Merging two datasets

[Varsha Vaishnav]

Hello,

I have to merge two datasets. The key variable is str32. The problem I'm facing is that in one of the data files, this key variable is like 'TUS10008106201911420902372MAN 01' and in another, it is like 'TUS10008106201911420902372MAN01'. Due to this, around 8,000 observations are not matching. Is there any way to remove the spaces in one go because doing it manually will consume a lot of time?

Thanks.

[Roman Mostazir]

You should have provided data example according to the forum rules. Since you didn't do it, here is a solution purely on what you have asked:

clear
set obs 3

g str10 var1=""
replace var1="This is not what I want"
li var1

     +-------------------------+
     |                    var1 |
     |-------------------------|
  1. | This is not what I want |
  2. | This is not what I want |
  3. | This is not what I want |
     +-------------------------+


replace var1 = subinstr(var1," ","",.)
li var1


     +--------------------+
     |               var1 |
     |--------------------|
  1. | ThisisnotwhatIwant |
  2. | ThisisnotwhatIwant |
  3. | ThisisnotwhatIwant |
     +--------------------+

[Varsha Vaishnav]

Thank you, Roman. This solved my problem.