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| From | Nick Cox <njcoxstata@gmail.com> |
| To | "statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu" <statalist@hsphsun2.harvard.edu> |
| Subject | Re: st: Why is the legend in xtline limited to 2 to 15? |
| Date | Wed, 12 Mar 2014 11:29:15 +0000 |
Excellent! I imagine many people would want to hear much more. Nick njcoxstata@gmail.com On 12 March 2014 11:20, Austin Nichols <austinnichols@gmail.com> wrote: > re: " interactive graphic in which > names pop up on demand and the curious reader can interrogate at will. > I leave this on one side because you can't do in Stata." > > It's relatively easy to write out some JavaScript from Stata to go > with a series of graphs, e.g. the graphics in > http://blog.metrotrends.org/2014/03/good-dcs-schools/ > are straight out of Stata, which also writes the content of the drop-down menu. > > > > On Wed, Mar 12, 2014 at 7:05 AM, Nick Cox <njcoxstata@gmail.com> wrote: >> Peeling off the last question: Don't use a legend for one item. Seeing >> that reminds me of a certain spreadsheet application, which if I >> remember correctly uses by default the legend "Series 1" for one >> variable; it doesn't even say "G", or whatever, which in its own terms >> would mean something. Use a title or (usually better) a subtitle for >> that information; you can just add it yourself. >> >> On the main question: >> >> I am guessing here, but have a look at -help pstyle- for a clue. By >> default there are 15 different plotstyles, so I imagine that if you >> don't spell out 17 or 20 different ways of showing 17 or 20 different >> countries, -twoway- is just going to cycle around the same >> possibililities from 16 onwards. I don't think I've ever tried it. >> >> I am impressed at your optimism that this could work well at all. With >> 17 or 20 countries, >> >> a. Clearly the country names mean something and you would prefer >> seeing them, but a legend with that many entries will take up a large >> fraction of your real estate. >> >> b. The plot itself is all too likely to look like a tangled mess. >> >> This is a standard problem, and a difficult one, and all solutions are >> wrong from some point of view, but let's try some positives: >> >> 0. There's a serious argument, which is hardly novel, that the only >> way to do this properly is through an interactive graphic in which >> names pop up on demand and the curious reader can interrogate at will. >> I leave this on one side because you can't do in Stata. Whether it >> would be the answer for Nirina I can't tell. >> >> 1. Separating the series, one to a panel, might be tolerable. Names >> would be shown better, but clearly you lose out on how easily you can >> compare the series. Naturally that's the default for -xtline-. (I >> guess that Nirina is using the -overlay- option.) >> >> 2. There is a compromise in which every panel contains all the series, >> best shown as a backdrop, but each panel highlights just one series. >> The main idea occurs in many places, but two that spring to mind are >> http://www.stata-journal.com/sjpdf.html?articlenum=gr0046 and >> http://www.stata-journal.com/sjpdf.html?articlenum=gr0040 The links >> lead to .pdf accessible to all. >> >> 3. Do you need all the countries to be identifiable? Sometimes what >> works reasonably is to show all and just to identify only a few >> countries of greatest interest. We don't know what the research is >> here, but it is rare in my experience that every country really needs >> individual identification and comment. >> >> Nick >> njcoxstata@gmail.com >> >> >> On 12 March 2014 08:56, Nirina F <fstata@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> I have panel data and I am graphing a simple line graph through >>> years for 17 and then 20 countries with xtline. It looks like the >>> legend is only limited to 15 countries so then it reports to me two >>> countries under the same legend such as this ---------USA/Luxembourg >>> and ______China/Uruguay when I graph 17 countries and then five >>> countries under the same legend for 20 countries. do you know how to >>> expand it so it is not confusing like this? >>> >>> Also, when I am just graphing one country >>> xtline yvar if Country=="USA", overlay then I do not get the legend >>> that that single line is for USA and I do not see any option to add >>> legend. >> * >> * For searches and help try: >> * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search >> * http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/resources/statalist-faq/ >> * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/ > * > * For searches and help try: > * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search > * http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/resources/statalist-faq/ > * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/ * * For searches and help try: * http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search * http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/resources/statalist-faq/ * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/