Stata File I/O
Stata is capable of handling most file formats, including proprietary ones.
Excel
To import from an Excel spreadsheet:
import excel using "path/to/file", sheet("Sheet1") firstrow
To import all columns as string variables, as opposed to guessing the type of columns, use option allstring.
To export into an Excel spreadsheet:
export excel using "path/to/file", sheet("Sheet1") firstrow(variables) replace
See also putexcel.
CSV
To import from a CSV file:
import delimited using "path/to/file", delimiters(",") varnames(1)
Often, the stringcols(_all) option is necessary.
If there are no column labels, use varnames(nonames).
To export into a CSV file:
export delimited using "path/to/file", delimiters(",")
To suppress column labels, use novarnames.
Tab-Delimited
To import from a tab-delimited file:
import delimited using "path/to/file", delimiters("\t") varnames(1)
Often, the stringcols(_all) option is necessary.
If there are no column labels, use varnames(nonames).
To export into a tab-delimited file:
export delimited using "path/to/file", delimiters("\t")
To suppress column labels, use novarnames.
Old Stata Versions
Stata does not support handling data from all versions of Stata. To go beyond the supported range, use saveold.
saveold "path/to/file", version(11)