help list, help flist dialog: list
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title
[D] list -- List values of variables
Syntax
list [varlist] [if] [in] [, options]
flist is equivalent to list with the fast option.
options description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Main
compress compress width of columns in both table and
display formats
nocompress use display format of each variable
fast synonym for nocompress; no delay in output of
large datasets
abbreviate(#) abbreviate variable names to # characters; default
is ab(8)
string(#) truncate string variables to # characters; default
is string(10)
noobs do not list observation numbers
fvall display all levels of factor variables
Options
table force table format
display force display format
header display variable header once; default is table
mode
noheader suppress variable header
header(#) display variable header every # lines
clean force table format with no divider or separator
lines
divider draw divider lines between columns
separator(#) draw a separator line every # lines; default is
separator(5)
sepby(varlist2) draw a separator line whenever varlist2 values
change
nolabel display numeric codes rather than label values
Summary
mean[(varlist2)] add line reporting the mean for the (specified)
variables
sum[(varlist2)] add line reporting the sum for the (specified)
variables
N[(varlist2)] add line reporting the number of nonmissing values
for the (specified) variables
labvar(varname) substitute Mean, Sum, or N for value of varname in
last row of table
Advanced
constant[(varlist2)] separate and list variables that are constant only
once
notrim suppress string trimming
absolute display overall observation numbers when using by
varlist:
nodotz display numerical values equal to .z as field of
blanks
subvarname substitute characteristic for variable name in
header
linesize(#) columns per line; default is linesize(79)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
varlist may contain factor variables; see fvvarlist.
varlist may contain time-series operators; see tsvarlist.
by is allowed with list; see [D] by.
Menu
Data > Describe data > List data
Description
list displays the values of variables. If no varlist is specified, the
values of all the variables are displayed. Also see browse in [D] edit.
Options
+------+
----+ Main +-------------------------------------------------------------
compress and nocompress change the width of the columns in both table and
display formats. By default, list examines the data and allocates
the needed width to each variable. For instance, a variable might be
a string with a %18s format, and yet the longest string will be only
12 characters long. Or a numeric variable might have a %9.0g format,
and yet, given the values actually present, the widest number needs
only four columns.
nocompress prevents list from examining the data. Widths will be set
according to the display format of each variable. Output generally
looks better when nocompress is not specified, but for very large
datasets (say 1,000,000 observations or more), nocompress can speed
up the execution of list.
compress allows list to engage in a little more compression than it
otherwise would by telling list to abbreviate variable names to fewer
than eight characters.
fast is a synonym for nocompress. fast may be of interest to those with
very large datasets who wish to see output appear without delay.
abbreviate(#) is an alternative to compress that allows you to specify
the minimum abbreviation of variable names to be considered. For
example, you could specify abbreviate(16) if you never wanted
variables abbreviated to less than 16 characters.
string(#) specifies that when string variables are listed, they be
truncated to # characters in the output. Any value that is truncated
will be appended with ".." to indicate the truncation. string() is
useful for displaying just a part of long strings.
noobs suppresses the listing of the observation numbers.
fvall specifies that the entire dataset be used to determine how many
levels are in any factor variables specified in varlist. The default
is to determine the number of levels by using only the observations
in the if and in qualifiers.
+---------+
----+ Options +----------------------------------------------------------
table and display determines the style of output. By default, list
determines whether to use table or display on the basis of the width
of your screen and the linesize() option, if you specify it.
table forces table format. Forcing table format when list would have
chosen otherwise generally produces impossible-to-read output because
of the linewraps. However, if you are logging output in SMCL format
and plan to print the output on wide paper later, specifying table
can be a reasonable thing to do.
display forces display format.
header, noheader, and header(#) specify how the variable header is to be
displayed.
header is the default in table mode and displays the variable header
once, at the top of the table.
noheader suppresses the header altogether.
header(#) redisplays the variable header every # observations. For
example, header(10) would display a new header every 10 observations.
