Error Message _lsubstitution_code_casualty_code invalid name

[Rajdeep Chaudhuri]

So I have been trying to copy labels from my existing dataset before a ~collapse command. This is the code that I use

foreach v of var * {
    local l`v' : variable label `v'
        }

However after I run this command, I get an error

_lsubstitution_code_casualty_code invalid name
r(198);

Any help would be appreciated

[Nick Cox]

It is too long to qualify as a variable name, which I guess is what you're trying downsteam.

. di length("_lsubstitution_code_casualty_code")
33

See

help limits

for a handy list of limits in your Stata, In mine the limit on characters in variable names is 32.

History note: Back in the day it was 8, IIRC.

[Rajdeep Chaudhuri]

Thanks Nick. Rather than variable name, it was too long to qualify as a local macro name. As a side question, is there a way to change these limits, or is it given. Like my limit on variable names is 32 and local macro names is 31, so can i increase it in any way?

[Nick Cox]

Sorry, no. In this context, limits are binding and not default settings. You can ask StataCorp to change them in some future release. Other options are more far-fetched, such as clone Stata but change the limits.

[Rajdeep Chaudhuri]

Thanks a lot Nick