GemmaR Tracker

Introducing Parameters and Prompts in SAS Studio Flows

GemmaR — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:00:53 GMT

Flow design in SAS Studio on SAS Viya is now more dynamic and reusable.

As of SAS Viya stable release 2026.03 you can configure parameters and prompts within flows, allowing users to provide input values at runtime without modifying code.

From Zero to Clarity: Effortlessly Import Files in SAS Studio for Low-Code Users

GemmaR — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 06:49:10 GMT

When working with external data—such as delimited text files or Excel spreadsheets—the first step in SAS Studio is to convert that data into a SAS table that can be queried, transformed, or analyzed. The 2025.06 SAS Viya stable release of SAS Studio streamlines and standardizes this process, particularly for those who may prefer using the point-and-click interface over coding

From Zero to Clarity: SAS Compute & CAS for Low-Code Users

GemmaR — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 10:23:11 GMT

In this post, part of my From Zero to Clarity series for low-code users, we’ll break down two core processing engines in SAS Viya: SAS Compute and SAS Cloud Analytics Services (CAS). You’ll learn what they are, why both exist, and when to use each one so you can confidently make the most of your SAS Viya environment.

Faster, Smarter, More Intuitive: SAS Studio 2025.06 Stable Release

GemmaR — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 06:40:28 GMT

SAS Studio just got a major upgrade—and it’s more than just a facelift. The June 2025.06 stable release introduces a brand-new user interface built on a modern framework, offering a noticeably faster, smoother, and more responsive experience. Whether you build flows, write code, design custom

Thinking of Moving From SAS Enterprise Guide to SAS® Viya®? Q&A, Slides, and On-Demand Recording

GemmaR — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:52:48 GMT

Watch this Ask the Expert session to learn the multiple pathway options when transitioning from SAS Enterprise Guide to SAS Viya. Plus, get a comparison of SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Studio features.

You will learn:

What options are available to a SAS Enterprise Guide user transitioning to SAS Viya.
How SAS Enterprise Guide compares to SAS Studio.
About additional benefits gained with SAS Viya.

The questions from the Q&A segment held at the end of the webinar are listed below and the slides from the webinar are attached.

Q&A

In SAS Enterprise Guide I can use keyboard shortcuts for most commonly used code, but in SAS Studio I can't. Why?

Since SAS Studio runs in a web browser, some keyboard shortcuts are controlled by the browser and cannot be redefined in the application. Please see the Keyboard Shortcut SAS Help page for information on managing keyboard shortcuts.

In the SAS Enterprise Guide version shown here, are all these different tools (e.g., Git repositories, tasks, etc.) only available with SAS Viya, or is it also available with SAS 9?

Git integration is available to both, Tasks are used in SAS Enterprise Guide process flows whilst steps are used in SAS Studio Flows. Here is a general feature comparison of the various versions of SAS Enterprise Guide and SAS Studio.

Is it possible to transform stored processes from SAS 9.4 to SAS Viya / SAS Studio including the prompts? What happens with Stored Process in Viya?

The answer is yes! SAS 9.4 Stored Process are migrated to SAS Viya Jobs in SAS Viya 4. For more information see the following post Migration of Stored Processes to SAS Viya Jobs.

Is there a specific version of SAS Enterprise Guide that is required to run across 9.4, Viya, and Workbench? And are there limitations to using each of these with EG, assuming there was a use case that required this (for instance, could you have a flow running across all of these in the same EG session)?

SAS Enterprise Guide 8.4, released in April last year, and introduced the new capability to integrate with SAS Viya 4 servers, enabling you to use both SAS 9 and SAS Viya 4 in the same process flow. For more information, please see this SAS® Enterprise Guide® Is Now Integrated With SAS® Viya® 4 Q&A, Slides, and On-Demand Recording post.

The upcoming June release of SAS 9.4M9 will include SAS Enterprise Guide 8.6- which introduces integration with SAS Viya Workbench. This enhancement enables you to build process flows that use SAS 9, SAS Viya 4 and SAS Viya Workbench servers. If you already have SAS Enterprise Guide, you can upgrade to version 8.6 via the Help -> Check for Updates menu, once it’s available.

