Installation | Examples | Feedback | Change log

---

graphfunctions v1.52

(18 Feb 2025)

A suite of graph functions for Stata. The program is designed to be called by other programs, but it can be used as a standalone as well. The page will provide some minimum examples, but for the full scope, see the relevant help files.

Currently, this package contains:

|Program|Version|Updated|Description| |----| ---- | ---- | ----- | | labsplit | 1.1 | 08 Oct 2024 | Text wrapping | | catspline | 1.2 | 18 Feb 2025 | Catmull-Rom splines | | arc | 1.2 | 20 Nov 2024 | Draw arcs between two points | | shapes | 1.3 | 05 Nov 2024 | Contains shapes circle, shapes pie, shapes square, shapes rotate, shapes area |

The programs here are designed/upgraded/bug-fixed on a needs basis, mostly to support other packages. If you have specific requests, or find major bugs, then please open an issue.

Installation

The package can be installed via SSC or GitHub. The GitHub version, might be more recent due to bug fixes, feature updates etc, and may contain syntax improvements and changes in default values. See version numbers below. Eventually the GitHub version is published on SSC.

SSC (v1.52):

stata ssc install graphfunctions, replace

GitHub (v1.52):

stata net install graphfunctions, from("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/asjadnaqvi/stata-graphfunctions/main/installation/") replace

See the help file help graphfunctions for details.

If you want to make a clean figure, then it is advisable to load a clean scheme, especially if you are not using newer Stata versions. My own setting is the following:

stata ssc install schemepack, replace set scheme white_tableau graph set window fontface "Arial Narrow"

Examples

labsplit

(v1.1: 08 Oct 2024)

The program allows users to split text labels based on flexible or fixed character length or word positions.

Syntax: stata labsplit variable, [ wrap(int) word(int) strict generate(newvar) ]

Examples:

```stata clear set obs 5 gen x = 1 gen y = _n

gen mylab = ""

replace mylab = "Test this really-hyphenated label." in 1 replace mylab = "Yet another label to test." in 2 replace mylab = "This is the third label" in 3 replace mylab = "How about we test this label as well" in 4 replace mylab = "Finally we are at the fifth label" in 5

```

Let's test the labsplit command:

stata labsplit mylab, wrap(10) gen(newlab1) labsplit mylab, wrap(10) gen(newlab2) strict labsplit mylab, word(2) gen(newlab3)

Code for figures:

``` twoway (scatter y x, mlabel(mylab) mlabsize(3)), title("Standard") twoway (scatter y x, mlabel(newlab1) mlabsize(3)), title("Wrapping")

twoway (scatter y x, mlabel(newlab2) mlabsize(3)), title("Wrapping strict") twoway (scatter y x, mlabel(newlab3) mlabsize(3)), title("Word wrap") ```

catspline

(v1.2: 18 Feb 2025)

The program allows users to generate splines based on the Catmull-Rom algorithm.

Syntax: stata catspline y x, [ rho(num [0,1]) obs(int) close genx(newvar) geny(newvar) ]

Examples:

```stata clear set obs 5 set seed 2021

gen x = runiformint(1,5) gen y = runiformint(1,5)

catspline y x

twoway /// (scatter y x) /// (line _y _x, cmissing(n)) ```

```stata cap drop _id _x _y catspline y x, close

twoway /// (scatter y x) /// (line _y _x, cmissing(n)) ```

arc

(v1.1)

Draw minor or major arcs between two points. The arc orientation and be switched using swap, and major arcs can be drawn using major.

Syntax:

stata arc, x1(num) y1(num) x2(num) y2(num) [ radius(num) n(int) swap major genx(newvar) geny(newvar) replace ]

Examples:

