Hello
I am Hatem Ali, STATA user.
I have a 2 large dataset that I am trying to merge
The common variable in these 2 datasets is called: trr-id_code.
However, This variable is a string non-numeric variable

When I try to merge one by one using key variable. STATA doesnt do and say variables are unequal.

when I tried to destring it, I got the following message:
destring trr_id_code, generate(hhh)
trr_id_code contains nonnumeric characters; no generate

1st question: Is there a way I can destring this variable so I can use it for merging?
2nd question: can I use : merge one to one by observation instead?

Looking forward to hear back from you