after a rank of the top five product lines is added. The
All Other option was selected, so the Other slice is not displayed.
Figure 48.2

Pie Chart with Profits for the Top Five Product Lines Displayed

Delete a Rank
To delete a rank, click

on the rank on the Ranks tab.

You can also right-click on the report object, and select Delete Rank, as long as
there is only one rank for the report object.

453

49
Working with Parameters in Reports
Overview of Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Where Parameters Can Be Used in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453
Create a New Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454
Edit a Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Delete a Parameter for a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 455
Example: Using Parameters in a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456

Overview of Parameters
A parameter is a variable whose value can be changed and that can be
referenced by other report objects. The SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the
designer) supports parameters for controls in reports. If a control has an
associated parameter, then when the value of the control changes, the
parameter is assigned that changed value. When the value of the parameter
changes, any report objects that reference the parameter detect the change
accordingly.
Whenever a parameter value is updated, then all display rules, ranks,
calculations, and filters that use that parameter are updated. Any report object in
the report that uses the display rule, rank, calculation, or filter is updated
accordingly. For an example of how parameters can be used in a complex
report, see Example: Using Parameters in a Report on page 456.

Where Parameters Can Be Used in the

Designer
You can use parameters in calculations, display rules, filters, and ranks. You can
create, modify, and manage parameters using the Data tab in the left pane.
The following controls in the designer support parameters:
n The text input control supports a character parameter or a numeric

parameter.
n The button bar control or drop-down list control accepts a character

parameter.

454 Chapter 49 / Working with Parameters in Reports

n The slider (single-point only) accepts a numeric parameter.

Parameters can be used with the following features in the designer:

calculations
calculated items and aggregated measures allow parameters. Parameters
are supported wherever it makes sense to have a numeric or character
value.
display rules
numeric parameters can be specified as the value of an expression rule.
filters (detail filters, aggregated filters, and data source filters)
a character or numeric parameter is supported wherever it makes sense to
have a numeric or character value. The data source filter is a special case.
Ordinarily, a data source filter applies to all of the report objects on the
canvas. However, if the data source filter contains a parameter, then the filter
is not applied to the control that has that parameter assigned to it.
ranks
for a rank, the parameter can be included for the n value of the rank. It is
supported for Top Count or Bottom Count and Top Percent or Bottom
Percent.
URLs
parameters in a report URL can be modified. For example, suppose that you
have the following URL for a report: http://host/
SASVisualAnalyticsDesigner/?reportPath=%2FUser%20Folders
%2Fsasdemo%2 FMy%20Folder&reportName=Parameterized
%20Calculations%20DR&type=Report.BI&Origin
%20Parameter=Europe&Cost%20of%20gas=3.35
The first parameter is called Origin Parameter, which enables you to
specify a different country name. The second parameter is called Cost of
gas, which enables you to specify different costs to see how different gas
prices change the report.
Note: A parameter cannot be used to pass credentials. However, credentials
can be used as the value of a parameter.

Create a New Parameter for a Report

Here are some key points about creating parameters:
n You cannot create a parameter for a control that uses a date.
n If you duplicate a control with a parameter, the parameter is not copied from

the original control.

To create a new parameter using the Data tab in the left pane:
1

Click , and then select New Parameter. The Create Parameter window is
displayed.

(Optional) Modify the Name of the parameter.

Select the Type for the parameter. You can select Numeric or Character.

4 For character parameters, specify a Current value.

Delete a Parameter for a Report

5

455

For numeric parameters, specify a Current value. You must also specify the
following options:
n Minimum value (which is required).
n Maximum value (which is required).
n Format. Click Select to open the Select Format window, where you can

select a Format type, Width, and Decimals. Click OK in the Select

Format window.
6 Click OK in the Create Parameter window. The

icon identifies the new

parameter in the list of data items on the Data tab.

You can create and edit parameters from the filter window and the calculated
item window.

Edit a Parameter for a Report

To edit a parameter:
1

Right-click the parameter on the Data tab, and select Edit Parameter. The
Edit Parameter window is displayed.

2 Make changes to the parameter.

3

Click OK to save your changes.

Delete a Parameter for a Report

You cannot delete a parameter that is being used by a calculation, rank, filter, or
display rule.
To delete a parameter:
1

Right-click the parameter on the Data tab, and select Delete Parameter.

2 Click Delete in the confirmation message that is displayed. The parameter is

removed from the list of data items on the Data tab and from any
calculations, filters, display rules, or ranks that were using it.

456 Chapter 49 / Working with Parameters in Reports

Example: Using Parameters in a Report

You can use parameters to design complex reports. Here is an example of a
complex report with parameters:
Figure 49.1 Example: A Report with Parameters

The report has two sliders, a list table, and a bar chart. One slider lets you adjust
the number of miles that you drive each day. The other slider lets you adjust the
price per gallon of gasoline. The results of the selections in the sliders are
calculated, and the values are used in a calculated data item that is displayed in
the list table. For example, you can see what happens to the list table when you
change the parameter for Miles driven per day from 25 to 100.
The values of the calculated data item are also used in the bar chart. The bar
chart has a display rule, (MPG (City) > Miles per day), so that vehicles that have
a fuel economy value that is better than the number of miles that you drive per
day are highlighted.

457

50
Maintaining Multi-Section Reports
Overview of Report Sections and Info Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457
Add a Section to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Add an Info Window to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458
Reorder Report Sections or Info Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Rename a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Duplicate a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459
Move a Report Object to Another Section or Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460
Delete a Report Section or an Info Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460

Overview of Report Sections and Info

Windows
Any report in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) can have multiple
sections. (Sections are like pages.) Multiple sections can be used to present
different views of the data to the person who views the report. Each section has
one or more data sources. You can have one or more report objects in a section.
There is no limit to the number of sections in a report.
Using the designer, you can add a link from a report object to a specific section
in the current report. For more information, see Create a Link to One or More
Sections in a Report on page 443.
Section prompts are controls that are placed in the special row area above the
report objects on the canvas. A section prompt enables the user to select a
value to filter data. For more information, see Use a Control to Create a Section
Prompt on page 331.
When a report has an info window, you can provide additional information to a
user who is viewing the report. For example, you might want a list table to
provide additional information for a bar chart, or you might want to provide
additional text about what is displayed in the data for a particular report object. In
the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the viewer), a user double-clicks the data (for
example, a bar, a bubble, a pie slice, a table row, and so on) in a report object
that has an info window, and then the additional information is displayed in a
new window in the viewer.

458 Chapter 50 / Maintaining Multi-Section Reports

Info windows can be created only in the designer. A report can have one or more
info windows, which are displayed as private tabs in the designer. Info windows
are identified by the
icon on the tab above the canvas. Info windows can
have one or more report objects. You must provide a link to an info window from
an existing report object to display a new window in the viewer.
Note: Section prompts are not allowed in info windows.

Add a Section to a Report

You can add sections to any report, including reports that were created in SAS
Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer).
To add a new section to a report, click
to the right of the first section tab (or
the last section tab that was added) in the report. The new tab appears to the
right of the existing tab (or tabs).
Here is an example of multiple section tabs:
Figure 50.1

Multiple Section Tabs

You can use the Properties tab for the report to add a new section. In the
Sections area, click
tabs).

. The new tab appears to the right of the existing tab (or

Add an Info Window to a Report

You can change any report section to an info window as long as the section
does not have section prompts.
Note: If you change an existing report section to an info window, and there are
links to that specific report section, then those links will no longer open that
section.
Here is an example of multiple Info Window tabs:

To add an info window, click

on the Section tab, and then select Display as
Info Window. The tab name changes to Info Window. The Properties tab also
updates.
For information about adding a link to an info window, see Create a Link to One
or More Info Windows in a Report on page 443.

Duplicate a Report Section or an Info Window

459

Reorder Report Sections or Info Windows

To change the order in which sections or info windows are displayed:
1 In the right pane, click the Properties tab.
2 Select the report name in the drop-down list.
3 In the Sections area, select the name of a section or an info window. Click

or

to reorder the sections or info windows.

Rename a Report Section or an Info

Window
To rename a section or an info window:
1 Right-click the section tab or the info window tab that you want to rename.

Select Rename. The existing name is highlighted.

2 Type a new name, and then press Enter. The new name also appears on the

Properties tab in the right pane.

Alternatively, you can change the name on the Properties tab.

Duplicate a Report Section or an Info

Window
To duplicate a section or an info window:
1

Right-click the section tab or the info window tab that you want to duplicate.

2 Select Duplicate. All of the report objects and the data in the original section

or info window are copied to the duplicate section or info window. The
duplicate appears on a new tab. For example, if the original sections name is
Marketing Reports, then the duplicate section is named Marketing
Reports (1).
3

Rename the duplicated section or info window using the pop-up menu or the
Properties tab.

460 Chapter 50 / Maintaining Multi-Section Reports

Move a Report Object to Another Section

or Info Window
To move a report object from one section in a report to another section or an info
window, right-click the report object that you want to move. Select Move
<ReportObject> to <SectionName>, where <ReportObject> is the name of
the report object and <SectionName> is the name of the section tab or the info
window.
TIP You can drag an object from one section and drop it onto the tab for
another section to move it to that section.

Note: You cannot move a section prompt from a section to an info window.
If you move an object to a section with precision layout, then you must manually
move the object to its proper location. All objects are put in the top left corner by
default.
TIP If you move a section prompt from one section to another section in a

report and there are multiple data sources, you must edit the data source
mapping for an interaction to work. Right-click the control, and select Edit
Data Source Mapping. For more information, see Map Data Sources on
page 438.

Delete a Report Section or an Info Window

To delete a section or an info window from a report, right-click the tab that you
want to remove. Select Delete.
Alternatively, click
on the section tab or info window tab, and then select
Delete <Section Name or Info Window Name>, where <Section Name or
Info Window Name> is the name of the section or the info window. (For
example, Section 1, Info Window 1, and so on.)
Note: The Delete menu option is not available if the report has only one
section.

461

51
Sharing Reports with Other Users
Overview of Sharing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461
E-mail a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462
Printing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General Considerations for Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Considerations for Printing a Stored Process or Stored Process Report . . . . .
Print a Report, a Report Section, or a Report Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

463
463
464
464

Exporting Content from the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466

Overview of Exporting from the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Export an Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Export Data from a List Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 466
Export Data from a Crosstab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467
Export Data from a Graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468
Add Comments to a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469
Distributing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Overview of Distributing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470
Add a New Report Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471
Create a Report Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472
Manage Report Distributions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474
Localize Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474

Overview of Sharing Reports

Depending on your role and capabilities, the SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the
designer) enables you to complete many tasks related to sharing reports. You
can do the following:
n e-mail reports
n print reports
n export images or data from report objects
n add comments to reports
n distribute reports on a schedule
n localize (or translate) labels, tooltips, and other descriptive text in reports

462 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

E-mail a Report
You can e-mail a link to a report to someone. If the recipient opens the e-mail
message on a PC or Mac with a Flash-enabled viewer, and then clicks the email link, then the report is displayed in the viewer. If the recipient opens the email message on a mobile device, and then clicks the e-mail link, then the report
is displayed using the SAS Mobile BI app if the user has it installed.
TIP Use the Order the actions associated with a content type preference
for the SAS Visual Analytics home page to specify which application opens
the report when you click on an e-mail link.

To e-mail a report from the designer:

1 Select File E-mail. The E-mail window is displayed. The designer

automatically adds your e-mail address to the From field. The URL for the
report is automatically generated, and a preview appears in the e-mail
message.

Enter the recipients e-mail address.

Printing Reports

463

Alternatively, click the To label. The Add Recipients window is displayed.

Select one or more names. Click OK to return to the E-mail window.
Here are some considerations for adding e-mail recipients:
n Separate multiple e-mail recipients with a comma.
n You can select a maximum of 100 e-mail recipients in the Add Recipients

window.
n A users e-mail address must be stored in metadata to be displayed on

the View All tab in the Add Recipients window.

TIP Position your mouse pointer over the To field to see all of the
recipients.
3

(Optional) Update the Subject line.

4 (Optional) Select Attach report PDF. This option is useful if your report

contains filters or interactions that you typically do not save with the report.
This PDF is different from a PDF that is attached when a report is distributed,
which contains only filters or interactions that have been saved.
5 (Optional) Enter a comment for the report.
6 Click Send.

Printing Reports
You can create a PDF for a report, a report section, or a report object. The PDF
can then be printed.

General Considerations for Printing

Here are some considerations for printing:
n Controls are not included in the PDF. However, the information in a control is

displayed in the appendix.

n Info windows, report prompts, section prompts, and prompt containers are

not included in the PDF. However, any filters that are applied to report objects
in the prompt container are displayed in the appendix.
n Vertical containers print only the currently selected report object. Horizontal

and stack containers might print more than the currently selected report
object if there is enough space.
n If a list table or a crosstab has scroll bars, then some of the scrolled content

might not be printed. However, more columns or rows might be printed than
are visible in the designer. The print feature attempts to fill the space
available on the page in the PDF.
n A list table or crosstab that is printed from the designer might show more

rows than when the same list table or crosstab is printed after the report has
been distributed. This happens because the state of the report in the
designer is taken into consideration when it is printed. The print feature
attempts to match what the user sees in the designer. When you print a

464 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

report that has been distributed, there is no report state for the print feature
to match.
n If a report object has a high-cardinality filter, and the Show appendix

information option is selected, then the filter description might be truncated

in the printed appendix.
n A crosstab with more than 5,000 selected cells cannot be printed.
n There can be differences in the fonts in a printed report if the fonts that are

used to create a report do not match the fonts that are available on the
server that generates the PDF.

Considerations for Printing a Stored Process or

Stored Process Report
Here are some key points about printing output from a stored process or a
stored process report:
n Output from a stored process starts on a new page.
n The stored process must use the %STPBEGIN and %STPEND macros.

These macros provide standardized functionality for generating and

delivering output from a stored process. For more information, see Using the
%STPBEGIN and %STPEND Macros in SAS Stored Processes:
Developer's Guide.
n PDF security must be turned off for a stored process.
n The stored process report must be configured to produce PDF output. In the

stored process that is referenced by the stored process report, set the
_ODSDEST variable to PDF. Or, define a stored process parameter for the
_ODSDEST variable and configure it with a value of PDF for the stored
process report. It is recommended that you also set the _ODSOPTIONS
variable to notoc to save processing time and to reduce the size of the PDF
produced by the stored process and the final PDF. For more information
about ODS options, see Using the %STPBEGIN and %STPEND Macros in
SAS Stored Processes: Developer's Guide.

Print a Report, a Report Section, or a Report

Object
By default, an appendix is included in the PDF if the report, report section, or
report object has descriptions, filters, warnings, errors, or display rule legends.
To create a PDF that can be printed for a report:
1 Select File Print to PDF, or click

. The Print window is displayed.

2 Select the Paper size, Orientation, and Margins. Your selections are saved

for that report.

If you select Custom for the paper size, you can specify the Height, and
Width of the page. For custom paper sizes, you cannot change the page
orientation.
3

(Optional) Select the Options for your report.

Here are some details about the printing options:

Printing Reports

465

n If you select Include a cover page check box, then the cover page

provides the name of the report (or the label if the report has not been
saved), the date of the print request, the user name, and the number of
pages. Click Add a description to enter additional text for the cover page
in the Cover Page Description Text window.
n If you clear the selection for the Include a cover page check box, any

additional text that you added for the cover page is discarded.
n The Show empty rows and columns in tables option is for both list

tables and crosstabs.

n The Show appendix information option is selected by default if the

report, report section, or report object has parameters, descriptions,

filters, warnings, errors, or display rule legends.
When the Show appendix information option is specified, and the
report, report section, or report object has parameters, descriptions,
filters, warnings, errors, or display rule legends, then an appendix is
created. Each report object that is selected to be included in the PDF is
automatically assigned a value so that you can reference that report
object in the appendix. For example, suppose that you select two report
objects in the Select the items to be printed list. The first report object is
assigned the value A1.1 and the second report object is assigned the
value A1.2. Suppose that the first report object has a description and the
second report object has a filter that has been applied. The first report
objects description is displayed in the appendix under the A1.1 heading.
The second report objects filter is displayed in the appendix under the
A1.2 heading.
4 Make your selections in the Select the items to be printed list. You can

select the report, the report sections, or the report objects.

5 Click Print. The PDF is displayed in a browser.
6 (Optional) If you want to save any changes that you made in the Print

window, then save the report.

To print a report section, click
<section-name> to PDF.

on the Section tab, and then select Print

To print a report object, right-click on the report object in the canvas, and then
select Print <report-object-name> to PDF. A stored process does not have the
same pop-up menu selection.
The following table lists the icons that can appear in the appendix:
Icon

Description
Indicates that a report object contains a filter.
Indicates that a report object contains a warning.

466 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

Exporting Content from the Designer

Overview of Exporting from the Designer
You can export an image or data from a report object using the designer.
All users who have the Export Data capability can use the designer to export
data from report objects to Microsoft Excel format for future viewing or printing.
This exported output can be saved locally on disk, and then opened in Microsoft
Excel. Or you can choose to create a delimited text file Tab-Separated Values
(*.tsv) or Comma-Separated Values (*.csv) data file.
When you export a graph from the designer, you are exporting the data, not the
visual graph representation.
Not all report objects in the designer support the exporting feature. For example,
you cannot export data from gauges. If the export feature is not available for a
particular report object, the Export <reportObjectName> menu item does not
appear when you right-click on the object.

Export an Image
You can export an image for any list table, crosstab, graph, or gauge in a report.
This is useful if you want to include the image of a report object in a
presentation, such as in Microsoft PowerPoint. Images are saved as PNG files.
Here are key points about exporting an image:
n An exported image does not show ranks or filters that are associated with the

report object.
n The image defaults to the size of the report object in the report.
n The following characters in an image name are converted to an underscore

when the image is exported: / \ : * ? " < > | %

To export an image:
1 If the list table, crosstab, graph, or gauge that you want to export is not

already selected, select it.

2

Right-click the report object, and select Export Image. The Save Image
window is displayed.

3 Click Save. The Select location for download window is displayed.

4

Enter a name for the PNG file. Click Save.

Export Data from a List Table

To export data from a list table:
1

If the list table that you want to export is not already selected, select it.

Exporting Content from the Designer

2

467

Right-click the list table, and select Export <listTableName>, where

<listTableName> is the name of the report object. The Export or Save As

window is displayed.

Choose to export All rows or a range of Rows.

4 Choose to export All columns or Selected columns. If you choose

Selected columns, select the check box (or check boxes) to the left of the
column (or columns) that you want to export. At least one column is required.
If you do not select a column, then a message is displayed, and the Export or
Save As window cannot be closed.
5

(Optional) To choose whether the exported data is formatted, either select or

clear the Formatted data check box. This check box is selected by default.

If you select Export to, then the only option is Excel 2007 Workbook
(*.xlsx) to create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

If you select Save as, choose either Tab-Separated Values (*.tsv) or

Comma-Separated Values (*.csv) to create a data file.

8 Click OK.
9 When you are prompted, choose either to open the file or to save it.

Export Data from a Crosstab

To export detail data from a crosstab:
1

If the crosstab that you want to export is not already selected, select it.

2 Right-click on the crosstab, and select Export <crosstabName>, where

<crosstabName> is the name of the report object. The Export or Save As

window is displayed.

468 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

Choose to export All rows or a range of Rows.

4 Choose to export All columns or Selected columns. If you choose

Selected columns, select the check box (or check boxes) to the left of the
column (or columns) that you want to export. At least one column is required.
If you do not select a column, then a message is displayed, and the Export or
Save As window cannot be closed.
5

(Optional) To choose whether the exported data is formatted, either select or

clear the Formatted data check box. This check box is selected by default.

If you select Export to, then the only option is Excel 2007 Workbook
(*.xlsx) to create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

If you select Save as, choose either Tab-Separated Values (*.tsv) or

Comma-Separated Values (*.csv) to create a data file.

8 Click OK.
9 When you are prompted, choose either to open the file or to save it.

Export Data from a Graph

Note: You cannot export the actual visual graph. Only the data can be exported.
To export data from a graph:
1 If the graph that you want to export is not already selected, select it.
2

Right-click on the graph, and select Export <graphName>, where

<graphName> is the name of the report object. The Export or Save As

window is displayed.

Add Comments to a Report

469

Choose to export All rows or a range of Rows.

4 Choose to export All columns or Selected columns. If you choose

Selected columns, select the check box (or check boxes) to the left of the
column (or columns) that you want to export. At least one column is required.
If you do not select a column, then a message is displayed, and the Export or
Save As window cannot be closed.
5

(Optional) Choose whether the exported data is formatted, either select or

clear the Formatted data check box. This check box is selected by default.

(Optional) Choose whether detail data is exported for the graph. If you select
Detailed data, then you can select the columns that you want to export.
Note: The Detailed data option is not available for imported report objects,
custom graph objects that have multiple data definitions, or for any graphs in
which detail data is not allowed.

If you select Export to, then the only option is Excel 2007 Workbook
(*.xlsx) to create a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.

If you select Save as, choose either Tab-Separated Values (*.tsv) or

Comma-Separated Values (*.csv) to create a data file.

9 Click OK.
10 When you are prompted, choose either to open the file or to save it.

Add Comments to a Report

In the designer, you can add comments to the whole report, but you cannot add
comments to the individual report objects.
TIP You must save a report before you can add comments.

470 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

Here are some key points about adding comments to a report:
n If comments have been added to an individual report object using the home

page, the explorer, or the viewer, then those comments cannot be displayed
or edited in the designer.
n If you have the Add or View Comments capability, then you can add or view

comments. You can edit your own comments and respond to other
comments.

Distributing Reports
Overview of Distributing Reports
If you have the Distribute Reports capability, then you can distribute reports
using the designer. Distributing reports automates the process of delivering
updated content to report users. You can distribute reports once or at recurring
intervals, such as daily, multiple times daily, weekly, or monthly. In addition,
distributing reports gives you the ability to create a time event to generate
reports during non-peak hours.
CAUTION! Use only the designer to schedule and distribute SAS Visual
Analytics reports. If you try to use the Schedule Manager plug-in to SAS
Management Console and set an option that is not available in the designer, the
report job might be incompatible with the designer.

When you distribute a report, you are considered the report job owner.
Distributing reports requires two steps. First, you define a report job, which
contains a list of one or more reports, a list of one or more recipients, and an
optional e-mail message. Both the report job owner and the recipient must be
registered and have e-mail addresses stored in metadata because the report
generates using the recipients data access rights. Second, you create a
distribution, which contains a report job and a time event. The time event
specifies when and how often the distribution occurs. When a distribution runs, a
history record is created. After you create a distribution, you can schedule,
unschedule, run, delete, and show the history for your distribution.
Recipients receive an e-mail message with one or more reports attached as
PDF files. The e-mail message contains a link to the report.
If you distribute a multi-section report that uses multiple data sources, and one
of the data sources is not accessible to a recipient, then a warning message
about the non-accessible data source is appended to the PDF.
TIP If you distribute reports to multiple locales or if you receive distributed
reports, then you can specify your User locale in the global SAS preferences.
For more information about setting global SAS preferences, see Specify
Global Preferences on page 618.

Distributing Reports

471

Add a New Report Job

To create a new report job:
1

Select File Distribute Reports. The Distribute Reports window is

displayed.
Note: Only your report jobs are displayed in the New Report Job window. If
another user has already used the name that you enter for the report job, a
warning message is displayed. You must enter a different name for your
report job.

2 Click New Report Job. The New Report Job window is displayed.

Enter a Name. The report job name cannot contain blanks, white space, or
these characters: ! " $ % & ' ( ) * . + , / : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ]
^ ` | ~ -

Note: Report jobs cannot be renamed.

4

On the Properties tab:

n Click

beside the Reports field. Select one or more reports from the list
that is displayed. When you select a report, it is added to the Reports list.
TIP If the report that you want is not displayed in the pop-up list, click

Select another report, and use the Open window to find the report that
you want to distribute.
n Click

beside the Recipients field. The Add Recipients window is

displayed. Select one or more users. Click OK to return to the New
Report Job window.

Note: A users e-mail address must be stored in metadata to be

displayed on the View All tab in the Add Recipients window.
5

On the E-mail Options tab:

472 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

n Enter a Subject for the e-mail message. If you leave this field blank, the

name of the first report in the list is used as the subject.

n (Optional) Enter a Message for the body of the e-mail message.
n The Show the report job owner in the message option enables you to

have your name appear in the e-mail message. Because the mail service
cannot display the report job owners name in the From field of the e-mail
message, this is the only way to inform recipients who created the report
job.
6

Use the Notifications tab to specify that you want to receive the report job
owner notifications. You can select Send e-mail notification when the
report job starts, Send e-mail notification when the report job ends, or
both.
Note: If there is a warning (for example, when a recipient or a report cannot
be found), then you automatically receive a notification with the details when
the report job ends.

