Category Variable

The Category Variable field is used to specify a character variable containing annotation categories. This variable is often obtained from an ontology hierarchy like the Gene Ontology (GO) or from lists of pathways. Multiple categories within a value must be separated by one or two common delimiters, as specified on the General tab. If a row has a blank value for this variable, then that row is excluded from the analysis.

To Specify a Category Variable:

8 Specify the Annotation SAS Data Set.

All of the variables in the specified annotation data set are displayed in the Available Variables field.

8 Examine the list of available variables.
8 Highlight the variable containing the annotation categories.
8 Click to add the highlighted variable to the Category Variable field, as shown below: