store -note- in a local macro?

[Jeph Herrin]

This should perhaps be obvious, but my searches are turning up too many unrelated items.

I used Stat/Transfer to convert a number of SPSS files to Stata files. I suppose because the variable names all have a long (and unnecessary) stem, they are stored as -note-s in the Stata dataset. I would like to loop over the variables, retrieve the -note- attached to each one, remove the stem, and then label the variable. Something like:

foreach Q in varlist q_* {
     local name : note `Q' 1
     local name = subinstr("`name'","`stem'","",1)
     label var `Q' "`name'"
}

if such an extended macro function -note <varname> <note #> - existed. Given that it doesn't, is there a work around for capturing the note? I suppose I could log all variable notes, process it separately to produce a table of variable labels, then use that to relabel the variable list, but there should be an easier way. Is there?

J

[Nick Cox]

The secret is that notes are really characteristics. There is example code in findname (SJ) for various retrievals.

[Jeph Herrin]

Aha.


thanks much,
J

[Robert Picard]

Also note that you can reference a characteristic directly, as if it is a local macro name:

sysuse auto, clear
note make: The make of the car
note price: The price of the car
note mpg: The mpg of the car

char list

* show how to reference a note directly
dis "`make[note1]'"

* loop to label vars
foreach v of varlist make-mpg {
    label var `v' "``v'[note1]''"
}

des make-mpg