The very annoying answer "Don't do that then!"
is nevertheless possibly the simplest advice.
On your suggestion: I doubt that this is the best way
for Stata to go.
The command a user types that creates a graph could be
a call to a .do file or a user-written program.
That's likely no problem to you, assuming that you can
find or re-create such a .do file or user-written
program, but it is a bad principle for a Stata
graph (file) to contain information that Stata
can't guarantee to make sense of. For example,
the other file could easily have been lost,
discarded or modified.
In fact, Stata graph files do contain far more
information that can be used. Exploiting the way that
graphs use sersets offers one path here. Vince
Wiggins' talk at the London users' meeting,
recently made available, offers some explanation
and examples.
Nick
[email protected]
Fred Wolfe
> Often enough I find myself making ad hoc graphs, by which I
> mean graphs
> that are not a part of a saved do or ado file. Sometimes I
> come back to
> those graphs and want to alter something. However, the graph
> statement no
> longer exists, and I may not even know which .dta file was
> used. Would it
> be possible to have the graph program save such information?
> One way I have
> been doing this, but it seems awkward, is to save a dta file
> with just the
> variables I need, then attach the graph statement as a note.
>
> Does anyone have any other suggestions or comments on this idea?
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