7 Click OK. The report job is displayed in the table in the Distribute Reports

window.

Create a Report Distribution

To create a distribution:
1 Select Distributions in the left pane of the Distribute Reports window.
2

Select a report job, and click Schedule. The Schedule window is displayed.

Click New to create a time event. The Specify Schedule Details window is
displayed.

Specify whether the distribution should happen One time only or More than
once. By default, a new time event is defined to occur only once at a time
that is approximately five minutes later than the time that you opened the
Specify Schedule Details window.
If you select One time only, then select an Hour and a Minute for the
distribution.
If you select More than once, then specify the details about when the
distribution should occur. The specific fields that are available depend on the
recurrence interval (Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly) that you
select.
n If you select Hourly, then the time is calculated from hour zero on a 24-

hour clock. For example, if you leave Interval hour set to 1, then the data
query runs at hour zero (midnight) and runs each hour.
Select an Interval hour, and then select a Starting hour and Minute.
The Duration in minutes field is used to specify the maximum number of
minutes after the specified time has been reached that the dependency is
kept in an open state. This value is used when a report job has multiple
dependencies. It specifies a window of time in which distribution remains
open so that other time events can be met. If the report job does not have
multiple dependencies, then it is recommended to use the default
duration of 1 minute.

Distributing Reports

473

If needed, specify the range of recurrence (the start date and end date for
distribution). The default is to start at the current date and to not have an
end date.
n If you select Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly for More than once, then

you can select start times.

Here is an example of a Daily recurrence interval.

The following options are specific to the recurrence interval that you select:
Recurrence Interval

Options

Daily

Select a number for Interval in days or select Every

weekday for the report job to run.

Weekly

Select a number for Interval in weeks, and then

select the day (or days) that you want the report job
to run.

Monthly

Select a number for Interval in months, and then

select a Day number or a Week and Day that you
want the report job to run.

Yearly

Select a number for Interval in years and the

Month. Then, select a Day number or a Week and
Day that you want the report job to run.

The following options are available for all recurrence intervals:

o

Use the Hours and Minutes check boxes to select the times. The
Minutes area contains groupings of 10-minute intervals. Selecting a
check box for a minute grouping selects all of the minutes in that
grouping. Your selections are displayed in the Selected start times
area.

474 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

TIP To select individual minutes, expand the grouping.
o

The Duration in minutes field is used to specify the maximum

number of minutes after the specified time has been reached that the
dependency is kept in an open state. This value is used when a report
job has multiple dependencies. It specifies a window of time in which
the distribution remains open so that other events can be met. If the
report job does not have multiple dependencies, then it is
recommended to use the default duration of 1 minute.

If needed, specify the range of recurrence (the start date and end date
for distribution). The default is to start at the current date and to not
have an end date.

For more information, see Scheduling in SAS.

5 Click OK to return to the Schedule window. The new schedule details are

displayed under the Schedule heading.

6

Click OK to return to the Distribute Reports window. The new schedule

details are displayed in the Schedule column.

(Optional) Click Run Now to have the distribution run immediately. Click
Close in the information window.

Click Close.

Manage Report Distributions

The Distribute Reports window enables you to schedule, unschedule, run now,
delete, and show history for distributions that you own. Only distributions that
contain at least one report job that you own are displayed. (Some distributions
might contain report jobs that other users own, but they are not displayed.)
TIP You can delete a distribution if it contains only report jobs that you own.

To see the history record for a selected distribution that has been run, click
Show History. The Show History window is displayed. You can see the Start
Time, Finish Time, State, and Status Message. Click Close to return to the
Distribute Reports window.

Localize Reports
The designer enables you to localize (or translate) the labels, tooltips, and other
descriptive text that is part of your report. You can export localizable text from
your report so that you can apply one or more translations. You can translate
your report into a new language without removing the text from the designer.
There is no limit to the number of translations that you can add to the report.
To localize a report:
1

Select File Save As to save a copy of the report. This enables you to have
a backup copy of your report.

Localize Reports
2

475

Select File Localize Report. The Localize Report Text window is

displayed. Identifiers, which provide context information, are displayed
beside the original text. The text that is displayed after the equal sign (=) is
the text that you can localize.

The first line in the Localize Report Text window contains the locale identifier,
which is specified by the ISO 693 two-letter language code. If a language is
created for a specific country or region, the language code can be followed
by an underscore ( _ ) and the ISO 693 two-letter country code. In the
preceding screen capture, the en_US country code is displayed.
3 Localize the original text strings. You have the following options:
n Save the text in the Localize Report Text window to a file, modify the file,

and then open the modified file in the Localize Report Text window.
n Modify the text in the Localize Report Text window.
n Copy and paste the text from the Localize Report Text window into an

editor.
CAUTION! All report text is encoded as Unicode characters using the
UTF-8 format. If you export the localizable text to an editor, make sure that the
editor is capable of saving the data as UTF-8.
4 Click Apply to import the translations.

CAUTION! Your report is immediately updated and saved. You cannot

revert to a previous version of the localized text or undo your changes.

For step-by-step instructions, examples, and a list of advanced features, see

One Report, Many Languages: Using SAS Visual Analytics 7.1 to Localize Your
Reports, which is available on the SAS Visual Analytics page on the SAS
support site.

476 Chapter 51 / Sharing Reports with Other Users

477

Part 7
Creating Custom Graph Objects
Chapter 52
Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
Chapter 53
Modifying Custom Graph Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Chapter 54
Graph Builder Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

507

478

479

52
Creating and Using Custom Graph
Objects
About the Graph Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 479
About the Graph Template Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480
Build a Custom Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481
Working with Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
About Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Create Optional Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 482
Types of Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 483
Adding a Graph Element to an Existing Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
Add an Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484
Add a Graph Element to a New Row or Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485
Incompatible Graph Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487
Creating a Data-Driven Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
About Data-Driven Lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489
Create a Data-Driven Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490
Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in the Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491
Add a Graph Object to the Designers Objects Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492
Specify Your Preferences for the Graph Builder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492

About the Graph Builder

SAS Visual Analytics Graph Builder (the graph builder) enables you to create
custom graph objects, which then become available in the SAS Visual Analytics
Designer (the designer) for use in reports.
You can create custom graph objects for all graph types that are used in the
designer. In your custom graph object, you can change the layout, add new
graph elements, modify roles, change the visual properties, and so on. Your
custom graph object is displayed under the Custom heading on the designer's
Objects tab. For more information, see Save a Custom Graph Object So It
Appears in the Designer on page 491.
You do not associate real data with the graph objects in the graph builder.
Rather, you build graph objects or templates using sample data that is shipped

480 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

with the graph builder. Report designers assign data when they include your
graph objects in their reports.
The graph objects that you build have a consistent appearance that is
compatible with the designers graph objects. The graph builder enables you to
produce a wide array of graph objects with more options for layouts and visual
properties. Using the graph objects that you build, report designers can create
simple or complex graphical views of their data.
You can do the following in the graph builder:
n drag and drop graph elements onto the canvas. Graph elements include the

plots and charts that are available from the Graph Elements pane.
For a definition and a picture of each available graph element, see Graphs,
Charts, and Plots on page 539.
n use a gallery of predefined graph objects as templates from which you can

build and customize custom graph objects. For more information, see About
the Graph Template Gallery on page 480.
n combine and arrange the graph elements as needed. For example, you can

layer multiple graph elements in a cell, create a lattice of cells in rows and
columns, or combine these layouts.
There are two types of lattice graphs:
o

A data-driven lattice is a multi-cell graph in which the cell data is

determined by the values of one or more class variables. The number of
cells is determined by the unique values of the class variables. Each cell
of the lattice has the same graph elements. However, these graph
elements have different values of the class variables.

A user-defined lattice is a multi-cell graph in which you create each cell

independently. Each cell can contain different types of plots.

n determine and configure which data roles become available for assignment.

For more information, see Working with Roles on page 482.

n specify the visual attributes of the graph elements. You can specify

properties for the graph, the graph cells, for individual graph elements, for the
axes, and for legends. For more information, see Working with Properties
on page 501.

About the Graph Template Gallery

The graph builder includes a gallery that contains predefined graph objects.
Using these predefined graph objects as templates, you can build and customize
custom graph objects. The templates provide a useful starting point for creating
interesting or complex graph objects.
TIP All of the graph objects in the gallery are available as is for use in

reports. However, these graph objects are not all displayed in the designer by
default. Use the designers Show or Hide Objects window to display the graph
objects on the designers Objects tab.

Build a Custom Graph Object 481

Here are the main features of the gallery:

n By default, the gallery is displayed when you start the graph builder. You can

disable this feature by selecting the Dont show this window at start-up
check box in the window. You can also change the default setting in your
preferences. For more information, see Specify Your Preferences for the
Graph Builder on page 492.
n If the gallery is not displayed, select File New from Gallery to display it.
n In the gallery, select a category in the left pane to see the available graph

objects. You can then select the appropriate graph object from the right pane.
For more information, see Build a Custom Graph Object on page 481.
n Some of the gallery graphs are created as data-driven lattices. When you

select one of these graphs from the gallery, row and column lattice roles are
automatically created. If you want to create a user-defined lattice from one of
these gallery graphs, you must first delete the row and column lattice roles.

Build a Custom Graph Object

To build a custom graph object:
1

Do either of the following:

n Drag and drop a graph element from the Graph Elements pane onto the

blank canvas.
n Select a graph object from the gallery.
1

If the gallery is not displayed, select File New from Gallery to

display it.

Select a category in the left pane to see the available graph objects.
The All category shows all of the graph objects that are in the gallery.

When you find the graph object that you want, select the object, and
click OK.

Note: Some of the gallery graphs are created as data-driven lattices. For
more information, see About the Graph Template Gallery on page 480.
Sample data is used in the graph object. The report designer assigns real
data when he or she includes the graph object in a report.
2 (Optional) On the Role Definitions tab, you can define roles for the graph

object.
You have the following options:
n Provide more descriptive names for the default roles.
n Click Add Role to add more roles.
n Create a data-driven lattice by adding a lattice role. For more information,

see Creating a Data-Driven Lattice on page 489.

3

(Optional) You can add additional graph elements to the graph object. See
Adding a Graph Element to an Existing Graph Object on page 484.

482 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

4

(Optional) You can change the properties for the graph object, the cell, the
graph element, the legend, or one or more axes. Select the item, and make
your changes on the Properties tab.

Save the graph object. Depending on where you save the graph object, it
might be immediately displayed on the Objects tab in SAS Visual Analytics
Designer (the designer). For more information, see Save a Custom Graph
Object So It Appears in the Designer on page 491.

Working with Roles

About Roles
When you create a custom graph object, you determine which data roles
become available for assignment. However, you do not assign data to those
roles in the graph builder. When the graph object becomes available to report
designers for use in their reports, the report designers assign data items to the
available roles.

Create Optional Roles

When you drag and drop a graph element onto the canvas, the required roles for
that graph element are created on the Role Definitions tab. You can create
additional, optional roles.
To create an optional role:
1

On the Role Definitions tab, click Add Role. The Add Role window is
displayed. The contents of the Add Role window vary depending on the
current graph element.

2 Select the type of role that you want to create. For more information, see

Types of Roles on page 483.

3

(Optional) You can change the default role name to provide a more
meaningful name.

Select the data type, or classification, for the role. For information about the
data types, see Working with Data Items in a Report on page 357.

(Optional) Select Required to require report designers to assign data to the

role. If this option is not selected, then report designers can choose whether
to assign data to the role.

If the Allow multiple data assignments check box is available, then you
can select or clear the check box. When this option is selected, the role can
have more than one measure assigned. For example, in a line chart, if
multiple measures are assigned to the Y axis, then the graph shows a line for
each measure.

Click OK.

Working with Roles

483

Types of Roles
In addition to the standard roles, such as Time, X, or Category, you can add the
following roles by clicking Add Role on the Role Definitions tab. The roles that
are available depend on the type of graph element.
n The Color role specifies a data column that is used to color the data.

The following example shows the heights of a group of students. A students

gender is specified for the Color role.

The Color role can be any data type. In this example, the Color role is
assigned a Category data type.
Note: When you add the Color role to a graph element in a data-driven
lattice, the Measure data type is not always available. The Measure data type
is not available for a bar chart, a waterfall chart, or a scatter plot.
In some graph elements, such as a bar chart, the Group role also colors the
graph based on the values of the group variable. In those graph elements,
the Color role is used to color the data across a color gradient as shown in
the following example. In this case, the Color role must be a Measure data
type.
In this example, the color gradient indicates the age range of the students.

484 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

n The Group role specifies a data column that is used to group the data. The

graph elements for each unique group value are automatically distinguished
by different visual attributes, such as color, line style, and so on. The Group
role can be a Category data type or a Datetime data type.
n The Data Label role specifies a data column that is used for data labels.
n The Data Tip role specifies a data column that is used for data tips. The Data

Tip role must be numeric.

n The Target role specifies a data column that is used to generate a targeted

bar chart. A targeted bar chart compares data that is summarized by the
value of a category in reference to target values.

Adding a Graph Element to an Existing

Graph Object
You have two options for adding a graph element to an existing graph object.
You can overlay the new graph element on top of an existing graph element. Or,
you can add the graph element so that it creates a cell in a new row or column.

Add an Overlay
In an overlay, one graph element is superimposed on another graph element.
You can add an overlaid graph element to a single-cell graph as well as to a
lattice.
In this example, a step plot is overlaid on a bar chart. The example shows the
graph element with data assigned to it.
Figure 52.1 Step Plot Overlaid on a Bar Chart

To create an overlay:
1 Drag and drop a graph element from the Graph Elements pane onto the

canvas.

Adding a Graph Element to an Existing Graph Object

2

485

Drag and drop a second graph element directly onto the existing graph
element.
If the graph elements are compatible, they are automatically assigned a
shared role. This enables both graph elements to have a common X axis
role. You can unshare the shared role if needed.
Some graph elements, such as the pie chart and the treemap, cannot be
layered in an overlay. A message is displayed when you try to drag and drop
these types of graph elements.
For more information, see the following topics:
n Incompatible Graph Elements on page 487
n Sharing Data Roles on page 504

3 (Optional) On the Role Definitions tab, you can change the default role

names to provide more meaningful names.

TIP The graph elements are layered in the order in which they were added to

the canvas. You can change the order by moving a graph element to the front
or the back. For more information, see Change the Order of Graph Elements
in a Cell on page 497.

Add a Graph Element to a New Row or Column

A graph element can be added so that it creates a cell in a new row or column.
This arrangement results in a graph object with more than one cell. It is called a
user-defined lattice. In a user-defined lattice, each cell is created independently
and can contain different types of graph elements. Cells are aligned in rows and
columns that you create by dragging and dropping graph elements.
Note: You cannot create new rows or columns in a data-driven lattice. For a
description of a data-driven lattice, see About Data-Driven Lattices on page
489.

486 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

This example shows a user-defined lattice with four cells. One of the cells is
empty. The example shows the graph element with data assigned to it.
Figure 52.2

User-Defined Lattice

To create a user-defined lattice:

1

Drag and drop a graph element from the Graph Elements pane onto the
canvas. The graph element is created in the center of the graph area of the
canvas.

Drag and drop another graph element onto the canvas as follows:
n Drag and drop the graph element onto the right or left border of the

existing graph to create a new column. The area becomes shaded to

indicate the location of the new column.

n Drag and drop the graph element onto the top or bottom border of the

existing graph to create a new row.

Incompatible Graph Elements

487

To add more cells, continue dragging and dropping graph elements onto the
borders of the existing graph to create new columns or rows. You can drag
and drop a graph element onto the area between two columns to insert a
new column. Or, you can drag and drop a graph element onto the area
between two rows to insert a new row. If the existing graph contains a lattice
with an empty cell, you can drag and drop the graph element into that empty
cell.
You can create up to 10 rows and 10 columns.

(Optional) On the Role Definitions tab, you can change the default role
names to provide more meaningful names.

Incompatible Graph Elements

Some graph elements can be layered in an overlay with one graph element
superimposed on another. Other graph elements, however, are incompatible.
They cannot be layered in the same cell. The following table shows which graph
elements cannot be layered in the same cell.
Note: Pie charts and treemaps are not compatible with any other graph
elements. They are not listed in the table.
Table 52.1

Graph Element Type Incompatibility

Graph Element

Not Compatible

Band plot

Bar chart, horizontal

Schedule chart

488 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

Graph Element

Not Compatible

Bar chart, horizontal

Band plot
Bar chart, vertical
Line chart
Needle plot
Schedule chart
Vector plot
Waterfall chart

Bar chart, vertical

Bar chart, horizontal

Schedule chart
Vector plot

Bubble plot

(Compatible with all graph elements except pie

charts and treemaps)

Line chart

Bar chart, horizontal

Schedule chart
Vector plot

Needle plot

Bar chart, horizontal

Schedule chart

Scatter plot

(Compatible with all graph elements except pie

charts and treemaps)

Schedule chart

Band plot
Bar chart, horizontal
Bar chart, vertical
Line chart
Needle plot
Step plot
Time series plot
Vector plot
Waterfall chart

Series plot

(Compatible with all graph elements except pie

charts and treemaps)

Step plot

Schedule chart

Time series plot

Schedule chart

Vector plot

Bar chart, horizontal

Bar chart, vertical
Line chart
Schedule chart
Waterfall chart

Creating a Data-Driven Lattice

Graph Element

Not Compatible

Waterfall chart*

Bar chart, horizontal

489

Schedule chart
Vector plot
Waterfall chart
* The waterfall chart requires the X axis to have a shared role to avoid unpredictable results.

Creating a Data-Driven Lattice

About Data-Driven Lattices
A data-driven lattice is a multi-cell graph in which the cell data is determined by
the values of one or more class variables. Class variables are specified in the
designer when the report designer creates a report that includes the lattice. The
number of cells is determined by the unique values of the class variables. Each
cell of the lattice has the same graph elements. However, these graph elements
have different values of the class variables.
The following example shows a graph with data assigned to it. The custom
graph object includes a data-driven lattice with a columnar role. The graph
object allows multiple data assignments for the Measure role.
Figure 52.3

Data-Driven Lattice Multi-Cell Graph

In the report, the graph object includes a three-cell lattice of bar charts showing
engine size and miles per gallon for different types of automobiles. The country
of origin is specified as the class variable. As a result, a cell is created for each
country of origin.

490 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

The following example shows the graph object that was created in the graph
builder. The lattice role was specified for columns.

Here are the characteristics of data-driven lattices:

n You can define up to two lattice roles: one role for the rows and another role

for the columns. When the report designer uses the lattice in a report, the
class variables are assigned to the lattice roles. All class variables must
come from a single data source. The number of rows and columns in the
graph is determined by the unique values of the class variables.
n If you specify that the role is required, then a report designer must assign

data to the role.

If this option is not selected, then report designers can choose whether to
assign data to the role. In that case, it is possible for a graph object to have
no lattice.
n Graph elements can be overlaid the same way they are overlaid in single-cell

or user-defined multi-cell graphs. When the report designer adds a lattice to

a report, the overlaid graph element is displayed in every cell.
n Properties that you specify for graph elements are applied to all of the cells of

the graph object.

Create a Data-Driven Lattice

To create a data-driven lattice:
1 Create the graph object that you want as the basis for your lattice. For more

information, see Build a Custom Graph Object on page 481.

2

(Optional) On the Role Definitions tab, you can change the default role
names to provide more meaningful names.

3 Specify the role for a class variable. In the Data-Driven Lattice section of the

Role Definitions tab, click Add Lattice Role.

The Add Role window is displayed.

Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in the Designer

491

The Data-Driven Lattice section is not available in either of the following

cases:
n the graph object already contains more than one cell
n a Color role with a Measure data type has been added to the bar chart,

waterfall chart, or scatter plot

In addition, data-driven lattices do not allow graph elements to be overlaid
unless their aggregations are compatible. Graph elements with compatible
aggregations either perform no aggregation at all or they use the same set of
shared Category roles.
4

For the Role Type, select Row or Column to specify the layout for the cells.

5 Specify a role name or use the default name.

6 Select the data type, or classification, for the role. For information about the

data types, see Working with Data Items in a Report on page 357.
7 (Optional) Select Required to require report designers to assign data to the

role. If this option is not selected, then report designers can choose whether
to assign data to the role. In that case, it is possible for a graph to have no
lattice.
8

If the Allow multiple data assignments check box is available, then you
can select or clear the check box. When this option is selected, the role can
have more than one measure assigned. For example, in a line chart, if
multiple columns are assigned to the Y axis, then the graph shows a line for
each measure.

9 Click OK.

Repeat the previous steps to specify a second role. For example, if you specified
a role for a multi-row layout, you can specify an additional role for columns.

Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears

in the Designer
Custom graph objects are saved when you select either File Save or File
Save As. Graph objects that are saved in the My Folder location are
automatically displayed in the list of Custom objects on the designers Objects
tab.
Graph objects that you save in public folders are not automatically displayed on
the Objects tab. However, you can add the graph objects manually. For more
information, see Add a Graph Object to the Designers Objects Tab on page
492.

492 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

Add a Graph Object to the Designers

Objects Tab
Custom graph objects that are saved in the My Folder location are
automatically added to the designers Objects tab. Custom graph objects that
you save in public folders are not automatically displayed on the Objects tab.
However, you can add the graph objects manually.
TIP All of the graph objects in the gallery are available in the designer.

However, by default, not all of these graph objects are displayed on the
designers Objects tab. Use the designers Show or Hide Objects window to
display any of these graph objects on the designers Objects tab.
To add a graph object to the designers Objects tab:
1

On the Objects tab in the designer, click , and select Show or Hide
Objects. The Show or Hide Objects window is displayed.

2 Click Select Custom. The Choose an Item window is displayed.

3

Navigate to the graph object that you want to add.

(Optional) To search for a graph object, do the following:

a Click

in the toolbar. The Search window is displayed.

b Enter the name of the graph object that you want to find.
c Click Search.

TIP As an alternative, you can search for all graph objects. Specify Graph
template for Type.
5

Select the graph object, and click OK.

The selected graph object is now displayed with a check mark in the Show or
Hide Objects window.

Click OK. The Objects tab is updated.

Specify Your Preferences for the Graph

Builder
To specify preferences that are specific to the graph builder:
1

In the graph builder, select File Preferences to open the Preferences

window.

2 Select SAS Visual Analytics Graph Builder.

Specify Your Preferences for the Graph Builder

3

493

Select or deselect Show template gallery at start-up. The gallery contains

predefined graph objects as templates from which you can build and
customize custom graph objects.

4 Click OK.

To specify global SAS preferences, see Specify Global Preferences on page

618. To specify general preferences for SAS Visual Analytics, see Specify the
SAS Visual Analytics General Preferences on page 619.

494 Chapter 52 / Creating and Using Custom Graph Objects

495

53
Modifying Custom Graph Objects
Change a Custom Graph That Has Been Saved . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495
Select Components and Elements of a Graph Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496
Change the Order of Graph Elements in a Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497
Remove a Graph Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Working with User-Defined Lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
About User-Defined Lattices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498
Move a Graph Element from One Cell to Another Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Resize a Row or a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Add a Row or a Column to a Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499
Remove a Cell or a Graph Element in the Cell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Move or Delete a Row or a Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500
Working with Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
About Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
About Style Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501
Create an Overview Axis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 502
Understanding and Changing Attribute Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503
Sharing Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
About Shared Data Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504
Share or Unshare a Data Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505

Change a Custom Graph That Has Been

Saved
When you save a custom graph object, depending on where you save it, it might
be immediately displayed on the Objects tab in SAS Visual Analytics Designer
(the designer). For more information, see Save a Custom Graph Object So It
Appears in the Designer on page 491.
To change a graph that has been saved, do either of the following:
n Right-click the graph object in the designer, and select Edit Custom Graph.
n Select File Open, and then locate and open the file for your graph object.

Note: Any changes that you make to the graph object do not appear in existing
reports that were created from the original graph object. However, new reports

496 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

that are created after a modified graph object has been saved reflect the
changes to the graph object.

Select Components and Elements of a

Graph Object
To change the properties of a graph element such as a bar chart, you must first
select the graph element. Similarly, to change the properties of a legend or an
axis, you must first select the component.
When you select a component in a graph object, the selected component is
highlighted. The component is also displayed in the drop-down list at the top of
the Properties tab. The available properties vary depending on the selected
component.
The following display shows a highlighted bar chart. The Properties tab displays
the properties for the bar chart, which is identified as Bar Chart 1.

