Autofilling Values

Hard-coded values

To facilitate reproducibility, figures and tables should always be generated programmatically and never include hard-coded values. The tablefill package of gslab_make is a useful tool to help create complex tables.

In-text values

Frequently, it is necessary to include values derived from calculations in the text of a document. For example, we may wish to reference a coefficient from a regression specification. To facilitate reproducibility and avoid text from becoming outdated, it is recommended to include values programatically. Below, we detail methods for doing so.

LyX

1. Go to Document, Settings, and then LaTeX Preamble. Paste in the following. Here, scalars refers to a scalars.tex file located in the same directory as the LyX document. You may rename scalars according to your preferences. For example, \input{../more_scalars} would refer to a more_scalars.tex file located in the parent directory of the LyX document.

\input{scalars}

2. Using a program of your choice (e.g., Stata), generate file scalars.tex with the following. Here, value refers to the value you wish to include in the document. You may rename scalarmath and scalartext according to your preferences. Note that LaTeX places restrictions on how new commands may be named.

\newcommand{\scalarmath}{value}
\newcommand{\scalartext}{\textnormal{value}}

3. Use the macro \scalarmath to display the value in math mode. Use the macro \scalartext to display the value in text mode.

LaTeX

1. In the document preamble, paste in the following. Here, scalars refers to a scalars.tex file located in the same directory as the LyX document. You may rename scalars according to your preferences. For example, \input{../more_scalars} would refer to a more_scalars.tex file located in the parent directory of the LyX document.

\input{scalars}

2. Using a program of your choice (e.g., Stata), generate file scalars.tex with the following. Here, value refers to the value you wish to include in the document. You may rename scalarmath and scalartext according to your preferences. Note that LaTeX places restrictions on how new commands may be named.

\newcommand{\scalarmath}{value}
\newcommand{\scalartext}{\textnormal{value}}

3. Use the macro \scalarmath to display the value in math mode. Use the macro \scalartext to display the value in text mode.

Comments

In cases where including a hard-coded value in-text is unavoidable, include a red LaTeX comment for fact-checking. Yellow LyX comments should be used for comments between coauthors to be resolved and deleted.