TU05
Using Styles and Templates to Customize SASŪ ODS Output

Sunil K. Gupta, Gupta Programming


SAS's new Output Delivery System (ODS) feature enables the creation of various new file types including Rich Text Format (RTF), PostScript and HTML. The standard default style used to control the output is generally well organized and sufficient for most purposes. When the default SAS ODS output report will no longer suffice, SAS users can take advantage of ODS advanced features to customize the output report with styles and templates. By having greater control over the report details such as color, font, size, justification, order and labels, the format and quality of the report will be enhanced. This paper introduces the concepts necessary to understand and apply the advanced features of SAS's ODS. Issues in defining and selecting output destinations, selecting output objects and creating customized output files will be discussed. The focus is on the creation of custom styles and templates with PROC TEMPLATE for visually appealing output.