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Stata's output looks better thanks to the new output language called
SMCL, which stands for Stata Markup and Control Language. Moreover,
all Stata output, whether it be help files in the help window (now
called the Viewer), help files in the Results window, or statistical
output, is SMCL, meaning all features are available in all contexts.
One implication is that if something is clickable, it is clickable
regardless of the window in which it is displayed, so you can start by
typing help anova and click on links
just as you could had you pulled down Help and gone about
displaying the help in the help window (Viewer).
Clickability is not limited to help files. You can write programs
that display in their output clickable links. The corresponding
action can even be the execution of another Stata command or program!
(click to enlarge)
The help window is now called the Viewer because it serves more
purposes than solely displaying help files. The Viewer, for instance,
is where you look at logs you have previously created or are creating.
That's because, by default, Stata logs are now SMCL files and the
default file extension for log files is .smcl to
remind you of that. When you type `log
using myfile',
myfile.smcl is created. The file is ASCII, so you can
look at it (and even edit it) in your editor or word processor, but it
is not a pretty sight.
Formatted, however, it is pretty. The Viewer can print the SMCL logs
Stata now creates, and the new translate command can
translate the SMCL file to PostScript format, or even standard ASCII
text format, so you can get back to just where you were in Stata 6.
Moreover, you can directly create old-style ASCII text logs if that is
your preference; just type `log using
myfile.log' or `log
using myfile, text'.
To learn about all of this, see [U] 18 Printing and preserving
output; also see [R] log and [R] translate. The
Viewer can be accessed by pulling down File, or you can use the
new view command, which provides some additional
features.
Programmers will want to see [P] smcl for a complete
description of SMCL. You can use SMCL in your ado-files.
There is one other log change: you can now create command logs (ASCII
text logs containing only what you type, which used to be called
noproc logs) using the new cmdlog
command. Even better, you can create command logs and full session
logs simultaneously.
Stata(console) for Unix users: All of the above applies to you, too,
except that you cannot click. Stata(console) does not have a
view command, but type can display
.smcl files, and translate can
translate them.
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