-floatplot- ssc - by-option total

[Marc Kaulisch]

Dear Nick Cox , today I try to work with -floatplot- from SSC again. In the help file you mention that the by-options should work. When I use the -total- option, the bars and bar labels mess up and it looks like all values are shown and not only the ones for -total-.

Adjusted Example 5 in help file:

floatplot Preference [fw=freq], over(year) by(female, note("") total) highneg(2) fcolors(red red*0.5 blue*0.5 blue) subtitle(, fcolor(green*0.2)) name(float5_total, replace)

It would be really cool if you are able to tweak a fix for using the -total- option into -floatplot-.

[Marc Kaulisch]

And I find another issue with the by-options: I cannot use quotes for -note- or -subtitle-.
In my current plot exercise I miss the option to do a two lines -note- as note("1. line" "2. line") does not work and the opportunity to label the -subtitlte- as var label because in one of the variable labels a comma is used...

Adjusting Example 5 see above - creates error:

la var female "Gender, female"
local loc_fem : var lab female
floatplot Preference [fw=freq], over(year) by(female, note(Gender test) subtitle(`loc_fem')) highneg(2) fcolors(red red*0.5 blue*0.5 blue) subtitle(, fcolor(green*0.2)) name(float5_female, replace)

[Nick Cox]

#1 You have a point. In short, the total suboption of by() is legal but useless because nothing in the code traps it and turns it into what you want, which is the whole shebang for all your data. That should be documented better, or indeed at all, but I guess I am not going to implement it unless and until its lack really annoys me because I want to do that myself.

In any case, there is a work-around documented at

SJ-14-1 gr0058 . . . . . Stata tip 119: Expanding datasets for graphical ends
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N. J. Cox
Q1/14 SJ 14(1):230--235 (no commands)
tip on using the expand command for graphics

For example.

sysuse auto, clear  preserve 
expand 2
* the replacement value should not occur in the main dataset 
replace foreign = 2 in 75/L
label def origin 2 "All cars", modify
floatplot rep78 ... . ... by(foreign) 
restore

where the ... indicate the syntax you would use otherwise.

#2 Other way round, this is I think your bug as you need to protect the comma with "" as in

 
 subtitle("`loc_fem'")

I think that should work.

[Marc Kaulisch]

#2 Other way round, this is I think your bug as you need to protect the comma with "" as in

subtitle("`loc_fem'")

I think that should work.

#1: Thank you. A good idea. I think about it.

#2: No success on my side

la var female "Gender, female"
local loc_fem : var lab female
floatplot Preference [fw=freq], over(year) by(female, note(Gender test) subtitle(`"`loc_fem'"')) highneg(2) fcolors(red red*0.5 blue*0.5 blue) subtitle(, fcolor(green*0.2)) name(float5_female, replace)

gets me:

. floatplot Preference [fw=freq], over(year) by(female, note(Gender test) subtitle(`"`loc_fem'"')) highneg(2) fcolors(red red*0.5 blue*0.5 blue) subtit
> le(, fcolor(green*0.2)) name(float5_female, replace)
type mismatch
r(109);

end of do-file

r(109);

[Nick Cox]

Yes, that is also my bug. Thanks for the heads-up.

Two mentions of

if "`by'"

should be

if `"`by'"'

[Marc Kaulisch]

Yes, that is also my bug. Thanks for the heads-up.

Indeed, I am able to do two line -note- and a comma -subtitle- with these two changes in the -floatplot.ado- Thank you for this quick fix.