Upgrade a SAS Model Studio Project? Yes, please!
After our upgrade to the 2025.03LTS release on SAS Viya for Learners (VFL) in August 2025, the keen academic eye may note the following when they try to open a Project in SAS Model Studio:
What in the what? Further upgrade to what? Well, hover over that Upgrade link to reveal the following:
Not the most helpful message – I’ll admit it. So here’s a more detailed explanation, courtesy of my close friend ChatGPT:
When SAS Viya is upgraded to a new release, you may notice that your existing Model Studio projects display an “upgrade” message. This isn’t an error—it’s a safeguard. Each release of Viya can include changes to modeling nodes, data connectors, or backend functionality. The upgrade step ensures that your project is aligned with the current software version, so all pipelines run consistently and take advantage of the latest features. Without this step, projects created in an earlier release might reference outdated logic or settings. By confirming the upgrade, you’re essentially refreshing the project’s structure so it is compatible with the new Viya environment and ready for continued use.
So – just load the project as you’d normally do. After a click, you’ll get this message:
And the correct answer here is to Upgrade:
After a quick “upgrade” to your SAS Model Studio project, you should then be able to continue along your merry hacking pathway!
ℹ️ Recap: The “upgrade” message in Model Studio isn’t an error—it’s just making sure your older project is refreshed to work smoothly with the newest Viya release.
