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documentation, report a problem to Technical Support, or view libraries of onl<strong>in</strong>e resources. Brows<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

files <strong>in</strong> the Technical Support area is one of the quickest, most efficient ways a customer can f<strong>in</strong>d assistance.<br />

From the Technical Support page, a user can bypass a phone conversation by open<strong>in</strong>g a support request <strong>in</strong><br />

EMITS (the e-mail <strong>in</strong>terface to Technical Support). A user can browse over 10,000 SAS Technical Notes,<br />

download<strong>in</strong>g them as necessary; <strong>in</strong> contrast, the only other way of receiv<strong>in</strong>g this <strong>in</strong><strong>format</strong>ion is by fax or<br />

surface mail. Users that are not familiar with FTP can access the anonymous FTP site through their favorite<br />

web browser. This often saves time and aggravation on the part of the novice user.<br />

If users are not sure what <strong>in</strong><strong>format</strong>ion they are look<strong>in</strong>g for, they can use a searchable <strong>in</strong>dex to browse over<br />

10,000 SAS notes. These notes reside <strong>in</strong> a large database and are <strong>in</strong>dexed with keywords and titles. Likewise,<br />

they can access SIBBS (the SAS Institute Bullet<strong>in</strong> Board System) and share experiences with other users <strong>in</strong> the<br />

SAS community. Other resources on this comprehensive site <strong>in</strong>clude access to National Language Support<br />

<strong>in</strong><strong>format</strong>ion, an archive of the Technical Support mail<strong>in</strong>g list, a SAS sample library, and access to the everpopular<br />

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list [Fig. 3].<br />

Figure 3: The Technical Support FAQ Page<br />

The Technical Support FAQ was the first effort by SAS Institute to place a document onl<strong>in</strong>e before plac<strong>in</strong>g the<br />

book <strong>in</strong> pr<strong>in</strong>t. However, the popularity of the FAQ on the web was so impressive, it was quickly decided to<br />

keep this document only as an onl<strong>in</strong>e version.<br />

The <strong>format</strong> of a FAQ is ideal for web brows<strong>in</strong>g. Hyperl<strong>in</strong>ks from one topic can lead a user through a series of<br />

similar topics. The searchable <strong>in</strong>dex allows users to f<strong>in</strong>d key words <strong>in</strong> products they may not f<strong>in</strong>d otherwise.<br />

Most topics also have l<strong>in</strong>ks to related documentation. With one click, the user f<strong>in</strong>ds themselves <strong>in</strong> the<br />

Publications Catalog, and able to place a quick order of a book. When necessary, there are l<strong>in</strong>ks to our FTP<br />

site; users can download a file then move right back <strong>in</strong>to the FAQ.<br />

As the FAQ expands to over 1500 questions, we have found that this document has also become an <strong>in</strong>valuable<br />

resource to the employees of SAS Institute. By mirror<strong>in</strong>g this document on our <strong>in</strong>tranet, we have a tool that<br />

can be used by both SAS programmers and the Technical Support staff. The FAQ is updated as needed by<br />

members of our Technical Support staff.<br />

The high usage of the FAQ stressed to the Technical Support staff that the WWW is no longer just a way to<br />

present pr<strong>in</strong>ted <strong>in</strong><strong>format</strong>ion; it is a way to reach a larger audience by present<strong>in</strong>g web-specific facilities. In the<br />

future, the Technical Support Staff plans to implement an <strong>in</strong>teractive question and answer section, a query for

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