Create an Excel Workbook That Runs SAS Programs - Exchanging Data Between SAS and Microsoft Excel - page 259

14.5 Conclusion
The code in this chapter builds an Excel workbook that brings Programming with SAS and Reporting with
Excel together. This chapter presents a unified tool that allows both a programmer and an analyst to use and
understand the same processes. It also brings it to a level that gives the company full control of all steps of
the process. I hope that the examples and code available for this chapter will be useful to anyone. A
summary of the process follows.
1. Run the tool by double-clicking on the desktop icon.
2. Answer any questions about security and enable macros to allow the macros to run.
3. Periodically update the Year and Month fields.
4. Select the program to execute from the ComboBox.
5. Press the “Load Parameters” button.
6. Press the “Run Program” button.
7. Press “OK” in the message box asking if you are really ready to run the program.
8. Press the “Save and Exit” button.
9. Navigate to the directory that the JOB files were sent to by the reporting tool.
10. Double-click on the “run_JOB_ xx .bat” file to execute the report program.
11. Review the logs and listing output files for accuracy, and correct any errors.
12. Review the output files or reports, and print any reports that are needed.
13. Repeat for the next report.
Most system administrators have implemented a lot of security measures and restrict the use of outside
code or embedded macros, especially with tools available to more than one person. If you store this tool
with all of its macros on your computer, you can usually get away with leaving the macros enabled. But,
that may be a different story on systems where you may need to have more than one person access the tool.
If the tool will not run because of security / VBA macro issues, check with your system administrator to get
help. If your copy of the tool will run, but gives a message similar to one or more of the figures in Section
14.4.7, Common Issues That Might Occur, it is because your security settings are checking before you run
code with macros embedded. Since you wrote the tool and know what is in it and that you can trust it, then
follow your company guidelines for how to proceed.