Label variable list (varlist) based on labels of another varlist

[Castor Comploj]

I want to label a list of variables using the same labels as another list of variables. In the table below, I want to
1) first label journal1-4 using the first columns (successful in my code (1))
2) then write a code to "copy" journalname1-journalname4 to the second variable list (or directly label the variables aboutjournal1-4 with the same labels)

journal1	journal2	journal3	journal4	aboutjournal1	aboutjournal2	aboutjournal3	aboutjournal4
journalname1	journalname2	journalname3	journalname4	-	-	-	-
...	...	...	...	...	...	...	..

*** code (1)

unab varlist : journal1-journal4 
foreach v of local varlist {
    local value = `v'[1]
    local vname = strtoname(`"`value'"')
    rename `v' `vname'
    label var `vname' `"`value'"'
}

How can this be done simply?

[Nick Cox]

I think you're looking for something like

foreach v of var journal1-journal4 { 
      local vlabel : var label `v' 
      label var about`v' "`vlabel'" 
}

[Castor Comploj]

Excellent.
For the interested reader, a summary solution to the entire problem (that also works) is:

unab varlist : journal1-journal40 
foreach v of local varlist {
    local value = `v'[1]
    label var `v' `"`value'"'
    label var about`v' "`value'" 
}

[Nick Cox]

The entire problem is likely also to entail

drop in 1

followed by an application

destring

Datasets often arrive like this -- especially if they have been anywhere near MS Excel -- but they still require this kind of rocket surgery before they are of much use within Stata.