Toggling between the command line and the do-file editor using hotkeys

[John Marvel]

I'm using Stata 17 on a Mac. For as long as I can remember, I've used hotkeys to toggle between the command line and the do-file editor: command-1 to move from the do-file editor to the command line and command-9 to move from the command line back to the do-file editor. Up until very recently, using command-9 to move from the command line back to the do-file editor has moved me back to whatever do-file I moved to the command line from. (For example, if I was working in "somecode.do" and pressed command-1, I would go to the command line. And then when I pressed command-9, I would be placed right back into "somecode.do".). Now, though, when I use command-9, Stata opens a brand new do-file rather than place me back into the do-file I was working from.

I looked at the menu dropdowns in Stata 17, and I see that command-9 is now associated with the menu dropdown action called "New Do-File Editor." In Stata 16, command-9 is still associated with the menu dropdown action called "Recent do-file."

Was this change deliberate? It seems to be an inefficient way to toggle between the command line and the do-file editor.

[William Lisowski]

I wonder if this was a workaround to the problems introduced by macOS 12 Monterrey (or perhaps Stata 17, but my money is on it being macOS which notoriously rethought support for familiar UI elements). Whatever, some change caused the Do-file Editor window and Viewer window to no longer include a "+" symbol (to the right of the rightmost tab) that can be used to create a new tab when just a single tab is open. Only after two tabs are opened are the tab names shown in separate tabs with the "+" symbol following the rightmost open tab. This isn't an issue in Safari, because it places a "+" icon onto the window's toolbar that the user can click to open a new tab within the window. That really has the hallmark, to me, of the focus on flash rather than function that Apple's OS-level software is being infamous for among long-time Mac users.

Bottom line is the Stata's Mac interface needs work, including a solicitation of input from Mac users. On the other hand, when I eventually get my M2 MacBook it will run Stata natively on Apple Silicon, and I'm guessing that's where Stata's efforts were focused, rather than on working around dumb UI problems.

If my guess about the genesis of the problem you report is correct, though, it could be fixed by reverting the behavior to the previous behavior, and adding the same "+" icon to the toolbar in the Do-file Editor and Viewer windows that is found in Safari.

Added in edit: oops, there's a "New" icon on the Do-file Editor window toolbar (but not on the Viewer window toolbar) that does what I want. I've got a terrible memory, obviously, so I'll customize my toolbar and drag that icon to the right end where I look for a "+" icon. Doesn't solve the problem for the Viewer window, which is where I most frequently experience the issue. Bottom line though is that it would be nice if the macOS interface were shown a little love, with input from Mac users.

[Anthony Killeen]

See this post: Mac cmd-9 opening a new do-file instead of displaying the ...https://www.statalist.org › forums › forum › general › 1...

The Stata developers changed the behavior of cmd-9 at the 2022 April 6 update. They say that a new do-file editor (to be released) will allow us to set it the way we want.

I much preferred the quick access to the current do-file that cmd-9 offered us. Also, there is no mention of this change is the April 6 update release notes.