Good catch on -capture-. Elsewhere in
quoting this solution I have used it,
but it belongs on every quotation.
Nick
[email protected]
David Moore
> Another issue surfaces when any of the variable names is
> already lower case. Then the rename command throws up
> because it's being
> asked to rename a var to one that already exists.
>
> A general solution, then, should not assume the left-hand
> side differs from the right-hand side. A simple work around
> would prefix
> the rename command with -capture-:
>
> foreach v of varlist _all {
> capture rename `v' `=lower("`v'")'
> }
>
> This cautionary tale comes from first-hand experience, so it
> isn't necessarily unlikely
Nick Cox
> It's worth explaining the bridge between
> this and much shorter solutions given by
> others.
>
> The assumption that variable names go
> from VAR1-VAR999 can be replaced by
> a specification
>
> <whateverisfirstinyourdata>-<whateverislastinyourdata>
>
> and in turn by the wildcard * or _all.
>
> Then you have no need to drop existing macros.
> You can do the renaming on the fly:
>
> foreach v of var * {
> rename `v' `=lower("`v'")'
> }
>
> A small risk with this last trick is that
> "all variables" could include temporary variables
> with names like __00000A. -rename- that to
> __00000a and you will have programming problems.
>
> However, when this is done it is, I guess,
> virtually always with the main dataset, and interactively,
> so no temporary variables are in sight.
>
> Nick
> [email protected]
>
> Rafal Raciborski
>
> > assuming your variables go from VAR1 to VAR999:
> >
> > macro drop _all
> > foreach i of varlist VAR1-VAR999 {
> > local j = lower("`i'")
> > rename `i' `j'
> > macro drop j
> > }
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