Do-file Editor

Stata’s Do-file Editor has been written to make programming tasks simpler than ever.

Among the features are

• Syntax highlighting. Having command names, variables names, macro names, strings, operators, and other program elements in different colors allows you to spot syntax errors and bugs.

• Syntax highlight user-defined keywords. Stata's command names are syntax highlighted and now you can define your own keywords such as user-written commands to syntax highlight in their own color and font style.

• Code folding. Collapse code within program, mata, input, forvalues, quietly, if/else, and other blocks of code. Focus on the code you are currently writing or debugging and hide everything else. In the Do-file Editor below, we know the code in the two if blocks is good, so we have the code folded—indicated by the plus signs inside the square boxes. Clicking on those boxes expands the code, showing the hidden lines. StataNow™ adds the ability to fold a selection of code within a do-file, quickly expand or collapse all folds within a do-file, and automatically collapse all foldable code when opening a do-file.

• Column-mode. Optionally select and edit columns of text.

• Indentation guide. Display vertical lines at every tab stop to aid in writing visually clean code.

• Convert extended ASCII to Unicode. Specify character encoding of legacy do-files so that any extended ASCII characters can be converted to the right Unicode character.

• Automatic backups. Documents that are open in the Do-file Editor are periodically saved to a backup file on disk and unsaved changes can be recovered in case of a power outage or computer crash.

• Line bookmarks. Attach a bookmark to a line of code, and then quickly access that line later by using its bookmark. Permanent bookmarks are saved with do-files. In StataNow, temporary bookmarks can be added to easily navigate the do-file without making changes to the content of the do-file.

• Navigation Control. Display a list of bookmarks and programs in a do-file, and then select an item from the list to go directly to its line.

• Autocompletion. Display a list of existing words in the current file as well as Stata commands to auto-complete as you type. StataNow will also display a list of variable names from the current working dataset, macros, and stored results.

• Python, Markdown, Java, and XML support. Syntax highlighting support for Python, Markdown, Java, and XML files.

• Indentation. Use spaces or tabs for indentation and convert between the two methods of indentation.

• Templates. In StataNow™, save time and ensure consistency when creating a new document by using a template as a starting point. Use a Stata template or create and use one of your own.

• Color themes (Windows and Mac). Includes support for dark mode as well as the ability to modify the color for all text and GUI elements in the editor.

• Brace matching. Manage complex, large blocks of code more easily. Automatically insert matching characters for quotes and brackets as you type.

• Add/remove comments. Make a selection and add or remove comments (/*, */ and //).

• Re-indent. Make a selection and re-indent your code to be properly aligned and spaces are converted to tabs.

• Tabbed windows. Open multiple files at the same time in different tabbed windows.