For a very marginally quicker way (with no need to alphabetize the order)...
use data.dta
merge using labels.dta
count if !missing(var1)
forvalues i=1/`r(N)' {
cap nois label var `=var1[`i']' "`=var2[`i']'"
}
drop var1 var2 _merge
David
[email protected]
-----Original Message-----
From: Scott Merryman [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: 12 November 2004 03:15
To: [email protected]
Subject: st: RE: Re: ST: transferring labels
Ric,
Using the auto data set as an example, suppose your data file (data.dta)
consists of the variables: price, mpg, trunk, turn, and weight.
The label file consists of the variable names and new labels and it is also
a Stata data file (labels.dta) and looks like:
. l
+----------------------------+
| var1 var2 |
|----------------------------|
1. | mpg Miles per gallon |
2. | price Price in dollars |
3. | trunk Size of Trunk |
4. | turn Turn Radius |
5. | weight Weight of Vehicle |
+----------------------------+
One way to attach these new labels to the variables in the data file is as
follows: <snip>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected] [mailto:owner-
> [email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Uslaner
> Sent: Thursday, November 11, 2004 5:13 PM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: st: Re: ST: transferring labels
>
> Hello,
>
> I have downloaded a data set that is in 3 parts, all in Excel. Files 2
> and 3 are data, file 1 is a list of variable names and labels. I have
> transferred the data with names to Stata, but the labels are perplexing.
> Here is the format of the Excel spreadsheet with the variable names
> and labels:
>
> Column A Column B Column C Column D Column E
> varname varlabel divider varname varlabel
> etc. etc. etc.
> etc.
>
>
> Columns A&B are for data set 2 and C & D for data set 3 (though this is
> no problem--I can copy them into one column since the cases are
> identical).
>
> Is there a way to transfer the variable labels without doing a lot of
> typing. Stata Technical Support suggested putting each variable label
> into a do-file with quotation marks around each label (which I would
> have to type in by hand) and then pasting:
>
> label var varname "varlabel" for each variable.
>
> Does anyone have a more expeditous (and less tedious) way of doing this
> transfer?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ric Uslaner
> [email protected]
*
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
* http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