Can you run two jobs in parallel using SAS Studio on Viya?

Yes, you can submit multiple flows or programs in the background with SAS Studio. You can also create a SAS Viya job definition from a SAS Studio flow or SAS program and schedule it is using conditional logic, if needed. SAS Environment Manager can also be used to schedule these jobs to be run in parallel.

Python is an option on SAS Viya 4. What are the plans for R? What about these 2 analytical tools in SAS Viya Workbench? Can I build a custom node with R or Python running inside?

Proc Python is available in SAS Viya 4 and can be used when building SAS Studio custom steps-a user-defined point-and-click interface to execute code. Support for a similar procedure for running R code, is under consideration.

For examples of existing custom steps that include Python code, please review the SAS Studio Custom Step repository. If you are a programmer in R, you may find this blog interesting! Experience of an R Programmer Using the R Runner Custom Step in SAS Studio Flows. Follow @ShelbyTaylor for an upcoming post on Getting Started with R in SAS Viya Workbench.

During a migration, will the projects developed in SAS Enterprise Guide be carried over? How much effort is involved?

We have a strong and robust migration path in place for importing SAS Enterprise Guide projects and creating SAS Studio flows with a range of tools available depending on the volume and complexity of the projects.

I have Viya 3.5 and I do not have "Flow", what am I missing on my environment?

SAS Studio flows are not available in SAS Viya 3.5; SAS Viya 4 is required to access this functionality. See the general feature comparison (SAS Studio 5.2 is used in SAS Viya 3.5).

How do we make sure we have same setting of SAS STAT version from EG to Viya?

The SAS/STAT procedures in SAS Viya work the same as they do in SAS 9, although in the newest versions of SAS Viya there may be some enhancements and fixes.

Are the steps available in Studio dependent on the type of Studio license, or are the steps shown available in SAS Studio with any Viya licence?

The SAS Studio license determines the steps available in SAS Studio. For more information see Summary of Flow Functionality.

Can EG projects be imported into SAS Studio for Viya 4?

Yes, we have a strong and robust migration path in place for importing SAS Enterprise Guide projects and creating SAS Studio flows with a range of tools available depending on the volume and complexity of the projects.

How is the migration/integration of the already created and validated Stored Process which we use in the Enterprise Guide into Viya?

See SAS 9.4 Stored Process are migrated to SAS Viya Jobs in SAS Viya 4. For more information see this post Migration of Stored Processes to SAS Viya Jobs.

Is SAS Viya and SAS Studio the same?

No, they are not the same. SAS Viya is a cloud-native, end-to-end data and AI platform that makes development easier and boosts productivity with tools that are friendly for everyone on your team. SAS Studio is a web application that allows you to build efficient data pipelines that run on SAS Viya with a world-class data engineering experience.

Recommended Resources

SAS Viya Workbench Webinar

SAS® Enterprise Guide® Is Now Integrated With SAS® Viya® 4

Please see additional resources in the attached slide deck.

Want more tips? Be sure to subscribe to the Ask the Expert board to receive follow up Q&A, slides and recordings from other SAS Ask the Expert webinars.

Smarter Navigation: SAS® Studio Videos Organised for You!

GemmaR — Fri, 30 May 2025 10:58:30 GMT

There's now an even easier way to find the content that you need.

A wide range of valuable resources are available for SAS Studio users, including the recently redesigned SAS Studio Product Page and the SAS Video Portal- built to help you quickly locate what's most relevant to you, right now!

Effortlessly Migrate Multiple SAS® Enterprise Guide Projects to SAS® Viya Using the Migration Wizard

GemmaR — Thu, 08 May 2025 08:41:30 GMT

When integrating SAS Enterprise Guide with SAS Viya, projects originally created in SAS9 may require modifications to individual nodes or the entire project to ensure a smooth transition. This article, outlines the use of the Migration Wizard to update multiple SAS Enterprise Guide projects to run on SAS Viya.

