Optional Arguments

AXIS=axis-specification

specifies the range of values to plot on the horizontal axis, as well as the interval represented by each print position on the axis. PROC TIMEPLOT labels the first and last ends of the axis, if space permits.

For numeric values, axis-specification can be one of the following or a combination of both:

• n<. . .n>
• n TO n <BY increment>

The values must be in either ascending or descending order. Use a negative value for increment to specify descending order. The specified values are spaced evenly along the horizontal axis even if the values are not uniformly distributed. Numeric values can be specified in the following ways:

Specification		Comments
axis=1 2 10		Values are 1, 2, and 10.
axis=10 to 100 by 5		Values appear in increments of 5, starting at 10 and ending at 100.
axis=12 10 to 100 by 5		A combination of the two previous forms of specification.

For axis variables that contain datetime values, axis-specification is either an explicit list of values or a starting and an ending value with an increment specified:

• 'date-time-value'i <. . . 'date-time-value'i>
• 'date-time-value'i TO 'date-time-value'i
  <BY increment>

'date-time-value'i

any SAS date, time, or datetime value described for the SAS functions INTCK and INTNX. The suffix i is one of the following:

D	date
T	time
DT	datetime

increment

one of the valid arguments for the INTCK or INTNX functions. For dates, increment can be one of the following:

• DAY
• WEEK
• MONTH
• QTR
• YEAR

For datetimes, increment can be one of the following:

• DTDAY
• DTWEEK
• DTMONTH
• DTQTR
• DTYEAR

For times, increment can be one of the following:

• HOUR
• MINUTE
• SECOND

For example,

axis='01JAN95'd to '01JAN96'd by month 
axis='01JAN95'd to '01JAN96'd by qtr

For descriptions of individual intervals, see the chapter on dates, times, and intervals in SAS Language Reference: Concepts.

Note: You must use a FORMAT statement to print the tick-mark values in an understandable form.

Interaction:The value of POS= (see POS=print-positions-for-plot) overrides an interval set with AXIS=.

Tip: It is possible for your data to be out of range and fall outside the axis area of the plot. When this happens, PROC TIMEPLOT places angle brackets, (< ) or (>), on the sides of the plot to indicate that there is data not being represented.

Example:Customizing an Axis and a Plotting Symbol

HILOC

connects the leftmost plotting symbol to the rightmost plotting symbol with a line of hyphens (-).

Interaction:If you specify JOINREF, then PROC TIMEPLOT ignores HILOC.

JOINREF

connects the leftmost and rightmost symbols on each line of the plot with a line of hyphens (-), regardless of whether the symbols are reference symbols or plotting symbols. However, if a line contains only reference symbols, then PROC TIMEPLOT does not connect the symbols.

Example:Using a Variable for a Plotting Symbol

NOSYMNAME

suppresses the name of the symbol variable in column headings when you use a CLASS statement. If you use NOSYMNAME, then only the value of the symbol variable appears in the column heading.

Example:Showing Multiple Observations on One Line of a Plot

NPP

suppresses the listing of the values of the variables that appear in the PLOT statement.

Example:Using a Variable for a Plotting Symbol

OVERLAY

plots all requests in one PLOT statement on one set of axes. Otherwise, PROC TIMEPLOT produces a separate plot for each plot request.

Example:Superimposing Two Plots

OVPCHAR='character'

specifies the character to print if multiple plotting symbols coincide. If a plotting symbol and a character in a reference line coincide, then PROC TIMEPLOT prints the plotting symbol.

Default:at sign (@)

Example:Showing Multiple Observations on One Line of a Plot

POS=print-positions-for-plot

specifies the number of print positions to use for the horizontal axis.

Default:If you omit both POS= and AXIS=, then PROC TIMEPLOT initially assumes that POS=20. However, if space permits, then this value increases so that the plot fills the available space.

Interaction:If you specify POS=0 and AXIS=, then the plot fills the available space. POS= overrides an interval set with AXIS= . See the discussion of AXIS=axis-specification.

See:Page Layout

Example:Plotting a Single Variable

REF=reference-value(s)

draws lines on the plot that are perpendicular to the specified values on the horizontal axis. The values for reference-value(s) can be constants, or you can use the form

MEAN(variable(s))

If you use this form of REF=, then PROC TIMEPLOT evaluates the mean for each variable that you list and draws a reference line for each mean.

Interactions:If you use the UNIFORM option in the PROC TIMEPLOT statement, then the procedure calculates the mean values for the variables over all observations for all BY groups. If you do not use UNIFORM, then the procedure calculates the mean for each variable for each BY group.

If a plotting symbol and a reference character coincide, then PROC TIMEPLOT prints the plotting symbol.

Examples:Using a Variable for a Plotting Symbol

Superimposing Two Plots

REFCHAR='character'

specifies the character for drawing reference lines.

Default:vertical bar (|)

Interaction:If you are using the JOINREF or HILOC option, then do not specify a value for REFCHAR= that is the same as a plotting symbol. If you do this then PROC TIMEPLOT will interpret the plotting symbols as reference characters and will not connect the symbols as you expect.

Example:Using a Variable for a Plotting Symbol

REVERSE

orders the values on the horizontal axis with the largest value in the leftmost position.

Example:Superimposing Two Plots