Installation | Syntax | Examples | Feedback | Change log

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arcplot v1.4

(02 Oct 2024)

This package allows us to draw arc plots in Stata. It is based on the Arc plot Guide (October 2021).

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 (v1.4):

ssc install arcplot, replace

GitHub (v1.4):

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

The following packages are required to run this command:

ssc install palettes, replace
ssc install colrspace, replace
ssc install gtools, replace
ssc install graphfunctions, replace

Even if you have these packages installed, please check for updates: ado update, update.

If you want to make a clean figure, then it is advisable to load a clean scheme. These are several available and I personally use the following:

ssc install schemepack, replace
set scheme white_tableau  

You can also push the scheme directly into the graph using the scheme(schemename) option. See the help file for details or the example below.

I also prefer narrow fonts in figures with long labels. You can change this as follows:

graph set window fontface "Arial Narrow"

Syntax

The syntax for the latest version is as follows:

arcplot numvar [if] [in] [weight], from(var) to(var) 
                [ gap(num) arcpoints(num) palette(str) alpha(num) format(str) lcolor(str) lwidth(num) 
                  sort(value|name) boxwidth(str) boxintensity(num) offset(num)  valcondition(num) novalues 
                  labsize(num) labcolor(str) labangle(str) labpos(str) laboffset(num) labgap(str) 
                  valsize(num) valcolor(str) valangle(str) valpos(str) valoffset(num) valgap(str) * ]

See the help file help arcplot for details.

The most basic use is as follows:

arcplot var, from(var1) to(var2)

where var1 and var2 are the string source and destination variables respectively against which the numerical var variable is plotted. Out going values have the same color as the horizontal bar, while the incoming values have the colors of respective bars. Incoming boxes have a slightly different shade.

Examples

Get the example data from GitHub:

use "https://github.com/asjadnaqvi/stata-arcplot/blob/main/data/trade_2022.dta?raw=true", clear

Let's test the arcplot command:

arcplot value, from(ex_region) to(im_region) 

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) 

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	labangle(45) labgap(0.1)

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	labsize(1.3) labangle(45) labgap(0.1) offset(1)

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	gap(2) labsize(1.3) labangle(45) labgap(0.1) offset(1)

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	gap(2) labsize(1.3) labangle(45) labgap(0.1) offset(1) offset(1) noval

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	gap(2) labsize(1.3) labpos(7) laboffset(0.1) offset(1) noval sort(name)

Let's drop the minor regions (with apologies to people from these islands):

drop if inlist(ex_subregion, "Melanesia", "Micronesia", "Polynesia")
drop if inlist(im_subregion, "Melanesia", "Micronesia", "Polynesia")

arcplot value, from(ex_subregion) to(im_subregion) ///
	gap(0.5) labsize(1.3) labangle(40) laboffset(0.01) valoffset(0.3) ///
	offset(1) valcond(200) palette(CET C6) format(%10.0fc)		

arcplot value, from(ex_region) to(im_region) ///
	gap(2) labsize(2) labangle(45) ///
	offset(1) valcond(200) palette(CET C6) format(%10.0fc)		///
	lc(black) lw(0.02) boxint(0.4) boxwid(2) alpha(50)

Below a code for a highly fine-tuned figure. Note the use of the generic plotregion() that supercedes gap() used in the code above. It is high effective for removing white spaces:

arcplot value, from(ex_region) to(im_region) ///
	gap(1) labsize(3) labangle(45) valoffset(0.1) palette(538) ///
	valcolor(black) valcond(1000) valsize(2.4) format(%10.0fc)	///
	lc(black) lw(0.02) boxint(0.6) boxwid(2) alpha(50)	///
	title("Regional trade in 2022 (USD millions)", size(6)) ///
	note("Source: COMTRADE-BACI", size(2) span) ///
	plotregion(margin(t-15 b+3 l-20 r-20)) xsize(2) ysize(1)

Feedback

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

Change log

v1.4 (02 Oct 2024)

• Fixed a bug where incoming layer was not being drawn if it was not in the outgoing layer (reported by Jesus Otero).
• Fixed a bug resulting in correct color assignments under certain conditions (reported by Jesus Otero).
• Fixed a bug where value labels were hidden by default.
• Weights are not allowed. Ideally pre-prepare the data in advance before using the command.
• Added valoffset(), laboffset(), and novalues options.
• More error checks, better defaults, and some code clean up should result in faster and neater outputs.

v1.3 (31 Mar 2024)

• Options sort(), boxwith(), boxintensity(), offset(), aspect() added.
• Value labels of arcs now have simplified option names.
• boxintensity() allows users to control the color grading of the incoming flows part of the box.
• X-axis gap() for gaps between boxes and y-axis offset() now take on percentage values.
• Several defaults updates.
• Several fixes to optmize the code and draw faster.

v1.2 (16 Feb 2023)

• Massive speed improvements by flattening the code.

v1.1 (08 Nov 2022)

• Several bug fixes.
• Better label controls.
• Gtools added for faster reshapes.

v1.0 (22 Jun 2022)

• Public release.