st: updated version of -xml_tab- is available from the SSC

["Zurab Sajaia" <zsajaia@hotmail.com>]

Thanks you Kit Baum, updated version of -xml_tab- is available from SSC 
archives.

To install the updates, type. ssc install xml_tab, replace; or 
use -adoupdate-command.

Changes in this version include:
   - possibility to display the significance stars for matrices; when 
estimation results are outputted significance levels are derived from 
ereturn-ed info, but in the case of matrices, user now can define additional 
matrix 'matname'_STARS that contains 1, 2 or 3 corresponding to the three 
default levels (.01, 0.05, 0.1) or the levels specified by option -stars-

   - savemat option can be used to save xml_tab's output into a matrix (or 
append new rows to an existing matrix). This option can be useful if 
multiple estimation results need to be shown under each other (on a 
worksheet) instead of already available possibility to put them side by 
side.

   - rnames(), cnames(), ceq() allows passing the custom row and column 
names, as well as column equation names (super-titles).
   - constant() renames Stata's default _cons variable.
   - notes() adds one or more rows of text at the end of the table.

Few more formatting options:
   - cwidth() controls width of the columns; and
   -  sheet() option now has two more parameters, -color() - to change tab 
color and -nogridlines- to hide gridlines on the worksheet

You can find out more by typing help xml_tab.


----------------

For those who might not be familiar with -xml_tab- it's a program that saves 
Stata output into XML file that can be directly opened in MS Excel or 
OpenOffice Calc. The program is quite flexible to essentially do everything 
Excel or Calc can do in terms of formatting of a table, but from within 
Stata. The unique feature of -xml_tab- is that the program allows 
controlling the formatting of the output tables. -xml_tab- can output the 
results using different fonts, change borders of the output cells, insert 
rows and columns, etc.

One can combine multiple estimation results saved using -estimates store- 
and output results next to each other in a single table. Using Excel's 
workbook format allows saving tables on different sheets of the same XML 
file (workbook). This feature can be useful when there's a big number of 
output tables generated using loops that need to be collected into a single 
file.

We would be thankful for any suggestions about the additional options and 
improvements in -xml_tab-.

Michael Lokshin and Zurab Sajaia 
*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html
*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/