TIP You can click

beside the drop-down list on the Properties tab, and
then select the component that you want to modify.

Here are some suggestions for selecting graph elements:

n To select a line chart or a time series plot, click a data point on a line.
n To select the entire graph object, click above the graph element or cell area.
n To select a cell in a multi-cell graph object, click the background area just

above the graph element. The cell is highlighted, and a tab appears in the
upper left corner of the cell. From the cells tab, you can delete and reorder
graph elements. You can move graph elements to other cells.

Change the Order of Graph Elements in a Cell

497

In a multi-cell graph object, cells are identified by a combination of a letter and a

number, such as A1, B1, A2, and so on. The letters identify columns and the
numbers identify rows. The following table represents the labeling for a multi-cell
graph object that contains three columns and three rows:
A1

B1

C1

A2

B2

C2

A3

B3

C3

Change the Order of Graph Elements in a

Cell
When you overlay a graph element on top of another, the graph elements are
layered with the last one added on top. For example, suppose that you create a
graph object with a line chart, and then you add a bar chart. Because the bar
chart was added last, it appears in front of the line chart. Depending on the data
that is assigned to the graph elements in the designer, the bar chart might
obscure part of the line chart. You can reorder the graph elements so that the
line chart appears in front of the bar chart.
To change the order of the graph elements in a cell:
1 From the drop-down list at the top of the Properties tab, select the cell that

you want to change. Cells are identified by a combination of a letter and a

number, such as A1, B1, A2, and so on. For more information, see Select
Components and Elements of a Graph Object on page 496.
In the Graph Elements area on the Properties tab, the graph elements in
the cell are listed in the order in which they were added to the cell.
2

Drag a graph element to a new position.

498 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

Remove a Graph Element

To remove a graph element from a graph object, right-click the graph element,
and select Remove graph element name.
Note: In a user-defined lattice, you can remove graph elements using the cells
tab. For more information, see Remove a Cell or a Graph Element in the Cell
on page 500.

Working with User-Defined Lattices

About User-Defined Lattices
A user-defined lattice is a multi-cell graph in which each cell is created
independently. And, each cell can contain different types of graph elements.
Cells are aligned in rows and columns that you create by dragging and dropping
graph elements.
The following example shows four cells arranged in two rows and two columns.
Letters identify the columns and numbers identify the rows.
Figure 53.1

User-Defined Lattice

When you select a cell, a tab appears in the upper left corner of the cell. From
the cells tab, you can delete the cell and its contents by clicking

. If you click

Working with User-Defined Lattices

499

, the graph elements in the cell are listed. From this list, you can delete and
reorder the graph elements. You can move graph elements to other cells.
For more information about selecting cells and how they are labeled in the
graph, see Select Components and Elements of a Graph Object on page 496.

Move a Graph Element from One Cell to Another

Cell
To move a graph element to a different cell:
1 Select the cell whose graph element you want to move. For more

information, see Select Components and Elements of a Graph Object on

page 496.
2

In the cells tab, click

to list the graph elements in the cell.

Drag and drop a graph element from one cell into the target cell.
You can also drag and drop the graph element so that it creates a new row or
new column. For more information, see Add a Graph Element to a New Row
or Column on page 485.

Resize a Row or a Column

You can change the width of a column and the height of a row in a user-defined
lattice. For example, you might want a particular column to be wider than the
others.
To resize a row:
1 Select
2

between the row that you want to change and an adjacent row.

Drag the handle upward or downward to change the row height.

To resize a column:
1 Select

between the column that you want to change and an adjacent

column.
2 Drag the handle left or right to change the column width.

Add a Row or a Column to a Lattice

To add a new row or column to a lattice, drag and drop a graph element to the
location where you want the new row or column. For more information, see Add
a Graph Element to a New Row or Column on page 485.
You can also move a graph element from a row or column to another row or
column. For more information, see Move a Graph Element from One Cell to
Another Cell on page 499.

500 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

Remove a Cell or a Graph Element in the Cell

You can remove a graph element from the cell. You can also remove the cell
itself.
1

Select the cell.

2 To remove a graph element from the cell:

a

Click

to list the graph elements in the cell.

Click

next to the graph element.

You can also right-click the graph element, and select Delete.
3 To remove the cell, click

on the cells tab.

The cell and its contents are removed. If the cell is the only cell in a row or
column, then the respective row or column is removed as well.

Move or Delete a Row or a Column

In a graph, a heading contains a letter that identifies the column and a number
that identifies the row.
From the headings, you can move and delete columns and rows. When you
move a column or row, the column or row switches places with the adjacent
column or row. For example, if you move column B to the left, column B switches
places with column A.
To more or delete a column or row:
1

Select the graph.

Position the cursor over a heading. A button and arrows are displayed on the
heading.
The following example shows a column heading that contains a button to
delete the column and arrows to move the column. The button to move the
column to the left is unavailable.

To delete the column or row, click

4 To move the column or row, click an arrow.

n Click

or

to move a column left or right.

n Click

or

to move a row up or down.

Working with Properties

501

Some arrows might not be available. For example, the leftmost column can
be moved only to the right, as is the case in the previous example. Only
is
available for the column.

Working with Properties

About Properties
The Properties tab lists the properties for the selected graph component.
Components that have properties include graph elements, cells, axes, legends,
and the entire graph. Properties enable you to control the overall appearance of
your graph, from the graphs background color to the tick value interval on the
axis. Report designers can override some properties in their report.
To change the properties for a graph object, cell, graph element, legend, or one
or more axes, select the item, and make your changes on the Properties tab.

See Also
Select Components and Elements of a Graph Object on page 496

About Style Properties

The color schemes and visual attributes for a graph come from the active report
theme, which is a named collection of style elements. Each style element
contains attributes such as fill color, marker symbol, line style, font face, and
many others. Each part of a graph element, such as a marker, a bar, a line, or a
label, derives its visual attributes from a specific style element from the active
report theme. Similarly, the attributes for axes and legends come from a style
element.
The style elements are developed to produce effective graphics without
changing the default settings. However, you can change the default settings by
changing style properties on the Properties tab. When you specify a style
property, such as a color or font style, you are changing the style element that is
applied to the graph component.
The following display shows the available style elements for bar chart labels.
The list of style elements is displayed when you click
font color drop-down list on the Properties tab.

beside the Data label

Each color is shown in the list beside its style element. Automatic indicates the
default value for the graph element. Automatic enables the graph element to
cycle through a list of colors provided for group colors and multi-response colors.

502 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

Visual attributes that are referenced by a style element provide consistency
within the report theme. If you later change the report theme, the graph element
is compatible with the new theme. In addition, some of the properties that you
specify can be overridden by report designers when they use your graph objects
in their reports.

Create an Overview Axis

The overview axes that you create in the graph builder are similar to the
overview axes that you create in the designer. In addition, you can do the
following:
n select specific graph elements from the main graph to show in the overview

axis
n select completely different graph elements from the main graph to show in

the overview axis

To create an overview axis:
1

Drag and drop a graph element from the Graph Elements pane onto the
canvas.
You can drag and drop another graph element to create an overlay. However,
do not create a new cell for this additional graph element. You cannot create
an overview axis when the graph object contains more than one cell.

2 Select the graph object.

3 On the Properties tab, select the Show overview axis check box.

The graph object displays the overview axis beneath the existing graph
elements. By default, the existing graph elements are displayed in the
overview axis, as shown in the following example:

To display different graph elements in the overview axis, do the following:

a

On the Properties tab, select Specify graph elements from Contents.

Drag and drop one or more graph elements from the Graph Elements
pane onto the overview axis area of the canvas.

Working with Properties

503

The graph element names that you added are displayed in the Graph
elements section on the Properties tab.
c If you added more than one graph element to the overview axis area, you

can change the order of the graph elements by dragging and dropping a
graph element to a different position.

Understanding and Changing Attribute Rotation

When you apply a group role to your graph element, by default, the graph
builder rotates through predefined style elements to determine how to present
each unique group value. This type of rotation also occurs when multiple
response roles are assigned to the graph element or when graph elements are
overlaid.
When the graph element is rendered, the attributes for colors, line patterns, and
marker symbols are rotated for the values in your group. Whether you change
the attributes or keep the default attribute values, the manner in which the
attributes are combined is determined by the attribute rotation priority.
To change the attribute rotation priority:
1 Select the graph object. For more information, see Select Components and

Elements of a Graph Object on page 496.

2

On the Properties tab, select an option from Attribute rotation priority.

You have two options for the attribute rotation priority:

Rotate color only
until all colors
used

attributes such as marker symbols and line patterns are

held constant while each color in the list is applied
exhaustively to the graph element.

Rotate all
attributes

each attribute rotates through its own list to generate a

unique combination for each group value. Attributes
include colors, marker symbols, line patterns, and so
on.

For example, the following figure shows an example rotation for an age
grouping. The dotted-line pattern is held constant while red, green, and blue
colors are applied to the dotted lines for the consecutive age group values. If
there are more group values, red, green, and blue colors are applied to the solid
lines.

If you change the rotation pattern, and specify Rotate all attributes for the
attribute rotation priority, the contrasting colors and line patterns are rotated at
the same time.
A red dotted-line pattern is applied to the first group crossing. Then, a green
solid-line pattern is applied to the second crossing, a blue dotted-line pattern is
applied to the third crossing, and so on.

504 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

Sharing Data Roles

About Shared Data Roles
If your graph object contains multiple graph elements, you can specify that some
data roles be shared across two or more graph elements. You share data roles
when you want the graph elements to use the same data role for either of their
axes. When report designers who use the graph object in their reports assign
roles, a single data column is assigned to all roles that use the shared role.
Note: If the graph element types are compatible, overlaid graph elements are
automatically assigned a shared role. (See Incompatible Graph Elements on
page 487.) You can unshare a role if needed.
Shared roles are very useful in user-defined lattices. They enable you to
manage data roles across columns and rows. For example, you might share
data roles if you want to analyze relationships in your data.
In this example, the X axis of the scatter plot shares a role with the Measure axis
of the bar chart.

When the graph object is used in the designer, the data might be applied as
shown in the following example.

Sharing Data Roles

505

The bar chart shows engine sizes for different regions of the world. (The engine
size has been changed from a Sum to an Average measure.) The scatter plot
shows the miles-per-gallon trend for the different engine sizes.

Share or Unshare a Data Role

To share a data role, on the Role Definitions tab, click
next to the role that
you want to share. Select Create Shared Role With Another Role and then
select the name of a role.
You can also click Add Shared Role, and then create and share the data role.
To unshare a data role, click

next to the shared role, and select Unshare.

506 Chapter 53 / Modifying Custom Graph Objects

507

54
Graph Builder Examples
Example: Data-Driven Lattice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
About the Data-Driven Lattice Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507
Build the Graph Object for the Data-Driven Lattice Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508
Example: User-Defined Lattice (Butterfly Chart) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
About the User-Defined Lattice Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Build the Graph Object for the User-Defined Lattice Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509
Example: Filled Overlay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
About the Filled Overlay Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512
Build the Graph Object for the Filled Overlay Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Example: Vector Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
About the Vector Plot Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513
Build the Graph Object for the Vector Plot Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514

Example: Data-Driven Lattice

About the Data-Driven Lattice Example
This example shows the sales for a line of retail products over a period of time.
The custom graph object specifies a row-based lattice in which the rows
correspond to the corporate divisions that are responsible for the sales. The
corporation has two divisions, resulting in a graph with two rows.

508 Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples

Figure 54.1

Example Data-Driven Lattice

Build the Graph Object for the Data-Driven Lattice

Example
1

In the graph builder, drag and drop a line chart from the Graph Elements
pane onto the canvas.

2 On the Role Definitions tab, click

next to Category, and select Edit

Role. The Edit Role window is displayed.

3 Select Datetime for Classification.

Click OK.
Specifying Datetime forces the report designer to assign date and time data
to the Category role.
4

Specify the role to which a class variable is assigned.

a In the Data-Driven Lattice section on the Role Definitions tab, click Add

Lattice Role. The Add Role window is displayed.

b

Select Row for Role Type.

c Select Category for Classification.

Example: User-Defined Lattice (Butterfly Chart)

d

Select Required. With this option selected, the report designer must
assign data to this role to render the report with data assigned.

Click OK.

509

5 Save the graph object. See Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in

the Designer on page 491.

Example: User-Defined Lattice (Butterfly

Chart)
About the User-Defined Lattice Example
This example uses a butterfly chart to show the actual sales compared to the
predicted sales for a line of retail products. The butterfly chart is useful for
comparing two unique values. In this chart, the two values are arranged on each
side of the Y axis.
Figure 54.2 Example User-Defined Lattice

Build the Graph Object for the User-Defined

Lattice Example
TIP As a shortcut, you can select a butterfly chart from the graph gallery.
1

In the graph builder, drag and drop a bar chart from the Graph Elements
pane onto the canvas.

510 Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples

2

Drag and drop a second bar chart from the Graph Elements pane onto the
left edge of the canvas. This action creates a new column for the second bar
chart.

Share the category roles. On the Role Definitions tab, click

next to the
Category for either bar chart. Select Create Shared Role With Another
Role and then select the other category role.
The Add Shared Role window is displayed.
Click OK.

Change both bar charts to a horizontal layout.

a Select a bar chart.
b On the Properties tab, click

next to Direction, and select Horizontal.

c Repeat the previous two steps for the other bar chart.
5 Specify a uniform column and row axis.
a Select the full graph. (Custom Graph should be displayed on the

Properties tab).
b

On the Properties tab, click

next to Y axis range (left axis only), and
select Same within each row.

c On the Properties tab, click

next to X axis range, and select Same

for all cells.

The bar charts should resemble the following:

Reverse the order of the X (Measure) axis for the left bar chart.
a Click the horizontal axis for the left bar chart.
b

On the Properties tab, select Reverse order.

Example: User-Defined Lattice (Butterfly Chart)

511

The bar charts resemble the following:

Change the color of the right bar chart to distinguish it from the left bar chart.
a Select the right bar chart.
b On the Properties tab, click

next to Fill color, and select Data color

3. The right bar chart changes to a different color. In the default theme,
the color is deep red.

Display the grid lines for the X axes.

a

Click the horizontal axis for the left bar chart.

On the Properties tab, select Show grid lines.

Repeat the previous two steps for the right bar chart.

Save the graph object. See Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in
the Designer on page 491.

512 Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples

The final graph object, complete with the legend, resembles the following:

Example: Filled Overlay

About the Filled Overlay Example
This example uses two time series plots to show actual sales compared to
predicted sales for a line of retail products. The graph is enhanced by applying a
filled area to one of the overlaid plots.
Figure 54.3

Example Filled Overlay

Example: Vector Plot 513

Build the Graph Object for the Filled Overlay

Example
1

In the graph builder, drag and drop a time series plot from the Graph
Elements pane onto the canvas.

Drag and drop a second time series plot from the Graph Elements pane
onto the first time series plot. This action creates an overlaid plot.
Note: When you overlay the plots, the Time role is automatically shared
between the plots.

Specify a fill area for the first time series plot.

a

Select the first time series plot. (On the Properties tab, the plot might be
identified as Time Series Plot 1.)

On the Properties tab, click

Overlay Filled.

c Click

next to Grouping style, and select

next to Fill color, and select Prediction limits color.

4 Save the graph object. See Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in

the Designer on page 491.

Example: Vector Plot

About the Vector Plot Example
This example uses a vector plot to show the changes in SAT exam scores for
different North Carolina school systems from 2012 to 2013. The graph is
enhanced by adding bubble plot overlays.
Here are the main features of this graph:
n Vector lines show the changes in the average math and writing scores

between 2012 and 2013.

n Bubbles represent the average score for each year. The size of the bubble

represents the number of students who took the test.

n To modify the appearance, the arrow line thickness was reduced and the

transparency for the bubbles was increased. In addition, grid lines and a
sheen data skin were applied to the graph. (These changes were made in
the designer.)
n To reduce the number of school systems for comparison, a filter was applied

in the designer on the School System Name category.

514 Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples

Figure 54.4

Example Vector Plot with Bubble Plots

Build the Graph Object for the Vector Plot

Example
TIP As a shortcut, you can select a bubble change plot from the graph
gallery.
1

In the graph builder, drag and drop a vector plot from the Graph Elements
pane onto the canvas.

2 Drag and drop a bubble plot from the Graph Elements pane onto the vector

plot.
3

Drag and drop a second bubble plot from the Graph Elements pane onto the
vector plot.

On the Role Definitions tab, share the roles. This action joins the vector
origin point to the first bubble, and the vector termination point to the second
bubble.
a Click

next to the Bubble Plot 1 X role. Select Create Shared Role

With Another Role Vector Plot 1 X Origin.

In the Add Shared Role window, specify Xstart as the name of the shared
role. Click OK.
b Click

next to the Bubble Plot 1 Y role. Select Create Shared Role

With Another Role Vector Plot 1 Y Origin.

In the Add Shared Role window, specify Ystart as the name of the shared
role. Click OK.
c

Click
next to the Bubble Plot 2 X role. Select Create Shared Role
With Another Role Vector Plot 1 X.

Example: Vector Plot 515

In the Add Shared Role window, specify Xend as the name of the shared
role. Click OK.
d

Click
next to the Bubble Plot 2 Y role. Select Create Shared Role
With Another Role Vector Plot 1 Y.
In the Add Shared Role window, specify Yend as the name of the shared
role. Click OK.

5 On the Role Definitions tab, add a group role to all three plots.
a In the Bubble Plot 1 section, click Add Role. The Add Role window is

displayed. The Group type is selected by default.

Click OK.
b

Repeat the previous step for the Bubble Plot 2 section.

In the Vector Plot 1 section, click Add Role. The Add Role window is
displayed.
Select Group for the type of role. Click OK.

6 Share the Group role among all three plots.

a In the Bubble Plot 1 section, click

next to the Group role. Select

Create Shared Role With Another Role Bubble Plot 2 Group.

In the Add Shared Role window, specify Color as the name of the shared
role. Click OK.
b In the Vector Plot 1 section, click

next to the Group role. Select Use

Shared Role Color.

7 Specify that the plots start with the same color.
a

On the Properties tab, select A1 (the cell).

Click
next to Overlaid plot colors, and select All graphs start with
the same color.

8 Remove redundancy from the legend.

a

On the Properties tab, select the Discrete Legend.

b In the Display in legend box, deselect the Vector Plot 1 and the Bubble

Plot 2 check boxes.

9

Specify the bubble size. This is an optional change made only to improve the
appearance of the bubble sizes with respect to the vector lines.
a

On the Properties tab, select Bubble Plot 1.

Next to Radius of smallest bubble (pixels), enter the number 5.

Next to Radius of largest bubble (pixels), enter the number 12.

Repeat the previous steps for Bubble Plot 2.

10 Save the graph object. See Save a Custom Graph Object So It Appears in

the Designer on page 491.

516 Chapter 54 / Graph Builder Examples

517

Part 8
Viewing Reports
Chapter 55
Viewing Reports on a Mobile Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Chapter 56
Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Chapter 57
Viewing Reports in Modern SAS Visual Analytics
Viewer (Preproduction) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

518

519

55
Viewing Reports on a Mobile Device
Open the App for the First Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Add a Server Connection for iPad and iPhone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519
Add a Server Connection for Android . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520

Open the App for the First Time

You can use the SAS Mobile BI app to view SAS Visual Analytics reports on
your iPad, iPhone, and Android mobile devices. The SAS Mobile BI app for iPad
and iPhone is available in the iTunes App Store. The SAS Mobile BI app for
Android is available from Google Play.
When you open the SAS Mobile BI app for the first time, sample reports are
available in the portfolio. The app provides online Help for using SAS Mobile BI.
The online Help provides access to tutorial videos about how to use the app.
Most servers require that you provide security credentials before you can
connect and access reports. However, an organization can set up a server that
accepts guest connections. A guest connection does not require security
credentials. A guest connection enables you to access reports that an
organization has made available to the public.

Add a Server Connection for iPad and

iPhone
To access your organizations library server, you must add a connection to that
server. If your organization has more than one server, you can add connections
to additional servers the same way.
Note: Contact your SAS Visual Analytics system administrator for your user ID,
password, and server information.
To connect to a server:
1

Tap

in the bar at the bottom of the portfolio or library on your iPad or

iPhone.
2 Tap Add Connection.

520 Chapter 55 / Viewing Reports on a Mobile Device

3

In the Server field, enter the address of the new server.

4 In the Port field, enter the port number for the new server.
5 Tap the Secure connection switch if the server requires a secure connection

(SSL).
6

Tap Next to verify the connection.

Note: If the connection fails, a message is displayed to help you correct the
problem.

If the server provides guest access, the Log on as guest switch appears.
Tap the Log on as guest switch to access the server without providing
credentials.

8 If a server requires security credentials to access reports:

a

In the User ID field, enter your user ID.

In the Password field, enter your password.

9 (Optional) In the Description field, customize the description for the new

connection.
Note: If you delete the default description, you must enter a new description.
The field cannot be blank.
10 Tap Next to verify your access to the server.

Note: If the verification fails, a message is displayed to help you correct the
problem.
The connection is saved, and the Add Connection window closes.
Note: Information about available reports is automatically downloaded and
appears in the portfolio or library.

Add a Server Connection for Android

To access your organizations library server, you must add a connection to that
server. If your organization has more than one server, you can add connections
to additional servers the same way.
Note: Contact your SAS Visual Analytics system administrator for your user ID,
password, and server information.
To connect to a server:
1

Tap

to open the navigation drawer.

Tap Settings.

3 Tap Add Connection.

4

In the Server field, enter the address of the new server.

5 In the Port field, enter the port number for the new server.

Add a Server Connection for Android

6

521

Tap Secure connection if the server requires a secure connection (SSL).

7 Tap Next to verify the connection.

Note: If the connection fails, a message is displayed to help you correct the
problem.
8 If the server provides guest access, Log on as guest appears. Tap Log on

as guest to access the server without providing credentials.

9

If the server requires security credentials to access reports:

a In the User ID field, enter your user ID.
b In the Password field, enter your password.

10 (Optional) In the Description field, customize the description for the

connection.
Note: If you delete the default description, you must enter a new description.
The field cannot be blank.
11 Tap Next to verify your access to the server.

Note: If the verification fails, a message is displayed to help you correct the
problem.
12 Tap Done.

The connection is saved, and the Add Connection window closes.

Note: If the connection fails, tap Edit Details to make corrections.
Note: Information about available reports is automatically downloaded and
appears in the library.

522 Chapter 55 / Viewing Reports on a Mobile Device

523

56
Viewing Reports in Classic SAS
Visual Analytics Viewer
Overview of Viewing Reports in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
Open a Report in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 523
View Report Object Information in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Add Comments to a Report in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 525
Interacting with Reports in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
Filter, Brush, and Drill in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526
View Links in Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Subscribe and Unsubscribe to Alerts in the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527
Specify Your Preferences for the Classic Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528
About Guest Access in the Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528

Overview of Viewing Reports in SAS Visual

Analytics Viewer
As an alternative to viewing reports in a native mobile app, you can use the web
viewer. For users with a Report Viewing role, the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer
(the viewer) enables them to view report content.

Open a Report in the Classic Viewer

To open a report in the classic viewer:
n On the modern home page, click

next to a report, and then click View or

Open.
n On the classic home page, use the object inspector to view details about the

report, and then click View. For more information about the object inspector,
see Discover Details Using the Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page
on page 615.
n In the classic viewer, select File Open.

524 Chapter 56 / Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics Viewer

The layout of the tiles in the treemap is dependent on the size of the display
area. This means that the same treemap might appear slightly different in the
viewer than it does in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) or in a native
mobile app.
Here is an example of a report in the classic viewer:
Figure 56.1

A Report in the Classic Viewer

If you have the Create Report capability, then you can select File Edit Report
in the current report. The designer is displayed, and then you can edit the report.
You can e-mail and print reports to share with other users, and export data and
images of report objects. For more information about sending reports to other
users, prerequisites and conditions for printing, and exporting, see Chapter 51,
Sharing Reports with Other Users, on page 461.
Note: Info windows are not included in the PDF that is generated when you
print. An info window can be printed separately by clicking Print report to PDF
in the info window.

