Append when Using dataset has 'extra' variables

[Vito Di Bona]

I am using Stata for Windows 13.1 and have a basic question about appending two datasets where the master dataset has fewer variables than the using dataset.

When I export the resulting dataset to a .csv file and open the .csv in Excel, I find that all the 'unmatched' variables from the using dataset are in the last columns of the spreadsheet -- not in the order of the using data.

Does this suggest a problem with my append? Is there a way to have the variable order of the output and using datasets be the same?

[Phil Schumm]

Does this suggest a problem with my append?

No, that's the way append works.

Is there a way to have the variable order of the output and using datasets be the same?

The easiest option would be to start with the second dataset in memory and then append the first to it, using sort to reorder the observations, if necessary. Alternatively, you could use

append using myfile
qui des using myfile, varlist
order `r(varlist)'