Create proc template from existing format in Excel file

[stc200896]

I run a report each week via SAS ods tagsets, which produces an output file that I then manually paste into an existing report.  I'm currently using SAS 9.3 via a remote session so DDE is not an option unfortunately.  I haven't used EG much and was recently upgraded to 7.1, which is running on 9.4 desktop server.  I've read many abstracts and tons of other research via the Google and just haven't had any luck around finding a solution.  Is there a way to import the exact styles/formatting used in the excel report that I can then modify an existing style template or create a new one?  This is only one example of about 10 reports I run each week that *I think* would need a separate template.  

If there's not a way to import the specifics into SAS, is there an easy way to create it in EG?  Thanks in advance for any help as it's greatly appreciated.  I've been writing daily code via SAS for 10+ years but when it comes to proc templates/reports, etc., I get a little lost in the details.  

-SLB

[SASKiwi]

I don't think there is a way of doing what you want. In any case template definitions change between SAS versions so you would be better off building a new template in SAS 9.4 from scratch. 

[Cynthia_sas]

Hi:

  When you say you are using "ods tagsets", that implies you are using ODS TAGSETS.EXCELXP??  Since you are running SAS 9.4, is ODS EXCEL an option? I do not believe a STYLE template will help you here. For example, in a STYLE template, all the column headers would be defined to be the SAME color, while in your screen shot, you show 4 of the column headers in blue and 3 in gray for the background. A STYLE template doesn't care about your data and your column headers, it would normally color the background of ALL the headers the same.

  If you want to alter the style of what you create to match what you are pasting into, then using style overrides in PROC REPORT, PROC PRINT or PROC TABULATE would be a better option.

Cynthia