How to replace values and destring variables

[Giang Dao]

I have a panel dataset. On the first row and first columns are variables which are names of 100 countries. This table is a bilateral dataset of the investment between countries.
I set all names in the first row as variables. I want to reshape this dataset, from wide to long.
Most variables are numeric but some are string because the string variables sometimes have C in values.
I want to replace all these "C" values with 0. Then I want to make all string variables become numeric as the others.
I guess I must use "loop". What can I do?

My table looks like below (not exactly but same). The variables Argentina and Australia are string because they contain "C".

Invested_country	Albania	Argentina	Australia	Austria
Albania	142341	C	C	29398
Argentina	244323	912824	195335	89324
Australia	857343	123122	C	15235
Austria	423479	123123	209473	12345

My target in the end is to reshape this table from wide to long, so I suppose to rename the variables as follows:

Invested_country	InvestorAlbania	InvestorArgentina	InvestorAustralia	InvestorAustria
Albania
Argentina
Australia
Austria

and then run the following code:

generate id=_n
reshape long Investor, i(id) j(ivstor,string)

to get the table as below:

Invested_country	ivstor	Investor
Albania	Albania	142341
Argentina	Albania	244323
Australia	Albania	857343
Austria	Albania	423479
Albania	Argentina	0
Argentina	Argentina	912824
Australia	Argentina	123122
Austria	Argentina	123123
Albania	Australia	0
Argentina	Australia	195335
Australia	Australia	0
Austria	Australia	209473
Albania	Austria	29398
Argentina	Austria	89324
Australia	Austria	15235
Austria	Austria	12345
...	...	...

So in order to get my target, I must have variables in the same type first. That's why I ask the question above.

Many thanks!

[Nick Cox]

Please use dataex as suggested in discussion of your post at https://stackoverflow.com/questions/...with-same-type

[Giang Dao]

Thanks for your suggestion. I tried it and after that I can replace and destring the variables. But I had to name all variables that have "C", after the command "dataex". How can I run a loop to trace all variables that are string type (have C) and dataex them all at the same time?

[Nick Cox]

We don't need to see all variables. We just need to be clear what your problem is. So, just show say three variables with some observations with values "C".

[Giang Dao]

Here below is the browse of my data. the variable "UnitedKingdom" is string type and has many "C" in values.

[Nick Cox]

Still not a dataex example, and we do advise against screenshots, but just about readable. Something like this may help.

ds, has(type string) 
local varlist `r(varlist)' 
foreach v of local varlist { 
    replace `v' = "0" if trim(`v') == "C" 
}
destring, replace

[Giang Dao]

Thank you very much. It works well now.

[Nick Cox]

Good. I suggest that you delete the Stack Overflow thread.