SAS Enterprise Guide 7.11 is now available

[CaseySmith]

SAS Enterprise Guide 7.11 shipped May 12, 2015.  The SAS Enterprise Guide product page lists some of the new features and enhancements.

[ChrisHemedinger]

Obviously, doesn't work for marketing.  His humble announcement belies the cool new features in v7.11. 

This update to SAS Enterprise Guide has just a few new features, but they are good ones!  For example, how many of you have wanted to simply type a WHERE expression to filter data in the data grid?  Now you can.

I've published a few examples on my blog: Filter your SAS Enterprise Guide data with a WHERE clause.

Chris

[CaseySmith]

Ha ha, thanks Chris!  I did realize shortly after posting, my announcement was rather dry.  I'm sure we'll see more cool highlights on your SAS Dummy blog!

[TomKari]

That's okay, guys. I'd rather work with a partner with fantastic developers and dry product announcements over the opposite.

Terrific release, congratulations!

  Tom

[SASKiwi]

Chris, this is one AWESOME enhancement. EG 7.11 is worth it just for this one feature as it boosts application development productivity so much.

Does the data grid also keep a history of recent WHERE expressions just like VIEWTABLE? I'm hoping it does as that is very useful too, enabling easy repetition and modification of expressions.

[ChrisHemedinger]

SASKiwi,

Yes, it remembers recent expressions, but only within the same SAS Enterprise Guide session (as far as I can tell).  It certainly helps to recall different combinations that you've just used, but I don't think it remembers them after you close the project.

Chris

[tlk]

Great news...  Yes... new... old feature...:smileylaugh:  this will ease the pain of some of my users who are still mourning their old SAS...   Is there an easy download, like a hotfix or do we have to go through all the process... 

I guess, for that feature, I'm ready to go through all the process both with SAS and our inside policy, different level of testing, approval from IT, install guide, support for the install guy(yes after 20 years I don't get it) and prepare a plan on how to deploy the new version (200+ users).

Thanks!

[ChrisHemedinger]

And, with that comment, we can preview another cool feature of v7.11:

Alas, you'll have to follow existing channels to get the v7.11 update in the first place.  But after that, perhaps it will be easier.

Chis

[MichelleHomes]

Hi Chris,

I'm intrigued by the "Check for Updates" feature. Is this for minor updates/hot fixes or major updates? How would this work at a site where people are sharing SAS Enterprise Guide projects? If it is for minor (dot releases) I imagine it will be ok and very useful. If it is for major releases, could there be project incompatibility? If users can update their own software, this may be a challenge to govern.

Kind Regards,

Michelle

[CaseySmith]

Hi Michelle,

The "Check for Updates" feature is currently for minor updates/hot fixes (what you can download manually from the Hot fix pages on the SAS support site), which will not impact project compatibility.  However, we are considering the possibility of also using for major updates in the future, and you are correct, we would have to address project compatibility.  Btw, there are several ways for an admin to disable and hide the "Check for Updates" feature, if they do not want end users to have access to that feature.

Casey

[MichelleHomes]

Hi Casey,

Thanks for clarifying how it works and the plans for the future. I assume one of the ways to disable the "Check for Updates" feature is via roles and capabilities? 

Kind Regards,

Michelle

[CaseySmith]

Actually, we did not add a role capability for "Check for Updates" because role capabilities are only honored if you are connected to a profile (metadata server). Role capabilities serve primarily as UI customization, rather than security.  For example, if you switch to no profile, then all features are available.

We added a config file option that can be set to hide the "Check for Updates" feature, regardless of what profile you are set to.  Also, admin can deny the functionality (ability to download and/or run the installer) at the OS level.

[pchegoor]

    Thanks for the explaination of the UPDATE feature  in SAS EG 7.11 . I  still wonder why SAS had to release SAS EG 7.11 instead of incorporating these features in let's say SAS EG 8.1 .  But now with this new UPDATE feature , can we expect that Future versions of SAS EG can be downloaded as part of the UPDATE feature including Major releases ? .Ofcourse one needs to be aware of Project incompatibility in such a case.

Also are the below the only new features available with SAS EG 7.11 or is there more to it?  I am guessing a Project creating in SAS EG 7.11 will be incompatibe with a project created with SAS EG 7.1 Can you please confirm this?

SAS Enterprise Guide 7.11 Is Now Available

SAS Enterprise Guide 7.11 shipped in May 2015. Here are some of the new features and enhancements.

• You can quickly filter your data by using a WHERE expression.
• You can enable SAS Enterprise Guide to automatically check for software updates.
• You can export a SAS Visual Analytics report to PDF.
• You can copy and paste prompts within the same project or into another SAS Enterprise Guide project.
• You can add data and reports to your list of favorites.
• You can create case-insensitive filters in the Query Builder or when you filter and sort data by using the Filter and Sort task.

[CaseySmith]

pchegoor wrote:

Casey Smith    Thanks for the explanation of the UPDATE feature  in SAS EG 7.11 . I  still wonder why SAS had to release SAS EG 7.11 instead of incorporating these features in let's say SAS EG 8.1 .  But now with this new UPDATE feature , can we expect that Future versions of SAS EG can be downloaded as part of the UPDATE feature including Major releases ? .Of course one needs to be aware of Project incompatibility in such a case.

We are exploring the possibility of being able to deliver any updates (hotfixes and major releases) via the "Check for Updates" feature, but there are challenges to work out.  I would not say you can "expect" to see this in a future release, but that we are exploring the possibility.

Also are the below the only new features available with SAS EG 7.11 or is there more to it?  I am guessing a Project creating in SAS EG 7.11 will be incompatible with a project created with SAS EG 7.1 Can you please confirm this?

The features listed are the primary new features and enhancements for 7.11 (and of course, there are always a number of bug fixes with every release).  We chose the version number to be 7.11, because it is a relatively minor release (more like an update to 7.1).  As such, we also ensured projects would be reasonably compatible between 7.1 and 7.11 -- a project created in 7.11 can be opened in 7.1 and vice versa..

[MichelleHomes]

Thanks Casey for explaining the ways to disable the "Check for Updates" feature. Good to know it isn't only via Roles and Capabilities to account for non-metadata server connected SAS Enterprise Guide environments.

Kind Regards,

Michelle