st: looping over local macros with multiple items

["Eric A. Booth" <ebooth@ppri.tamu.edu>]

Hello:

I am attempting to create (via -outsheet-) a set of .csv files with  
filenames generated from a combination of "category names" stored in  
local macros.   I am trying to use looping to create filenames from  
all the possible combinations of the "category names" but I'm not sure  
how to get Stata to move past the first item in each of the "category  
names" local macros.  (I am using Stata 10 , 64-bit for Mac)

When I run the code below, I get the folder "test" with only one .csv  
named with all the items in each of the "category names" macros.  So,  
I get the file:

registration none_cshsn othermch_ap ac ag an.csv

but,  I'd like for this to create all the combinations of file names  
from the items in the "category names" macros:
registration_cshsn_ac.csv
registration_cshsn_ag.csv
registration_cshsn_an.csv
registration_othermch_ap.csv
registration_othermch_ac.csv
registration_othermch_ag.csv
registration_othermch_an.csv
....and so on....

Here is my code so far:

*********************************
clear
set mem 2g
set matsize 800

//location of files:
local sf "/users/p/desktop/part/"  //<--change this filepath to your  
local directory
cd "`sf'"
pwd

//1.  empty dataset with 100 obs
set obs 100
gen temp = [_n]

//2.  category names
local reporttype "registration none"
local populationtype "cshsn othermch"
local sessiontype "ap ac ag an"
**NOTE:  I've tried this part with and without the quotes, ///
 as well as with quotes on each individual item**

//3.  generate some variables that will be filled in later
local cols name phone address city county zip email
foreach c in `cols' {
    gen str40 `c' = ""
}

**generates a blank dataset with variables from `cols'

save "`sf'master.dta", replace  //will be used later for joining (- 
joinby-) some data

capture  !mkdir "`sf'test/"
cd "`sf'test/"
pwd

foreach n in `reporttype' `populationtype' `sessiontype'  {
    outsheet using "`sf'test/ 
`reporttype'_`populationtype'_`sessiontype'.csv", replace comma
}

//QC check (lists the names of the files in the directory:

local from=strlower("`c(pwd)'")
local list: dir "`from'" files "registration*"

foreach l in `list' {
    di "`l'" as res
}

/*
QC check currently displays:
registration none_cshsn othermch_ap ac ag an.csv
r; t=0.00 12:34:08
*/
//end
*********************************


Thanks,

Eric

__
Eric A. Booth
Public Policy Research Institute
Texas A&M University
ebooth@ppri.tamu.edu
Office: +979.845.6754
Fax: +979.845.0249

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