st: Re: saveold

[Roger Newson <roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk>]

At 11:35 30/10/03 -0800, edoardo masset wrote:


> I am using stata 8. I sent some data files to a
> colleague who is using stata 7. So I saved them as
> stata 7 using saveold, but he couldnt open it.
>
> I found in the statalist archive that the same problem
> happened to somebody who had not updated stata 7. So I
> told my friend to run 'update all' and then I sent the
> files again. But nope. He still cant open it.
>
> Is there a way to open stata 8 files using stata 7?
> I remember using the same files in stata 6 and 7 by
> saving old, with no problems at all!
-saveold- works OK for me. (I have both Stata 7 and Stata 8 under Windows 
98.) However, if all else fails, Eduardo and his colleague might consider 
using my -descsave- package, downloadable from SSC, together with -insheet- 
and -outsheet-. In web-aware Stata, type

ssc desc descsave

to find more about -descsave-.

-descsave- is a Stata program that writes Stata programs. For instance, 
Eduardo might program, in Stata 8:

descsave, do(nutz.do)
outsheet using nutz.txt

and create a generic spreadsheet text file -nutz.txt- and also create a 
Stata do-file -nutz.do-, which contains a program to reconstruct the 
variable attributes of the variables in the spreadsheet (ie types, formats, 
variable labels and value labels, or sometimes even variable 
characteristics). Eduardo might then give both files to his colleague, who 
might program, in Stata 7 (or even Stata 6):

insheet using nutz.txt
run nutz.do
desc

and re-create, in memory, a Stata 7 (or Stata 6) version of Eduardo's Stata 
8 data set.

In the longer run, Eduardo and his colleague might consider investing in 
the data conversion package StatTransfer, available from Circle Systems, 
whose website is
http://www.stattransfer.com/

I hope this helps.

Roger


--
Roger Newson
Lecturer in Medical Statistics
Department of Public Health Sciences
King's College London
5th Floor, Capital House
42 Weston Street
London SE1 3QD
United Kingdom

Tel: 020 7848 6648 International +44 20 7848 6648
Fax: 020 7848 6620 International +44 20 7848 6620
  or 020 7848 6605 International +44 20 7848 6605
Email: roger.newson@kcl.ac.uk
Website: http://www.kcl-phs.org.uk/rogernewson

Opinions expressed are those of the author, not the institution.

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