We’ve shown you how to create PowerPoints using SAS. This Ask the Expert session takes that a step further with customization.
Watch the Webinar
You will learn:
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
Wouldn't you need a run statement after the ODS startpage=now statement? Not sure when you need run.
No, you don't. ODS statements are global statements that don't need a run statement. The only time you need a run statement is at the end of a step, like a data step or proc step.
What colors can we use? How do we find out?
You can use your standard basic colors, so you can type in red, green, blue, light blue, etc. How can you find out?
SAS Help Center: Color-Naming Schemes - here's a key stroke that you can use in Enterprise Guide to get the list of colors, Ctrl+Shift+C. You can also type in the exact colour you want. For example, you can type in light blue, light green, dark green, and you will get results.
Can you use hex codes to specify colors?
Yes, if you know the hex code, you can.
Would it be possible to define the size of the Regions for the elements? Such as 70% of the space for the column on the right and 30% for the left. Would there be a padding option for that to start more centered too?
Ever used the Preimage option for adding logos to your PowerPoints, like this: ods pdf text="^S={preimage=&logo}";
I've seen it and definitely you can do that to add additional images pages. That's a way of doing things as well.
Would it be possible to add an SVG generated on SAS in the result outputted to PowerPoint? The SVG file be available as an image saved on disk.
Is there a way to completely remove the automatic date and page number?
Yes, when you use any of the ODS destinations, an automatic date and page number appear at the bottom left and right. To remove them, use the global option statement: options nodate nonumber; — all one word, followed by a semicolon. This will eliminate both the date and page number.
Where are custom templates stored?
Custom templates are stored in the SASUSER library. They are kept in a template master and stored there permanently. If you prefer, you can save your template elsewhere but by default, SASUSER is where they are stored.
Can rows be specified with the ODS Layout Gridded statement?
Yes, with ODS layout gridded, you can add more regions. You can include columns and rows as regions. However, keep in mind that these are PowerPoint slides, so you don't want to add too many columns or rows. If you require that level of detail, it might be better to create PDFs instead of PowerPoint slides. Nevertheless, you can definitely use the ODS layout gridded statement to add columns and rows. For PowerPoint, though, I would recommend keeping it to two columns and maybe one row.
Recommended Resources
Please see additional resources in the attached slide deck.
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