SAS 9.4 Output Delivery System, 3rd Edition

Chapter 8

Overview

Understanding Styles, Style Elements, and Style Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 771

Using Styles with Base SAS Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 777

Understanding Styles, Style Elements, and Style

Attributes

The appearance of SAS output is controlled by style templates (styles). A style is a type

of ODS template that defines the visual aspects (colors, fonts, lines, markers, and so on)

of SAS output. A style determines the overall look of the documents that use it. Style

templates consist of style elements and style attributes.

• A style element is a named collection of style attributes that apply to a particular part

of the output. Each area of ODS output has a style element name that is associated

with it. The style element name specifies where the style attributes are applied. For

example, a style element might contain instructions for the presentation of column

headings or for the presentation of the data inside the cells. Style elements might also

specify default colors and fonts for output that uses the style.

• A style attribute is a visual property, such as color, font properties, and line

characteristics, that is defined in ODS with a reserved name and value. Style

attributes are collectively referenced by a style element within a style template. Each

style attribute specifies a value for one aspect of the presentation. For example, the

BACKGROUNDCOLOR= attribute specifies the color for the background of an

HTML table or for a colored table in printed output. The FONTSTYLE= attribute

specifies whether to use a Roman font or an italic font.

Note: Because styles control the presentation of the data, they have no effect on output

objects that go to the LISTING, DOCUMENT, or OUTPUT destination.

The available style templates is in the SASHELP.TMPLMST item store. In SAS

Enterprise Guide, the list of style sheets is shown by the Style Wizard. In batch mode or

SAS Studio, you can display the list of available style templates by submitting this code:

proc template;

list styles / store=sashelp.tmplmst;

run;

For complete information about viewing ODS styles, see “Viewing ODS Styles Supplied

by SAS” on page 781.

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By default, HTML output uses the HTMLBlue style template. To help you become

familiar with styles, style elements, and style attributes, look at the relationship between

them. The diagram that follows shows the relationship between the style, the style

elements, and the style attributes. The following figure illustrates the structure of a style:

772 Chapter 8 • Overview

Figure 8.1 Diagram of the HtmlBlue Style

Understanding Styles, Style Elements, and Style Attributes 773