Refresh button does not work

[SophieSaas]

Dear all, 

I am having an issue with refreshing the data for a SAS VA report. Whenever I make a change in the original dataset (any change, like adding a column or modifying data from an existing column), when I click on the refresh button... Nothing happens. 

Has anyone had this problem? Any idea? 

Thanks in advance,

Sophie

[MikeJenista]

Which VA version are you using?  And what method are you using to change the original data?

[SophieSaas]

Hi Mike, 

Thank you for taking the time to read me. I use visual analytics version 7.4.

To update (or refresh?) my tables, I use the button "refresh data" (I've just made a copy of the image of the button) : 

Thank you for any idea, it's really difficult to work like that. Every time I modify my table, I have to rename it and load the new table because refreshing the current table does not work (and sometimes, the new one is'nt even actualised! I can't see why, there is no pattern). 

[MikeJenista]

When you change the original data (excel file, csv, sas data set, etc), it still has to be imported to the server.  Then the refresh button will load the table into memory again.

If you give the table a new name, you should use 'change data source' instead.  I don't think 'refresh' will know that you want to use the new version you imported.

[SophieSaas]

Hi Mike, 

Thank you for your response. 

I haven't expressed myself very well I think, sorry.

I have loaded my original SAS dataset "Mytab" to the LASR server. It's there, it works. I work on a SAS VA report. Then I modify Mytab via SAS. Then I try to refresh it with the button and nothing happens.

At this point, I need my modifications in the data to be taken into account into SAS VA.

The only thing I could think of doing is to rename my dataset in a SAS programm, "MyTabv2", and I do choose "change data source" to "MyTabv2". And then I can have the updated dataset (but sometimes it doesn't work I can't explain why).

I hope my issue is more clear now. The second part of what I do is just to be able to keep working, but then I'll want an automatic update every time I push the "refresh" button... It's there, so I guess it should work ! Everywhere on Google it says "to refresh data, click on the refresh button". But it doesn't work......

I've also been in the "Administer data" section of SAS VA, and I see that MyTab is correctly loaded on the LASR server...

Thank you!

[MikeJenista · Accepted solution]

Okay, if I understand correctly, you will still need to do extra steps besides refresh.

With your existing process, editing Mytab in SAS will not make changes available to the LASR in-memory copy.  You must use 'change data source' and choose the same Mytab data.  The dialog should ask if you want to rename or replace, and you can just choose replace.  This is the same process as importing the data again, overwriting the name, and then clicking refresh.

If you want to make changes to Mytab that will get picked up with just 'refresh' I believe you would have to define a LASR library in your SAS session and make the changes directly on the LASR table loaded in memory.

[SophieSaas]

Thank you Mike !

I will define a LASR library, the second solution is the best for me.

[SASKiwi]

I find the Refresh button works fine as long as I:

• delete the current version of the table stored in the LASR library
• load the new version of the table into the LASR library
• update the metadata definition of the table

I've developed a SAS macro to do this which makes processing very easy if you are using SAS code to load tables. I'm happy to post a copy of the macro if you are interested.

[SophieSaas]

Hi SASKiwi,

Thank you for your answer, YES, I am definitly interested by your macro (yes, I do code in SAS 😉 )

Thank you very much in advance