Naming Conventions Used for Image Output Files

When you use the GIF, JPEG, or PNG device drivers to generate output for the Web using ODS, the graphs are saved as GRSEG catalog entries and as image format files. If you do not specify filenames, then SAS generates them based on the names of the catalog entries.

For example, you can use a procedure s NAME= option to assign a name of up to eight characters to the catalog entry. If you assign the name MYGRAPH to the catalog entry, then SAS/GRAPH names the GIF image file MYGRAPH.GIF. If you do not use the NAME = option, then SAS/GRAPH names the entry with the first eight characters of the procedure name (for example, GCHART), in which case SAS/GRAPH names the GIF file GCHART.GIF. For more information on catalog entry names, see Names and Descriptions of Catalog Entries on page 55.

By default, SAS/GRAPH does not replace existing GRSEG entries when a procedure creates a new entry of the same name. Rather, it increments the duplicate name to make it unique. For example, if you use a procedure s NAME= option to name an entry MYGRAPH and an entry named MYGRAPH already exists in the output catalog, SAS/GRAPH names the new entry MYGRAPH1, and then names the GIF file MYGRAPH1.GIF. Catalog entry names are limited to eight characters, so if the duplicate name has eight characters, SAS/GRAPH replaces the final character with the added number.

To replace an existing catalog entry, your program can first use the GREPLAY procedure to delete the existing catalog or catalog entries (although doing so is not required). For example, assume that the output catalog is the default, WORK.GSEG, and assume that you use BY- group processing on the GCHART procedure to run a program that generates three catalog entries that are named GCHART, GCHART1, and GCHART2 by default. To run the same program again in the same session, and to ensure that the catalog entries receive the same names, you can first run the following GREPLAY procedure to delete the three existing catalog entries, otherwise the new entries will be named gchart3, gchart4, and gchart5:

 proc greplay igout=work.gseg nofs;     delete gchart gchart1 gchart2;  run; quit; 

To delete all of the catalog entries, use:

 proc greplay igout=work.gseg nofs;     delete _all_;  run;  quit;