Date: Fri, 21 Feb 1997 09:10:51 PST
Reply-To: John Doyal <jdoyal@PACCAR.COM>
Sender: "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From: John Doyal <jdoyal@PACCAR.COM>
Subject: fwd: PROC TABULATE and WordPerfect, some ideas to improve th...
I do this process monthly for both output to the web (a more elaborate
endeavor not described here) and WordPerfect. What I have found most usable
is:
1) Use formchar to eliminate all SAS generated lines.
2) cut and paste into a spreadsheet (either 123 or Excel)
3) Depending on the spreadsheet use either "Text to Columns" under
data or Parse under data to reformat the table into the appropriate
columns.
4) Save the table.
5) Bring the file into WordPerfect. Let WordPerfect bring the table in
as a full WordPerfect table.
-------------
Original Text
From: Frank Poppe <poppe@SWOV.NL>, on 2/21/97 11:28 AM:
To: "Multiple recipients of list SAS-L" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
Hello everybody,
I want to raise once again the issue of PROC TABULATE and WordPerfect. This
time
I
present some basic ideas to tackle that problem, and would like to have
some fee
dback.
Those interested, please read on.
Frank
PROC TABULATE and WordPerfect
The question how to incorporate output from SAS procedures like proc
tabulate in
to
documents made with WordPerfect or other software has been raised several
times.
I
myself use WordPerfect, but the story is probably the same for other
software.
I am not looking for a solution where you define the tables yourself in a
_null_
datastep, inserting codes for your favourite word processing or typesetting
soft
ware
(I already have SAS macros that produce LaTeX-code). I am now looking for
utilit
ies
that help any user to get his or her PROC TABULATE output into WordPerfect,
pref
erably
as a *real* WordPerfect-table.
I have never seen any better suggestions than either insert the tables
unchanged
,
using a fixed-pitch font like Courier in a small enough point size, or
change th
e
horizontal bars into tabs (either using the formchar option of SAS or the
replac
e
function of WordPerfect) and then change the text into a WordPerfect-table.
The
latter
suggestion still requires a lot of manipulating to get all the columns
aligned,
and to
get the headings above the right columns.
If I have missed better options, I'd love to hear about it...
Since the goal is to arrive at a WordPerfect-table, I have focused on
possibilit
ies to
automate the manipulation process.
I here give some first thoughts on that, based also on suggestions from
some
colleagues. I have not worked this out in detail, because I still have the
feeli
ng
that somewhere in the world people have been struggling with the same
problem, a
nd
perhaps have solved already some parts of it. So I am curious whether
people hav
e
suggestions to improve the basic ideas, or perhaps there are some that are
alrea
dy one
or several steps further.
The basic idea is to interpret the output from PROC TABULATE, to arrive at
a log
ical
description, and to use that for output that WordPerfect could understand
comple
tely.
Ideally (but that is a long way) this would be a WordPerfect file, complete
with
the
table description.
((SIGH
I also want to point out here that in my view the SAS system should have an
opti
on for
output in such a logical form. Either a generic system option, or a proc
option
for
those procs that try to deliver *nice looking* output, which can take
values lik
e
WORDPERFECT, LATEX, RTF, SGML, HTML, etcetera. The SAS system *knows* the
logica
l
build up of PROC TABULATE output before it translates it into ASCII output.
It s
hould
be able to make that information available for the user. I think that the
recurr
ent
request for an OUTPUT option for PROC TABULATE essentially comes from the
need f
or
this kind of information.
))
Now the preliminary ideas.
1.
Make sure that you can discriminate between the markup of the table (the
*marker
s*
that make up the lines), and the content of the table. So use the
FORMCHAR-optio
n, and
give all the (11) different marker characters different codes (a sensible
choic
e
would be codes that will give nice results when one would send the output
direct
ly to
the printer).
2.
Make a first scan of the table, line for line, and remember all the
positions of
the
vertical bar. That will be used as a list of all the possible <tab>
positions
(ignoring the first and last bars). One should be able to use this
information t
o
inform WordPerfect of the basic number of columns, but I do not yet see
how.
3.
Now start a second pass of the table, again line for line, using the
following s
teps.
4.
Read in a new line. If you are at the end of the file everything should be
finis
hed
(normally), and nothing is left to be done.
Examine the first non-blank character of the line:
* A top-left marker signals the start of a table: open a new output
file,
go to
step 4.
* A bottom-left marker signals the end of a table: close the output
file,
go to
step 4.
* A vertical bar should mean we are busy with a table: go to step 5.
* Anything else means we are not working on a table, go to step 4.
5.
If the line only consists of spaces and markers, ignore the line and go to
step
4.
6.
Look for the next vertical bar.
If there is more than just spaces before this bar, trim that text from
leading a
nd
trailing spaces and write it to the output file (the absence or presence of
lead
ing
and trailing blanks indicates whether this cell should be centred, left, or
righ
t
aligned, but -again- I do not yet see how to convey that information to
WordPerf
ect).
7.
Compare the position of the last found vertical bar with the list of
positions f
rom
the first pass.
If this is the last vertical bar, write a <cr> and go to step 4, otherwise
write
a
<tab>.
Write additional <tab>*s for each position that appears to have been
skipped sin
ce the
last <tab> for this line was written. Go to step*6.
End of program.
Any ideas would be welcome.
I have already done some experimenting with SAS writing information to an
ASCII-
file
which could serve as a WordPerfect macro file. That file would contain
informati
on and
instructions on how to incorporate the text file as a WordPerfect table.
Thanks for your patience...
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Frank Poppe poppe@swov.nl
| Institute for Road Safety Research SWOV
| PO Box 170
| 2260 AD Leidschendam
| the Netherlands
| telephone +31 70 320 9323
| fax +31 70 320 1261
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