Free SAS

Note: SAS Inc. had previously made available another free version of SAS, known as SAS University Edition. However, as of May 1, 2021, that product is no longer available from SAS. This tips page contains some tips for migrating from SAS University Edition to SAS On Demand.

Overview

SAS, Inc., has made available a free version of SAS to Windows, Mac, and Linux users, known as SAS OnDemand for Academics, or just "SAS OnDemand".

Although free, it is "real" SAS. However, it can only be used for non-profit learning and educational purposes and academic research at VCU that is not being published for profit.

SAS OnDemand runs "in the cloud" instead of on your local computer. You use your web browser to access it. It provides the following products:

Base SAS
SAS Studio
SAS/STAT
SAS/ACCESS Interface to PC Files
SAS/ETS
SAS/GRAPH
SAS/IML
SAS/OR
SAS/QC

If you create a course in SAS OnDemand (anyone can create a course - see below), these additional products are available for certain platforms (W – Windows, L – Linux):

SAS Enterprise Guide (W)
SAS Enterprise Miner (W L)
SAS Text Miner (W L)
SAS Credit Scoring (W)
SAS Forecast Server (W)
SAS Enterprise Miner server (W L)
SAS Enterprise Miner client (W L)

This brief feature comparison chart compares SAS OnDemand with "traditional" SAS (the SAS Education Analytical Suite). If desired, you can run PROC SETINIT in both environments to display the complete list of products that are licensed in each.

SAS OnDemand uses SAS Studio, which is similar to the traditional SAS programming environment. It has the usual SAS editor, log, and results in windows, plus it offers some extra facilities and features that are very handy. (If you have "traditional" SAS installed on a PC, you should also have SAS Studio installed and can launch it from the Start menu, if you wish to try it out.)

Getting Started

To be able to access SAS OnDemand, you must have a SAS "profile", which can be easily created (at no cost), as described below.

To access SAS OnDemand, begin by visiting the SAS OnDemand sign-in page in your web browser. On that page, do one of the following:

If you do not yet have a SAS "profile", click the Don't have a SAS Profile? link. Then follow the instructions presented to create a profile and register it for SAS OnDemand (that process is demonstrated in the video "Register and Log in to SAS OnDemand for Academics," found near the top of this Getting Started page). Afterward, revisit the above sign-in page and sign in with the user ID and password of your newly created SAS profile.
Or, if you already have a SAS "profile" but it has not yet been registered for using SAS OnDemand, then sign-in with your profile's user ID and password, and then follow the prompts presented to register your profile for SAS OnDemand (that process is demonstrated toward the end of the video "Register and Log in to SAS OnDemand for Academics," found near the top of this Getting Started page). Afterward, revisit the above sign-in page and sign-in again with your profile's user ID and password.
Or, if you already have a SAS "profile" and it has already been registered for using SAS OnDemand, then simply sign-in with your profile's user ID and password.

After you sign-in, in the ensuing screen select the SAS Studio link to launch the SAS Studio programming environment within your browser. You will use SAS Studio to perform your SAS programming.

If you are new to SAS OnDemand, refer to this Getting Started with SAS OnDemand for Academics video, which gives some introductory information about using SAS OnDemand. Here are some additional resources:

If you encounter problems or have questions about getting started with or using SAS OnDemand for Academics, you may email SASoda@sas.com.

More Info

Here is some additional information:

SAS OnDemand runs "in the cloud." That is, you do not install SAS on your computer. All SAS processing is performed on a remote SAS server that is maintained by SAS, Inc. An Internet connection is required. You use a web browser to access SAS OnDemand. (There is one exception -- if you wish to use Enterprise Guide, a simple installation of that one product on your computer is required.)
If desired, you can easily create a "course" in SAS OnDemand and then invite students (or anyone) to enroll in the course. Each student must also register with SAS.
If you create a course in SAS OnDemand, you and your students can access the additional products listed above.
Anyone can create a course. So, if you only want to use those extra products, you can create a "dummy" course just to get access to the products for yourself. That is, you do not then have to enroll any students or otherwise make use of the course.
When using the products in SAS OnDemand, you can only open and save files in the cloud (i.e., on the remote server). However, you can separately (and easily) upload files from your local computer to the cloud, and then use them there in SAS OnDemand. Conversely, you can easily download to your local computer any files that you created in the cloud. When using SAS Enterprise Guide within SAS OnDemand, you can also open/save files directly on your computer (no separate upload/download needed). However, such files directly uploaded into EG only remain available there during your current EG session. Still, you can download/save them to your local computer before your session ends, if desired.
There is a 5 GB file storage limit for your files in the cloud. If you have created any courses, you can store an additional 2 GB for use in those courses.

This article was updated: 09/17/2021