Browsing SAS data sets in Enterprise Guide without locking

[hollandnumerics]

Users can open a SAS data set in Enterprise Guide without realising that they will be locking this data set. If a data set is left open in Enterprise Guide for an extended period, even though it may not be actively browsed, it can prevent any updates.

I have created an add-in (Simple Data Viewer) to copy a SAS data set into a DataGrid object, which separates the view of the data from the source data set, and does not need any lock to be set. This means that the source data set can be updated as required.

Can this functionality be incorporated into Enterprise Guide?

[BillSawyer]

SAS Enterprise Guide  has an Explore feature that does not lock the data.

From the Servers list, right-click on the data and choose Explore.

[hollandnumerics]

BillSawyer,

If the functionality I'm requesting already exists in EG, why can't it be used as the default when you open any SAS data set for browsing? The current options to Explore or for Data Exploration don't shout loud enough about their benefits to other SAS users of the data sets, and the Open options don't inform users about their impact.

.............Phil

[BillSawyer]

Tools > Options > Data > "Default Action for Data in Server List and SAS Folders Views", choose "Explore".

The default is Open since most users want to add the data to their project. 

With the current data grid, EG does a full table lock on the data even though you are only viewing/reading the data. 

We already have a few defects regarding this issue. R&D is considering a future change that would greatly reduce the amount of time that the data grid locks the data.

As an alternative solution, if the SAS server is licensed for SAS/Share, then,  you could define SAS/Share libraries for you most frequently defined libraries (or all of them) so that the data could be accessed by EG's data grid and updated by another SAS instance w/o getting locked out.

If you would like to discuss SAS/Share I'd recommend opening a track with Technical Support.

[mark4]

Beyond EG, I would like this functionality in all versions of SAS - the basic version, EG, Studio.  I don't use EG's projects so I don't know what it means to add data to a project, but I spend so much time having to close a view, run some sort of update, and then reopen.  It would be great if the viewed dataset simply refreshed like it does so in RStudio.   

[Haris]

Explore on my machine fails to open the dataset quite often.  Requires restarting SEG!

[BillSawyer]

Haris,

Using an older version of EG might require:  Tools > Options > Data > Data General > select "Automatically open data when added to project".

Also, compressed data, or perhaps DBMS data might be an issue.

Please feel free to open a ticket with SAS technical support.  We'll be glad to assist.

In the track please provide:

A proc contents report of any data that causes the issue, for example:  proc contents data=mylib.mytable;  

Screen shot of the pop-up error with full error trace if one is provided.

Also turn on application logging from EG and send generated log:  Tools > Options > Application Logging > Enable Logging.

Screen shot  of  Help > About SAS Enterprise Guide.

Describe your  EG client and SAS server environment....for example, are you running in a Virtual Environment, Citrix, remote desktop, or 'standard client-server', ....?

Feel free to mention my name and/or add this community page link in the track.

Regards,

Bill