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MarkFisher
Calcite | Level 5

When I try to use a dataset from the server's WORK directory, everything under the Analysis menu is greyed out and unavailable (Graph menu options are all available).  However, everything is available when I open a dataset from a permanent directory on the server, like SASHELP.  What am I doing wrong?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
Rick_SAS
SAS Super FREQ

Yes. You can learn about the SAS Workspace by reading the online help. From within SAS/IML Studio, click Help-->Help Topics-->Changes and Enhancements for Version 13.1.

The doc says:

"IML Studio now provides a new type of workspace called a SAS workspace. A SAS workspace runs conventional SAS programs as opposed to IMLPlus programs."

If you click on the SAS workspace link, there is documentation about the difference between a SAS Workspace and an IMLPlus Workspace, which says

"A SAS workspace cannot run IMLPlus programs and therefore does not provide IMLPlus-related features. Thus, a SAS workspace does not provide the following:

  • Use of the analyses available under the Analysis menu

View solution in original post

9 REPLIES 9
Rick_SAS
SAS Super FREQ

I assume the server is remote. Any other details that you can provide? In particular, how is the data set getting created in WORK?

Try this test. Create a new Workspace for IMLPlus (CTRL+N) and paste and run the following program.

Can you open WORK.A? Is the Analysis menu enabled?

submit;

data a;

do x = 1 to 10;

   y=10-x;    output;

end;

run;

endsubmit;

MarkFisher
Calcite | Level 5

The server is local and running 9.4

When I run your example program from an IMLPlus workspace, everything in the Graph and Analysis menus are available.

However, when I run your example program from a SAS workspace (minus the submit and endsubmit statements), everything in the Analysis menu is greyed out and unavailable.

Rick_SAS
SAS Super FREQ

Yes. You can learn about the SAS Workspace by reading the online help. From within SAS/IML Studio, click Help-->Help Topics-->Changes and Enhancements for Version 13.1.

The doc says:

"IML Studio now provides a new type of workspace called a SAS workspace. A SAS workspace runs conventional SAS programs as opposed to IMLPlus programs."

If you click on the SAS workspace link, there is documentation about the difference between a SAS Workspace and an IMLPlus Workspace, which says

"A SAS workspace cannot run IMLPlus programs and therefore does not provide IMLPlus-related features. Thus, a SAS workspace does not provide the following:

  • Use of the analyses available under the Analysis menu
MarkFisher
Calcite | Level 5

Thanks!  I have 13.2 and did not see that.

What's the point of having a SAS workspace if it is not fully functional?

Rick_SAS
SAS Super FREQ

Let me ask the same question of you and the other participants of this forum:

  • Can you think of any reason to have a SAS Workpace in SAS/IML Studio?
  • Have you ever been using SAS/IML Studio and wanted to run a SAS program?  If so, tell me what you were doing.

I'll offer my thoughts later in the week after other SAS/IML programmers have had an opportunity to respond.

MarkFisher
Calcite | Level 5

I can't think of a reason to have a SAS workspace in IML/Studio if it is not fully functional.  I am rather puzzled as to why a permanent SAS dataset is fully functional, but a temporary dataset is not.

IML Studio is also a replacement for SAS/Insight, which I used extensively as an exploratory data analysis tool.  Yes, I would like to be able to run a SAS program within IML Studio so I can use it the same way I used Insight.  My current workaround is to redirect my SAS work directory to my Personal Files directory within IML Studio, where I can open the dataset as a file with just a couple of clicks.  I run queries against our database with SAS, then switch to IML Studio for EDA.  It was much simpler with SAS/Insight.

SteveDenham
Jade | Level 19

I am in the same boat as Mark, using IML/Studio as a replacement for SAS/Insight.  When I find something visually, I want to be able to write a quick analytics program to check if the ocular test is going to be something to follow on with.

Steve Denham

MarkFisher
Calcite | Level 5

The lack of by-group processing in products under the Analysis menu is a definite step backward from SAS/Insight.

Rick_SAS
SAS Super FREQ

I think some of the confusion is that SAS/IML Studio has two purposes. Some people use it for point-and-click exploratory data analysis. Others use it as a development environment (IDE) for writing IMLPlus programs.

If you want to use SAS/IML Studio as a replacement for SAS/INSIGHT, put your data in a permanent libref and open the data set in SAS/IML Studio.

If you want to use SAS/IML Studio as a development environment for creating and debugging IMLPlus programs, open an IMLPlus Workspace and start programming.  You can create IMLPlus programs AND ALSO use all the items on the Graph and Analyses windows to explore data sets that the program creates, whether they are created in WORK or in a permanent libref.

The SAS Wokspace is provided as a convenience for the SAS/IML programmer who needs to integrate his program into a larger SAS workflow.  They need to write the analysis in classic PROC IML, use macro variables, and so forth.  A SAS Workspace does not support IMLPlus; it only executes classic SAS statements and procedures. The items on the Analysis menu call an IMLPlus programs. That is why the Analysis menu is disabled when you are in a SAS workspace, but available when you are in an IMLPlus Workspace.  So to use the Analysis menu, be sure to open the data in an IMLPlus Workspace.

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