Date format works only with display command

[Mor Zahavi]

My goal is to create a folder with the date formatted in the way I like.

I found the specific format I want but it works only with the display command.

This code

 display %td_CCYYNNDD date(c(current_date), "DMY")

Produces the result I want

20181120

(which is the 20th of November 2018)

But I was not able to store this string of digits as a scalar/tempvar/local and use it anywhere else

---

Scalar -

scalar a = %td_CCYYNNDD date(c(current_date), "DMY")

or local macro -

local D = %td_CCYYNNDD date(c(current_date), "DMY")

Both produce the same error

%td_CCYYNNDD invalid name

[Nick Cox]

Your title is incorrect. A date display format can work fine with scalar or local assignments. The problem is that your expression is not a legal expression in either case.

. local D : display %td_CCYYNNDD date(c(current_date), "DMY")

. di "`D'"
 20181120

. local D2 = string(date(c(current_date), "DMY"), "%td_CCYYNNDD")

. di "`D2'"
20181120


. scalar D = string(date(c(current_date), "DMY"), "%td_CCYYNNDD")

. di scalar(D)
20181120

[Mor Zahavi]

Excellent. Could you please refer me to the part of the manual which explains when to write in a macro

 
 local D :

or

  
 local D =

[Nick Cox]

I know this, so I learned it somewhere. There isn't always just one place that explains each point or if there is I don't guarantee to remember where it is.

You need = when you want the result of evaluating an expression, but you need : for display directives.

help macro 

mentions the last and and links to

help extended fcn

[Mor Zahavi]

Your title is incorrect. A date display format can work fine with scalar or local assignments. The problem is that your expression is not a legal expression in either case.

. local D : display %td_CCYYNNDD date(c(current_date), "DMY")

. di "`D'"
20181120

. local D2 = string(date(c(current_date), "DMY"), "%td_CCYYNNDD")

. di "`D2'"
20181120


. scalar D = string(date(c(current_date), "DMY"), "%td_CCYYNNDD")

. di scalar(D)
20181120

and one more thing - can you also show me how to add the time in 24 hours format and put an underscore between the date and time (for example - 20181120_1825)

[Daniel Bela]

Hi,

and one more thing - can you also show me how to add the time in 24 hours format and put an underscore between the date and time (for example - 20181120_1825)

you can do so in the very same way. You need to change the datetime information you're working with from daily to clock base, however:

. display %tc_CCYYNNDD!_HHMM clock(c(current_date)+c(current_time),"DMYhms")
 20181120_1752

The "!" in the display format is an escape character for the underscore character which, if not escaped, stands for a space character in the resulting string.

Regards
Bela

[Mor Zahavi]

Hi,



you can do so in the very same way. You need to change the datetime information you're working with from daily to clock base, however:

. display %tc_CCYYNNDD!_HHMM clock(c(current_date)+c(current_time),"DMYhms")
20181120_1752

The "!" in the display format is an escape character for the underscore character which, if not escaped, stands for a space character in the resulting string.

Regards
Bela

Very Helpful. Thanks Daniel.