```stata arc, y1(-2) x1(-4) y2(4) x2(2) rad(6) replace

twoway /// (scatteri -2 -4) (scatteri 4 2) /// (scatteri r(ycirc)'r(xcirc)') /// (line _y _x) /// , legend(order(1 "Point 1" 2 "Point 2" 3 "Circumcenter" 4 "Arc") pos(6) row(1)) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) aspect(1) xsize(1) ysize(1) /// title("Right of starting point - minor") ```

```stata arc, y1(-2) x1(-4) y2(4) x2(2) rad(6) major replace

twoway /// (scatteri -2 -4) (scatteri 4 2) /// (scatteri r(ycirc)'r(xcirc)') /// (line _y _x) /// , legend(order(1 "Point 1" 2 "Point 2" 3 "Circumcenter" 4 "Arc") pos(6) row(1)) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) aspect(1) xsize(1) ysize(1) /// title("Right of starting point - major")

```

```stata arc, y1(-2) x1(-4) y2(4) x2(2) rad(6) swap replace

twoway /// (scatteri -2 -4) (scatteri 4 2) /// (scatteri r(ycirc)'r(xcirc)') /// (line _y _x) /// , legend(order(1 "Point 1" 2 "Point 2" 3 "Circumcenter" 4 "Arc") pos(6) row(1)) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) aspect(1) xsize(1) ysize(1) /// title("Left of starting point - minor") ```

```stata arc, y1(-2) x1(-4) y2(4) x2(2) rad(6) swap major replace

twoway /// (scatteri -2 -4) (scatteri 4 2) /// (scatteri r(ycirc)'r(xcirc)') /// (line _y _x) /// , legend(order(1 "Point 1" 2 "Point 2" 3 "Circumcenter" 4 "Arc") pos(6) row(1)) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) aspect(1) xsize(1) ysize(1) /// title("Left of starting point - Major") ```

shapes

(v1.3)

Circles

Syntax: stata shape circle, [ n(int) rotate(degrees) radius(num) x0(num) y0(num) genx(newvar) geny(newvar) genorder(newvar) genid(newvar) replace stack/append ]

Examples: ```stata shapes circle, replace

twoway /// (connected y _x, mlabel(order)) /// , xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) ```

```stata shapes circle, n(6) replace

twoway /// (connected y _x, mlabel(order)) /// , xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) ```

```stata shapes circle, n(6) rotate(30) replace

twoway /// (connected y _x, mlabel(order)) /// , xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) ```

```stata shapes circle, rotate(45) rad(8) n(4) replace

twoway /// (connected y _x, mlabel(order)) /// , xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) ```

```stata shapes circle, n(100) replace

twoway /// (line _y _x) /// , xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) ```

```stata shapes circle, n(8) replace shapes circle, rotate(30) n(6) rad(8) append shapes circle, rotate(60) n(4) rad(3) x0(1) y0(1) append

twoway (connected _y _x, cmissing(n)), aspect(1) ```

Pies

Syntax:

stata shape pie, [ n(int) start(degrees) end(degrees) rotate(degrees) radius(num) x0(num) y0(num) genx(newvar) geny(newvar) genorder(newvar) genid(newvar) dropbase replace stack/append ]

Examples: ```stata shapes pie, end(60) replace

twoway (area _y _x), xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

```stata shapes pie, start(0) end(270) n(200) replace

twoway (area _y _x), xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

```stata clear shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(0) rad(5) replace shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(30) rad(6) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(60) rad(7) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(90) rad(8) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(120) rad(9) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(150) rad(10) stack

twoway (area _y _x, fcolor(%90) cmissing(n) nodropbase) /// , xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

without base:

```stata shapes pie, start(0) end(230) rad(10) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase replace shapes pie, start(0) end(230) rad(9) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase append shapes pie, start(0) end(200) rad(8) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase append shapes pie, start(0) end(180) rad(7) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase append shapes pie, start(0) end(160) rad(6) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase append

twoway (line _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase) /// , xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

without base flipped direction:

```stata shapes pie, start(0) end(350) rad(10) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase flip replace shapes pie, start(0) end(150) rad(9) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase flip append shapes pie, start(0) end(130) rad(8) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase flip append shapes pie, start(0) end(80) rad(7) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase flip append shapes pie, start(0) end(60) rad(6) rotate(90) n(200) dropbase flip append

twoway (line _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase) /// , xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

Square

