How do I rename suffixes that aren't fully displayed due to variable name limit? -rensfix -

[Sara Khan]

Hello everyon,
I have two questions:

I have imported a .sav file. My variable names have all been truncated to 19 characters. How do I increase this?

I am using the very helpful user-written (by Nick Cox) ado called -rensfix-. The problem I am having is that as the variable names are truncated (all vars had the same suffix _respiratory before importing), I can't chance them all in one go to _1. Here is an example of 4 truncations of the same stub:


SpecifyTTTAttacks_r
ShortExer_respirato
CoughCharac_respira
CoughExer_respirato
AgePneumonia_respir

Is there a way of changing them all to _1 without having to go through every suffix?

I was hoping something like rensfix _respi* 1 would work!

[Nick Cox]

Sorry, but I have no idea what a .sav file is.

I will answer the second question.

rensfix is by Stephen Jenkins and myself. You're asked to indicate provenance (where), not author (who), for user-written programs. You have to dig for this one:

. search rensfix, sj

Search of official help files, FAQs, Examples, SJs, and STBs

(end of search)

. search rensfix, sj historical

Search of official help files, FAQs, Examples, SJs, and STBs

STB-59 dm83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renaming variables: changing suffixes
(help rensfix if installed) . . . . . . . S. P. Jenkins and N. J. Cox
1/01 pp.5--6; STB Reprints Vol 10, pp.34--35
renames variables by changing the suffix

Either way, that command has long since superseded by other stuff. Here is a case in point.

You can specify variable names with a wildcard but not suffixes.

A data example would have helped here, but here we go.

. clear

. set obs 1
number of observations (_N) was 0, now 1

. foreach v in SpecifyTTTAttacks_r ShortExer_respirato CoughCharac_respira CoughExer_respirato AgePneumonia_respir {
  2.         gen `v' = 42
  3. }

.
. ds, varwidth(20)
SpecifyTTTAttacks_r  CoughCharac_respira  AgePneumonia_respir
ShortExer_respirato  CoughExer_respirato

.
. rename (*_*) (*_1)

.
. ds, varwidth(20)
SpecifyTTTAttacks_1  CoughCharac_1        AgePneumonia_1
ShortExer_1          CoughExer_1

[Sara Khan]

Thank you so much!
rename (*_*) (*_1) worked perfectly and so it was so simple.

[Marcos Almeida]

Since you mentioned a .sav file, I assume the file was under SPSS package. You may also transform the .sav into .csv and import to Stata, and see what happens.


Anyway, below, there is a short example on how to deal with a long variable name as well as sufix and prefix:

. list

     +-------------------------------------------+
     | thisis~1   thisis~2   anothe~1   anothe~4 |
     |-------------------------------------------|
  1. |        2          5          6          8 |
  2. |        3          6          7          9 |
  3. |        4          6          7          8 |
  4. |        5          6          7          5 |
  5. |        6          7          5          4 |
     |-------------------------------------------|
  6. |        7          8          6          1 |
     +-------------------------------------------+

. list this*

     +---------------------+
     | thisis~1   thisis~2 |
     |---------------------|
  1. |        2          5 |
  2. |        3          6 |
  3. |        4          6 |
  4. |        5          6 |
  5. |        6          7 |
     |---------------------|
  6. |        7          8 |
     +---------------------+

. list this*, abb(40)

     +---------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | thisisaverylongnameforavariable1   thisisaverylongnameforavariable2 |
     |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
  1. |                                2                                  5 |
  2. |                                3                                  6 |
  3. |                                4                                  6 |
  4. |                                5                                  6 |
  5. |                                6                                  7 |
     |---------------------------------------------------------------------|
  6. |                                7                                  8 |
     +---------------------------------------------------------------------+

. list another*, abb(40)

     +-------------------------------------------------------------+
     | anothervariablewithlongname1   anothervariablewithlongname4 |
     |-------------------------------------------------------------|
  1. |                            6                              8 |
  2. |                            7                              9 |
  3. |                            7                              8 |
  4. |                            7                              5 |
  5. |                            5                              4 |
     |-------------------------------------------------------------|
  6. |                            6                              1 |
     +-------------------------------------------------------------+

. rename (this*# another*#) v#, addnumber

. list

     +-------------------+
     | v1   v2   v3   v4 |
     |-------------------|
  1. |  2    5    6    8 |
  2. |  3    6    7    9 |
  3. |  4    6    7    8 |
  4. |  5    6    7    5 |
  5. |  6    7    5    4 |
     |-------------------|
  6. |  7    8    6    1 |
     +-------------------+

Hopefully that helps.

Best,

Marcos

[Sara Khan]

Very helpful Marcos! Thank you. I have another related question, if you don't mind. So, I have solved the original variable name problem but how do I get rid of prefixes and suffixes in the labels so that only the middle portion renames (e.g., I only want CoughExer in the first label below) :

. lab dir
DataResponse_CoughExer_respirato
DataResponse_CoughCharac_respira
DataResponse_ShortExer_respirato
DataResponse_Bronchiolitis_respi
DataResponse_CongColds_respirato
DataResponse_EverHosp_respirator
DataResponse_ColdsPerY_respirato
DataResponse_CAsthmaMed_respirat
DataResponse_CAsthma_respiratory

[E. David Aja]

See

h rename group

rename DataResponse_*_res* *