Keep track of original variable name after rename using notes stata

Question

I am working with a panel dataset containing the life satisfaction of interviewees in a survey. There are 26 variables for the respondent's life satisfaction (for 26 years). The variables are originally named in this format: ap6801 bp9301 cp9601 dp9801 and all the way to zp15701. ap6801 contains the respondents' life satisfaction for the year 1985, bp9301 contains it for 1986, and so on.

I created a foreach loop to rename the variables so that they are now in the pattern: lsatyear (i.e. lsat1985, lsat1986, ...)

local mcode 1984
foreach stub in a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z {
    local mcode = `mcode' + 1
    rename `stub'p* lsat`mcode'
}

Now, I want to keep track of the original variable names (ap6801, bp9301, etc.) by adding a command to my loop using the notes command of Stata. If I were to do it manually, the following command works:

notes lsat1985 : ap6801

But is there a way to add it to my loop? I came across a Stata 13 manual for renaming variables and at the end there is a section about stored results:

rename stores nothing in r() by default. If the r option is specified, then rename stores the following in r(): .... Macros r(oldnames) original variable names r(newnames) new variable names

I tried r(oldnames) on a single variable after renaming it

rename ap6801 lsat1985
notes lsat1985 : r(oldnames)

but it gives me an error:

factor-variable and time-series operators not allowed r(101);

I'm new with Stata and loops, so any help is appreciated!

For some obscure Google reason searches often point to the version 13 pdf manuals on the internet, e.g. a search for regress in Stata turned up stata.com/manuals13/rregress.pdf But, but, but: the pdf version of the manuals is bundled with the version of Stata you are using if it was properly installed. If it's before version 13, or after version 13, looking at the manuals for 13 will sometimes give an imperfect answer. — Nick Cox

Arthur Morris Arthur Morris · Accepted Answer · 2020-08-28T04:33:59

You need to actually use the r option, and call the local macro r(oldnames) instead of passing the string r(oldnames).

Instead of:

rename ap6801 lsat1985
notes lsat1985 : r(oldnames)

try

rename ap6801 lsat1985, r
notes lsat1985 : `r(oldnames)' // note wrapping in `' indicates a local

Keep track of original variable name after rename using notes stata

1 Answers