Add Comments to a Report in the Classic Viewer

525

View Report Object Information in the

Classic Viewer
You can select a report object to display icons that provide more information
about that report object. Depending on which type of report object you select,
you might see the following icons:
Icon

Description
Click to display the title and description of the report object.
Click to maximize the report object. This icon is displayed only if there is
more than one report object being displayed.
Click to restore the report object to its original size. This icon is displayed
only if you previously maximized the report object.
Click to display incoming filter information for a report object. This icon is
displayed only if the data for the report object has been filtered as a result of
selecting data in another report object.
Click to display the prompt dialog box for a stored process. This icon is
displayed only for prompted stored processes. You can use the prompt
dialog box to change prompt values for a stored process and to re-execute
the stored process.

Note: Report authors can disable object selection, so you might not be able to
select some report objects.

Add Comments to a Report in the Classic

Viewer
If you have the Add Comments capability, then you can add or view comments.
Comments can be added to a report or to an object within a report. The
comments that you add are automatically saved with the report.
To add a comment to a report or to an object within a report:
1

Expand the right pane. Click the Comments tab. (If you are adding a
comment to a report object, then select the report object.)

Enter a topic name and a comment.

526 Chapter 56 / Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics Viewer

Here is an example:
Figure 56.2

Adding Comments in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer

(Optional) Click

to attach a file to your comment.

Click Post to add your comment. Your comment is added to the Comments
tab in the right pane.

To respond to an existing comment:

1 Expand the right pane. Click the Comments tab. Select an existing

comment, and then enter a reply.

2

(Optional) Click

to attach a file to your reply.

3 Click Post. Your reply is added to the Comments tab in the right pane.

Note: To edit another user's comments or to delete comments, you must have
the Comments:Administrator predefined role.
To search for a comment:
1

Expand the right pane. Click the Comments tab. Enter the word or phrase
that you want to search for in the Search within comments field on the
Comments tab.

(Optional) To clear the Search within comments field, click

Interacting with Reports in the Classic

Viewer
Filter, Brush, and Drill in Reports
Depending on the interactions that were defined by the report designer, you
might be able to interact with your report in the following ways:
filter
restricts the data that is returned from a query to a data source. Click on data
in the source report object to filter data in the target report object (or objects).

Subscribe and Unsubscribe to Alerts in the Classic Viewer

527

Clicking on different data applies the filter based on the new data. To clear
the selection, right-click, and select Clear Selection.
brush
enables you to show the same data selected simultaneously in two or more
tables, graphs, or both. Click on data in the source report object to brush
data in the target report object (or objects). To clear the selection, right-click,
and select Clear Selection.
drill down
enables you to move from summary information to more detailed data. If the
data contains hierarchies, you can double-click on the data to drill down the
hierarchy into detailed information. When you drill down the hierarchy,
breadcrumbs at the top of the report object enable you to drill back up the
hierarchy.

View Links in Reports

Report objects can link to other report sections or whole reports. And, they can
link to external links. To view a link from a report object, double-click on the
report object. If there are multiple links or interactions from a report object, then
a list appears that enables you to select a link or interaction. When you are
viewing a link, the following buttons are displayed in the top left corner:

If a report object that you are linking to shares a data source with the current
report object, then the target report object is filtered based on the data value that
you double-clicked. If you do not want the target report object to be filtered, you
can click
, and deselect Apply report link filters. If the data source is not
shared between the two report objects, then no additional filtering takes place in
the target report object.
To go back to the original report object, click

A report object, text, or image can link to an info window within the same report.
The info window provides additional information. For example, a list table might
provide additional information for a bar chart. Or, there might be additional text
about what is displayed in a report object. When you double-click the data (for
example, a bar, a bubble, a pie slice, a table row, and so on) in a report object
that has an info window link, the info window is displayed as a new window.

Subscribe and Unsubscribe to Alerts in the

Classic Viewer
You can subscribe to existing alerts for report objects and receive notifications
when the alert criteria is met.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to alerts for a report object:
1

Expand the right pane. Click the Alerts tab. This tab contains a list of all alert
conditions for all report objects within the report.

Select or deselect the Subscribe check box next to an alert to subscribe or

unsubscribe to that alert.

528 Chapter 56 / Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics Viewer

TIP You can specify a preference for receiving notifications via e-mail or text
message. For more information, see Specify General Preferences for the
Designer on page 303.

Specify Your Preferences for the Classic

Viewer
To specify preferences that are specific to the classic viewer:
1 Select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.
2 Select SAS Visual Analytics Viewer.
3 If the SAS High Contrast theme is selected as a global preference, then you

can select the Override report theme when High Contrast Theme is
selected check box to ensure that reports are displayed using the SAS High
Contrast theme. This overrides any theme settings that are made in the
designer.
4 Select Modern (preproduction), Classic, or Administrator default to

specify the default appearance of the viewer.

5 Click OK to apply your changes.

To specify your preferences for receiving notifications, see Specify General

Preferences for the Designer on page 303. To specify general preferences for
SAS Visual Analytics, see Specify the SAS Visual Analytics General
Preferences on page 619. To specify global SAS preferences, see Specify
Global Preferences on page 618.

About Guest Access in the Viewer

SAS Visual Analytics system administrators can configure support for guest
access. Users with guest access can access only the home page and the
viewer. Guest access uses a shared account, so it does not provide
individualized features, such as history, favorites, preferences, or alerts. If guest
access is configured, it is available at a special URL such as
http://host/SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/guest.jsp
Accessing SAS Visual Analytics as a guest is useful if you do not have a
metadata identity. This enables you to view reports that are widely available
under a generic, shared account. You can also view reports that are available to
the public on the Internet.
Note: Some features such as comments and alerts are not available with guest
access.

529

57
Viewing Reports in Modern SAS
Visual Analytics Viewer
(Preproduction)
Open a Report in the Modern Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529

Open a Report in the Modern Viewer

The modern viewer is preproduction in the 7.2 release of SAS Visual Analytics.
To switch to the modern viewer, you must modify your settings. Select File
Preferences to open the Preferences window, select SAS Visual Analytics
Viewer in the left pane, and then select Modern.
To open a report in the modern viewer:
n On the modern home page, click

next to a report, and then click View or

Open.
n On the classic home page, use the object inspector to view details about the

report, and then click View. For more information about the object inspector,
see Discover Details Using the Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page
on page 615.
n In the modern viewer, click Browse or click on a report in the Recent list.

The layout of the tiles in the treemap is dependent on the size of the display
area. This means that the same treemap might appear slightly different in the
viewer than it does in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer) or in a native
mobile app.

530 Chapter 57 / Viewing Reports in Modern SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (Preproduction)
Here is an example of a report in the modern viewer:
Figure 57.1 A Report in the Modern Viewer

Note: You cannot edit stored process prompts in the modern viewer. In the
modern viewer, stored processes are executed using default parameter values.
Note: The web viewer is not supported on mobile devices. Mobile users are
redirected to SAS Mobile BI.
For more information about using the modern viewer, refer to the online Help
that is available for the viewer. For more information about using the classic
viewer, see Chapter 56, Viewing Reports in Classic SAS Visual Analytics
Viewer, on page 523.

531

Part 9
Appendixes
Appendix 1
Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533
Appendix 2
Gallery of Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537
Appendix 3
Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561
Appendix 4
Aggregations for Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 565
Appendix 5
Operators for Data Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Appendix 6
Conditions for Filters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589
Appendix 7
Data Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
Appendix 8
Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Appendix 9
Using URL Parameters to View a Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 601

532
Appendix 10
Twitter Data Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603
Appendix 11
About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607

533

Appendix 1
Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual
Analytics
The following table contains many of the keyboard shortcuts for SAS Visual
Analytics. In SAS Visual Analytics, some shortcuts are displayed within
parentheses in tooltips and menu item labels. Some are also displayed in the
Keyboard Shortcuts window (press F9 to open that window).
Note: When you use a keyboard shortcut to activate a button, move the focus to
the field or section that the button is associated with before you use the
keyboard shortcut. For example, if a table has an associated Help button, you
must first move the focus to the table before you press Ctrl+?.
Table A1.1

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action

Keyboard Shortcut

Open the Keyboard Shortcuts window.

F9
Note: The Keyboard Shortcuts window
might not contain all of the shortcuts for
your application.

Open a Help pop-up window from the

Help button.

Ctrl+?

Zoom in.

Ctrl+plus sign

Zoom out.

Ctrl+minus sign

Reset the zoom state.

Ctrl+0

Maximize view (collapses the category

pane and the tile pane and hides the
status bar and the application bar, which
includes the menu bar).

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M

or
Exit maximized view (expands the
category pane and the tile pane and
shows the status bar and the application
bar).

Note: This shortcut does not work on

some keyboards (for example, the Italian
keyboard).

534 Appendix 1 / Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics

Action

Keyboard Shortcut

Open a pop-up menu.

Shift+F9 (if a menu is available in that

context)
Note: If you use Shift+F9 to display the
pop-up menu, then it is always displayed
in the top left corner of the user interface
control that you are using.

Open the Landmarks window.

Ctrl+F6

Temporarily invert or revert application

colors (for the current session only).

Ctrl+~

Note: You can set the Invert application

colors preference in the Preferences
window if you want the color change to
persist across sessions.
Rename the selected tab.

Make sure that the focus is on the tab.

Press F2, and specify the new name. To
commit your changes, press Enter. To
cancel your changes, press Esc.

Close the selected tab.

Make sure that the focus is on the tab,

and then press Delete.
Note: Some tabs cannot be closed.

Switch in and out of Edit mode for a table

cell.

To enter Edit mode, select a cell, and

press F2.
To exit Edit mode, press Esc.

Navigate between table headings and

table content.

For a two-dimensional table, make sure

that the focus is on the table and that you
are not in Edit mode. Press Ctrl+F8 to
switch the focus between column
headings and table cells. Use the arrow
keys to navigate from heading to heading.
For a multidimensional table, make sure
that the focus is on a table cell and that
you are not in Edit mode. Press Ctrl+F8 to
switch the focus between column
headings, row headings, and table cells.
Use the arrow keys to navigate from
heading to heading.

Navigate the content rows of a table.

When table cells are in Edit mode:

n Press Tab and Shift+Tab to move from

cell to cell horizontally across columns.

n Press Enter and Shift+Enter to move

from cell to cell vertically across rows.

When table cells are not in Edit mode,

use the arrow keys to move from cell to
cell.

Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics

Action

Keyboard Shortcut

Sort columns in a table.

To sort a single column, navigate to its

column heading (press Ctrl+F8). Press
the spacebar to sort the column.

535

To sort additional columns, navigate to the

column heading of each additional column
that you want to sort. Press Ctrl
+spacebar.
Change the width of the current column.

Navigate to the column heading (press

Ctrl+F8). Then, press Ctrl+left arrow or
Ctrl+right arrow to change the width of the
column.

Move the current column.

Navigate to the column heading (press

Ctrl+F8). Then, press Shift+left arrow to
move one column to the left, and press
Shift+right arrow to move one column to
the right.

Automatically re-size the current column

to fit its contents.

Navigate to the column heading (press

Ctrl+F8). Then, press Enter.

Open a drop-down list or drop-down

menu.

Make sure that the focus is on the control,

and press Ctrl+down arrow.

Exit a single application in the SAS Visual

Analytics home page.

Tab to the applications button at the top

of the browser window, and press Delete.

536 Appendix 1 / Keyboard Shortcuts for SAS Visual Analytics

537

Appendix 2
Gallery of Report Objects
Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
List Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Crosstabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538
Graphs, Charts, and Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539
Targeted Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Waterfall Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540
Pie Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541
Scatter Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Time Series Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Comparative Time Series Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542
Series Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543
Numeric Series Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Bubble Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544
Bubble Change Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
Treemaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545
Dual Axis Bar Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Dual Axis Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546
Dual Axis Bar-Line Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Dual Axis Time Series Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547
Band Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Needle Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548
Step Plot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549
Schedule Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Vector Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550
Dot Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 551
Butterfly Charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Stock High-Low Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552
Stock Volume and Volatility Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553
Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554
Other Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Geo Bubble Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Geo Coordinate Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555
Geo Region Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556
Gauges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 557
Word Clouds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559

538 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Tables
List Tables
A list table is a two-dimensional representation of data in which the data values
are arranged in unlabeled rows and labeled columns. List tables can use any
data items from a data source. A list table cannot use a hierarchy or a
percentage of subtotals.
You can add sparklines to a column (if the data source contains a date data
item) when aggregated data is displayed in the list table.
Figure A2.1

A List Table

Crosstabs
A crosstab (also known as a crosstabulation table) shows an aggregate metric
for the intersections of two or more categories. Crosstabs often have two or
more categories assigned to both the rows and columns, forming a matrix.
Crosstabs can be easier to read than list tables because they often use less
space, and they always collapse repeating values for outer category data items
into one unique value, which is known as grouping. A crosstab can use a
hierarchy.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 539

Figure A2.2

A Crosstab

Graphs, Charts, and Plots

Bar Charts
A bar chart consists of vertical or horizontal bars that represent quantitative data.
Use bar charts to compare data that is aggregated by the distinct values of a
category.
You can apply grouping and create data-driven lattices. You can filter or rank
your data based on a specified number of top or bottom values.
Figure A2.3

A Bar Chart

540 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Targeted Bar Charts

A targeted bar chart is a variation of the bar chart that has target values. A target
value is represented as a triangle with a line at the target value that is
determined by the target role.
Figure A2.4

A Targeted Bar Chart

Waterfall Charts
A waterfall chart (also known as a progressive bar chart) shows how the initial
value of a measure increases or decreases during a series of operations or
transactions. The first bar begins at the initial value, and each subsequent bar
begins where the previous bar ends. The length and direction of a bar indicate
the magnitude and type (positive or negative, for example) of the operation or
transaction. The resulting chart is a stepped bar showing how incremental
changes lead to the final value of the measure.
Figure A2.5

A Waterfall Chart

Line Charts
A line chart shows the relationship of one or more measures over some interval,
such as time or a series of ranges. You can measure a single measure
(univariate analysis), or you can show the relationships among multiple

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 541

measures (multivariate analysis), such as the leading or lagging relationship

between advertising and sales over time. The category on the X axis of a line
chart is discrete; the category on the X axis of a time series plot is continuous.
You can apply grouping and create lattices.
Figure A2.6

A Line Chart

Pie Charts
A pie chart displays a part-to-whole relationship in a circle divided into multiple
slices for each value of a category data item based on a single measure data
item. Each slice represents the relative contribution of each part to the whole. In
a pie chart, the legend is sorted by contribution.
In SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the designer), a pie chart does not show a
slice with a missing or zero response.
Effective pie charts limit the number of slices to 5 or 6. In the designer, you can
use a rank to reduce the number of slices in a pie chart. For more information,
see Add a New Rank on page 449.
Note: The Other slice does not display data tip values. In addition, the Other
slice always sums the included values, regardless of the aggregation method
selected for the measure. For example, if the aggregation method selected is
Count, then the Other slice displays the sum of the individual counts.
Figure A2.7

A Pie Chart

542 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Scatter Plots
A scatter plot is a two-dimensional plot that shows the relationship of two
measure data items. Each marker (represented by a symbol such as a dot, a
square, or a plus sign) represents an observation. The markers position
indicates the value for each observation. Use a scatter plot to examine the
relationship between numeric data items. You can apply grouping by assigning a
category to the Color role.
Scatter plots do not use aggregated data.
Figure A2.8

A Scatter Plot

Time Series Plots

A time series plot shows an ordered sequence of values that are observed at
equally spaced time intervals. A time series plot requires a date, datetime, time,
or hierarchy data item that is continuous on the X axis.
Figure A2.9

A Time Series Plot

Comparative Time Series Plots

A comparative time series plot uses line segments to chart two measures on
different scales over time. A comparative time series plot requires a date,

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 543

datetime, time, or hierarchy data item that is continuous on the X axis. The X
axis is shared across both plots.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.10 A Comparative Time Series Plot

Series Plots
A series plot displays a series of line segments that connect observations of
input data. A series plot can use numeric or character data on the X axis.
Note: You must create and save this custom graph object in the SAS Visual
Analytics Graph Builder (the graph builder) before the object is available for use
in reports.
The following example shows MPG averages for different types of vehicles:
Figure A2.11

A Series Plot

544 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Numeric Series Plots

A numeric series plot shows the relationship of one or more measures across a
series of numeric values. A numeric series plot requires numeric data on the X
axis.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can
select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.12 A Numeric Series Plot

Bubble Plots
A bubble plot is a variation of a scatter plot in which the markers are replaced
with bubbles. A bubble plot displays the relationships among at least three
measures. Two measures are represented by the plot axes, and the third
measure is represented by the size of the bubbles. Each bubble represents an
observation. A bubble plot is useful for data sets with dozens to hundreds of
values. You can add categories to the Grouping and Lattice roles.
Note: A bubbles size is scaled relative to the minimum and maximum values of
the size variable. The minimum and maximum sizes are illustrated in the plot
legend. The actual value for each bubble is displayed as a data tip. For example,
the legend that is displayed in Figure A2.13 on page 545, the minimum size is
1.3 and the maximum size is 8.3.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 545

Figure A2.13

A Bubble Plot

Bubble Change Plots

A bubble change plot shows changes in two sets of measures using bubbles
and directed line segments.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.14 A Bubble Change Plot

Treemaps
A treemap displays your data as a set of rectangles (called tiles). Each tile
represents a category node or a hierarchy node. The color of each tile
represents the value of the first measure. The size of each tile represents the
value of the second measure. (There are two data roles for measures in a
treemapSize and Color.) For example, a sales data treemap might have tile
sizes that represent the number of orders, and it might have tile colors that are
derived from color gradients that represent sales.

546 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

The layout of the tiles in the treemap is dependent on the size of the display
area because it uses a space-filling algorithm to lay the tiles down. This means
that the same treemap might appear slightly different in the designer than it does
in the viewer or on a mobile device because the aspect ratio and size available
in those viewers might be different from what the original report designer sees in
the designer.
Note: Treemaps allow only one category data item or hierarchy data item.
Figure A2.15

A Treemap

Dual Axis Bar Charts

A dual axis bar chart is a variation of the bar chart that has two measures. A
measure is on each axis.
Figure A2.16

A Dual Axis Bar Chart

Dual Axis Line Charts

A dual axis line chart is a variation of the line chart that has two measures. A
measure is displayed on both the left and right side of the Y axis. The
relationship between two measures can be examined on two different scales in a
dual axis line chart.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 547

Figure A2.17

A Dual Axis Line Chart

Dual Axis Bar-Line Charts

A dual axis bar-line chart is a variation of the bar chart that has two measures. A
measure is on each axis, and the bar chart is overlaid by a line chart.
Figure A2.18

A Dual Axis Bar-Line Chart

Dual Axis Time Series Plots

A dual axis time series plot is a variation of the time series plot that has two
measures. A measure is displayed on both the left and right side of the Y axis.
For example, a dual axis time series plot can be useful when you need to display
two measures that have the same unit of measurement and different scales,
such as quantity ordered and returns, or when you need to display two
measures that have different units of measurement, such as sales and quantity
ordered.

548 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Figure A2.19

A Dual Axis Time Series Plot

Band Plot
A band plot draws a horizontal band with two Y values for each X value. Or, it
draws a vertical band with two X values for each Y value. A band plot is typically
used to show confidence, error, prediction, or control limits. The points on the
upper and lower band boundaries can be joined to create two outlines. The area
between the boundaries is filled.
Here are some key points about band plots:
n You must create and save this custom graph object in the graph builder

before the object is available for use in reports.

n A band plot does not support display rules in the designer.
Figure A2.20

A Band Plot

Needle Plot
A needle plot is a plot in which data points are connected by a vertical line that
connects to a horizontal baseline. The baseline intersects the 0 value or the
minimum value on the vertical axis.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 549

TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can
select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.

The following example shows profits during a particular time period. The
example specifies an optional baseline value on the Y axis.
Figure A2.21

A Needle Plot

Step Plot
A step plot consists of a series of horizontal and vertical line segments (giving
the appearance of steps) that connect observations of input data.
Note: A step plot does not support display rules in the designer.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can
select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.

550 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

The following example shows the price trend during a particular time interval:
Figure A2.22

A Step Plot

Schedule Chart
A schedule chart makes it easy to visualize time lines by representing tasks,
start dates, durations, and end dates in cascading horizontal bar charts.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.23

A Schedule Chart

Vector Plots
A vector plot shows the change in value of a measure using directed line
segments, or vectors, to represent both direction and magnitude at each point.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 551

TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can
select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.

The following example shows the changes in exam scores for different North
Carolina school systems from 2012 to 2013:
Figure A2.24

A Vector Plot

For an example that shows a vector plot enhanced with bubble plots, see
Example: Vector Plot on page 513.

Dot Plots
A dot plot compares data that is aggregated by the value of a category.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.25

A Dot Plot

552 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Butterfly Charts
A butterfly chart compares a measure across two categories of values.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.26

A Butterfly Chart

Stock High-Low Plots

A stock high-low plot tracks changes in the price of a tradable asset over time.
This plot creates a display of floating vertical lines that represent high and low
stock values. The plot also displays stock closing values as markers.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can

select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.

Graphs, Charts, and Plots 553

Figure A2.27

A Stock High-Low Plot

Stock Volume and Volatility Plots

A stock volume and volatility plot tracks changes in the price of a tradable asset
over time with additional context.
This plot creates a display of floating vertical lines that represent high and low
stock values. The plot also displays stock closing values as markers. The plot
shows the stocks moving average and Bollinger upper and lower bands.
TIP This report object is not displayed in the designer by default. You can
select what you want to display using the designers Show or Hide Objects
window.
Figure A2.28 A Stock Volume and Volatility Plot

554 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Controls
A control is a report object that filters or narrows the scope of the data that user
is viewing. A control enables a report designer to select a category that he or
she wants the report viewer to see.
The following controls are available in the designer:
n drop-down lists
Figure A2.29

A Drop-down List Control

n lists
Figure A2.30

A List Control

n button bars
Figure A2.31

A Button Bar Control

n text input fields

Figure A2.32

A Text Input Control

n sliders
Figure A2.33

A Slider Control

Other Report Objects 555

Other Report Objects

Geo Bubble Maps
A geo bubble map is a bubble plot that is overlaid on a geographic map. Each
bubble is located at a geographic location or at the center of a geographical
region. The bubbles are automatically colored based on the location. You
provide a measure data item that determines the size of the bubble. A geo
bubble map requires a data item that contains geographical information and is
assigned to a geography role.
Figure A2.34

Geo Bubble Map

Geo Coordinate Maps

A geo coordinate map is a simple scatter plot that is overlaid on a geographic
map. A geo coordinate map is used in place of a geo bubble map when the
cardinality is too high and the geo bubble map cannot display the number of
points. Each point in a geo coordinate map is located at the center of a
geographic region or at the coordinates of a location. A geo coordinate map
requires a data item that contains geographical information and is assigned to a
geography role.

556 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

Figure A2.35

Geo Coordinate Map

Geo Region Maps

A geo region map (also known as a choropleth map) is a two-dimensional map
that uses color combinations to represent different categories or levels of
magnitude. You can fill geographical boundaries (for example, a country or a
state) on a map with color, based on measure values that are aggregated to the
level defined by a geographical boundary.
Geo region maps do not support ZIP code data.
Figure A2.36

Geo Region Map

Other Report Objects 557

Gauges
Bullet Gauges
A bullet gauge is a dashboard indicator that compares an actual value to a target
value and compares them in intervals. The actual value of the primary measure
is indicated by an inset horizontal bar.
Note that the scale of a bullet gauge often begins at zero, but it can contain both
positive and negative values if both types of values apply to the primary
measure, such as profit. The inset horizontal bar should always begin at zero so
that comparing multiple bullet graphs is not confusing.
The bullet gauge requires a primary measure and a range display rule, and the
target measure is optional. The default orientation is horizontal with an option to
display the gauge vertically.
Figure A2.37

A Bullet Gauge

Slider Gauges
A slider gauge is a dashboard indicator that compares an actual value to a target
value and compares them in intervals. The actual value of the primary measure
is indicated by a downward-facing arrow. The target value is indicated by a small
upward-facing arrow.
Like a bullet gauge, a slider gauge is oriented horizontally by default, but you
can change the gauges orientation to vertical. You should use a slider gauge
when the numeric scale does not start at zero.
The slider gauge supports dates (which are continuous) and numeric categories.
Figure A2.38

A Slider Gauge

Thermometer Gauges
A thermometer gauge is a dashboard indicator that compares an actual value to
a target value and compares them in intervals. The actual value of the primary
measure is indicated by a vertical bar. The target value is indicated by a small
black line.

