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do2screen

do2screen is a Stata package for reviewing specific sections of a do-file directly in the Stata console. It helps you trace how variables were built, find relevant strings with context, and inspect selected line ranges without manually scrolling through long scripts.

Main features

1. Variable tracing

Trace the lines where a variable is created, modified, or dropped.

By default, do2screen also follows parent variables recursively, so if income depends on wages and transfers, it will also show how those were built.

do2screen using "analysis.do", var(pchincome)

Useful for:

  • auditing derived variables
  • understanding long production scripts
  • reconstructing variable lineage across a project

2. String search with context

Find a word or phrase in a do-file and show the matching lines plus surrounding context.

do2screen using "analysis.do", find("poverty line") lines(10)

Useful for:

  • locating definitions or comments
  • finding sections related to a topic
  • reviewing logic around a known string

3. Line range display

Display any selected block of a do-file by line number.

do2screen using "analysis.do", range(253 263)

Useful for:

  • inspecting a narrow region of code
  • sharing exact segments with collaborators
  • exporting specific sections to text output

Installation

Recommended: install from GitHub via github

First install E. F. Haghish's github package if needed:

net install github, from("https://haghish.github.io/github/")

Then install do2screen:

github install randrescastaneda/do2screen

Alternative: direct net install

net install do2screen, ///
	from("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/randrescastaneda/do2screen/master/") ///
	replace

SSC note

do2screen is also available on SSC, but the SSC copy may lag behind the GitHub version. For the latest release and documentation, install from GitHub.

Requirements

  • Stata 16.1 or higher

do2screen v5.0 uses Stata frames internally.

Quick examples

Trace one variable

do2screen using "analysis.do", var(income)

Trace one variable without parent variables

do2screen using "analysis.do", var(income) noprevious

Find a string

do2screen using "analysis.do", find("poverty")

Show a range of lines

do2screen using "analysis.do", range(50 75)

Save output to a text file

do2screen using "analysis.do", var(income) text("output/income_trace") replace

Documentation

For full usage details, examples, and option reference, see:

The site includes:

  • a getting started guide
  • a full reference page
  • articles on variable tracing, find/range, and caveats

Development

Repository contents include:

  • do2screen.ado and helper _do2screen_*.ado files
  • do2screen.sthlp
  • tests/ golden-file regression tests
  • docs/site/ Quarto documentation source

To run the test suite from Stata:

do "tests/run_tests.do"

Authors

  • R. Andres Castaneda — The World Bank
  • Santiago Garriga — Universidad Nacional de La Plata

License

This package is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.