Seamlessly Transition: Resources for SAS® Enterprise Guide Users moving to SAS® Viya from SAS®9

GemmaR — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 08:29:32 GMT

As a SAS Enterprise Guide user, transitioning to SAS Viya from SAS9 opens up a world of advanced capabilities, enhanced performance, and modern analytics. This move is more than just an upgrade; it’s an opportunity to leverage the full power of cloud-based solutions, improved collaboration, and cutting-edge machine-learning tools.

How do I sort thee? Let me count the ‘non-coding’ ways: Sorting in SAS Studio

GemmaR — Tue, 13 Aug 2024 20:18:51 GMT

Recently in the SAS Community Library: SAS' @GemmaR explores the importance of sorting SAS tables in SAS Studio with PROC SORT and evaluates each method, focusing on the point-and-click techniques.

Embrace the Evolution: Transitioning from Tasks to Steps in SAS Studio on SAS Viya 4

GemmaR — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 09:15:57 GMT

Have you seen the message in the Tasks section of the navigation pane in SAS Studio on SAS Viya 4, stating, 'The task functionality is being replaced by custom steps'? Discover all the details about this update in my latest post.

Tasks are point-and-click user interfaces designed to guide users through analytical processes. They have been a longstanding feature within SAS Studio, available across versions 3.x, 5.x, and 2024.x (see my previous post for versioning information) and all use the same XML-based task model language.

SAS Studio currently provides users with predefined tasks and the flexibility to create Custom tasks using the Common Task Model (CTM) tailored to their specific requirements. This approach remains consistent for SAS Studio versions 3.x and 5.x. However, in SAS Studio 2024.x, Custom tasks are superseded by Custom steps.

10 Productivity Features in SAS(R) Studio on SAS Viya 4

GemmaR — Tue, 21 May 2024 05:44:33 GMT

10 Productivity Features in SAS(R) Studio on SAS Viya 4

From Zero to SAS: Using SAS Studio to Summarize and Manipulate Your Data Ask The Expert

GemmaR — Wed, 08 May 2024 18:13:38 GMT

From Zero to SAS: Using SAS Studio to Summarize and Manipulate Your Data Q&A, Slides, and On-Demand Recording

Watch this Ask the Expert session to learn how to point and click your way to summarizing and manipulating data with SAS Studio before analysis.

You will learn about:

The features of various versions of SAS Studio.
Using Tasks and Steps in SAS Studio to manipulate and summarise data.

The questions from the Q&A segment held at the end of the webinar are listed below and the slides from the webinar are attached.

Q&A

Answered

Where does SAS Enterprise 8.3 belong?

Enterprise Guide 8.3 is a different application than SAS Studio. Although, it can also be used to write and develop SAS code and use point-and-click functionality to generate code. Enterprise Guide is a Windows application, while SAS Studio is browser-based.

Can you save an autoexecute file in SAS Studio on SAS 9?

Yes, there is the ability to create and save an autoexec file in all versions of SAS Studio. In SAS Studio on SAS 9, it's under the More Application Options menu in the upper right corner.

SAS Studio 3.8 - Editing the Autoexec File

In SAS Studio on SAS Viya, access the autoexec using the Options button on the Application menu.

You can add to that, or you can copy and paste it and put it into another SAS program.

SAS Studio 2024.x - Editing the Autoexec File

How do I get dark theme in SAS Studio?

There isn't currently an option to view in dark theme in SAS Studio 3.8.

For SAS Viya 2024.x

User icon (top right of the application bar) > Settings> General> Choose a theme drop-down menu.

What is the best browser to run SAS studio on SAS 9?

SAS Studio supports multiple web browsers, including Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Mozilla Firefox. Some releases of SAS Studio also support Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. I personally use Chrome. Here is a link to the documentation for more information: https://support.sas.com/software/products/sas-studio/faq/SASStudio_browsers.htm#:~:text=SAS%20Studio%20supports%20multiple%20web,Internet%20Explorer%20and%20Microsoft%20Edge.

Can you show how you linked them at the end again?