558 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

The thermometer gauge requires a primary measure value and a range-based
display rule. A target measure value is optional. The entire vertical bar is colored
conditionally based on one color from the display rule.
The base of a thermometer bar should always start at zero. You can set this by
defining your first range display rule to begin at zero. The designer always
shows the base of the bar at the bottom of the thermometer.
Figure A2.39

A Thermometer Gauge

Dial Gauges
A dial gauge is an arc-shaped dashboard indicator that compares an actual
value to a target value and compares them in intervals. The actual value of the
primary measure is indicated by an arrow that points outward from the inner
circle. The target value is indicated by an arrow that points inward from the outer
arc. The color of the center circle is the color associated with the primary
measure values range interval.
The dial gauge requires a primary measure value and a range-based display
rule. For more information, see Adding Gauge-Level Display Rules on page
409.
A target measure value is optional.
Figure A2.40

A Dial Gauge

Speedometer Gauges
A speedometer gauge is a circular dashboard indicator that compares an actual
value to a target value and compares them in intervals. The actual value of the
primary measure is indicated by the larger pointer. The target value is indicated
by a small triangle along the quantitative scale, either pointing inward or
outward, depending on the KPI skin option for the gauge.
A speedometer gauge requires a primary measure value and a range-based
display rule. A target measure value is optional.

Other Report Objects 559

Figure A2.41

A Speedometer Gauge

Word Clouds
A word cloud displays a set of category values as text, grouped in a cloud-like
shape. Depending on the word cloud data roles, the size of the text indicates the
frequency of a category value or the value of a measure that corresponds to a
category value.
Figure A2.42

Word Cloud

560 Appendix 2 / Gallery of Report Objects

561

Appendix 3
Editing a Data Expression in Text
Mode
Overview of Text Mode
In SAS Visual Analytics, you create and edit filters, calculated items, and
aggregated items by using an expression editor. The Text tab of the expression
editor enables you to edit the expression as text.
You can add operators and data items to your expression by dragging and
dropping them onto the expression or by entering the names of the operators or
data items.
As you enter text, a list of suggestions appears. For example, if you enter date,
then a drop-down list appears and enables you to select any of the operators
and data items whose names begin with date.
When you make changes to your expression, it is automatically evaluated to
determine whether it is valid. If the expression is not valid, then an error appears
on the Messages tab, and the OK button is disabled. There might be a brief
delay as your expression is evaluated.

Specifying Operator Parameters

When you add an operator to the expression, any parameters that are required
by the operator are represented between braces { }. For example, if you add the
x y operator, then your expression appears as {Number} {Number}.
Each parameter value that you enter should replace the entire string between
the braces, including the brace characters. For example, you might replace
{Number} with 12 or with a data item such as Expenses.
You can automatically select the next operator in the expression by pressing Ctrl
+ Shift + spacebar.

Specifying Data Item Names and Global

Parameter Names
Data item names and global parameter names can be entered as plain text and
are not case sensitive. You can enter names formally by using the format 'dataitem-name'n for a data item, or 'parameter-name'p for a global parameter. If you
switch to the Visual tab, then all of your names are converted to the formal
format.

562 Appendix 3 / Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode

Note: If a name contains quotation marks, then you must use the \ character to
escape the quotes.
Note: If a name contains spaces, then you must use the formal format.
Note: If a data item or global parameter has the same name as an operator,
then you must use the formal format. For example, if you have a category
named Year, then enter the name as 'Year'n to avoid conflict with the Year
operator.

Using Formatted and Unformatted Values

By default, category values and discrete numeric and date values are evaluated
as formatted values. Continuous numeric values are evaluated as unformatted
values.
To override this default behavior, you can add [raw] (to use unformatted
values) or [formatted] (to use formatted values) to the right of the data item.
For example,
'Expenses'n[formatted]

specifies that the Expenses measure is evaluated as a formatted value.

Specifying String Values

To enter a string value, you can enter the string between single quotes or double
quotes. If your value contains a quotation mark, use the \ character to escape
the quote. If you use double quotes to enclose the string, then you do not need
to escape the single quotes. If you use single quotes to enclose the string, then
you do not need to escape the double quotes. For example, "O'Reilly", 'O
\'Reilly', and '"Hello"' are all valid.
To enter a string that contains a newline character, use \r, \n, or both to specify
the newline character.

Specifying Date, Time, and Datetime Values

For date, datetime, and time values, specify a formatted value in quotes,
followed by the letter d for a date value, the letters dt for a datetime value, or
the letter t for a time value.
For time values, a value with a leading underscore is a reference to a specific
time of the day.
A time value without a leading underscore specifies a period of elapsed time.
Here are some examples of date, datetime, and time values:
Table A3.1
Date

Example Date, Datetime, and Time Values

'23JUN2013'd
'JUN2013'd
'2013'd
'q32013'd

Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode

Datetime

563

'23JUN2013_5:23:55dt
'23JUN2013_5:23'dt
'23JUN2013'dt

Time

'_12:23:55't
'_12:23't

Elapsed Time

'44:23:55't
'00:01:34't

Specifying Aggregated Values

For aggregated values, specify the format, aggregation-type [context] (value),
where context specifies one of the following aggregation contexts:
ByGroup
calculates the aggregation for each subset of the data item that is used in a
visualization. For example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with the
ByGroup context calculates a separate aggregated value for each bar in the
chart.
ForAll
calculates the aggregation for the entire data item (after filtering). For
example, in a bar chart, an aggregated measure with the ForAll context uses
the same aggregated value (calculated for the entire data item) for each bar
in the chart.
See Aggregated (Simple) Operators on page 573 for a list of the aggregation
types that are available.
For example,
sum [bygroup] ('cost'n)

aggregates the sum of the measure COST for each BY-group value.

Specifying a Missing Value

Use a period character (.) to specify a missing numeric or date value. Use empty
quotes ('') to specify a missing string value.

564 Appendix 3 / Editing a Data Expression in Text Mode

565

Appendix 4
Aggregations for Measures
The aggregation that is assigned to a measure determines how its values are
summarized in a visualization or report object.
For example, in a bar chart of Sales by Quarter, each bar represents the
aggregated values of the Sales measure for a specific quarter. If the aggregation
for Sales is Sum, then the bars represent the sum (total) of sales for each
quarter. If the aggregation for Sales is Average, then the bars represent the
average sales for each quarter.
Note: Some aggregation types can override the data format that is used to
display values in a visualization or report object. For example, if a measure has
the Currency format with zero decimal places of precision, and you apply the
Variance aggregation, then the values are displayed using the Comma format
with two decimal places of precision instead.
You can specify the following aggregations for your measures:
Sum
calculates the sum (total) of the values of a measure.
Average
calculates the average (mean) value of a measure.
Standard Deviation
calculates the standard deviation of a measure.
Standard Error
calculates the standard error of the mean of a measure.
Variance
calculates the variance of a measure.
Count
calculates the total number of nonmissing values of a measure.
Number Missing
calculates the number of missing values in a measure.
Minimum
calculates the smallest value of a measure.
First Quartile
calculates the first quartile of a measure.
Median
calculates the median value of a measure.
Third Quartile
calculates the third quartile of a measure.

566 Appendix 4 / Aggregations for Measures

Maximum
calculates the largest value of a measure.
Skewness
calculates the skewness of a measure. Skewness indicates the distribution of
values. A positive value indicates that the distribution is heavier for values
greater than the mean. A negative value indicates that the distribution is
heavier for values less than the mean.
Kurtosis
calculates the kurtosis of a measure. The kurtosis value indicates how
peaked the distribution is. A larger value indicates a more sharply peaked
distribution. A smaller value indicates a flatter distribution.
Coefficient of Variation
calculates the coefficient of variation of a measure. The coefficient of
variation is the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean.
Uncorrected Sum of Squares
calculates the uncorrected sum of squares of a measure. The uncorrected
sum of squares is the sum of the squared values.
Corrected Sum of Squares
calculates the corrected sum of squares of a measure. The corrected sum of
squares is the sum of the squared deviations from the mean.
T-statistic (for Average = 0)
calculates the Students t statistic for a measure, assuming a mean value of
zero.
P-value (for T-statistic)
calculates the probability of observing the t statistic value or a more extreme
value. A small value indicates that the mean is likely not equal to zero.

567

Appendix 5
Operators for Data Expressions
Overview of Operators for Data Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Numeric (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567
Comparison Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 568
Boolean Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 569
Numeric (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570
Date and Time Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571
Aggregated (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 573
Aggregated (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 574
Periodic Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About Periodic Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CumulativePeriod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ParallelPeriod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PeriodWithDate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
RelativePeriod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

575
575
576
578
580
581
582

Text (Simple) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583

Text (Advanced) Operators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 584
Calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 587

Overview of Operators for Data

Expressions
In the explorer and the designer, you can calculate data items and create filters
by using expressions that contain operators.

Numeric (Simple) Operators

-x
returns a value with the opposite sign of the input value.
For example, --1 returns 1 and -1 returns -1.

568 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

x-y
subtracts the second value from the first value.
For example, 2 1 returns 1.
x*y
multiplies the first and second values together.
For example, 2 * 3 returns 6.
x/y
divides the first value by the second value.
For example, 6 / 2 returns 3.
x+y
adds the first and second values together.
For example, 1 + 2 returns 3.

Comparison Operators
BetweenExclusive
returns true if the first value is within the range defined by the second and
third values (excluding the bounding values).
For example, X BetweenExclusive(50, 100) returns true if X is greater
than 50 and less than 100.
BetweenInclusive
returns true if the first value is within the range defined by the second and
third values (including the bounding values).
For example, X BetweenInclusive(50, 100) returns true if X is greater
than or equal to 50 and less than or equal to 100.
In
returns true if the first value is in the list specified by the second parameter.
Select your list by choosing the values from the drop-down list or the selector
window.
For example, X In ('A', 'B', 'C') returns true when the value of X is
either A, B, or C.
Note: This operator cannot be used to compare measures.
Missing
returns true if the value is a missing value.
For example, X Missing returns true if the value of X is missing.
NotBetweenExclusive
returns true if the first value is outside the range defined by the second and
third values (excluding the bounding values).
For example, X NotBetweenExclusive(50, 100) returns true if X is less
than 50 or greater than 100.
NotBetweenInclusive
returns true if the first value is outside the range defined by the second and
third values (including the bounding values).

Boolean Operators

569

For example, X NotBetweenInclusive(50, 100) returns true if X is less

than or equal to 50 or greater than or equal to 100.
NotIn
returns true if the first value is not in the list specified by the second
parameter. Select your list by choosing the values from the drop-down list or
the selector window.
For example, X NotIn ('A', 'B', 'C') returns true when the value of X
is not A, B, or C.
Note: This operator cannot be used to compare measures.
NotMissing
returns true if the value is not a missing value.
For example, X NotMissing returns true if the value of X is not missing.
x<y
returns true if the first value is less than the second value.
x <= y
returns true if the first value is less than or equal to the second value.
x <> y
returns true if the first value is not equal to the second value.
x=y
returns true if the first value is equal to the second value.
x>y
returns true if the first value is greater than the second value.
x >= y
returns true if the first value is greater than or equal to the second value.

Boolean Operators
AND
joins two conditions and returns true if both conditions are true.
For example,
(1 = 1) AND (2 = 2)

returns true, and

(1 = 1) AND (2 = 1)

returns false.
IF... ELSE
returns different values, depending on whether the condition is true. The first
parameter specifies the condition. The second parameter specifies the value
to return if the condition is true. The third parameter specifies the value to
return if the condition is false.
For example,
if (X > Y) return X else Y

returns the value of X if X is greater than Y, but returns the value of Y

otherwise.

570 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

Note: Starting in the 7.1 release, the IF... ELSE operator can also be used in
report filters in the designer.
NOT
returns true if the condition is false.
For example, not (1 = 2) returns true.
OR
joins two conditions and returns true if either condition is true.
For example,
(1 = 1) OR (2 = 2)

returns true, and

(1 = 1) OR (2 = 1)

returns true.

Numeric (Advanced) Operators

Abs
returns the absolute value of the input value.
For example, Abs(-3) returns 3.
Ceil
rounds the input value up to the nearest integer.
For example, Ceil(4.2) returns 5 and Ceil(4.8) returns -4.
Exp
raises the constant e to the power specified by the input value.
For example, Exp(5) returns e to the 5th power (148.41).
Floor
rounds the input value down to the nearest integer.
For example, Floor(4.8) returns 4 and Floor(-4.2) returns -5.
Ln
returns the natural logarithm (base e) of the input value.
For example, Ln(10) returns the eth root of 10 (2.30...).
Log
returns the logarithm of the first value, where the second value specifies the
base.
For example, 64 Log 8 returns the base 8 logarithm of 64 (2).
Mod
returns the remainder after dividing the first value by the second value.
For example, 5 Mod 2 returns 1.
Power
raises the first value to the power of the second value.
For example, 5 Power 2 returns 5 to the 2nd power (25).

Date and Time Operators

571

Root
returns the nth root of the first value, where the second value specifies n (the
base of the root).
For example, 27 Root 3 returns the 3rd (cube) root of 27 (3).
Round
rounds the first value to the number of decimal places that is specified by the
second value. Select the second value from the drop-down list.
For example, 7.354 Round 2 returns 7.35.
Note: If you select 0 decimal places, then the values are rounded to the
nearest integer.
TreatAs
allows a numeric, date, or datetime value to be used as a different data type
within other operators. Select one of the following:
_Date_
allows the value to be used as a date.
_Datetime_
allows the value to be used as a datetime value.
_Number_
allows the value to be used as a number.
_Time_
allows the value to be used as a time value.
The value is treated as a raw value instead of being converted. Date values
are the number of days since 01JAN1960. Datetime values are the number
of seconds since 01JAN1960. Time values are the number of seconds since
midnight.
For example, TreatAs(_Date_, 19600) returns 30AUG2013 as a date
value.
Note: The TreatAs operator is useful for calculating elapsed time between
two datetime values. For example, (TreatAs(_Number_, '23OCT2013'd)
TreatAs(_Number_, '15JAN2013'd)) calculates the number of days
between 15JAN and 23OCT, which is 281.
Trunc
truncates the input value to an integer.
For example, Trunc(8.9) returns 8 and Trunc(-8.9) returns -8.

Date and Time Operators

Note: Date and time operators are not supported for aggregated items.
DateFromMDY
creates a date value from separate month, day, and year values. The first
value specifies the month as a number from 112. The second value
specifies the day as a number from 131. The third value specifies the year
as a four-digit number.
For example, DateFromMDY(1, 15, 2013) returns 15JAN2013.

572 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

DateFromYQ
creates a date value from separate year and quarter values. The first value
specifies the year as a four-digit number. The second value specifies the
quarter as a number from 14.
For example, DateFromYQ(2013, 1) returns 01JAN2013.
Note: The date is generated using the first day of each quarter.
DatePart
converts a datetime value to a date value.
For example, DatePart('15JAN2013_17:15'dt) returns 15JAN2013.
DateTimeFromDateHMS
creates a datetime value from a date value and separate hour, minute, and
second values. The first value specifies the date. The second value specifies
the hour as a number from 023. The third value specifies the minute as a
number from 059. The fourth value specifies the second as a number from
059.
For example, DateTimeFromDateHMS('15JAN2013'd, 17, 15, 23)
returns January 15, 2013 05:15:23 PM
DateTimeFromTimeMDY
creates a datetime value from a time value and separate month, day, and
year values. The first value specifies the time. The second value specifies
the month as a number from 112. The third value specifies the day as a
number from 131. The fourth value specifies the year as a four-digit
number.
For example, DateTimeFromTimeMDY('_17:15:23'dt, 1, 15, 2013)
returns January 15, 2013 05:15:23 PM.
DayOfMonth
returns the day of the month from a date value as a number from 131.
For example, DayOfMonth('15JAN2013'd) returns 15.
DayOfWeek
returns the day of the week from a date value as a number from 17 (1 is
Sunday).
For example, DayOfWeek('15JAN2013'd) returns 3 (Tuesday).
DayOfYear
returns the day of the year from a date value as a number from 1366.
For example, DayOfYear('15FEB2013'd) returns 46.
Hour
returns the hour from a time or datetime value as a number from 023.
For example, Hour('17:15:23't) returns 17.
Minute
returns the minute from a time or datetime value as a number from 059.
For example, Minute('17:15:23't) returns 15.
Month
returns the month from a date value as a number from 112.
For example, Month('15JAN2013'd) returns 1.

Aggregated (Simple) Operators

573

Now
creates a datetime value from the current date and time.
For example, Now() returns the current date and time.
Quarter
returns the quarter from a date value as a number from 14.
For example, Quarter('15AUG2013'd) returns 3.
Second
returns the second from a time or datetime value as a number from 059.
For example, Second('17:15:23't) returns 23.
TimeFromHMS
creates a time value from separate hour, minute, and second values. The
first value specifies the hour as a number from 023. The second value
specifies the minute as a number from 059. The third value specifies the
second as a number from 059.
For example, TimeFromHMS(17, 15, 23) returns 05:15:23 PM.
TimePart
converts a datetime value to a time value.
For example, TimePart('15JAN2013_17:15:23'dt) returns 05:15:23
PM.
WeekNumber
returns the week of the year as a number from 053, where week 1 begins
on the first Sunday of the year. Dates before the first Sunday of the year
return 0.
For example, WeekNumber('04AUG2013'd) returns 31.
Year
returns the year from a date value as a four-digit number.
For example, Year('15JAN2013'd) returns 2013.

Aggregated (Simple) Operators

Avg
calculates the average (mean) value of a measure.
Count
calculates the total number of nonmissing values of a measure.
Distinct
calculates the number of distinct values in a category.
Max
calculates the largest value of a measure.
Median
calculates the median value of a measure.
Min
calculates the smallest value of a measure.

574 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

NumMiss
calculates the number of missing values in a data item.
Q1
calculates the first quartile of a measure.
Q3
calculates the third quartile of a measure.
StdDev
calculates the standard deviation of a measure.
StdErr
calculates the standard error of the mean of a measure.
Sum
calculates the sum (total) of the values of a measure.
Var
calculates the variance of a measure.

Aggregated (Advanced) Operators

CoefVar
calculates the coefficient of variation of a measure. The coefficient of
variation is the ratio of the standard deviation to the mean.
CSS
calculates the corrected sum of squares of a measure. The corrected sum of
squares is the sum of the squared deviations from the mean.
First
calculates the first value of a measure based on chronological order. The first
parameter specifies the measure. The second parameter specifies the
sequence data item that is used to determine the chronological order. The
sequence data item can be either a date or time data item or a numeric data
item. The third parameter specifies whether missing values are included.
Select _IncludeMissing_ to include missing values or select
_ExcludeMissing_ to exclude missing values.
Note: If there are multiple measure values for the first value of the sequence
data item, then the minimum measure value is selected.
Note: The First aggregation always calculates measure values by using the
sequence data item that you specify. Ifyour visualization or report object uses
a different date or time data item, then the results might be misleading to
viewers who do not know the expression for the aggregated data item.
Kurtosis
calculates the kurtosis of a measure. The kurtosis value indicates how
peaked the distribution is. A larger value indicates a more sharply peaked
distribution. A smaller value indicates a flatter distribution.
Last
calculates the last value of a measure based on chronological order. The first
parameter specifies the measure. The second parameter specifies the
sequence data item that is used to determine the chronological order. The
sequence data item can be either a date or time data item or a numeric data
item. The third parameter specifies whether missing values are included.

Periodic Operators

575

Select _IncludeMissing_ to include missing values or select

_ExcludeMissing_ to exclude missing values.
Note: If there are multiple measure values for the last value of the sequence
data item, then the minimum measure value is selected.
Note: The Last aggregation always calculates measure values by using the
sequence data item that you specify. If your visualization or report object
uses a different date or time data item, then the results might be misleading
to viewers who do not know the expression for the aggregated data item.
Percentile
calculates the specified percentile of a measure. Specify a number between
0 and 100. For example, 85 specifies the 85th percentile, the value for which
85% of the values are lower.
PvalT
calculates the probability of observing the t statistic value or a more extreme
value. A small value indicates that the mean is likely not equal to zero.
Skewness
calculates the skewness of a measure. Skewness indicates the distribution of
values. A positive value indicates that the distribution is heavier for values
greater than the mean. A negative value indicates that the distribution is
heavier for values less than the mean.
TStat
calculates the Students t statistic for a measure, assuming a mean value of
zero.
USS
calculates the uncorrected sum of squares of a measure. The uncorrected
sum of squares is the sum of the squared values.

Periodic Operators
About Periodic Operators
Periodic operators aggregate values over a period of time.
If you assign a periodic aggregated item to a visualization or report object that
contains dates, the aggregated item displays the aggregated values for each
time period in the visualization or report object.
In a visualization or report object that does not contain dates, the aggregated
item displays values that use todays date as a reference. If the date data item
for the operator does not contain data for the interval that contains todays date,
then the operator returns missing values.
Periodic operators are evaluated using time intervals. Intervals specify whether
the aggregation is applied on a monthly basis, a quarterly basis, and so on. You
can specify a specific interval, or you can specify that the interval is inferred. For
an inferred interval, the aggregation is evaluated based on its context in the
visualization or report object. For example, if your visualization contains a bar
chart of sales by month, then the inferred interval is monthly.
Note: Periodic operators return a missing value in the following scenarios:

576 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

n Data does not exist for the specified time period.
n The date data item for the period calculation does not match the date data

item in the visualization or report object. You must use the same date data
item or a duplicate data item that is based on the same data item.
n The interval for the operator is smaller than the interval of the date format in

the visualization or report object (for example, if your interval is by month, but
the date format is Year).
n For operators that use inner and outer intervals, the inner interval is larger

than the outer interval.

n The inferred interval is by week of the year or by an interval smaller than a

day.
n The inferred interval is by day for any operator that has an offset other than

0.
For the explorer, the ParallelPeriod and RelativePeriod operators always
return a missing value when the inferred interval is by day.
The following periodic operators are available:
Table A5.1

Periodic Operators

CumulativePeriod

returns the aggregated value for a period

of time and all of the previous periods of
time within a larger period of time (for
example, the year-to-date total of monthly
values).

ParallelPeriod

returns the aggregated value for a period

of time that is parallel to the current period
of time (for example, the value for the
same month of the previous year).

Period

returns the aggregated value for a period

of time (for example, the value for the
current month).

PeriodWithDate

returns the aggregated value for a

specific, constant period of time (for
example, the value for the month that
includes 15OCT2013).

RelativePeriod

returns the aggregated value for a period

of time that is relative to the current period
(for example, the value for the previous
month of the same year).

CumulativePeriod
The CumulativePeriod operator returns aggregated values for a period of time
and all of the previous periods, within a larger period of time (for example, the
year-to-date total of monthly values).

Periodic Operators

577

Specify the following parameters:

Figure A5.1 Parameters for the CumulativePeriod Operator

1 The aggregation that is applied to the measure.

2 The measure to aggregate over time.
3 The date data item for the period calculation. Only data items whose formats

specify year are available.

4 The inner interval (smaller time period) for which the values are aggregated.

For example, specify _ByMonth_ as the inner interval and _ByYear_ as the
outer interval to aggregate the year-to-date values for each month.
Select one of the following:
_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.
_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
5 The outer interval (larger time period) that provides the context for the

cumulative aggregation. For example, specify _ByMonth_ as the inner

interval and _ByYear_ as the outer interval to aggregate the year-to-date
values for each month.
Select one of the following:
_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.

578 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
6 The number of outer intervals to offset from the current period. 0 specifies

that the period from the current outer interval is used. A negative value
indicates a previous interval.
For example, if your inner interval is by month and your outer interval is by
year, then -1 specifies the year-to-date monthly values for the previous year.
7 The scope for the period. The scope specifies how much of each period is

aggregated.
Select one of the following:
_Full_
aggregates the values for the entire period.
_ToDate_
aggregates only the values up to a specific day of the outer interval.
_ToToday_
aggregates only the values up to the equivalent of todays position in the
current interval. For example, if today is the 40th day of the quarter, and
the outer interval is by quarter, then only the values up to the 40th day of
each quarter are used.
The value for today is evaluated dynamically whenever the aggregated
item is viewed in a visualization or report object.
8 If you select _ToDate_ as the scope, then select the date that is used to

subset each period.

For example, if you select 09NOV2013, and the outer interval is by year, then
only the values up to November 9 of each year are used in the aggregation.
For example,
CumulativePeriod(_Sum_, 'Expenses'n, 'Date'n, _ByMonth_, _ByYear_, 0, _Full_)

aggregates the sum of year-to-date monthly values for the Expenses measure
using date values from the Date data item.

ParallelPeriod
The ParallelPeriod operator returns aggregated values for a period of time that is
parallel to the current period (for example, the value for the same month of the
previous year).

