Vertical line hbar graph

[Quentin Richard]

Dear Stata users,
I am trying to find a way to inetgrate a vertical line in a hbar graph. This graph represents the growth of variable 1, 2 and 3 for four different groups, by year, and I would like to add a vertical line, for each year, at the level of the growth of variable 4 (which takes the same value for each group since it's the growth rate of the population). Here is the code I use, without the vertical line:

graph hbar (asis) var1_growth var2_growth var3_growth, over(groups) ///
by(year, title("XXX") ///
graphregion(color(white)) note("") ylabel(,angle(0) axis(1)) ///
stack legend(order(1 "var1" 2 "var2" 3 "var3") pos(6) col(3))

Could someone help with adding the line?
Thanks a lot in advance!
Best regards,
Quentin

[Nick Cox]

Data example please! Graph example please! Please note https://www.statalist.org/forums/help#stata

This is perhaps surprisingly tricky, unless I am missing something.

Here is some technique.

* Example generated by -dataex-. For more info, type help dataex
clear
input float(year groups var1 var2 var3 whatever)
2022 1 1 2 3   2.5
2023 1 2 3 4   3.5
2022 2 3 4 5   2.5
2023 2 4 5 6   3.5
2022 3 5 6 7   2.5 
2023 3 6 7 8   3.5 
2022 4 7 8 9   2.5
2023 4 8 9 10  3.5 
end

reshape long var , i(year groups) j(which)

gen axis = which + 4 * (groups - 1) 

separate var, by(which) veryshortlabel

label var var1 "better"
label var var2 "labels"
label var var3 "needed"

twoway  ///
|| bar var1 axis, by(year, note("")) ///
|| bar var2 axis ///
|| bar var3 axis, xla(2 "group 1" 6 "group 2" 10 "group 3" 14 "group 4", tlc(none)) xtitle("") ///
|| line whatever axis, lc(black)

[Nick Cox]

You can naturally make this horizontal. Whether that is a good idea depends, I guess, on whatever are (sensible) variable or value labels for the variables and categories.

[Quentin Richard]

Dear Nick,
Thanks a lot for your answer. Sorry for not being clear and not providing the whole stuff.

My data are structured as follows (for 2 selected years, numbers are fictive)

input float (year group var1 var2 var3 var 4)
2017   1    0.06       0.01      -0.02        0.03
2017   2    0.02       -0.04      0.04        0.03
2017   3    0.03     -0.07       0.01         0.03
2017   4    -0.03    -0.03      0.02          0.03
2020   1    0.06     -0.01      -0.01         0.05
2020   2     0.03     -0.08     0.04         0.05
2020   3     0.02    -0.12      0.04         0.05
2020   4    -0.04    -0.09       0.01        0.05

I would like my graph to look like this one, but with a vertical line at the value of var4 for each year. In particular, I would like var1, var2 and var3 to be cumulated.

Best regards,
Quentin