CSCAR at the University of Michigan Software Help

The Center For Statistical Consultation and Research
3550 Rackham Building University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1070 cscar@umich.edu
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SAS Topics: Getting Help in SAS

When you are running SAS, you may try to get the SAS online help from the help window and encounter an error Page not found. This, and a number of other problems can be fixed by running the SAS hotfix bundle that is available on the SAS web page. Instructions for doing so follow:

Go to http://www.sas.com

Click on Customer Support > Software Downloads > Hot Fixes

You can then download the hotfix for Base SAS or for SAS/Stat for SAS Release 8.2. The Base SAS hotfix is appropriate for this problem.

Go to the operating system that you are using (Windows) and then you can download the hotfix. Double-click on the hotfix in your computer to install it. When you re-start SAS, you should be able to go to Help > SAS online help and get the default SAS help.You will see a message in the log that says "Note: this installation is running Base SAS hot fix bundle 82BX07".

If you wish to use the SAS online Doc, you have two options:

Install the SAS online doc CD on your computer and modify your sasv8.cfg (SAS config file) to point to the correct location in your computer. (Replace the ñDOCLOC line in your sasv8.cfg file to point to the file onldoc.htm on your local computer. An example is shown below. This will not necessarily be the same on your computer).
```
/* Default locations for online help */
-DOCLOC "file:///C:\SAS_online_doc\sashtml\onldoc.htm"
```
Now, you should be able to access this help by going to Help > SAS online Doc.
You can also access SAS online doc from any internet browser. Simply go to the SAS web site http://www.sas.com and click on Customer Support > Documentation > Products & Solutions > Documentation for SAS, Version 8. The first time you use this service, you will need to register. SAS will send you a password that can then be used any time you access this online documentation. It is the same as that on the online doc CD.