re: Re: st: placing two textboxes in a graph on the x-axis

["Ariel Linden, DrPH" <ariel.linden@gmail.com>]

Thank you Eric for your additional approach. I actually started out my quest
using the text option, however, as you correctly noted, it is not an easy
task trying to position the boxes (and it changes with every graph)!

If I could suggest to Stata an addition to a future version, it would be to
"track" the commands used in the graph editor and display them in the same
way that all other commands are displayed (when using drop down menus
instead of directly writing in the command at the command line).  There are
many options in graphing that are not intuitive or easy to find in the
manual (for example, I could not find xmlabel documented anywhere).

One last question: is there a way to offset the xmlabel downward from the
x-axis?

Thanks again for providing very useful advice!

Ariel

Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2011 20:47:18 +0000
From: Eric Booth <ebooth@ppri.tamu.edu>
Subject: Re: st: placing two textboxes in a graph on the x-axis

<>

Maarten already gave a solution, but here's a solution using the textbox()
graph option you asked about in your original post (piggybacking on
Maarten's code).  
The tricky part about textbox is tweaking the x-y coordinate placement of
the boxes.  You can still place them below the axis using negative
coordinates.  I find that it's easier to stylize textboxes the way I want
with shading, text direction, borders, etc, but sometimes it's a pain to get
them in just the right spot (especially when your scaling changes --
manually setting the axis helps alleviate this issue).

*-------------- begin example ------------------
sysuse nlsw88, clear
replace grade = grade - 12

scatter ttl_exp grade , ///
    text(-2.1 -2.8 "{bf:Favors Treatment}" "more text here", ///
    orient(horizontal) si(small) justification(center) box ) ///
    text(-2.1 2.8 "{bf:Favors Control}" "more text here", ///
    orient(horizontal) si(small) justification(center) box ) ///
    xtit("Grade Completed", size(small) margin(medlarge))
*---------------- end example --------------------

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

On Aug 27, 2011, at 9:36 AM, Ariel Linden, DrPH wrote:

> Maarten, you are fantastic! This is exactly what I needed! I didn't even
> know about xmlabel.
> 
> Thanks for your help!
> 
> Ariel
> 
> Date: Fri, 26 Aug 2011 10:02:38 +0200
> From: Maarten Buis <maartenlbuis@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: st: placing two textboxes in a graph on the x-axis
> 
> On Thu, Aug 25, 2011 at 11:34 PM, Ariel Linden, DrPH wrote:
>> I would like to place 2 textboxes on the x-axis of a graph (one to the
> right
>> and one to left of the center point 0 where the xlabel would go) that
says
>> "benefits treatment" and "benefits controls" (as you'd see in a forest
>> plot).
> 
> What about this?
> 
> *-------------- begin example ------------------
> sysuse nlsw88, clear
> replace grade = grade - 12
> 
> scatter ttl_exp grade , ///
>        xmlab(-2.5 `""benefits" "treatment""' ///
>               2.5 `""benefits" "controls""', ///
>               noticks labsize(medium) )
> *---------------- end example --------------------
> (For more on examples I sent to the Statalist see:
> http://www.maartenbuis.nl/example_faq )
> 
> Hope this helps,
> Maarten
>

*
*   For searches and help try:
*   http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
*   http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq
*   http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/