Data invisible after browse command

[Robert Werth]

Hi folks, this is a weird situation and I couldn't find anything about it online, including in the Statalist archives.

I have a small .dta file (39 observations, 5 variables: one string, 4 double). The data don't show up when I type "browse" -- they print accurately when I "list" them, they behave properly when I manipulate them, but "browse" shows nothing but blank cells. That said, in the browse window, the contents of the active cell do show up in the data bar. I can also get the strings (but not the doubles) to show up if I arrow-key down the individual cells, making each cell the active cell.

I found one solution is to generate new var's that exactly replicate the old var's. Those show up in browse, although with less precision (presumably I could figure out how to correct that if the precision matters). But that's clumsy, and this behavior is sufficiently weird that I thought worth asking.

I'm using Stata 14.0 (on Windows 7) and the data file was created by the R package 'haven'.

[Charlie Joyez]

Several causes might explain that:

Make sure your data editor window (browse) is up and left-center (double click on the first variable name you see in the variable column in the browse window).

Do some number of rows display in the left column (shaded area)?
If not (and you're on the top of the sheet), you probably have a filter.

Then, click on the funnel (new English word I've just learn) blue icon next to the browse one, on the data editor window. and click on remove filter.

Else I don't see any reason for the data not to display, however, since you said the data have been created from R, make sure to save the data in a proper .dta file, close Stata, and open the .dta file.

Best,
Charlie