I think you're right in finding the help
unclear. I suggest a wording more like
string(n,"%fmt") converts n into a string using
%fmt numeric display format.
What was found with an early version of -tostring-
was that users missed precisely this point,
so a trap was put in to catch the error. Any
string format is just bounced back at the user.
-tostring- is pertinent, because it's another way
to do it:
. tostring a1, gen(y) format(%16.0f)
There's no gain in terms of what you type, but
there are some advantages, like that mentioned,
and some other safeguards.
-tostring- was added to official Stata on 13 August.
Nick
[email protected]
> -----Original Message-----
Ricardo Ovaldia
>
> I though that the format had to be a string format.
> According to the help file:
>
> "string(n,"%fmt") converts n into a string with %fmt
> display format."
>
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