Where's the flippin' log?

[deleted_user]

I am old to SAS, but new to EG.

I am trying to resolve a user issue. The user cannot run the EG tutorial. I've been given a couple of logs, one from a session run by this user (where it's fairly obvious what's going wrong), and one from a successful session run by another user. Naturally I would like to view a SAS log from an EG session on my own machine to compare.

Unfortunately, and I'm sure I'm missing something obvious, I cannot find the SAS log anywhere in EG. Nor can I find any information in the EG help or on the SAS Web site about how to view the log in EG.

HELP!!!! 🙂

Thanks,
Tim

[deleted_user]

By default, we hide the logs in the Process Flow. You can easily change this by going to Tools -> Options -> Project Views. Also, you can right click on the code node in the flow and select Open Log. By default, we will still show you the log no matter what your setting if there is a Warning or Error (this is from our focus on the business analyst personna versus the expert programmer like yourself.)

In the next release, we want to make EG "role-based" and hopefully the first time a user runs it they will be asked what type of user they are and we will have different default options and behaviors based on your selection. Example user types we will likely ship for EG 4.2 are: Programmer, Statistician, Business Analyst, OLAP User, and Report Author. These will be customizable and you can create your own personna as well.

I hope that helps.

Stephen

[deleted_user]

Yes, thanks. You forced me to take a closer look at what the user was actually doing, based on the log I have.

I had been told that the user "can't even start the tutorial" (or perhaps I'd formed that erroneous impression myself), and consequently I wanted to view the log at the very initial stages of the tutorial, before I did any processing.

It turns out that the user is getting a fatal error when attempting to perform the Import Data task as shown in the tutorial.

The odd part is this. The user is unable to perform this task because the following line:

%IF %TRIM(&SYSSCP) = OS %THEN DO;

generates these messages:

WARNING: Apparent invocation of macro TRIM not resolved.
ERROR: Required operator not found in expression: %TRIM(&SYSSCP) = OS
ERROR: The macro _EG_IMPORTDATA will stop executing.

The "good" log that I have omits the %IF %TRIM... statement and its corresponding %END.

However, my own log shows that I am *successfully* executing the %IF %TRIM... statement. (I can't tell whether the condition evaluates to true or false, but no error is given and I can perform the Import Data task.)

Does anyone have any hints about this? My first guess would be that it might have to do with SAS versions and/or Enterprise Guide versions, but I don't know.

Thanks,
Tim

[LouisBB]

Dear Tim,

The %Trim macro is to be found in a in a sas file. On Windows usually in "Program Files\SAS\SAS 9.1\core\sasmacro\trim.sas".

It might have to do with access rights for the user.

LouisBB.

[deleted_user]

Hi Louis,

Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely keep it in mind.

This issue is sort of on hold now, because the urgency of going through the EG tutorial has diminished for the user in question. It may arise again, though, and if so, I will check whether the file that you specified exists, and if so, whether the user has privileges to access it.

Best regards,
Tim

[Andrew_F]

I hope that the enhancements planned for EG 4.2 address some of the logging issues. It feels like the internal workings of EG are being deliberately obscured.
I have been supporting SAS products for many years and never found a product more difficult to support.

Despite the obvious benefits, I have users begging to return to PC/SASv913 or even EG 3.0 because of the opaqueness and perceived instability of EG4.1.

[deleted_user]

Hi Andrew,

Yes, we are further refactoring the EG interface and overall behavior in 4.2 to achieve several objectives, including:

1) Much simpler access to data, code, log, and output for any item in EG.
2) Refactoring to simplify our menus, toolbars, and project explorer (tree view of project.)
3) Role based administration to tailor EG for various user groups needs.

If you are interested in offering feedback, we could likely arrange a web demo of the 4.2 builds to obtain your feedback. Please contact me at stephen dot mcdaniel at sas dot com (not posting actual e-mail to avoid robot spam agents!)

Regards,
Stephen

[ChrisHemedinger]

Andrew,

Let me also draw your attention to the project log (View->Project Log for instructions), which is a cumulative log of all of your project activity, even in previous sessions.

It's a relatively hidden feature in EG 4.1, but I think SAS programmers will find it valuable.

Chris