Error in forestplot: option lalign() not allowed

[Shuchita Gupta]

Hello, on running the "metan" command, metan OR ORlci ORuci, label(namevar=id) wgt(bweight)
first(0.924 0.753 1.095 Bayesian) firststats(param V=3.86, p=0.012)
forestplot( xlabel(0.25 0.5 1 2 4, force) null(1) scheme(economist) diamopts(lwidth(thick)), as such, without any modification using example dataset for meta-analyses by Ross Harris 2006 (http://fmwww.bc.edu/repec/bocode/m/metan_example_data), I am getting the error "option lalign() not allowed, Error in forestplot r(198).

Can someone please help me understand why?

Thanks in advance.

[David Fisher]

Hi Shuchita,

Could you tell me what version of Stata you are using, and also which version of metan / forestplot? To check the latter, please use the following commands:

. which metan
. which forestplot

They should both give the answer "*! version 4.02 23feb2021".

Thanks,
David.

[Shuchita Gupta]

Hello David,
Thank you for prompt reply. I am using Stata version 15.0 (Stata/MP 15.0). Yes you are right, I am obtaining the same answer that you antipicated (*! version 4.02 23feb2021)
This error is showing when I am trying metan with my own data as well.
Thank you for your kind support with this,
Regards
Shuchita

[David Fisher]

Hi Shuchita,

Could you confirm whether you see any other error messages (e.g. red text) within the "metan" output, including above the table of statistics?

If not, then could I suggest trying the following steps, please:


Step 1: Run a "trace" command to see what is going on under the surface:

log using mytrace, name(mytrace) text
set trace on
set tracedepth 3
metan OR ORlci ORuci, label(namevar=id) wgt(bweight) first(0.924 0.753 1.095 Bayesian) firststats(param V=3.86, p=0.012) forestplot( xlabel(0.25 0.5 1 2 4, force) null(1) scheme(economist) diamopts(lwidth(thick)))
set trace off
log close mytrace

Step 2: This will have saved a text file called mytrace.log on your computer. Could you email the contents of this file to me? My address is given in the description of the metan package (ssc describe metan), or you can send me a Private Message on these forums if you prefer.


Many thanks,

David,

[Ind Aus]

Hi David

Many thanks for the advice.

I have the same issue.

I did the above steps.

Will it be alright if I email you the text file mytrace.log.

Best regards
Indira

[David Fisher]

Dear Ind Aus ,
Yes that's fine, but first it would be helpful to know exactly which version of Stata you are using; for example, is it Stata 15.0 or 15.1?
Also could you tell me the result of running the commands given in Post #2 above?
Many thanks,
David.

[Ind Aus]

Dear David
Thanks.
I use Stata/SE 15.0

Results for Post #2 commands\

. . which metan
c:\ado\plus\m\metan.ado
*! version 4.02 23feb2021
*! Current version by David Fisher
*! Previous versions by Ross Harris and Michael Bradburn

.
. . which forestplot
c:\ado\plus\f\forestplot.ado
*! version 4.02 David Fisher 23feb2021

Best regards
Indira

[David Fisher]

Great, thanks.

Something I mentioned to Shuchita off-line, was that I think you are able to upgrade from 15.0 to 15.1 free of charge. Do you have the ability to try this, or would you need to speak to an IS/IT department at your institution? I would be fascinated to know if upgrade to 15.1 fixes the problem! (Shuchita was not able to do this unfortunately)

Best regards,

David.

[Ind Aus]

Hi David

Many thanks for the advice.

My computer does not let me run the update without IT Department admin permission.
That has to wait until tomorrow morning

I ran forest plots on 12th Feb. I guess some change had occurred since then.

I will keep you posted.

Best regards
Indira

[David Fisher]

Hi Indira,

OK, thanks, that's great. If it doesn't solve the problem I will suggest other work-arounds for you.

When you say you ran forest plots on 12th Feb, do you happen to know what version of metan / forestplot you were using at the time, and whether you've changed/updated since then? If the same version worked then but now fails, on the same version of Stata, that would be very strange indeed, as I have not made any recent changes to that part of the code...

Best regards,

David.

[Ind Aus]

Hi David

It is working after the update!
Thanks heaps.

I ran forest plots on 12th Feb in my previous laptop.
I use a single user SE perpetual version.

IT Dept installed the same in the new laptop.

I ran the weekly pop up update prompts in March.

I used the same metan commands both in Feb and now.

Your advice is much appreciated.


Best regards
Indira

[David Fisher]

Hi Indira,
Brilliant! Thanks for letting me know. So it appears that lalign() works in 15.1 and above, but not in 15.0. I will amend the metan code appropriately for the next update.
Let me know if you have any further issues with metan.
Thanks,
David.

[Ind Aus]

Hi David

Thanks.

I ran several forest plots today and metan works fine.

I will keep you posted if any issue crops up with metan.

Best regards
Indira