Periodic Operators

579

Specify the following parameters:

Figure A5.2 Parameters for the ParallelPeriod Operator

1 The aggregation that is applied to the measure.

2 The measure to aggregate over time.
3 The date data item for the period calculation. Only data items whose formats

specify year are available.

4 The inner interval (smaller time period) for which the values are aggregated.

For example, specify _ByMonth_ as the inner interval to aggregate the

values for each month.
Select one of the following:
_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.
_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
5 The outer interval (larger time period) that provides the context for the

parallel period aggregation. For example, specify _ByMonth_ as the inner

interval and _ByYear_ as the outer interval to aggregate the monthly values
for a different year.
Select one of the following:
_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.

580 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
6 The number of outer intervals to offset from the current period. 0 specifies

that the period from the current outer interval is used. A negative value
indicates a previous interval.
For example, if your inner interval is by month and your outer interval is by
year, then -1 specifies the monthly values for the previous year.
7 The scope for the period. The scope specifies how much of each period is

aggregated.
Select one of the following:
_Full_
aggregates the values for the entire period.
_ToDate_
aggregates only the values up to a specific day of the outer interval.
_ToToday_
aggregates only the values up to the equivalent of todays position in the
current interval. For example, if today is the 40th day of the quarter, and
the outer interval is by quarter, then only the values up to the 40th day of
each quarter are used.
The value for today is evaluated dynamically whenever the aggregated
item is viewed in a visualization or report object.
8 If you select _ToDate_ as the scope, then select the date that is used to

subset each period.

For example, if you select 09NOV2013, and the outer interval is by year, then
only the values up to November 9 of each year are used in the aggregation.
For example,
ParallelPeriod(_Sum_, 'Expenses'n, 'Date'n, _ByMonth_, _ByYear_, -1, _Full_)

aggregates the sum of monthly values for the Expenses measure for the
previous year using date values from the Date data item.

Period
The Period operator returns aggregated values for a period of time (for example,
the value for the current month).
Specify the following parameters:
Figure A5.3

Parameters for the Period Operator

1 The aggregation that is applied to the measure.

Periodic Operators

581

2 The measure to aggregate over time.

3 The date data item for the period calculation. Only data items whose formats

specify year are available.

4 The interval for which the values are aggregated. For example, specify

_ByMonth_ as the interval to aggregate the values for each month.

Select one of the following:
_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.
_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
For example,
Period(_Sum_, 'Expenses'n, 'Date'n, _ByMonth_)

aggregates the sum of monthly values for the Expenses measure using date
values from the Date data item.

PeriodWithDate
The PeriodWithDate operator returns aggregated values for a specific, constant
period of time (for example, the value for the month that includes 15OCT2013).
Specify the following parameters:
Figure A5.4

Parameters for the PeriodWithDate Operator

1 The aggregation that is applied to the measure.

2 The measure to aggregate over time.
3 The date data item for the period calculation. Only data items whose formats

specify year are available.

4 The interval for which the values are aggregated. For example, specify

_ByMonth_ as the interval to aggregate the values for each month.

Select one of the following:

582 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.
_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
5 The reference date for the period aggregation.

For example,
PeriodWithDate(_Sum_, 'Expenses'n, 'Date'n, _ByMonth_, '15OCT2013'd)

aggregates the sum of monthly values for the Expenses measure using date
values from the Date data item.

RelativePeriod
The RelativePeriod operator returns aggregated values for a period of time that
is relative to the current period (for example, the previous month of the same
year).
Specify the following parameters:
Figure A5.5

Parameters for the RelativePeriod Operator

1 The aggregation that is applied to the measure.

2 The measure to aggregate over time.
3 The date data item for the period calculation. Only data items whose formats

specify year are available.

4 The interval for which the values are aggregated. For example, specify

_ByMonth_ as the interval to aggregate the year-to-date values for each

month.
Select one of the following:

Text (Simple) Operators 583

_Inferred_
specifies that the interval is determined automatically from the
visualization or report object that displays the aggregated item.
_ByMonth_
specifies a monthly interval.
_ByQuarter_
specifies a quarterly interval.
_ByYear_
specifies a yearly interval.
5 The number of intervals to offset from the current period. 0 specifies that the

period from the current interval is used. A negative value indicates a previous
interval.
For example, if your interval is by month, then -1 specifies the monthly values
for the previous month.
6 The scope for the period. The scope specifies how much of each period is

aggregated.
Select one of the following:
_Full_
aggregates the values for the entire period.
_ToDate_
aggregates only the values up to a specific day of the interval.
_ToToday_
aggregates only the values up to the equivalent of todays position in the
current interval. For example, if today is the 40th day of the quarter, and
the outer interval is by quarter, then only the values up to the 40th day of
each quarter are used.
The value for today is evaluated dynamically whenever the aggregated
item is viewed in a visualization or report object.
7 If you select _ToDate_ as the scope, then select the date that is used to

subset each period.

For example, if you select 09NOV2013 and the outer interval is by quarter,
then only the values up to the 40th day of each quarter are used in the
aggregation.
For example,
RelativePeriod(_Sum_, 'Expenses'n, 'Date'n, _ByMonth_, -1, _Full_)

aggregates the sum of monthly values for the Expenses measure for the
previous month using date values from the Date data item.

Text (Simple) Operators

Note: All text operators are case sensitive.
Note: Text operators are not supported for aggregated items.
Concatenate
appends the second input string to the first input string.

584 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

For example, Concatenate('A', 'B') returns AB.
Contains
specifies that a matching value must contain the specified string.
For example, 'Catcher' Contains 'Cat' returns true.
EndsWith
specifies that a matching value must contain the specified string at the end of
the value.
For example, 'Catcher' EndsWith 'her' returns true.
Format
applies a SAS format to the input value. Click the format field to select the
format that you want to apply. The output from the Format operator is a
string.
For example, Format(1015.35, 'DOLLAR6.2') returns $1,015.35 as a
string value.
Note: Standard date formats in SAS Visual Analytics display date and
datetime values in the locale of your browser. You can display date and
datetime values in the locale of the data source by using national language
formats. The names of national language formats begin with NL. For
example, the NLDATE format displays date values by using the locale of the
data source.
LowerCase
changes all of the characters in a text string to lowercase.
For example, LowerCase('SAS INSTITUTE) returns sas institute.
NotContains
specifies that a matching value must not contain the specified string.
For example, 'Catcher' NotContains 'Dog' returns true.
Parse
interprets a numeric or datetime value from the input string. Click the format
field to select the format that is used to interpret the string. The output from
the Parse operator is either a number or a datetime value, depending on the
format that you select.
For example, Parse('15JAN2013', 'DATE9.') returns 15JAN2013 as a
date value.
StartsWith
specifies that a matching value must contain the specified string at the start
of the value.
For example, 'Catcher' StartsWith 'Cat' returns true.
UpCase
changes all of the characters in the text string to uppercase.
For example, UpCase('sas institute') returns SAS INSTITUTE.

Text (Advanced) Operators

Note: All text operators are case sensitive.

Text (Advanced) Operators 585

Note: Text operators are not supported for aggregated items.

FindChar
finds the position of a character or any of a set of characters within a text
string. The position of the first match is returned as a numeric value. If no
matches are found, then 0 is returned. The first input string specifies the
value to search within. The second input string specifies the list of characters
to search for.
For example, FindChar('mystring', 'sz') returns 3.
FindString
finds the position of a string within another string. The position of the first
match is returned as a numeric value. If no matches are found, then 0 is
returned. The first input string specifies the value to search within. The
second input string specifies the string to search for.
For example, FindString('mystring', 'st') returns 3.
GetLength
returns the length of an input string as a numeric value.
For example, GetLength('mystring') returns 8.
GetWord
returns a word from an input string where the words are separated by
spaces, periods, or other special characters. The first parameter specifies the
input string. The second parameter specifies the number of the word to
return where 1 is the first word.
For example, GetWord('my test string', 2) returns test.
RemoveBlanks
removes space characters from the input string. The first parameter specifies
the input string. The second parameter specifies which space characters to
remove. Select one of the following:
_All_
removes all spaces from the string.
_Leading_
removes spaces at the beginning of the string.
_LeadingAndTrailing_
removes spaces at the beginning and end of the string.
_Trailing_
removes spaces at the end of the string.
For example, RemoveBlanks('my test string', '_ALL_') returns
myteststring.
RemoveChars
removes all instances of a set of characters from the input string. The first
parameter specifies the input string. The second parameter specifies the list
of characters to remove.
For example, RemoveChars('my_test_string', '_') returns
myteststring.
RemoveWord
removes a word from an input string where the words are separated by
spaces or special characters. The first parameter specifies the input string.

586 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

The second parameter specifies the number of the word to remove where 1
is the first word.
For example, RemoveWord('my test string', 2) returns my string.
Note: In addition to spaces, the following characters are used as delimiters
in the input string: . < ( ) + & ! $ * ; ^ - / , % |
Replace
replaces a substring within the input string with a replacement string. The first
parameter specifies the input string. The second parameter specifies the
substring to replace. The third parameter specifies the replacement string.
The fourth parameter specifies which instances of the substring to replace.
Select one of the following:
_ALL_
replaces every instance.
_FIRST_
replaces the first instance only.
_LAST_
replaces the last instance only.
For example, Replace('my test string test', 'test', 'new',
'_ALL_') returns my new string new.
ReplaceWord
replaces a word from an input string where the words are separated by
spaces, periods, or other special characters. The first parameter specifies the
input string. The second parameter specifies the number of the word to
replace where 1 is the first word. The third parameter specifies the
replacement string.
For example, ReplaceWord('my test string', 2, 'new') returns my
new string.
Reverse
reverses the order of the characters in the input string.
For example, Reverse('A B C') returns C B A.
Substring
returns a substring from the input string based on the position of the
characters. The first parameter specifies the input string. The second
parameter specifies the position of the first character to return. The third
parameter specifies the number of characters to return.
For example, Substring('my test string', 4, 3) returns tes.
Update
replaces a substring from the input string based on the position of the
characters. The first parameter specifies the input string. The second
parameter specifies the position of the first character to replace. The third
parameter specifies the number of characters to replace. The fourth
parameter specifies the replacement string.
For example, Update('my test string', 4, 3, 'nex') returns my
next string.
URLDecode
removes URL encoding from the input string. URL encoding replaces some
characters with a % character followed by a two-digit hexadecimal code.

Calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate

587

For example, URLDecode('support.sas.com%2Fmy%20string') returns

support.sas.com/my string.
URLEncode
applies URL encoding to the input string. URL encoding replaces some
characters with a % character followed by a two-digit hexadecimal code.
For example, URLEncode('support.sas.com/my string') returns
support.sas.com%2Fmy%20string.

Calculating Compound Annual Growth Rate

Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is an investing and business term for the
effective constant year-over-year rate of return that produces a target result
value at the end of multiple years, assuming that the CAGR is compounded at
the end of each year. For example, you might use CAGR to compare trends over
multiple years in revenue or in the number of units sold. For SAS Visual
Analytics, you can calculate the yearly CAGR using the expression builder.
This example compares trends in the growth rate for yearly sales amounts
between different product types or regions.
The basic data items are:
sales

This is a numeric measure with a currency format and a default aggregation

of Sum.
ProductType

This is a string category data item.

RegionName

This is a string category data item.

TransactionDate

This is a date data item with a format of Month, Day, Year (MMDDYYYY).
The duplicate data item is:
TransactionDateYear

This data item is a duplicate of the TransactionDate data item, but with the
Year format.
The calculated data items are:
BeginningYearNum

This data item should be a numeric type with a Float4.0 format and an
aggregation of Minimum.
BeginningYearNum = Year('31DEC2010'd)
EndingYearNum

This data item should be a numeric type with a Float4.0 format and an
aggregation of Minimum.
EndingYearNum = Year(transactionDaten)

The aggregated measure data items are:

NumYears

This data item has a Float4.0 format.

588 Appendix 5 / Operators for Data Expressions

NumYears = Min [_ByGroup_] ('EndingYearNum'n) - Min
[_ByGroup_] ('BeginningYearNum'n)
BeginningValue

This data item needs to be set to the same currency format as the sales
data item.
BeginningValue = PeriodWithDate(_Sum_, 'sales'n,
'transactionDate'n, _ByYear_, '31DEC2010'd)
EndingValue

This data item needs to be set to the same currency format as the sales
data item.
EndingValue = Period(_Sum_, 'sales'n, 'transactionDate'n,
_ByYear_)
NormalizedRatio

This data item has a Float12.2 format.

NormalizedRatio = 'EndingValue'n / 'BeginningValue'n
CAGR

This data item has a Percent format.

CAGR = ('NormalizedRatio'n Power ( 1 / 'NumYears'n ) ) 1

To use the CAGR, you should add TransactionDateYear, CAGR, and any
other categories of interest (for example, RegionName, ProductType, and so
on) to a list table, a crosstab, or a graph.

589

Appendix 6
Conditions for Filters
In SAS Visual Analytics, filters are based on expressions that contain operators.
Conditions enable you to easily add the most common operators to your
expression. Depending on the type of data that is used by the filter, you can
select from the following categories of filter conditions:
Table A6.1

Conditions for Character Data

Specifies that a matching value must match one of the filter

values exactly.

Contains

Specifies that a matching value must contain the filter value.

EndsWith

Specifies that a matching value must contain the filter value

at the end of the value.

In

Specifies that a matching value is in the list that you select.

To select your list, choose the values from the drop-down
list.

Missing

Specifies that a missing value matches the filter.

NotContains

Specifies that a matching value must not contain the filter

value.

NotIn

Specifies that a matching value is not in the list that you

select. To select your list, choose the values from the dropdown list.

NotMissing

Specifies that a nonmissing value matches the filter.

StartsWith

Specifies that a matching value must contain the filter value

at the start of the value.

Table A6.2

Conditions for Numeric Data and Date and Time Data

<>

Specifies that a matching value must not be equal to the

filter value.

Specifies that a matching value must be equal to the filter

value.

590 Appendix 6 / Conditions for Filters

<

Specifies that a matching value must be less than the filter

value.

<=

Specifies that a matching value must be less than or equal

to the filter value.

>

Specifies that a matching value must be greater than the

filter value.

>=

Specifies that a matching value must be greater than or

equal to the filter value.

Between [exclusive]

Specifies that a matching value must be greater than the

first filter value and less than the second filter value.

Between [inclusive]

Specifies that a matching value must be greater than or

equal to the first filter value and less than or equal to the
second filter value.

In

Specifies that a matching value is in the list that you select.

To select your list, choose the values from the drop-down
list.
Note: This condition is not available for continuous numeric
data.

Missing

Specifies that a missing value matches the filter.

NotBetween
[exclusive]

Specifies that a matching value must be less than the first

filter value or greater than the second filter value.

NotBetween
[inclusive]

Specifies that a matching value must be less than or equal

to the first filter value or less than or equal to the second
filter value.

NotIn

Specifies that a matching value is not in the list that you

select. To select your list, choose the values from the dropdown list.
Note: This condition is not available for continuous numeric
data.

NotMissing

Specifies that a nonmissing value matches the filter.

591

Appendix 7
Data Limits
Data Limits for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591
High-Cardinality Thresholds for Report Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594

Data Limits for SAS Visual Analytics

Explorer
Some of the visualizations in SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the explorer) have
limits to the number of data values that they can display. The limit values are
affected by the Visualization data threshold setting in the Preferences window.
For more information about the Preferences window, see Specify Your
Preferences for the Explorer on page 109.
The following table displays the data limits for visualizations in the explorer:
Table A7.1

Data Limits for the Explorer

Behavior when
Limit Is
Exceeded

Default
Threshold

Minimum
Threshold

Maximum
Threshold

Paging is applied
to the table.

10,000

1,000

100,000

An error message
appears.

21,000,000
cells

1,000,000
cells

26,000,000
cells

Not grouped or
latticed.

The bar chart

shows a subset
that contains the
first or last ranked
values.

3,000

810

3,625

Grouped or
latticed.

An error message
appears.

3,000

810

3,625

Visualization Type

Variation

Table

Crosstab
Bar Chart

592 Appendix 7 / Data Limits

Visualization Type

Variation

Line Chart

Single numeric or
datetime category
in the Category
role.

Behavior when
Limit Is
Exceeded
The line chart
shows a subset
that contains the
first or last ranked
value.

Single string
category in the
Category role.
No string
categories in the
Category role,
grouped or
latticed.

An error message
appears.

One or more
string categories
in the Category
role, grouped or
latticed.
Scatter Plot

Bubble Plot

Network Plot

Default
Threshold

Minimum
Threshold

Maximum
Threshold

10,000

5,630

11,250

4,000

1,380

4,750

10,000

5,630

11,250

4,000

1,380

4,750

Two measures,
not grouped.

The scatter plot is

converted to a
heat map.

40,000

9,375

48,750

Two measures,
grouped.

An error message
appears.

40,000

9,375

48,750

Three or more
measures, not
grouped.

The scatter plot is

converted to a
correlation matrix.

80,000 /
number of
measures

18,750 /
number of
measures

97,500 /
number of
measures

Three or more
measures,
grouped.

An error message
appears.

80,000 /
number of
measures

18,750 /
number of
measures

97,500 /
number of
measures

No categories.

The bubble plot is

converted to a
heat map.

25,000

7,500

30,000

Grouped.

The bubble plot

shows the top or
bottom value by
size.

500

150

600

Latticed.

An error message
appears.

1,050

4,900

50,000

Grouped and
latticed.

500

150

600

Animated.

50,000

15,000

60,000

8,000

100

10,000

An error message
appears.

1,000 nodes, 1,000 links

Sankey Diagram

An error message
appears

3,000 links

500 links

3,625 links

8,020 rows

1,000 rows

10,000 rows

Data Limits for SAS Visual Analytics Explorer

593

Visualization Type

Variation

Behavior when
Limit Is
Exceeded

Histogram

None

None

None

Box Plot

An error message
appears.

2,900 boxes

800 boxes

3,500 boxes

Heat Map

No categories.

None

None

None

One or more
categories.

An error message
appears.

3,000

1,250

3,500

Bubble overlay

The bubble
overlay is
converted to a
coordinate
overlay.

5,000

1,500

6,000

Region overlay

The bubble
overlay is
converted to a
coordinate
overlay.

5,000

1,500

6,000

Coordinate
overlay

An error message
appears.

82,000

10,000

100,000

No additional
levels.

The treemap
shows a subset
that contains the
first or last ranked
value.

4,900

1,050

6,000

One or more
additional levels.

The number of
additional levels
is reduced to 0. If
the threshold is
still exceeded,
then the treemap
shows a subset
that contains the
first or last ranked
value.

4,900

1,050

6,000

Geo Map

Treemap

Default
Threshold

Minimum
Threshold

Maximum
Threshold

Correlation Matrix

60 measures

Decision Tree

Number of nodes.

An error message
appears.

180

75

200

Number of target
values.

The decision tree

displays
truncated data.

50

30

50

Number of
predictor values.

An error message
appears.

4,300

1,500

5,000

594 Appendix 7 / Data Limits

Visualization Type

Variation

Word Cloud

Behavior when
Limit Is
Exceeded
The word cloud
displays the top
words by
frequency, by
measure value,
or by topic
weight.

Default
Threshold

Minimum
Threshold

Maximum
Threshold

100

100

100

In addition to the data thresholds that are set by the Preferences window, there
are server data limits that can be set by the system administrator. For
information about the server data limits, see the topic Manage High-Cardinality
Data in the SAS Visual Analytics: Administration Guide.

High-Cardinality Thresholds for Report

Objects
Client-side thresholds for report objects are documented in the following table.
These thresholds affect the designer and all of the viewers. The second column
indicates the maximum number of unique values.
Table A7.2

Client-Side Thresholds for Report Objects

Report Object
Gauges (bullets, sliders, thermometers, dials, and speedometers)
Word cloud

Rows
10
100

Bubble plots

1,500

Bar charts (regular, targeted, dual axis, and dual axis bar-line)

3,000

Waterfall charts

3,000

Scatter plots

3,000

Line charts (regular and dual axis line)

4,000

Geo maps (bubble, coordinate, and region)

5,000

Step plots

10,000

Time series plots (regular and dual axis)

10,000

Treemaps

25,000

Pie charts

40,000

High-Cardinality Thresholds for Report Objects

Report Object
Tables (list tables and crosstabs)

595

Rows
40,000

Here are some key points about high-cardinality thresholds in report objects:
n In general, requests that exceed a client-side report object threshold cause

an error message to be displayed. An exception is that for detail data, excess

rows are truncated.
n Scatter plots always show detail data. List tables show details if the user

selects the Show detail data check box. Bubble plots show details unless a
category is assigned to the Group role.
n If a data source contains more than a million records, queries are blocked for

data items whose cardinality is greater than 10,000 unique items in any
particular category.

596 Appendix 7 / Data Limits

597

Appendix 8
Troubleshooting in SAS Visual
Analytics Designer
Repairing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597
Displaying Alert Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598
Exporting Data from Report Objects to Microsoft Excel 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599
Specifying Colors for Data Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599

Repairing Reports
Issue: The Repair Report window is displayed.

Resolution:
When you open a report in the designer, you might be prompted to repair the
report. For example, this can happen when one or more columns have been
removed from the data source. You might be prompted to repair the report when
you refresh a report or change a data source. You might be prompted to repair a
report if your system administrator is still deciding which data items should be in
a table.
To repair a report:
1

Decide whether you want to fix individual data items or all of the data items in
the report.
Fixes can be made at the individual data item level. For example, if two data
items are removed from a report, then the Repair Report window displays
separate entries for each data item. The report objects that are impacted by
each data item appear below each of the data items.

598 Appendix 8 / Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

Here is an example of the Repair Report window that is displayed when a
missing column affects two report objects:

Click Fix or Fix All. For example, if there is a column missing in the data
source and you click Fix, then the missing column is removed from the
report.
Note: If you click Open Report, then all of the data is removed from the
report objects.
A confirmation message is displayed when the report has been fixed.

Displaying Alert Notifications

Issue: An expected alert notification has not been received.

Resolution:
There are many factors that can affect alert notifications. For example, system
administrators for SAS Visual Analytics can set a property for how frequently the
system checks to see whether the alert condition has been met. And, alert
notifications are not sent if a server is down.
The timing of when alert notifications are sent can vary depending on when the
alert condition is met. For example, suppose that you specify that alert
notifications are sent every five days. The alert condition is met for the first time
at 10:00am on September 2. After that, the system continues to check for the
alert condition based on the hour or minute value that you specified for the
Query the system every field. Because the frequency is set to five days, no
alert notifications will be sent between 10:01am on September 2 and 9:59am on
September 7. This is the case, no matter how many times the alert condition is
met during that timeframe. At 10:00am on September 7, if the alert condition is
met, then another alert notification is sent, and the five-day countdown starts
again. On the other hand, if the alert condition has not been met at 10:00am on
September 7, then no alert notification is sent. However, now that five days have
passed, an alert notification is sent as soon as the alert condition is met again.
Suppose that an alert notification is sent at 2:00pm on September 10. After the
alert notification is sent, the five-day countdown starts again, and the earliest the
next alert notification can be sent is 2:00pm on September 15. If you modify the
notification frequency, then the notification history is reset.
You might not receive an alert notification as soon as the alert condition is met
because of the hour or minute value that is set in the Query the system every
field in the designer. For example, suppose that you set the value in the Query

Specifying Colors for Data Labels

599

the system every field to 1 day. If the alert condition is met one hour after the
system check is done, then it will be another 23 hours before the system checks
for the alert condition again and sends an alert notification.
Contact your system administrator for additional assistance.

Exporting Data from Report Objects to

Microsoft Excel 2007
Issue: An error occurs when data from a report object is exported using the Export
to: Excel 2007 Workbook (*.xlsx) option or when there are character codes
displayed in the exported Excel file.

Resolutions:
n If an error occurs during exporting, then in the Export or Save As window,

select either the Save as: Tab-Separated Values (*.tsv) or the Save as:
Comma-Separated Values (*.csv) option to create a data file.
n If you see character codes displayed in a file that has been exported to

Excel, then re-open the exported file in Excel, and save it without any
changes. The character codes are removed from the file.

Specifying Colors for Data Labels

Issue: The data label color for my graph is not black.

Resolution: If a graph object that you add to a report does not have the desired
attributes, try creating a custom graph object in the SAS Visual Analytics Graph
Builder (the graph builder). For example, suppose the data labels for a dual axis
bar-line graph are not the colors that you want. You can create a dual axis barline graph in the graph builder and specify the font color for the data labels.

