Thanks amir. Does stata read variables variables as var1, 2, etc? If it is so, thanks a lot. Stefano

It doesn't work properly. each var has its name. s

Amir sorry to bother you. I know a little bit stata. I have 500 vars. each have a particular name and label. so, I can order a put the variable that I would not like to destring in the first place. As far as all the others, I can list of all them but they are 500 and I need to list all of them. I would like just to know if it could be possible to use a single fair command to destring all dataset but the first var. it is just a curiosity. best stefano

Easy peasy, you can use the following syntax

foreach var of varlist VAR1-VAR500 {

destring `var', replace force

}

VAR1 is the first variable that you want to destring in your dataset, while VAR500 is the last. for the variable that you want to exclude, arrange it to be the first or the last . You could use order function, e.g. order varname, last

You can also exclude a single variable like this (assume the variable you want to exclude is called vartoexclude:

foreach var of varlist _all {

if "`var'" != "vartoexclude" capture destring `var', replace force

}

foreach x of varlist _all{

replace `x' = "" if `x' == "NA"

destring `x',replace

}

it doesnt work, someone knows why?