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PICTURE PERFECT: IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE PICTURE FORMAT
Citation:
Croghan, C. PICTURE PERFECT: IN DEPTH LOOK AT THE PICTURE FORMAT. Presented at SouthEast SAS Users Group, Nashville, TN, October 31-November 2, 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
o Develop publically accessible databases
o Disseminate human exposure data bases and data tools in an appropriate manner to improve human exposure research and information.
o Ensure that human exposure data sets generated by HEASD and its contractors or collaborators are useful for data analysis and for human exposure modeling, by providing formats and guidance on data base creation, documentation, storage, and retrieval.
o Ensure that data sets produced in HEASD conform with ORD and EPA requirements.
o Compile and translate existing human exposure data sets into useful formats for use by HEASD scientists and modelers.
o Make fully documented human exposure data sets available for researchers with collaborating external organizations.
Description:
SAS picture format is a very powerful tool. The different options allow the display of data in a more picturesque manner adding symbols, qualifiers, and comments to the data points without modifying the data. With a picture format one can create a series of templates for displaying the data. The picture format even allows the user to generate their own date and time formats. In addition to the options available with the value formats, picture format has options such as datatype, noedit, prefix, multiplier, and fill. With its multitude of options, the picture format is very powerful, but it can also be confusing. It is not always clear how different options will interact. The width of the format will affect the results. Picture formats will truncate the data that does not fit into the template width. If not careful, this can produce misleading information. This presentation will look at the structure and the options available removing some of the mystery of the picture format removed and revealing a powerful formatting.
Although this work was reviewed by EPA and approved for publication, it may not necessarily reflect official Agency policy.