Bar and line on same graph

[Mislav Sagovac]

I am using Stata 13.

I want to get bar and line on same graph,. I tried following code:

 twoway bar grp1 grp2  reportyear, stacj  || line grdnv reportyear

but it returns the error: option stack not allowed

Is it possible to use stack or other bar functions when combining line and bar graphs?

[Nick Cox]

Your syntax says stacj which would produce a different error message. Assuming that you really did mean stack, there is still a different and more difficult problem.

stack is an option of graph bar, which (confusingly or otherwise) is absolutely nothing to do with twoway bar.

If you want to stack one bar on top of another you will need to set that up differently, something like this:

 
gen bargrp2 = grp1 + grp2 
label var bargrp2 "`: var label grp2'" 

twoway bar grp1 reportyear || rbar grp1 bargrp2 reportyear || line grdnv reportyear

[Carole J. Wilson]

There are many bar graphs that can be combined with other graphs (see help twoway). Any twoway graph can be combined with another twoway graph. However, the commands twoway bar and graph bar are different commands. Stack is an option of graph bar, not twoway (see help graph bar). So graph bar cannot be combined with a twoway line graph.

That said, Nick Cox has posted (within the last week) several ways to create stacked bar graphs using twoway bar and alternatives to stacked bars that might help you. Search this forum for queries about stacked bar graphs.

Crossed with Nick Cox in cyber space

[Mislav Sagovac]

Thanks for answer.

How should I proceed for third variable? I tried:

gen bargrp2 = grp1 + grp2
label var bargrp2 "`: var label grp2'"
gen bargrp3 = grp1 + grp2 + grp3
label var bargrp2 "`: var label grp3'"

twoway bar grp1 reportyear || rbar grp1 bargrp2 reportyear || rbar grp1 grp2 bargrp3 reportyear || line grdnv reportyear

but it returns error rbar requires 3 variables: grp1 grp2 bargrp3 reportyear

[Mislav Sagovac]

I think this doesn't work. I think problem is that I have positive and negative values. For example the graph:
Graph.gph

[Nick Cox]

You can work this out. But first please read http://www.statalist.org/forums/help#stata for advice not to show .gph attachments and what to do instead.

If values are positive and negative then stacking is not a good design if bars would overlap. To give better advice, we need to know more about your data. Again, please see http://www.statalist.org/forums/help#stata But it seems likely that you need a different design, e.g. using lines for all your variables.

You'd need

  
gen bargrp2 = grp1 + grp2
label var bargrp2 "`: var label grp2'"  

gen bargrp3 = grp1 + grp2 + grp3
* typo fix  
label var bargrp3 "`: var label grp3'"  

* logic fix  
twoway bar grp1 reportyear || rbar grp1 bargrp2 reportyear || rbar bargrp2 bargrp3 reportyear || line grdnv reportyear

except that that won't solve the overlap problem.