The default in display mode is to display the variable names
interweaved with the data:
+---------------------------------------------------------+
1. | make | price | mpg | rep78 | headroom | trunk |
| AMC Concord | 4,099 | 22 | 3 | 2.5 | 11 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| weight | length | turn | displa~t | gear_r~o | foreign |
| 2,930 | 186 | 40 | 121 | 3.58 | Domestic |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
However, if you specify header, the header is display once, at the
top of the table:
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| make | price | mpg | rep78 | headroom | trunk |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| weight | length | turn | displa~t | gear_r~o | foreign |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
+---------------------------------------------------------+
1. | AMC Concord | 4,099 | 22 | 3 | 2.5 | 11 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| 2,930 | 186 | 40 | 121 | 3.58 | Domestic |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
clean is a better alternative to table when you want to force table
format and your goal is to produce more readable output on the
screen. clean implies table, and it removes all dividing and
separating lines, which is what makes wrapped table output nearly
impossible to read.
divider, separator(#), and sepby(varlist2) specify how dividers and
separator lines should be displayed. These three options affect only
table format.
divider specifies that divider lines be drawn between columns. The
default is nodivider.
separator(#) and sepby(varlist2) indicate when separator lines should
be drawn between rows.
separator(#) specifies how often separator lines should be drawn
between rows. The default is separator(5), meaning every 5
observations. You may specify separator(0) to suppress separators
altogether.
sepby(varlist2) specifies that a separator line be drawn whenever any
of the variables in sepby(varlist2) change their values; up to 10
variables may be specified. You need not make sure the data were
sorted on sepby(varlist2) before issuing the list command. The
variables in sepby(varlist2) also need not be among the variables
being listed.
nolabel specifies that the numeric codes be displayed rather than label
values.
+---------+
----+ Summary +----------------------------------------------------------
mean, sum, N, mean(varlist2), sum(varlist2), and N(varlist2) all specify
that lines be added to the output reporting the mean, sum, or number
of nonmissing values for the (specified) variables. If you do not
specify the variables, all numeric variables in the varlist following
list are used.
labvar(varname) is for use with mean[()], sum[()], and N[()]. list
displays Mean, Sum, or N where the observation number would usually
appear to indicate the end of the table--where a row represents the
calculated mean, sum, or number of observations.
labvar(varname) changes that. Instead, Mean, Sum, or N is displayed
where the value for varname would be displayed. For instance, you
might type
. list group costs profits, sum(costs profits) labvar(group)
+-------------------------+
| group costs profits |
|-------------------------|
1. | 1 47 5 |
2. | 2 123 10 |
3. | 3 22 2 |
|-------------------------|
| Sum 192 17 |
+-------------------------+
and then also specify the noobs option to suppress the observation
numbers.
+----------+
----+ Advanced +---------------------------------------------------------
constant and constant(varlist2) specify that variables that do not vary
observation by observation be separated out and listed only once.
constant specifies that list determine for itself which variables are
constant.
constant(varlist2) allows you to specify which of the constant
variables you want listed separately. list verifies that the
variables you specify really are constant and issues an error message
if they are not.
constant and constant() respect if exp and in range. If you type
. list if group==3
variable x might be constant in the selected observations, even
though the variable varies in the entire dataset.
notrim affects how string variables are listed. The default is to trim
strings at the width implied by the widest possible column given your
screen width (or linesize(), if you specified that). notrim
specifies that strings not be trimmed. notrim implies clean (see
above) and, in fact, is equivalent to the clean option, so specifying
either makes no difference.
absolute affects output only when list is prefixed with by varlist:.
