Introduction to Stata 8 - (GRIPS

14.8. Saving, displaying and printing graphs
Save a graph
The active graph can be saved as a .gph file:
graph save "c:\dokumenter\...\DKsurvival.gph" [, asis replace]
The asis option saves a 'frozen' graph, it is displayed as is, regardless of scheme settings.
Without this option you save a 'live' graph: you may display it again, maybe using a different
scheme or modifying its size. The manual states that you may edit it, but that is not the case.
My firm recommendation:
Rarely save graph files; always save a do-file for each graph with a name that tells what it
does, e.g. gph.DKsurvival.do. Let all graph-defining do-files start with a gph. prefix,
for easy identification. The do-file documents what you did, you can edit it to modify the
graph, and you can modify the do-file to create another graph. Remember to include the data
or a use command reading the data used. This advice also applies when you initially
defined the graph command with a graph dialog.
Open a saved graph
A saved graph may be displayed by:
graph use "c:\dokumenter\...\DKsurvival.gph"
Display and print a graph
Re-display the current graph by:
graph display [, scale(1.2) ysize(3) xsize(5) scheme(lean2)]
The scale() option is useful to increase marker and text size, e.g. for a slide show.
xsize() and ysize() modify the size of the graph area (arguments in inches), and
scheme() lets you display a graph under a different scheme – but that sometimes fails.
Copying and printing 'smooth' coloured or gray areas sometimes give poor results, and a
raster-pattern is preferable. This is a printer, not a Stata issue; in this respect modern printers
are worse than older. At my old HP LaserJet 1100 printer the LaserJet III printing mode
translates gray areas to raster-patterns, copying and printing nicely. You may need to
experiment.
If you in the future don't want Stata's logo being printed on each graph:
graph set print logo off
Copy a graph to a document
Copy-and-paste a graph to another document using the standard [Cltr]+C and [Ctrl]+V procedure.
The graph will be transferred as a metafile; there are two types, which you may select
via the Graph Preferences:
Prefs ► Graph Preferences ► Clipboard
Select Enhanced Metafile (EMF) or Windows Metafile (WMF); which one works best depends
on your system and printer; take a critical look at the results.
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