Mac cmd-9 opening a new do-file instead of displaying the current do-file

[Anthony Killeen]

Stata 17.0 MP. 14-inch MacBook Pro (2021), MacOS Monterey.

Recently I've noticed that cmd-9 on a Mac opens a new do-file editor instead of showing the current (and open) do-file. This seems like a change from the prior behavior, where cmd-9 brought up the current do-file. I've tried resetting the preferences to the factory settings but the issue persists. Is there a way to make cmd-9 show the current do-file as the default?

Thank you,

[Chinh Nguyen (StataCorp)]

This change was made after we discovered that that keyboard shortcut on Stata for Mac was not consistent with Stata for Windows and Stata for Unix. However, an advanced Do-file Editor preference will be added to a future update that will allow you to restore the previous behavior.

[Anthony Killeen]

Thank you Chinh for that clarification. I would point out that there is also consistency within the program itself to think about. On a Mac, cmd-8 brings the current dataset window to the front. It does not open a new, blank dataset. So the Mac cmd-9 behavior that brought the current do-file to the front was consistent internally with the other cmd- shortcuts, even if it was inconsistent with behavior in the Windows and Unix OSs.

It would be very unusual in my own Stata workflow to want to open a new do-file when I already had one that was open and populated with commands. Certainly I much preferred the cmd-9 behavior as it was until recently.

But, I look forward to the update and seeing what options are available.

Thank you again.

[Alastair Fraser]

Hi, adding to Anthony's point I'd like to add that the change from Stata 16 to Stata 17 hasn't just removed the do-file editor shortcut, on a Mac it appears to break the ability to set any keyboard shortcut to the do-file editor.

Stata 16 uses "Recent do-rile" as the command name so we can set a keyboard shortcut to this. But this command is removed in Stata 17, and instead the new command name includes the current do file name — so it appears I can't set a persistent shortcut to the do file editor.

I hope this can be fixed shortly as shortcuts to the do file editor are critical to my efficient use of Stata. I'll revert to version 16 in the meantime.

Thanks!

[Karly Furber]

Hi, Does anyone know if there is a fix for this yet? I have only just updated and am finding this lack of shortcut to bring the do file window forward very... time consuming.

[Anthony Killeen]

This change was made after we discovered that that keyboard shortcut on Stata for Mac was not consistent with Stata for Windows and Stata for Unix. However, an advanced Do-file Editor preference will be added to a future update that will allow you to restore the previous behavior.

Any update on this (over a year later)? Cmd-9 brings up a new, empty do-file as the active tab, which is annoying if one wants to edit the existing do-file. Cmd-8 brings up the existing dataset, which makes sense. It does not open a brand new, empty dataset, so these are still inconsistent behaviors between cmd-9 and cmd-8.

I want to go directly to my existing do-file with a simple keyboard shortcut, not open a new, blank do-file. Is the advanced do-file editor preference that you mentioned available?

Thanks,

[Chinh Nguyen (StataCorp)]

Any update on this (over a year later)? Cmd-9 brings up a new, empty do-file as the active tab, which is annoying if one wants to edit the existing do-file. Cmd-8 brings up the existing dataset, which makes sense. It does not open a brand new, empty dataset, so these are still inconsistent behaviors between cmd-9 and cmd-8.

I want to go directly to my existing do-file with a simple keyboard shortcut, not open a new, blank do-file. Is the advanced do-file editor preference that you mentioned available?

Thanks,

Yes, that's been in Stata 17 since the 10may2022 update. You'll want to look at the advanced settings in the Do-file Editor's preferences dialog and check the checkbox for Keyboard shortcut selects top editor.

[Anthony Killeen]

Thank you very much. Apologies for not seeing that option.