Observation numbers are displayed, but the overall observation
numbers are used rather than the observation numbers within each
by-group. For example, if the first group had 4 observations and the
second had 2, by default the observations would be numbered 1, 2, 3,
4 and 1, 2. If absolute is specified, the observations will be
numbered 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, 6.
nodotz is a programmer's option that specifies that numerical values
equal to .z be listed as a field of blanks rather than .z.
subvarname is a programmer's option. If a variable has the
characteristic var[varname] set, then the contents of that
characteristic will be used in place of the variable's name in the
headers.
linesize(#) specifies the width of the page to be used for determining
whether table or display format should be used and for formatting the
resulting table. Specifying a value of linesize() that is wider than
your screen width can produce truly ugly output on the screen, but
that output can nevertheless be useful if you are logging output and
plan to print the log later on a wide printer.
Syntax for clist
clist [varlist] [if] [in] [clist_options]
clist_options description
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[no]display format into display or tabular nodisplay format
noheader omit variable or observation number header
information
nolabel display numeric codes; default displays label
values
noobs suppress printing of observation numbers
doublespace insert a blank line between each observation when
in nodisplay mode; has no effect in display mode
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
varlist may contain time-series operators; see tsvarlist.
by is allowed with clist; see [D] by.
Description of clist
clist is similar to list, clean; clist is the list command that appeared
in Stata before Stata 8, options and all. list continues to be the
preferred command. clist is provided for those instances when the old
style of output is desired.
Options for clist
[no]display forces the format into display or tabular (nodisplay) format.
If you do not specify one of these two options, Stata chooses the one
it believes would be most readable.
noheader omits variable or observation number header information. The
blank line and variable names at the top of the listing are omitted
when in nodisplay mode. The observation number header and one blank
line are omitted for each observation when in display mode.
nolabel specifies that numeric codes be displayed rather than label
values.
noobs suppresses printing of the observation numbers.
doublespace produces a blank line between each observation in the listing
when in nodisplay mode; it has no effect in display mode.
Remarks
list, typed by itself, lists all the observations and variables in the
dataset. If you specify varlist, only those variables are listed.
Specifying one or both of in range and if exp limits the observations
listed.
list respects line size. That is, if you resize the Results window (in
windowed versions of Stata) before running list, it will take advantage
of the available horizontal space. Stata for Unix(console) users can
instead use the set linesize command to take advantage of this feature.
list may not display all the large strings. You have 2 choices: 1) you
can specify the clean option, which makes a different, less attractive
listing, or 2) you can increase line size, as discussed above.
list has two output formats, known as table and display. The table
format is suitable for listing a few variables, whereas the display
format is suitable for listing an unlimited number of variables. Stata
chooses automatically between those two formats, or you may specify the
table or display options. The table format looks like this:
. list make-rep78 in 1/4, table
+-------------------------------------+
| make price mpg rep78 |
|-------------------------------------|
1. | AMC Concord 4,099 22 3 |
2. | AMC Pacer 4,749 17 3 |
3. | AMC Spirit 3,799 22 . |
4. | Buick Century 4,816 20 3 |
+-------------------------------------+
The display format looks like this:
. list in 1/2, display
+---------------------------------------------------------+
1. | make | price | mpg | rep78 | headroom | trunk |
| AMC Concord | 4,099 | 22 | 3 | 2.5 | 11 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| weight | length | turn | displa~t | gear_r~o | foreign |
| 2,930 | 186 | 40 | 121 | 3.58 | Domestic |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
+---------------------------------------------------------+
2. | make | price | mpg | rep78 | headroom | trunk |
| AMC Pacer | 4,749 | 17 | 3 | 3.0 | 11 |
|---------------------------------------------------------|
| weight | length | turn | displa~t | gear_r~o | foreign |
| 3,350 | 173 | 40 | 258 | 2.53 | Domestic |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
Examples
. sysuse auto
. list
. list in 1/10
. list mpg weight
. list mpg weight in 1/20
. list if mpg>20
. list mpg weight if mpg>20
. list mpg weight if mpg>20 in 1/10
. by rep78, sort: list, constant
Also see
Manual: [D] list
Help: [P] display, [D] edit, [P] tabdisp, [R] table
