Error while renaming a group of variables

[Riccardo Valboni]

Dear all,

I am having a problem while renaming a group of variables. I bet the problem is generated by some simple error that I am unable to see. I am trying to rename a group of 6 variables using the code:

ren (SECTIONIIPOSTDEALACTIVITIES AJ AK AL AM AN) ///
(kttoacquirer_local_market kttoacquirer_managerial_skills kttoacquirer_RD kttoacquirer_productprocess_design kttoacquirer_marketing kttoacquirer_distribution)

but I keep getting the message:

oldnames and newnames do not match
    You specified 1 pattern or name for oldname and 3 patterns or names for newnames

.

Does someone know why?

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Riccardo

[Nick Cox]

The error message does not tell you of the real problem: one intended name is too long.

foreach n in kttoacquirer_local_market kttoacquirer_managerial_skills kttoacquirer_RD kttoacquirer_productprocess_design kttoacquirer_marketing kttoacquirer_distribution { 
     di "`n' " length("`n'")  
} 

kttoacquirer_local_market 25
kttoacquirer_managerial_skills 30
kttoacquirer_RD 15
kttoacquirer_productprocess_design 34
kttoacquirer_marketing 22
kttoacquirer_distribution 25

[Svend Juul]

Variable names can be up to 32 characters, but

kttoacquirer_productprocess_design

has 34 characters. This is a likely reason for the error message you got.
BTW: Why use variable names this length? In many cases they are abbreviated, anyway.

[Riccardo Valboni]

Oh, I see. Thank you so much Nick!

[Riccardo Valboni]

Hi Svend,

for some reason I didn't see your answer. Many thanks for the response. Yes, that was definitely the problem. I used long variable names because I didn't want to define labels - but next time perhaps I should do that!

Riccardo