600 Appendix 8 / Troubleshooting in SAS Visual Analytics Designer

601

Appendix 9
Using URL Parameters to View a
Report
If guest access is configured for the SAS Visual Analytics Viewer, you can use
this URL: http://host/SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/VisualAnalyticsViewer/guest.jsp.
However, to log on and display a single report using guest access, you can use
a URL such as this one (which has parameters to specify the name and location
of the report): http://host/SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/
VisualAnalyticsViewer_guest.jsp?reportName=My+Report&reportPath=/Shared
+Data/VA+Reports/&appSwitcherDisabled=true. This second URL is useful for
tasks such as using an <iframe> tag to incorporate a single report within another
web application because the SAS Visual Analytics application bar, menu bar,
and toolbar are not included.
The following table lists the parameters that can be included in the second URL:
Parameter

Description

reportName

Specifies the name of the report that you want to view. This
parameter is required if you are accessing a specific report
through a URL.

reportPath

Specifies the path to the report that you want to view. This
parameter is required if you are accessing a specific report
through a URL.

appSwitcherDisabled

Disables the application bar, which enables you to return to

the home page or to access other parts of SAS Visual
Analytics and other SAS applications. The default value is
false.
Note: If you are displaying in an <iframe> tag, you must
disable the application bar by specifying
appSwitcherDisabled=true.

commentsEnabled

Enables the Comments tab in the right pane. The default

value is true. If both propertiesEnabled and
commentsEnabled are false, then the right pane is not
added to the viewer.

propertiesEnabled

Enables the Properties tab in the right pane. The default

value is true. If both propertiesEnabled and
commentsEnabled are false, then the right pane is not
added to the viewer.

reportViewOnly

Hides the SAS Visual Analytics banner, including all of the

menus.

602 Appendix 9 / Using URL Parameters to View a Report

Parameter

Description

reportContextBar

Enables all of the menu options for the report. The default
value is true. If reportContextBar is false, then it is implied
that both propertiesEnabled and commentsEnabled are
false, and the right pane is not added to the viewer. This
parameter can be used only in the modern viewer.

Parameters are specified in the URL as a sequence of name and value pairs
using query string syntax. The URL specifies your server, an absolute path to
SAS Visual Analytics, and the query string (following the question mark
character). Each parameter name in the query string is separated from the next
value by an equal sign (=). Multiple name and value pairs are separated by
ampersand characters (&). In this example, reportName=My+Report is the
parameter that specifies the name of the report. The second name and value
pair (reportPath=/Shared+Data/VA+Reports/) is the parameter that
specifies the path to that report. The third name and value pair
(appSwitcherDisabled=true) disables the application bar. It must be present
if you are displaying the report in an <iframe> tag.
There are special rules for formatting name and value pairs in a URL. Special
characters (such as most punctuation characters, including spaces) in a value
must be URL-encoded. A space can be encoded as a plus sign (+) or %20.
Other characters are encoded using the %nn convention, where nn is the
hexadecimal representation of the character in the ASCII character set. In the
previous example, the value /Shared+Data/VA+Reports/ actually identifies
the report path /Shared Data/VA Reports/. The spaces in the names are
encoded as plus signs (+).
The reportName and reportPath parameters must be specified in the URL. The
reportName parameter specifies the name of the report that you want to view
(for example, My Report). The reportPath parameter specifies the path to that
report (for example, /Shared Data/VA Reports/).
Note: You can use these parameters with the standard viewer URL that
requires login credentials (http://host/SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/
VisualAnalyticsViewer.jsp). For example, you can use http://host/
SASVisualAnalyticsViewer/VisualAnalyticsViewer.jsp?reportViewOnly=true to
hide the banner.
URL parameters can be used to specify values for report parameters, such as
display rules, filters, ranks, and aggregated measures.
Note: You must know the exact name of the parameter and the valid values for
that parameter if you are going to include the parameter in your URL or change
its values.

603

Appendix 10
Twitter Data Details
The schema for the imported tweets is shown in the following table:
Column Name

Column Type

Length

Description

author

Character

128

The authors screen name.

authordescription

Character

1024

The authors description.

authorfavouritecount

Numeric

The number of tweets the author has

indicated as a favorite.

authorfollowercount

Numeric

The number of followers the author had

when the tweet was imported from
Twitter.

authorfriendcount

Numeric

The number of users the author was

following when the tweet was imported
from Twitter.

authorid

Numeric

Twitters unique ID for the author.

authorimageurl

Character

1024

A link to the authors profile image.

authorlang

Character

The BCP 47 code for the authors selfdeclared user interface language.

authorlocation

Character

128

The authors self-declared location.

authorname

Character

128

The authors self-declared name in the

authors profile.

authortimezone

Character

256

The authors self-declared time zone.

authorurl

Character

1024

A URL provided by the author in the

authors profile.

body

Character

1024

The body of the tweet.

deviceinfo

Character

1024

The utility that was used to post the tweet.

It is represented as an HTML-formatted
string.

604 Appendix 10 / Twitter Data Details

Column Name

Column Type

Length

Description

docid

Numeric

Twitters unique ID for the tweet. You can

specify this variable as a unique row
identifier when working with text analysis
and word cloud visualizations.

doclatitude

Numeric

The latitude value of the tweets

coordinates (if available). If it is not
available, then a missing value is
populated.

doclongitude

Numeric

The longitude value of the tweets

coordinates (if available). If it is not
available, then a missing value is
populated.

isretweet

Numeric

A value of 1 indicates that the tweet is a

retweet. Otherwise, the value is 0.

referenceauthor

Character

128

Screen name of the user to whom this

tweet was a reply. If the tweet is not a
reply, then this field is empty.

referenceauthorid

Numeric

User ID of the user to whom this tweet

was a reply. If the tweet is not a reply,
then the value for this field is set to -1.

publisheddatetime

Numeric

The tweets published date and time as a

SAS datetime value (based on the
number of seconds since January 1, 1960
at midnight).

publisheddatetimestr

Character

34

The tweets published date and time in

string format. Example: October 24,
2013 6:56:25 PM GMT.

tags

Character

150

A semi-colon separated list of hash tags

that are mentioned within the tweet.

listoflinks

Character

1024

A semi-colon separated list of URLs that

are included in the body of the tweet.
Expanded links are used where available.

mentionedusernames

Character

256

A semi-colon separated list of names of

twitter users mentioned within the tweet.

mentionedusers

Character

256

A semi-colon separated list of screen

names of twitter users mentioned within
the tweet.

retweetcount

Numeric

The number of times this tweet has been

retweeted when the tweet was imported
from Twitter.

Schema for Imported Tweets

605

The schema for tweets is different from the schema that Twitter uses for tweets,
users, and entities. The following list provides URLs to the information from
Twitter for comparison purposes:
n Tweets: https://dev.twitter.com/overview/api/tweets
n Users: https://dev.twitter.com/overview/api/users
n Entities: https://dev.twitter.com/overview/api/entities

606 Appendix 10 / Twitter Data Details

607

Appendix 11
About the Classic SAS Visual
Analytics Home Page
Your First Look at the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . 607
Manage Content on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
Manage Collections on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 612
Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
About the Right Pane of the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hide Content in the Right Pane of the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Show Content in the Right Pane of the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Manage Links in the Right Pane of the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

613
613
613
614
614

Discover Details Using the Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page . . . . 615
Add Comments to Objects on the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617
Specifying Your Preferences for the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Global Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify the SAS Visual Analytics General Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Your Preferences for the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specify Other Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

618
618
619
619
620

About Searching from the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620

Refining Your Search Results for the Classic Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622

Your First Look at the Classic SAS Visual

Analytics Home Page
The classic home page enables you to create new content in SAS Visual
Analytics. In addition, it enables you to access content that you and others have
created.

608 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
Here are the features of the classic home page:
Figure A11.1

The Classic Home Page

1 The application bar enables you to return to the classic home page and to

access other parts of SAS Visual Analytics and other SAS applications that
integrate with the classic home page. You can access your recently created
or viewed reports, explorations, stored processes, stored process reports,
data queries, or other objects in your recent history. Buttons are displayed for
each open application.
2 The menu bar enables you to access task options, such as creating reports,

exploring data, managing your environment or favorites, setting your view,

and getting help on using SAS Visual Analytics. You can search all SAS
content from the menu bar, and you can sign out of SAS Visual Analytics.
3 The Create Content area provides icons to let you quickly explore data,

create a new report, or prepare data, depending on your role, the associated
capabilities, and your SAS software licenses. Other installed SAS
applications might add actions to the Create Content area.
4 The My Content area lists any metadata objects that are created by a

supported SAS application. For example, explorations, reports, queries,

tables, stored processes, or stored process reports that you have opened or
created recently are listed. It also lists any content that you have marked as a
favorite or as part of a collection. Click Browse to explore folders to find a
report, exploration, stored process, stored process report, table, or query.
Note: All tables are displayed because the classic home page does not
distinguish between LASR tables and other tables.

Your First Look at the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page

609

5 The Common Actions section provides an alternate way for you to access

features and other installed SAS applications. For more information, see
Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home Page on page 613.
6 The Links section provides links to pages that you have bookmarked. For

more information, see Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home
Page on page 613.
7 The SAS Resources section provides links to the SAS website, the SAS

Visual Analytics User Community, and to social media. For more information,
see Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home Page on page 613.
Note: Guest access does not provide individualized features on the classic
home page, such as history or alerts. By default, a user with guest access has a
Basic role and can access only the classic home page and the viewer. For more
information, see Guest Access on page 7.
If you have the Theme Designer for Flex: Administration role in SAS
Management Console, you can access the SAS Theme Designer for Flex from
the More Actions item on the menu bar or in the Common Actions section.
Here is an example of the menu bar with the More Actions item.
Figure A11.2 Classic Home Page Menu Bar with the More Actions Item

Once you start using the classic home page, thumbnails enable you to open
explorations, reports, stored processes, stored process reports, tables, queries,
and folders that you have created or opened. The default view is secure, generic
thumbnails that represent the content. An administrator can set a property that
specifies the use of thumbnails that are shared and unique to each object.
Shared thumbnails are unique for each individual report object, so each report
looks different from other reports, and each exploration looks different from other
explorations.
Generic thumbnails are distinguished by content type only. All reports look the
same, but they appear different from explorations. Here are examples of the
generic thumbnails that you might see on the classic home page:
Figure A11.3 Generic Thumbnails for an Exploration, a Report, and a Stored Process

You can choose to view the content on the classic home page as a list. To
change your view, click
on the menu bar, and then select Thumbnail or List.
The default is Thumbnail.

610 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
Here is an example of the list view for the classic home page:
Figure A11.4

List View

For more information about other parts of the SAS Visual Analytics interface,
see the following topics:
n Your First Look at the Data Builder on page 36
n Your First Look at the Explorer on page 107
n Your First Look at the Designer on page 298

Manage Content on the Classic Home Page

The classic home page displays recent reports, explorations, stored processes,
stored process reports, tables, and queries, as well as favorites and collections
under the My Content heading on the classic home page. A favorite is a report,
an exploration, a stored process, a stored process report, a table, or a query that
you can quickly access. A collection is a group of favorites. For more information
about collections, see Manage Collections on the Classic Home Page on page
612.
Note: A user with guest access cannot manage content.
To manage your content, click Manage to the right of the My Content heading.
The Manage My Content window is displayed.

Manage Content on the Classic Home Page

611

Figure A11.5 Manage My Content Window

The following icons are available in the Manage My Content window:

Icon

Description
Enables you to create a new favorites group for your reports, explorations,
stored processes, stored process reports, tables, and queries. Folder names
cannot be longer than 60 characters. This icon is available only when
Favorites is selected.
Enables you to add a report, exploration, stored process, stored process
report, table, or query to your list of favorites. You can also create or add a
collection of favorites.

Options

Enables you to select either Clear Recent History or Clear Favorites.

Enables you to delete favorite or recent content, one at a time. You can
delete multiple items by pressing the Ctrl key. For a collection, you have a
choice of permanently deleting the collection or simply removing it from
under the My Content heading on the classic home page.
Enables you to move favorites content up in the list to change what is
displayed under the My Content heading on the classic home page.
Enables you to move favorite content down in the list to change what is
displayed under the My Content heading on the classic home page.

When you select a report, exploration, stored process, stored process report,
table, or query in the Manage My Content window, the details such as the name
and location of that item are displayed. Favorite groups are displayed only in the
tree on the left side of the Manage My Content window.

612 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page

Manage Collections on the Classic Home

Page
A collection is a group of favorites. If you have the Create Collections capability,
then you can create collections. You can create a collection that points to your
favorite reports, explorations, stored processes, stored process reports, tables,
queries, folders, and favorite groups.
To create a new collection:
1 Do one of the following:
n On the classic home page, click Manage to the right of the My Content

heading. The Manage My Content window is displayed.

Click
to open the menu, and then select Create a Collection. The
Create a Collection window is displayed.

n In the object inspector, click Collections. Then, select Create a

Collection. The Create a Collection window is displayed.

Enter a Name for the collection.

Click Browse to select a Location for the collection. The Choose a Location
window is displayed.
Select an existing folder or create a new one. Click OK to return to the
Create a Collection window.
Note: When you create a new collection, you can add items to it from within
the Manage My Content window only if the collection is a root collection in
My Collections.

Working with the Right Pane on the Classic Home Page

613

(Optional) If you opened the Create a Collection window from the object
inspector, then you can clear the Add the new collection to My Content
check box. This means that the new collection is not displayed on the classic
home page next to the Favorites link.

Click Add. If you are in the Manage My Content window, then the new
collection is displayed on the left.

In the Manage My Content window, you can rename, remove, or permanently

delete a collection by right-clicking on the name of the collection and selecting
the applicable option.

Working with the Right Pane on the Classic

Home Page
About the Right Pane of the Classic Home Page
The Common Actions, Links, and SAS Resources sections are displayed in
the right pane on the classic home page. Someone who has the Visual
Analytics: Administration role can control which sections are displayed in the
right pane. For example, someone with the Visual Analytics: Administration
role might hide all of the sections, two of the sections, or only one section. For
any of the sections that are displayed, you can control which sections are visible
in your SAS Visual Analytics session. You can also control the order in which the
items in the sections are displayed.
The following sections can be displayed in the right pane:
Common Actions
Provides an alternate way for you to access features, such as designing
reports, exploring data, managing your environment or content. For example,
you can click Build Custom Graph to access the graph builder. If you have
a Data Building role, then a Prepare Data link is displayed. You might also
see links to other SAS products, such as SAS Theme Designer for Flex,
depending on your role and the SAS licenses that your site has.
Links
Provides links to pages that you have bookmarked. Someone with the Visual
Analytics: Administration role can also provide shared links for all users.
For information about links, see Manage Links in the Right Pane of the
Classic Home Page on page 614.
SAS Resources
Provides links to the SAS website, the SAS Visual Analytics User
Community, and to social media.

Hide Content in the Right Pane of the Classic

Home Page
To hide content in the right pane, position your mouse pointer over the section
title (Common Actions, Links, or SAS Resources), and click

614 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
To hide or reorder content in a specific section, position your mouse pointer over
the section name, and click

Note: You cannot hide or reorder the first three Common Actions (which are
Open, Manage My Content, and Edit Preferences).
To hide content in the right pane using the menu bar:
1

Click

beside

on the menu bar.

2 Clear the selection for one or more of the following sections:

n Common Actions
n Links
n SAS Resources

The selected section is hidden in the right pane.

Note: If someone with the Visual Analytics: Administration role has
hidden any of the sections in the right pane, then the sections are not
displayed in the menu.

Show Content in the Right Pane of the Classic

Home Page
To show content in the right pane:
1

Click

beside

on the menu bar.

2 Select one or more of the following sections:

n Common Actions
n Links
n SAS Resources

The selected section is displayed in the right pane.

To show or reorder content in a specific section, position your mouse pointer
over the section name, and click

Note: You cannot hide or reorder the first three Common Actions (which are
Open, Manage My Content, and Edit Preferences).
If you have the Administer Hub capability, then you will also see a Manage
Shared View of Right Pane menu item when you click
beside
on the
menu bar. When you select this menu item, the Manage Shared View of the
Right Pane window is displayed. Administrators can use this window to hide
sections, restore sections, and add links in the right pane. Links that are added
using the Manage Shared View of the Right Pane window are shared links that
anyone can see.

Manage Links in the Right Pane of the Classic

Home Page
Note: All URLs must start with http:// or https://.

Discover Details Using the Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page

615

You can add, edit, and delete links in the Links section that is displayed in the
right pane.
To add new links, position your mouse pointer over the Links section heading in
the right pane to activate the , which opens the Add Link window. Links that
are added using the Add Link window are private and visible only to the user
who created them. Click
to open the Manage Links window, where you can
add, delete, re-order, and hide links. You cannot delete shared links that were
added using the Manage Shared View of the Right Pane window.
If you have an Administration role, then you can click
beside
on the menu
bar, and select Manage Shared View of Right Pane. The Manage Shared View
of the Right Pane window is displayed. You can use this window to add links to
the right pane that are shared with other users.

Discover Details Using the Object

Inspector on the Classic Home Page
The classic home page provides an object inspector that enables you to quickly
find more information about an object when you click it. You can see a
description of the report, exploration, stored process, stored process report,
table, query, folder, or collection; the location of the selected object; the author;
when the object was created and modified; and a list of keywords.
Your role and capabilities determine the availability of actions on the toolbar
(such as viewing, editing, or opening) in the object inspector. For more
information about roles and capabilities, see the SAS Visual Analytics:
Administration Guide.

616 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
Here is an example of what you might see in the object inspector for a report
that has been viewed:
Figure A11.6 The Object Inspector on the Classic Home Page

You can use the toolbar in the object inspector to do one or more of the following
tasks (which are available depending on your role and capabilities):
n View a report, which opens the report in SAS Visual Analytics Viewer (the

viewer).
n Edit a report, which opens the report in SAS Visual Analytics Designer (the

designer) so that you can edit or change the objects in the report.
n Open an exploration, which displays SAS Visual Analytics Explorer (the

explorer). The Open link is also available for stored processes, stored
process reports, queries, and folders.
n Create Report for a table, which displays the designer.
n Explore Data for a table, which displays the explorer.
n Click Collections to select an existing collection or to create a new

collection. For more information, see Manage Collections on the Classic

Home Page on page 612.
n Click

to add the object to your list of favorites. When the star icon is
yellow, it indicates that the object is in your list of favorites. Click
to
remove the object from your list of favorites.

n Click

to set the object as the initial screen when you start SAS Visual
Analytics. When the icon is blue, it indicates that the object is set as your
initial screen. Click
to remove this initial screen setting.

Add Comments to Objects on the Classic Home Page

617

In the object inspector, you can also do the following:

n Click the user name beside the Created or Last modified labels to search

for all of the SAS reports, queries, tables, stored processes, and stored
process reports that have been created or modified by that user.
n Click Comments to add or view comments. Any user who has the Add or

View Comments capability can add comments to any report, exploration,

stored process, stored process report, table, or query. They can view existing
comments about any report, exploration, stored process, stored process
report, table, or query using the Comments link in the lower right of the
object inspector. You cannot comment on folders, favorite groups, or
collections. For more information, see Add Comments to Objects on the
Classic Home Page on page 617.

Add Comments to Objects on the Classic

Home Page
If you have the Add or View Comments capability, then you can use the object
inspector on the classic home page to add (or view) comments to objects on the
home page. You can add comments to reports, explorations, stored processes,
stored process reports, tables, and queries. You can also respond to existing
comments or edit your own comments. You cannot comment on folders, favorite
groups, or collections. You cannot see comments that were added to
visualizations using the explorer.
To add a comment:
1 Click on a report, exploration, stored process, stored process report, table, or

query to open the object inspector.

2

Click Comments in the lower right corner to expand the object inspector.
Figure A11.7

Comments in the Object Inspector

Enter a topic name and a comment.

618 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
4

Click Post to add your comment. The Comments link in the object inspector
updates to show that there is a comment.

(Optional) Click

to attach a file or an image to your comment.

To respond to an existing comment:

1 Click on a report, exploration, stored process, stored process report, table, or

query to open the object inspector.

2 Click Comments in the lower right corner to expand the object inspector.
3

Select an existing comment. Then, enter a reply.

4 (Optional) Click
5

to attach a file or image to your reply.

Click Post to add your comment. The Comments link in the object inspector
updates to show that there is a comment.

Note: To edit another users comments or to delete comments, you must belong
to the predefined role Comments:Administrator. This role includes the
capabilities of editing or deleting comments.
To search for a comment:
1

Enter the word or phrase that you want to search for in the search field.
Press Enter.

(Optional) To clear your search, click

or phrase in the search field.

. Then, you can enter another word

Specifying Your Preferences for the Classic

Home Page
All of your preferences persist between sessions. Preferences are not available
for a user with guest access.

Specify Global Preferences

You can specify global preferences that are applied to all SAS web applications
that are displayed with the Adobe Flash player. These preferences are set by
each user.
To specify global preferences:
1

Click either
or Edit Preferences on the classic home page. The
Preferences window is displayed.
Note: If you are in the data builder, the explorer, the designer, or the viewer,
then select File Preferences to open the Preferences window.

2 Click Global Preferences in the left pane.

3 Specify your preferences.
n Select a User locale to specify your language and geographic region.

Specifying Your Preferences for the Classic Home Page

619

Note: If you change the User locale preference, then you must sign out
and sign in to SAS Visual Analytics for the change to take effect.
TIP If you receive distributed reports, it is recommended that you set

the User locale preference. The report distribution feature does not
have access to the browser locale, so it depends on the locale
specified for the User locale. For more information, see Distributing
Reports on page 470.
n Select a Theme to change the color scheme and other visual settings for

all of your SAS web applications.

n Select Invert application colors to invert all of the colors in your SAS

web applications.
n Select Override settings for focus indicator to change the color,

thickness, and opacity of the focus in your SAS web applications.

n Click Reset to show all warning and confirmation messages.
4

Click OK to apply your changes.

Specify the SAS Visual Analytics General

Preferences
Using the SAS Visual Analytics classic home page, you can specify your general
preferences for SAS Visual Analytics. Preferences are saved on a per-user
basis.
To specify your general preferences:
1

Click either

or Edit Preferences to open the Preferences window.

Click General in the left pane.

3 Specify a value for Show this number of recent items. There is a minimum

of zero and a maximum of 25. The default setting is 10 items.

Click Clear History to reset your history.
4

Click OK to apply your changes.

Specify Your Preferences for the Classic Home

Page
To specify preferences that are specific to the classic home page:
1

Click either

or Edit Preferences to open the Preferences window.

Click Home in the left pane.

Select an option from the Initial screen drop-down list. The available options
depend on your role and capabilities.
TIP If you select A specific object, then you can use the Choose an Item

window to choose one content type (for example, SAS reports (2G), visual

620 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
explorations, or a SAS Visual Statistics project) for your initial screen.
(SAS Visual Statistics is licensed separately.) If you select a report in the
Choose an Item window, then you might be able to click
beside the OK
button to select either View (Visual Analytics Viewer) or Edit (Visual
Analytics Designer). The available content types and the options for
opening reports depend on the SAS products that your site has licensed
and how they are configured.
4

Specify Order the actions associated with a content type preferences.

Select a Content type, and then use the arrow keys to specify the Order of
actions. This preference also affects the order of actions in the object
inspectors toolbar.
This preference also determines which application opens when you click on a
link to a report in an e-mail message. For example, suppose that you specify
Edit - SAS Visual Analytics Designer as the first item in the list of actions
for the SAS report (2G) content type. Then, you receive an e-mail message
with a link to a report. When you click the link to the report, it is displayed in
the designer.

5 Click OK to apply your changes.

Specify Other Preferences

You can specify other preferences in SAS Visual Analytics:
n Specify Your Preferences for the Data Builder on page 39
n Specify Your Preferences for the Explorer on page 109
n Specify Your Preferences for the Designer on page 303
n Specify Your Preferences for the Graph Builder on page 492
n Specify Your Preferences for the Classic Viewer on page 528

About Searching from the Classic Home

Page
You can search all reports, explorations, stored processes, stored process
reports, tables, and queries that are on the metadata server from the menu bar
on the classic home page. The list of items that you can search for depends on
the SAS products that your site has licensed.
Note: There can be a delay between the time that an object (for example, a
report or an exploration) is created or changed and when the search is updated.
The following fields in metadata are searched:
n Comment Title
n Comment Description
n Created
n Description

About Searching from the Classic Home Page

621

n Keywords
n Last Modified
n Title

The search field on the menu bar supports the following types of searches:
n single word
n multiple word
n in-word wildcards

Note: A wildcard search has a limit of 200 words.

