Advice on using STATA with cloud-based files

[Sarah Phillips]

Hello,

I am using STATA 14 and am trying to access a .dta file stored in Box Drive. I am new to using STATA with cloud-based files and have some basic beginnner questions.

Using the finder I found that the file path for the file I want is:

"/Users/mycomputer/Box/file.dta"

But when I try to run the following command, it takes forever to open the file. (I haven't had the patience to see how long it exactly takes, but force quit after about 10 minutes:

use "/Users/mycomputer/Box/file.dta", clear

Do I need to do something differently when accessing cloud-based files? For example, should I have my version of STATA saved on Box Drive as well?

Thanks!

-Sarah

[Tim Hofer]

Try making the files in that folder available offline - the new box drive does not automatically download files.

[Sarah Phillips]

They were available offline.

Turns out the issue was the very long file path. When I moved the file I wanted to open up a few levels, it opened right away.

Do you, or anyone else, have any tips for organizing LOTS and LOTS of data files in a situation like this? (Where file paths have to be short?)

For me, a typical file path might be:

/Users/name/Box/Technical/Data/2016_2017/filename

How do I keep everything organized in a situation like this?