MKPROFILE

Create or edit your profile.do file or just see where Stata searches for a profile.do file

If you want to use mkprofile, then feel free to use Stata's command ssc install to download and install mkprofile:

   ssc install mkprofile , replace

Disclaimer: There is no warranty on this software either expressed or implied. This program is released under the terms and conditions of GNU General Public License.

About mkprofile

Programmer: Dan Blanchette (dan_blanchette@unc.edu)
The Carolina Population Center
The University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC USA

Date: 06Feb2005
Last updated: 22Apr2010

Create or edit your profile.do file or just see where Stata searches for profile.dofile


 mkprofile [, 

memory( integer value for number of megabytes of memory )

 vlabel( integer between 8 and 32 ) list all nthdir edit cwd ]

mkprofile with no options specified is equivalent to:


 . mkprofile , memory(40) vlabel(12)

Description

mkprofile creates or edits your profile.do file. Your profile.do file contains the settings you would like Stata to have every time you start a Stata session. By default, mkprofile creates your profile.do file to set your variable label position to 12 and set your memory to 40m.

Options

memory( integer ) sets Stata's memory to that number of megabytes. Be careful not to set it too low or too high as you will get an error message when your profile.do file is run.

vlabel( integer ) sets the variable label position in the variable label window. If you tend not to have variable names longer than 8 or so characters, set it to 10 to allow you to easily see the variable label associated to the variable.

list specifies mkprofile only to list the directories that your profile.do file will be attempted to be created in rather than attempt to create or edit your profile.do file. The order of the directories listed will be the reverse order of directories that Stata will search for your profile.do file so that the top listed directories are more likely the directories you have permission to create your profile.do file. Also specifying the all option will make the order be the order of all the directories that Stata searches for your profile.do file.

all specifies mkprofile to list all the directories that Stata will look in for your profile.do file and attempt to create your profile.do file in the first of these directories in which it can create it. NOTE: These directories may require administrator directory permissions. By default mkprofile only tries to attempt to create your profile.do file in a directory you most likely have permission to create the file.

nthdir( integer ) species in which of the directories listed by mkprofile you prefer mkprofile to create your profile.do file. If not specified, mkprofile will create your profile.do file in the first directory it can create it in. NOTE: The all option affects the order of the directories so the nth directory will be different if all is specified or not specified when using the nthdir() option.

edit will allow you to open your current profile.do file in the do-file editor.

cwd tells Stata to change to the directory you are currently in when you invoke mkprofile at the beginning of each Stata session. Note: "cwd" means "current working directory." To use this option, first cd to the directory you normally use, then use the cwd option in mkprofile. The next time you start Stata, you will be in this directory. To start Stata in a different directory in the future, edit your profile.do file.

NOTE: An example of how to set-up F keys (eg. F4, F5) on your keyboard to be used to change to set directories is implemented in the profile.do file using the current directory in the example. Use macro list to see what F keys are already being used.

Remarks

Since Stata only runs the first profile.do file that it finds in its search path, there is no guarantee that the profile.do file created by mkprofile is always going to be found and run by Stata. Read more about profile. mkprofile can be set to have a default location in which to create the profile.do file. For Windows "C:\ado\" is suggested. For UNIX/Linux and Macintosh "~/ado/" is suggested. A preferred directory can be set to a specific directory along Stata's search path for the profile.do file by editing the mkprofile.ado file. If a preferred directory is set, then this directory will be the only directory mkprofile will see as an option to try to create the profile.do file even if the all option is specified.

Examples

 . mkprofile

 . mkprofile, vlabel(10)

 . mkprofile, list

 . mkprofile, mem(100) vl(10) cwd nthdir(3)

 . mkprofile, edit memory(100) vlab(10) cwd

Also see

profile, memory, varlabelpos