If you use SAS® software to create a report that contains multiple graphs, you know that each graph appears on a separate page by default. But now you want to really impress your audience by putting multiple graphs on a page. Keep reading because this blog post describes how to achieve that goal.

With newer versions of SAS, there are many different options for putting multiple graphs on a single page. This blog post details these different options based on the following ODS destinations: ODS PDF, ODS RTF, and ODS HTML destinations.

To put multiple graphs on a page (whether you are using ODS or not), the SAS/GRAPH® procedure PROC GREPLAY is typically a good option and is mentioned several times in this blog post. For detailed information about using PROC GREPLAY, see SAS Note 48183: “Using PROC GREPLAY to put multiple graphs on the same page.”

The ODS PDF Destination

The ODS PDF destination is the most commonly used ODS destination for putting multiple graphs on a single page and it also offers the most options, which are described below.

STARTPAGE=NO Option

One way to put multiple graphs on a single PDF page is to use the STARTPAGE=NO option in the ODS PDF statement. Here is sample SAS code that demonstrates how to stack two SGPLOT graphs vertically on the same PDF page using the STARTPAGE=NO option in the ODS PDF statement:

title1; 
ods _all_ close; 
ods pdf file='c:\temp\sastest.pdf' startpage=no notoc dpi=300;

ods graphics / reset=all height=4in width=7in;  
proc sgplot data=sashelp.cars; 
  bubble x=horsepower y=mpg_city size=cylinders;
  where make="Audi";
run;
proc sgplot data=sashelp.cars; 
  bubble x=horsepower y=mpg_city size=cylinders;
  where make="BMW";
run;

ods pdf close;
ods preferences;  

goptions vsize=4in;

For sample code that demonstrates how to use the STARTPAGE=NO option in the ODS PDF statement to put four graphs on the same PDF page (two across and two down), see SAS Note 48569: “Use the STARTPAGE option in the ODS PDF statement to put multiple graphs on a single page in a PDF document.”

ODS LAYOUT

Another option for putting multiple graphs (and tables) on the same PDF page is ODS LAYOUT. With ODS PDF, absolute layout allows you to define specific regions on the page for your graph and table output. For sample code that demonstrates how to put multiple graphs and tables on the same PDF page using ODS LAYOUT, see SAS Note 55808: “ODS LAYOUT: Placing text, graphs, and images on the same PDF page.”

PROC GREPLAY

You can also put multiple graphs on the same page in a PDF document using the SAS/GRAPH procedure PROC GREPLAY. While the GREPLAY procedure has been around a long time, it is still a very useful option in many situations.

However, note that PROC GREPLAY can only replay graphics output that has previously been written to a SAS/GRAPH catalog, so it has the following limitations:

• It cannot directly replay graphics output created with the SG procedures and ODS Graphics.
• It cannot directly replay text-based output such as that created with Base® SAS procedures like PROC PRINT and PROC REPORT.

For sample SAS code that demonstrates how to put four GCHART graphs on the same PDF page using PROC GREPLAY, see SAS Note 44955: “Use PROC GREPLAY with the ODS PDF statement to place four graphs on the same page.”

For sample SAS code that demonstrates how to put six GCHART graphs on the same PDF page using PROC GREPLAY, see SAS Note 44973: “Use PROC GREPLAY to place size graphs on a single page in a PDF document.”

Although you can use PROC GREPLAY with graphics output created with the SG procedures and ODS Graphics, you must use the three-step process demonstrated in SAS Note 41461: “Put multiple PROC SGPLOT outputs on the same PDF page using PROC GREPLAY.”

The ODS RTF Destination

The following sample code demonstrates how to stack multiple graphs vertically on the same page using the SGPLOT procedure in combination with the STARTPAGE=NO option in the ODS RTF statement:

options nodate nonumber; 
 
ods _all_ close; 
ods rtf file='sastest.rtf' startpage=no image_dpi=300; 
 
ods graphics / reset=all outputfmt=png height=3in width=7in; 
 
title1 'Graph for Audi'; 
proc sgplot data=sashelp.cars; 
  bubble x=horsepower y=mpg_city size=cylinders;
  where make="Audi";
run;
 
title1 'Graph for BMW'; 
proc sgplot data=sashelp.cars; 
  bubble x=horsepower y=mpg_city size=cylinders;
  where make="BMW";
run;
 
title1 'Graph for Volvo'; 
proc sgplot data=sashelp.cars; 
  bubble x=horsepower y=mpg_city size=cylinders;
  where make="Volvo";
run;
 
ods _all_ close; 
ods preferences;

Because ODS LAYOUT is not fully supported with the ODS RTF destination, I recommend using PROC GREPLAY if you want to arrange multiple graphs on the same RTF page in a grid. For sample SAS code that demonstrates how to put four graphs on a single page in an RTF document, see SAS Note 45147: “Use PROC GREPLAY to place four graphs on a single page in an RTF document.”

For sample SAS code that demonstrates how to put six graphs on a single page in a RTF document, see SAS Note 45150: “Use PROC GREPLAY to place six graphs on a single page in an RTF document.”

The ODS HTML Destination

When you create multiple graphs with the ODS HTML destination, they are stacked vertically on the same web page by default. You can scroll up and down through the graphics output using your web browser’s scroll bar. In most situations, using PROC GREPLAY is a good option for displaying multiple graphs on a single web page.

Another option is to use the HTMLPANEL ODS tagset to display a panel of graphs via the web. For documentation about using the HTMLPANEL tagset, see “The htmlpanel Tagset Controls Paneling.” For sample code that demonstrates how to use the HTMLPANEL ODS tagset to display multiple graphs and tables via the web in a two-by-two grid, see SAS Note 38066: “Use the HTMLPANEL ODS tagset to put multiple graphs and tables on the same web page.”

In conclusion, this blog post covers just a few of the methods you can use to put multiple graphs on a page. There are more options available than those discussed above. For example, for sample code that puts multiple graphs on the same page using PROC SGPANEL, see SAS Note 35049: “Risk panel graph.” For sample code that puts two graphs side-by-side using Graph Template Language and PROC SGRENDER, see SAS Note 49696: “Generate side-by-side graphs with Y and Y2 axes with the Graph Template Language (GTL).”