Use the asterisk (*) to represent possible characters in a particular position in
a word to generalize the word or to make it easier to find in a search. For
example, if you specify cat*, then the search matches any word with the
prefix cat, such as cats, category, catfish, and so on.
n spaces in strings that use quotation marks indicate that the words are

considered together as a phrase for the search. For example, suppose that
you search for "Sample Report. The search matches Sample Report 1 and
A Sample Report, but not Sample Values Report or Sample-Report.
n the AND operator

For example, if you specify A AND B, then only documents that contain
both A and B are returned.
n plus (+) and minus (-) syntax

The plus (+) sign and minus (-) sign are prefix operators. This means that the
operator precedes the search term that is required or excluded, rather than
following it. For example:
o

Specifying 2012 2013 2014 matches documents that contain any of the
three terms.

Specifying +2012 +2013 +2014 matches only documents that contain all
three terms.

Specifying 2012 2013 -2014 matches documents that contain 2012 or

2013, but only if they do not contain 2014.

Here are some considerations for searching from the classic home page:
n Single- and multiple-word searches that are plain text have a wildcard

appended to them. For example, if you search for the word sample, then it is
converted to sample*. This means that you get different results than if you
entered sample, +sample, or *sample*.
n The search is not case sensitive.
n Up to 5000 items can be returned in a single search. If your search results

exceed 5000 items, then the first 5000 items appear, and a message is
displayed at the top of the Search Results window. The message tells you
how many results matched your search and how many have been displayed.
Narrowing your search using the search field enables the relevant search
results to be displayed. When you submit a new search that returns fewer
than 5000 items, you can see all the search results.
n Search results on the classic home page are not ranked. In the workspace,

you can use the Sort by drop-down list to specify that you want the list of

622 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
items to sort by Alphabetical ascending, Alphabetical descending, Date
ascending, or Date descending. The default is Alphabetical ascending.
n A search string must be shorter than 4,000 characters.

Suppose that you search for the word sample. All words that contain sample at
the beginning are displayed in the workspace. (For example, a word that starts
with samples is displayed.) Here is an example of the search results:
Figure A11.8 Search Results on the Classic Home Page

Refining Your Search Results for the

Classic Home Page
You can refine your search results using your original search on the metadata
server. After you enter your original search using the menu bar on the classic
home page, the search results are displayed in the workspace. Note that when
you refine your search results, the initial 5000 item subset is not affected.
The refine search feature is dependent on your locale. The search is not case
sensitive.
You can refine the search results displayed in the workspace using the Search
within results field in the left pane. When you enter a term or terms, you can
use quotation marks and spaces when you are searching within your results.
Only the items that match your refined search appear in your workspace. Each
search term that you enter must appear at least once in the object name, the
description, the authors name, or keywords in the metadata.
You can also refine your search results by selecting (or clearing) check boxes in
the left pane. Note that the totals in the parentheses in any pane are dependent
on what has been selected in the other two panes.

Refining Your Search Results for the Classic Home Page

623

The following panes are available:

n The Type pane shows the available object types. In SAS Visual Analytics,

you can search for Stored process report, SAS report (2G), Table, Stored
process, Visual data query, or Visual exploration. Depending on the SAS
products that you have licensed at your site, other SAS object types might
appear in the Type pane. The default is All object types.
The available types are determined by the capabilities that your system
administrator has assigned. For example, you might see only the All, SAS
report (2G), Table, and Stored process check boxes in the Type pane.
If you select all of the check boxes for the individual types, then the check
boxes clear, and the All check box is selected automatically. If you clear the
check boxes for all of the types, then the All check box is selected
automatically.
Note: If your role permits you to see only one type, then you will not see the
Type pane.
n The Created or Last Modified By pane enables you to search for a specific

user or to select one or more users by name.

The number in parentheses beside the user's name identifies the number of
objects that the user has created or modified, taking into account the filters
that have been selected in the other panes.
If you select all of the check boxes for the users in the list, then the check
boxes clear, and the All check box is selected automatically. If you clear the
check boxes for all of the users, then the All check box is selected
automatically.
n The Date Modified pane lists the dates that the objects were last modified.

You can refine the search to a specific date range by specifying a From date,
a To date, or both. If the initial results set represents only a single day, then
the From and To fields are hidden to conserve visual space.
The dates are time zone dependent. If your company has offices in multiple
time zones, then the date modified time stamp on the object reflects the time
at which it was saved using the current users time zone. For example, if a
report was modified by a user on January 3 at 2:00 a.m. in New York,
another user in California sees that it was modified on January 2 at 11:00
p.m.
At the top of the workspace, you can see the breadcrumbs for the selections that
you have made to refine your search. Breadcrumbs change as you modify the
selections in the Type, Created or Last Modified By, and Date Modified
panes. The breadcrumbs also show any search strings that you entered in the
Search within results field.
Suppose that you search for the word sample. Then, you refine the search
results by selecting Stored process for Type. All stored processes that contain

624 Appendix 11 / About the Classic SAS Visual Analytics Home Page
the word sample are displayed in the workspace. Here is an example of the
refined search results:
Figure A11.9 Refined Search Results on the Classic Home Page

625

Glossary
Apache Hadoop
a framework that allows for the distributed processing of large data sets
across clusters of computers using a simple programming model.
bar chart
a chart that consists of a grid and some vertical or horizontal columns (bars).
Each column represents quantitative data.
bar-line chart
a bar chart with an overlaid line graph.
box plot
a graphical display of five statistics (the minimum, lower quartile, median,
upper quartile, and maximum) that summarize the distribution of a set of
data. The lower quartile (25th percentile) is represented by the lower edge of
the box, and the upper quartile (75th percentile) is represented by the upper
edge of the box. The median (50th percentile) is represented by a central line
that divides the box into sections. The extreme values are represented by
whiskers that extend out from the edges of the box.
calculated column
a column that does not exist in any of the tables that are accessed, but which
is created as a result of a column expression.
capability
an application feature that is under role-based management. Typically, a
capability corresponds to a menu item or button. For example, a Report
Creation capability might correspond to a New Report menu item in a
reporting application. Capabilities are assigned to roles.
cell
a distinct rectangular subregion of a graph that can contain plots, text, or
legends.
choropleth map
a two-dimensional map that uses color and fill pattern combinations to
represent different categories or levels of magnitude.
co-located data provider
a distributed data source, such as SAS Visual Analytics Hadoop or a thirdparty vendor database, that has SAS High-Performance Analytics software
installed on the same machines. The SAS software on each machine
processes the data that is local to the machine or that the data source makes
available as the result of a query.

626 Glossary
crosstab
a two-dimensional table that shows frequency distributions or other
aggregate statistics for the intersections of two or more category data items.
In a crosstabulation table, categories are displayed on both the columns and
rows, and each cell value represents the data result from the intersection of
the categories on the specific row and column.
data brushing
a feature that enables you to select data values in a report object or
visualization, and to readily see the corresponding data values highlighted in
other report objects or visualizations.
data item
an item in a data source that is either a logical view of a data field or a
calculation. The author of a report decides which data items to use in a
particular section of a report. There are three types of data items:
hierarchies, categories, and measures.
data source
a table, view, or file from which you will extract information. Sources can be
in any format that SAS can access, on any supported hardware platform. The
metadata for a source is typically an input to a job.
dependency
a trigger condition that must be met before a job can run in a scheduled flow.
deployed job
a job that has been saved in a deployment directory and can be scheduled.
deployment directory
the location for generated SAS DATA step programs that will be executed by
the batch server as part of a scheduled flow.
file event
a file-related occurrence that is used as a trigger in a scheduled flow. For
example, a file event occurs when a scheduling server determines that a
specified file exists.
filter
specified criteria that are applied to data in order to identify the subset of data
for a subsequent operation, such as continued processing.
flow
a set of jobs and associated dependencies that is scheduled in the Schedule
Manager plug-in in SAS Management Console.
heat map
a graphical representation of data where the values taken by a variable in a
two-dimensional map are represented as colors.
job
a collection of SAS tasks that can create output.

Glossary 627

job event
a job-related occurrence that is used as a trigger in a scheduled flow. For
example, a job event occurs when the scheduling server issues a command
to determine whether a job ran successfully.
job flow
a group of jobs and their dependencies, including dependencies on other
jobs, on files, or on specified dates and times.
join condition
a combination of join keys and a comparison operator.
list table
a two-dimensional representation of data, in which the data values are
arranged in rows and columns.
local data
data that is accessible through the file systems on a computer. This includes
data on hard drives or available through network file systems.
locale
a setting that reflects the language, local conventions, and culture for a
geographic region. Local conventions can include specific formatting rules for
paper sizes, dates, times, and numbers, and a currency symbol for the
country or region. Some examples of locale values are French_Canada,
Portuguese_Brazil, and Chinese_Singapore.
localization
the process of adapting software for a particular geocultural region (locale).
Translation of the user interface, system messages, and documentation is a
large part of the localization process.
pie chart
a circular chart that is divided into slices by radial lines. Each slice represents
the relative contribution of each part to the whole.
query
a set of instructions that requests particular information from one or more
data sources.
remote data
data that is not accessible through the file systems available to a computer.
To use remote data, you must direct a SAS server to access the data that is
available through file systems on the remote machine.
report
output that is generated by running custom SAS code against the data in
your project.
role
a set of capabilities within an application that are targeted to a particular
group of users.
SAS Management Console
a Java application that provides a single user interface for performing SAS
administrative tasks.

628 Glossary
SAS Stored Process
a SAS program that is stored on a server and defined in metadata, and which
can be executed by client applications. Short form: stored process.
scatter plot
a two- or three-dimensional plot that shows the joint variation of two (or
three) variables from a group of table rows. The coordinates of each point in
the plot correspond to the data values for a single table row (observation).
scatter plot matrix
a grid of scatter plots showing pairwise combinations of multiple numeric
variables.
scheduling server
a server that runs deployed jobs in a scheduled flow. Before running a job,
the scheduling server determines when the schedule for the deployed job as
well as all of the dependencies for the job have been met.
source
See data source
subquery
a query-expression that is nested as part of another query-expression.
Depending on the clause that contains it, a subquery can return a single
value or multiple values.
time series
an ordered sequence of values of a variable that are observed at equally
spaced time intervals.
Unicode
a 16-bit encoding that is the industry standard for supporting the interchange,
processing, and display of characters and symbols from most of the world's
writing systems.
user role
See role
UTF-8
a method for converting 16-bit Unicode characters to 8-bit characters. This
format supports all of the world's languages, including those that use nonLatin 1 characters.
visual exploration
a metadata object that contains visualizations and data settings that are
saved from a session of SAS Visual Analytics Explorer.
visualization
an interactive visual representation of data. A visualization can be a table, a
chart, or a geographic map.
waterfall chart
a form of data visualization that is used to understand or explain the
cumulative effect on an initial value of sequentially introduced positive or
negative values. Usually, the initial and the final values are represented by
whole columns, and the intermediate values are denoted by floating columns.

629

Index
A
adding
columns in custom graphs 485
columns in the data builder 43, 53
comments in the designer 469
info windows 458
plots to a custom graph 484
report sections 458
adding a report job 471
advanced report filters 418
aggregated measures 124, 357
adding 377
distinct count 363
editing 379
percentage of total 363
aggregation types 565
aggregations 55, 115, 370, 565
adding to multiple columns 57
alerts 346, 527
adding 347
deleting 348
editing 348
preference 303
subscribe 527
unsubscribe 527
alphanumeric categories 358
application themes 9
authenticated users 7
automatic charts 155
axes
customizing 151
locking 151
transferring 151

B
band plots 548
bar charts 158, 539
basic 414
basic report filters 414
binning interval 327
box plots 180
brush 526
bubble change plots 545
bubble plots 165, 544

building custom graphs

See custom graphs
bullet gauges 557
butterfly charts 552
button bar control 329, 554

C
calculated columns 54
calculated data items 123, 358, 374,
567
adding 375
compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) 587
deleting 372
duplicating 361
editing 377
canvas 301
capabilities in SAS Visual Analytics 8
category data items 358
distinct counts 363
sort options 372
changing data sources 353
charts
bar charts 539
butterfly charts 552
dual axis bar charts 546
dual axis bar-line charts 547
dual axis line charts 546
line charts 540
pie charts 541
schedule charts 550
targeted bar charts 540
waterfall charts 540
classic home page 607
searching 620
classic viewer
adding comments 525
alerts 527
brushing 526
drilling 526
filtering 526
opening reports 523
preferences 528
viewing links 527
color gradients 151

630 Index
column expressions 54
comments
for explorations 229, 525
for reports 469, 525
for visualizations 229
comparative time series plots 542
compound annual growth rate 587
conditions for filters 589
connecting to library server
Android 520
iPad 519
controls 328, 554
button bar 329, 554
creating report prompts 330
creating section prompts 331
drop-down list 329, 554
list 329, 554
properties 329
reordering report prompts 331
reordering section prompts 332
slider 329, 554
styles 330
text input 329, 554
correlation matrices 187
crosstabs 157, 320, 538
exporting data from 467
percentage of total 364
sorting data in 389
CSV files 13
custom categories 119, 366
custom geography data items 372
custom graph types
band plots 548
bar charts 539
bubble plots 544
line charts 540
needle plots 548
pie charts 541
scatter plots 542
schedule charts 550
series plots 543
step plots 549
time series plots 542
treemaps 545
vector plots 550
waterfall charts 540
custom graphs 343
about the graph builder 479
about the template gallery 480
adding plots 484
adding to the designers Objects tab
492
building 481
changing the order of graph
elements 497
creating a data-driven lattice 489

creating a grid of rows and columns

485
example data-driven lattice 507
example filled overlay 512
example user-defined lattice 509
example vector 513
properties in the designer 343
removing graph elements 498
roles 482
saving 491
selecting components 496
shared data roles 504
styles in the designer 344
custom sort
adding 391
deleting 392
editing 392

D
dashboard indicator
See gauges
data
See also data items
See also data sources
database table 24
exporting from crosstabs 467
Facebook 29
formats 115
Google Analytics 30
local data file 17
properties 114
self-service 13
Twitter 31
data brushing 153
data items
See also category data items
aggregated measures 357
assigning 359
automatic assignment 361
calculated 358, 374
create custom category 366
date time 358
deleting 372
derived 126
distinct count 363
duplicating 361
geography 132, 359, 372
grouping on Data tab 355
hiding 354
hierarchies 356, 359
in a report 357
measure data items 359
modifying format 368

Index

modifying role 367

renaming 362, 367
searching for 362
showing 354
sorting on Data tab 355
data roles
modifying in report objects 379
removing from report objects 388
data source filters 208, 421
creating 421
deleting 422
editing 422
data sources 43, 350
adding to reports 351
changing 353
filtering 421
importing 351
mapping in the designer 438
measure details 354
modifying measure aggregation 370
refreshing 353
removing 353
data-driven lattice 489
date category data items 358
datetime category data items 358
decision trees 189
deleting
aggregations 56
columns in the data builder 54
data items 372
data source filters 422
data sources 353
hierarchies 357
info windows 460
interactions 440
report sections 460
reports 313
details table 146
dial gauges 558
display rules 395
gauges 409
graph level 405
report level 396
table level 397
distinct counts 126, 363
distributing reports 470, 472
document collections 133
dot plots 551
drill 526
drop-down list control 329, 554
dual axis bar charts 546
dual axis bar-line charts 547
dual axis line charts 546
dual axis time series plots 547
duplicate data items 131
duplicating

631

data items 361

info windows 459
report objects 346
report sections 459

E
e-mailing
explorations 217
reports 462
explorations 111
exporting 466
data from crosstabs 467
data from report objects 466
data from visualizations 216
graph data 468
list table data 466
PDF output 214
report data 466

F
filter controls 328
filtering
continuous data 205
discrete data 204
filters 200, 413, 427, 526
See also filters, advanced
See also filters, basic
See also filters, data source
filters, advanced 207, 418
creating 207, 418
deleting 421
editing 207, 420
filters, basic 202, 414
creating 203, 414
deleting 418
editing 206, 417
visual filter controls 204
filters, data source 208, 421
creating 208, 421
deleting 422
editing 209, 422
filters, post-aggregate 423
creating 423
deleting 425
editing 424
formats
modifying for data items 115, 368
modifying user-defined 369
full-screen view 307

632 Index

G
gauges
bullet 557
dial 558
display rules 409
properties 341
shared display rules 410
slider 557
speedometer 558
styles 342
thermometer 557
geo bubble maps 555
geo coordinate maps 555
geo maps 184, 339
geo bubble maps 339
geo coordinate maps 339
geo region maps 339
properties 340
styles 340
geo region maps 556
geography data items 132, 359, 372
graph builder 479
preferences 492
graph template gallery 480
graph-level display rules 405
using a color-mapped value 407
using an expression 405
graphs
See also custom graph types
bubble change plots 545
bubble plots 544
butterfly charts 552
comparative time series plots 542
custom graphs 479
displaying results 326
dot plots 551
exporting data from 468
numeric series plots 544
pie charts 541
properties 326
scatter plots 542
series plots 543
stock high-low plots 552
stock volume and volatility plots 553
styles 328
time series plots 542
treemaps 545
vector plots 550
group by variables 56
grouping
items on Data tab 355
guest access
SAS Visual Analytics 7
viewer 528

H
heat maps 182
hiding
data items 354
report objects 319
hierarchies 355
creating 219, 356
deleting 357
editing 356
from date and time items 220
hierarchy data items 359
histograms 178
horizontal containers 332
properties 333
styles 333

I
image files, exporting as 216
images 335
inserting into a report 335
properties 336
importing
data 13
report objects 311
reports 311
info windows 457
adding 458
deleting 460
duplicating 459
linking to 443
renaming 459
reordering 459
information maps
limitations and restrictions 84
interactions 427, 428, 526
data brushing 427, 433
deleting 440
example 446
filters 427, 428
mapping data sources 438
interface
designer 297

J
jobs, in SAS Data Integration Studio
97
joins 44
automatic join feature 66
explicit 65

Index

maximum number of tables 65

sequence 70

L
lattice 489
about 498
adding rows and columns 499
creating 485
moving graph elements 499
moving rows and columns 500
removing cells 500
removing graph elements 500
removing rows and columns 500
resizing rows and columns 499
layouts
See report layouts
libraries 44
line charts 160, 540
linking
mapping data sources 438
links 441
deleting 446
editing 446
example 446
text 445
to a section 443
to an external URL 444
to an info window 443
to another report 442
viewing 527
list control 329, 554
list tables 320, 538
exporting data from 466
sorting data in 389
sparklines 323
localizing reports 474
logging off 7

M
managing report distributions 474
map data sources 438
measure data items 359
measures
details 354
modifying aggregation of 370
percentage of total 363
metadata view for stored process 338
Microsoft Excel
exporting data from report objects
466
import spreadsheets 13

633

missing values, excluding 206

mobile devices
connecting to library server 519,
520
opening the app 519
modern viewer
opening reports 529
modifying data item role 367
moving objects
info windows 460
report sections 460

N
needle plots 548
network diagrams 168
numeric series plots 544

O
object inventory list 308
opening
mobile viewer 519
reports 312
operators
for calculated items 567
overlaid plots
See overlays
overlays
changing the order of 497
creating 484
removing 498
overview axis 502

P
parameters 121, 453
creating 454
deleting 455
editing 455
using in the designer 453
partitioning tables
ORDERBY= option 78
PDF, exporting as 214
percentage of total 363
pie charts 541
pivot by 57
plots
adding as an overlay 484
adding as new rows and columns
485

634 Index
band plots 548
box plots 180
bubble change plots 545
bubble plots 165, 544
changing the order of 497
comparative time series plots 542
creating a data-driven lattice 489
dot plots 551
dual axis time series plots 547
needle plots 548
numeric series plots 544
removing 498
scatter plots 163, 542
selecting 496
series plots 543
shared data roles 504
step plots 549
stock high-low plots 552
stock volume and volatility plots 553
time series plots 542
vector plots 550
post-aggregate report filters 423
precision layout 307
preferences 39
alert notifications 303
default view for reports 304
for the classic viewer 528
for the data builder 39
for the designer 303
for the graph builder 492
report theme 304
printing reports 463
prompt containers 332
properties
controls 329
custom graphs 501
gauges 341
geo maps 340
graphs 326
horizontal containers 333
images 336
overview axis 502
reports 308
stack containers 333
stored process 337
text 334
vertical containers 333
word clouds 342

Q
query, cancel 393

R
ranks
adding to reports 449
deleting from reports 452
for reports 449
for visualizations 149
redo history 42
refreshing
data sources 353
reports 313
removing data sources 353
renaming
data items 362, 367
info windows 459
report sections 459
reports 310
reordering
info windows 459
report sections 459
repairing reports 597
report data, exporting 466
report filters 413
See also filters
advanced 418
basic 414
data sources 421
post-aggregate 423
report layouts
precision 307
tiled 307
report links 441
report objects 316
alerts 346
container types 332
controls 328, 554
duplicating 346
exporting data 466
gauges 341
graphs 326
hiding 319
inserting 318
moving 460
other types 334
showing 319
tables 320
viewing information about 525
report prompt 328
report prompts
creating 330
reordering 331
report sections 457
adding 458
deleting 460
duplicating 459

Index

moving objects 460

renaming 459
reordering 459
report themes 302
preference 304
selecting 302
report views 307
full screen 307
tablet 307
wide-screen tablet 307
report-level display rules 396
reports 305
See also report filters
See also report objects
See also report sections
See also report themes
adding a report job 471
adding sections 458
cancel slow query 393
create a distribution 472
creating 306
creating a new hierarchy 356
deleting 313
deleting sections 460
display rules 395
distributing 470
e-mailing 462
hierarchies 355
importing 311
inserting images 335
layout 307
localize 474
managing distribution 474
modifying data roles 379
opening 312
printing 463
properties 308
re-using objects 312
refreshing 313
removing data roles 388
renaming 310
repairing 597
sharing 461
specify description 308
using a custom sort 391
view title 308
viewing 523, 529
views 307
results
displaying in gauges 341
displaying in graphs 326
displaying in tables 320
role names for shared roles 504
roles 8
See also custom graphs
data 379

635

data item, modifying 367

user 8
roles for custom graphs 482

S
Sankey diagrams 172
SAS data sets 13
SAS Visual Analytics 3
accessibility features 9
authenticated users 7
benefits of 4
capabilities 8
guest access 7
how it works 4
roles 8
themes 9
user community 5
scatter plots 163, 542
schedule charts 550
scheduling data queries 91
searching
for data items 362
from the classic home page 620
section prompt 329
section prompts
creating 331
reordering 332
sections 457
adding 458
deleting 460
duplicating 459
linking to 443
moving 460
renaming 459
reordering 459
series plots 543
shared display rule 410
showing
data items 354
report objects 319
slider control 329, 554
slider gauges 557
slow query 393
sorting
custom 391
data in crosstabs 389
data in graphs 390
data in list tables 389
in reports 388
items on Data tab 355
sparklines 320, 323
speedometer gauges 558
stack containers 332

636 Index
properties 333
styles 333
step plots 549
stock high-low plots 552
stock volume and volatility plots 553
stopping scheduled data queries 92
stored processes 337, 525
metadata view 338
properties 337
styles
controls 330
gauges 342
geo maps 340
graphs 328
horizontal containers 333
tables 322
text 335
vertical containers 333
word clouds 343
subquery
joining 44
subtotals 320, 322

percentage of total 363

treemaps 186, 545
Twitter
importing tweets 603

U
undo history 42
user
capabilities 8
user interface
designer 297
user-defined formats
modifying 369
user-defined lattice
See lattice
users
authenticated 7
guest 7

V
T
table-level display rules 397
using a color-mapped value 402
using a gauge 400
using an expression 397
tables 156
See also crosstabs
joining 44
list tables 320, 538
styles 322
tablet view 307
tabs 299
designers left pane 299
designers right pane 300
targeted bar charts 540
template gallery
See graph template gallery
text 334
properties 334
styles 335
text input control 329, 554
themes
application 9
report 302
thermometer gauges 557
tiled layout 307
time category data items 358
time series plots 542
totals 320, 322

vector plots 550

vertical containers 332
properties 333
styles 333
viewer
guest access 528
overview 523
views
full-screen 307
tablet 307
wide-screen tablet 307
visualizations 138
arranging 145
creating 144
data limits 591
managing 144
overview 138
types of 138

W
waterfall charts 540
wide-screen tablet view 307
word clouds 194, 342
properties 342
styles 343