263-2008: Tabbing Through ODS II

The authors present a significant improvement to the approach of aligning multiple variables inside a cell by applying tabs to the ODS reporting process. Consequently the enhanced method is able to integrate seamlessly with inline formatting and greatly improving the ability for data presentation. INTRODUCTION This paper will describe the challenging question regarding the old approach of aligning variables in ODS reporting and why the inline formatting technique presented both challenge and opportunity and how the problem has been solved with the aid of improved DATA STEP functions such as LENGTH() and SUBSTR(). THE NOVEL APPROACH As presented at SAS Global Forum (SGF) 2007 conference, our novel approach of applying tabbing control words enables one to present multiple variables inside a cell with perfect alignment. Following is an example of its application: Record # Header 1 Conservative That is a What can I approach ship do now? 2 This is your gateway to becoming a part of SAS Global Forum 2008. 3 SAS Global From here, Forum 2008 you can depends on create and people like update you. Profiles. In this example, up to three variables are combined under the column named “Header”. Through a dynamic tabbing algorithm each variable contains data that are lined up inside a cell (refer to the original paper in last year’s proceedings). On the third record, the second variable is missing data; however, the first and third variables are still lined up perfectly! This novel approach has become a powerful tool to organize and present complex data structure within a cell. NEED FOR ENCHANCEMENT The aforementioned approach has been successful until the data are presented for preserving inline formats carried from the source data. Inline formats were developed in the old approach to include tab controls in the formatting process; however, assumption is granted that the source data do not have any inline formats prior to any formatting process. Inline formats consisting of phrases that are used to specify customized attributes do not require space in the output area, therefore, will lead to inaccuracy of the counting process and undesirable effects or even misalignment of variables. On the other hand, it is as equally important to preserve the attributes as to preserve data accuracy. Both format and content are the two dimensions in defining the integrity of the source data. 1 Reporting and Information Visualization SAS Global Forum 2008