SAS 9.4 Graph Template Language, 3rd Edition

Recommendations

The issue of when to use hardcoded values versus style references for overriding

appearance features is complex and basically boils down to what you are trying to

achieve with GTL. Here are some recommendations that are based on common use

cases:

• You are creating a graph for a specific purpose and probably will not use the code

again.

Recommendation: Develop your template with one style in mind and use hardcoded

overrides to make desired changes. One possibility is to use the JOURNAL style as a

starting point. It has a gray-scale color scheme. If you want to introduce colors for

certain parts the graph, there will not be much conflict with blacks and grays coming

from the style. You really do not care what the graph looks like with another style.

• You are creating a reusable graph template (without hardcoded variable names) that

can be used with different sets of data in different circumstances.

Recommendation: If style overrides are needed, use style-reference overrides, not

hardcoded overrides. This allows your graph's appearance to change appropriately

when you (or someone else) uses a different style.

• You want all of your templates to produce output with the same look-and-feel,

possibly a corporate theme.

Recommendation: Spend time developing a new style that produces the desired

"look-and-feel" rather than making a lot of similar appearance changes every time

you create a new graph template to enforce consistency. Be sure to coordinate the

colors and fonts for the graphical style elements with tabular style elements. See

“Using ODS Styles to Control Graph Appearance” on page 436 for more

information.

494 Chapter 23 • Managing Your Graph’s Appearance