```stata shapes square, len(8) rotate(90) replace

twoway /// (area y _x, nodropbase fcolor(%50)) /// (scatter _y _x, mlab(order)) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

```stata shapes square, x0(1) y0(1) len(10) rotate(40) replace shapes square, x0(1) y0(1) len(9) rotate(30) append shapes square, x0(1) y0(1) len(8) rotate(20) append shapes square, x0(1) y0(1) len(7) rotate(10) append shapes square, x0(1) y0(1) len(6) rotate(0) append

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%100) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

Rotate

Let's generate a basic shape:

```stata shapes square, x0( 5) y0(0) len(5) replace shapes square, x0(-5) y0(0) len(5) append

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (scatteri 0 0) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1)
```

```stata shapes rotate _y _x, rotate(30)

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (area ynew xnew, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (scatteri 0 0) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1)
```

```stata shapes rotate _y _x, rotate(30) x0(5) y0(5) genx(xnew) geny(ynew)

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (area ynew xnew, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (scatteri 0 0) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1)
```

```stata shapes rotate _y _x, rotate(60) center genx(xnew2) geny(ynew2)

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (area ynew2 xnew2, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (scatteri 0 0) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1)
```

```stata shapes rotate y _x, rotate(30) center by(id) genx(xnew3) geny(ynew3)

twoway /// (area _y _x, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (area ynew3 xnew3, cmissing(n) nodropbase fcolor(%80) lw(0.1) lc(white)) /// (scatteri 0 0) /// , /// legend(off) /// xlabel(-10(2)10) ylabel(-10(2)10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

Area

```stata clear shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(0) rad(5) replace shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(30) rad(6) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(60) rad(7) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(90) rad(8) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(120) rad(9) stack shapes pie, start(0) end(45) ro(150) rad(10) stack

twoway (area _y _x, fcolor(%90) cmissing(n) nodropbase) /// , xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ```

calculate the areas

stata shapes area _y _x, by(_id)

Generate some ranking of areas and plot

```stata xtile grps = _area, n(4)

levelsof _id, local(lvls)

foreach x of local lvls { colorpalette reds, nograph local myarea myarea' (area _y _x if _id==x', fcolor("r(px')'%90") lc("r(px')'") cmissing(n) nodropbase)
}

twoway /// myarea' /// , /// xlabel(-10 10) ylabel(-10 10) /// legend(off) /// xsize(1) ysize(1) aspect(1) ``

Feedback

Please open an issue to report errors, feature enhancements, and/or other requests.

Change log

v1.52 (18 Feb 2025) - catspline now generate the stated number of points. - catspline now respects if/in conditions. - Minor corrections and bug fixes.

v1.51 (28 Nov 2024) - Fixed catspline to correct generate splines. Added options to replace variables. Change in routine to make it more efficient in computations. - Added replace, append to arc. Various bug fixes. - Added append as a substitute for stack in shapes. - Added square in `shapes.

v1.5 (05 Nov 2024) - shapes square added for squares. Note that shapes circle, n(4) also returns a square but here we define the center-to-corner length using the radius, where as shapes square generates a side with a predefined length. Hence the area of shapes circle, n(4) rad(5) > shapes square, len(5). - shapes rotate added for generation rotations at specific points or center of shapes. Note that this is a more advanced rotation than what each individual function provides. - shapes area added for calculating the areas (currently in undefined units) using Meister's shoelace formula. - Option append added as a substitute for stack. This is more in line with standard Stata syntax. - Option flip added to change the drawing direction. This flips from counter-clockwise (Stata default) to clockwise. - Better information added for rotations, orientations, and starting points. - Cleanup of helpfiles.

v1.4 (15 Oct 2024) - shapes is now also mirrored as shape. - shape circle updated, and shape pie added. - In shapes, users can now also define an origin using x0() and y0() options. - More controls and checks.

v1.3 (13 Oct 2024) - shapes added. Minor fixes to index tracking. - arc bug fixes plus code cleanup.

v1.2 (08 Oct 2024) - arc added. - Bug fixes in labsplit. - Additional checks in programs.

v1.1 (04 Oct 2024) - catspline added.

v1.0 (28 Sep 2024) - labsplit added. - Public release.