Re: st: defining current working directory permanently

[Phil Schumm <pschumm@uchicago.edu>]

On Feb 22, 2009, at 11:01 AM, Dragutin Culinovic wrote:
> I would like to change current working direcrory permanently, so I  
> don't have to invoke command:
>
> -cd somedir- in STATA prompt.
>
> I tried putting -cd somedir- in profile.do in my home directory on  
> linux, but noting has changed.



I presume you want to do this because you tend to work in a particular  
location on your filesystem, and want to make it easy to get there.  I  
do too; in my case, I do most of my work on my desktop (or in a  
subdirectory located on it).  Although the approach you describe above  
will ensure that Stata automatically switches to your preferred  
directory immediately after launch, it has two limitations:

1) Occasionally, you may want Stata to start up with a different  
working directory.  For example, if you double-click on a .dta file,  
you often want Stata to open where that file is located.  There are  
lots of other examples.

2) Occasionally while working, you may do something that causes Stata  
to switch to another working directory, and, in that case, you want to  
be able to get back to your preferred working directory easily.

Note that on Unix/Linux/OS X, if you work in your home directory, you  
don't need to do anything special.  Simply typing -cd- will take you  
right (back) to your home directory from anywhere.  However, if you  
work somewhere else (e.g., your desktop), then you can use a one-line  
program like this:


program desktop
    cd ~/Desktop
end


This allows me to type -desktop- from wherever I am and immediately  
return to my desktop.  Therefore, it addresses (2) above, and using  
this strategy (rather than inserting -cd ~/Desktop- in my profile.do)  
means that when I do want Stata to start somewhere else, I don't have  
to do anything special (i.e., it also addresses (1)).

Note that if you really never want Stata to start anywhere other than  
your preferred directory, you could still call your one-line program  
from the bottom of your profile.do.  This would accomplish the same  
thing as your original approach, but would address (2).


-- Phil

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