You can click on the output port (on the right side) of one node and drag to the input port (on the left side) of another node.

Did you say there is a free SAS Studio version online? If yes, how can I access it?

Yes! Here's the link to SAS On-Demand for Academics, which is free access to SAS Studio 3.8 on SAS 9. It is available for anyone learning SAS, whether you are an official student or not: https://www.sas.com/en_us/software/on-demand-for-academics.html If you want to try SAS Studio on SAS Viya, then here is a link to the 14-day free trial: https://www.sas.com/en_us/trials/software/viya/viya-trial-form.html

If you are a student with a university email you can access SAS Viya for Learners.

Here is the link for SAS® Viya for Learners

What is SAS Studio? What’s different from other SAS interfaces?

We have lots of different applications in SAS and they're all designed to do something slightly different. The applications used for writing and submitting SAS code are mainly Base SAS (also called the Windowing environment, or the Display Manager), SAS Studio, and SAS Enterprise Guide. But the application that's generally compared to SAS Studio is SAS Enterprise Guide. They both have the point-and-click interface and they both can write and submit code. The biggest difference between the two is the fact that you can use SAS Studio on a web browser, whereas SAS Enterprise Guide is a Microsoft Windows application. But they are generally quite similar.

You seem to have a lot more options in the SAS Steps section. Is it because I'm running another version of SAS Studio Analyst (2022.09)?

Yes, that's definitely the case. We have added a lot more steps since that version. And we continue to add more with each release.

This link takes you to the most up-to-date documentation on flow functionality, including the steps available. Use the version drop-down menu to select your version of the software.

Do you have a list of best practices when using SAS Studio Visual Programming?

Please see this SAS Communities post for more information on the Visual Programming perspective. SAS Studio 3.8 Visual Programming

Is it possible to import process flows from EG?

When you open a SAS Enterprise Guide project in SAS Studio 3.8, the process flows in the project are extracted and converted to process flows in SAS Studio. For more information here - Converting SAS Enterprise Guide Projects to SAS Studio Process Flows

For SAS Studio 2024.x, you would need to migrate the Enterprise Guide project. SAS Studio will endeavour to translate the tasks used in SAS Enterprise Guide into steps in SAS Studio. You want to make sure that SAS Studio has migrated the flow correctly. For more information Tips for SAS Enterprise Guide Users

Where is the SQL displayed and saved? And how many kinds of joins are in the dropdown list?

In SAS Studio 3.8

With the Code/Results view active in the Query task, select Edit to create a copy of the code in a new SAS program. Please note, the code is no longer connected to the task and vice versa.

There are 4 types of joins; inner, left, right and full join.

SAS Studio 2024.x

When using a Query step in a flow you can review/copy the generated code (as per picture below). This is for the whole flow.

When using a standalone query you can Edit the code, as per below screenshot.

There are currently 4 types of joins; inner, left, right and full join. Always check the most up-to-date documentation.

Can it handle large datasets with millions of records (>20 GB size)?

Yes, but performance always depends on the size of the SAS server provisioned behind the scenes.

Will the drag and drop join work, if the target columns from different tables are not named the same, or not formatted the same? For example, Country $20 vs. CTRY $2

Tables can be joined based on columns with different names. SAS automatically matches columns with the same name and type for the join. If no matches are found, a manual join can be performed.

Can it convert existing SAS code into a process flow?

Yes, you can convert existing SAS code into a flow in SAS Studio 2024.x. When the SAS program has been saved, either right-click on the .sas program using the Explorer section of the navigation pane and select Create flow from program or open the flow, click More Options (3 dots in the right of the program window) and select Create flow from program. Follow the instructions.

Do we have Chi-square testing functionality in the versions you demonstrated here?

Yes, you can achieve Chi-square testing functionality by using the One-Way Frequencies Task/Step.

SAS Studio 3.8 – One-Way Frequencies Task: Setting Options
SAS Studio 2024.x - One-Way Frequencies

I am a little confused as to the purpose of the City table in the process flow window. Can you explain?

