Writing Data To Lotus WK1

There are two related commands for writing series of data to Lotus WK1 command, either in row or in column format. A Lotus WK1 file can hold up to 256 columns and 4096 rows. Therefore, if you want to write many series, each with less than 256 observations, use rp123, which writes the series by row. If you have a few series with many (>256) observations, use p123, which writes by column.

These routines largely have been supplanted by the commands for printing Excel spreadsheets. Note that Microsoft Excel no longer supports spreadsheets in WK1 format. However, alternative spreadsheet software like OpenOffice continues to provide support. Note also that the WK1 standard severely limits the number of rows and columns that may be stored, and these restrictions have been relaxed in modern spreadsheet standards. Still, the following WK1 routines have several advantages over the xl commands. First, they do not require auxiliary software to be installed; recall that the xl commands require that Microsoft Excel is installed. Second, the routines print data considerably faster than the xl commands.

p123 <file_name> <date1> <date2> [width] [decs]

<ser1> [<ser2> <ser3> … <sern>];

p123 <file_name> <date1> <date2> [width] [decs] [<ser1> <ser2> … <sern>];

This command is similar to the matty command, except that the data are written directly to a worksheet. Do not include the WK1 extension with the filename; G7 automatically appends the extension WK1. <date1> and <date2> are the desired starting and ending dates. Up to 239 series names can be entered in free format. End the list with a ‘;’. <width> and <decs> are optional; <width> specifies the display width within “Lotus” for all series transferred, and <decs> specifies the number of decimals to be displayed. Defaults settings are 9 and 3, respectively. p123 worksheets are compatible with “Lotus”, “Excel”, “Quattro Pro”, and many other programs.

Example 1:

p123 natacct 60.1 91.1 8 1
gnp c v vf vi fe fi g

Example 2:

p123 natacct 60.1 91.1 8 1 out(1-85)

rp123 <file_name> <date1> <date2> [width] [decs]

<ser1> [<ser2> <ser3> … <sern>];

rp123 <file_name> <date1> <date2> [width] [decs] [<ser1> <ser2> … <sern>];

This command works like p123 to write series into a Lotus worksheet but, whereas p123 writes the series as columns, rp123 writes them as rows. With p123, one can have up to 255 series, each with up to 4096 observations. With rp123, one can have up to 4096 series, each with up to 255 observations. For many annual and quarterly data banks, rp123 may prove the more efficient format.