The CityState column in the Employeesales SAS table contains the City and State. The demo extracted the state from the CityState column and created a new column called State, that only contained the last word (after the comma).

Do we have a similar webinar/training for SAS EG?

We do have lots of training for SAS Enterprise Guide.

Currently, we cannot connect to Unix and Local in EG, is that possible to do in Studio? Not sure if this is our enterprise limitation or not.

I would have to know a little bit more about what's going on in the set up. My advice would be to reach out to Technical Support and ask them to help if you're having any issues like that.

How do I export tables loaded in memory to local in SAS Viya?

You can use the PROC CASUTIL step with the SAVE statement to save an in-memory table to a variety of different file types (SASHDAT, SAS7BDAT, XLSX, CSV and others). Once the file is saved to disk, you can use the Explorer in SAS Studio to navigate to the file on your SAS Server, then right-click and select Download to download a copy to your local machine.

When you create flows by migrating multiple Data Integration Studio jobs, does it place the flow nodes? And does each node become its own node of code or is the migration tool smart enough to see the same node being used over and over and create just one reused node?

Please see Tips for SAS Data Integration Studio Users for information on migrating DI Studio jobs.

Recommended Resources

Many of the resources on this page are for SAS Studio 3.8

Whilst many resources on this page are for SAS Studio on SAS Viya (2024.x)

SAS Studio, SAS Studio Analyst & SAS Studio Engineer- oh my!

General Feature Comparison among SAS Studio Releases

What Is the Difference between SAS Studio Tasks and Custom Steps?

SAS OnDemand for Academics

Getting Started with SAS Studio - Youtube

Getting Started with SAS Studio - Tutorial

Overview of SAS Studio Tasks 5.2 (use the version drop-down menu to select your SAS studio version)

Understanding Tasks in SAS Studio 5.2 (use the version drop-down menu to select your SAS studio version)

Want more tips? Be sure to subscribe to the Ask the Expert board to receive follow up Q&A, slides and recordings from other SAS Ask the Expert webinars.

SAS Studio, SAS Studio Analyst & SAS Studio Engineer- oh my!

GemmaR — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 11:44:54 GMT

SAS Studio, SAS Studio Analyst & SAS Studio Engineer- oh my!

SAS Studio Custom Steps: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Part II

GemmaR — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 10:39:15 GMT

SAS Studio Custom Steps: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Part II

Re: Supercharge your Column Management with the Manage Columns Step in SAS Studio 2023.12

GemmaR — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 06:26:34 GMT

Hi @ronan , thank you so much for reaching out! You are, of course, correct and I have updated the article accordingly. My apologies for the oversight.

Supercharge your Column Management with the Manage Columns Step in SAS Studio 2023.12

GemmaR — Mon, 26 Feb 2024 17:43:20 GMT

Step into the future of data management! With the recent release of SAS Viya (LTS 2023.12), the Manage Columns step has undergone a major upgrade, catapulting its functionality to a new level. From the ability to modify column data types, lengths, informats, and formats to creating entirely new columns, the possibilities have expanded significantly. Moreover, the option to output a view instead of a table adds a new layer of flexibility to your workflow. The upgraded Manage Columns step isn't just about features - it's a game-changer for migration from DI Studio to SAS Studio too.

SAS Studio Custom Steps: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Part I

GemmaR — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 07:02:09 GMT

SAS Studio Custom Steps: Reduce, Reuse & Recycle Part I

Explaining Custom Steps using SAS Studio Assets

GemmaR — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 09:48:19 GMT

Explaining Custom Steps using SAS Studio Assets

SAS Studio Custom Steps - Coding Made Easier Using the Column Selector Control

GemmaR — Tue, 27 Jun 2023 10:35:42 GMT

SAS Studio Custom Steps - Coding Made Easier Using the Column Selector Control

Re: SAS Certitication Prep Guide dataset

GemmaR — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 14:39:24 GMT

Hi @Paul830,

You can email EducationOperations@suk.sas.com or ring on 01628 490423 and enquire about any books that we, SAS UK, have in stock. If we don't have them in stock, amazon is probably your best bet!

Hope this helps!