Generating new variable from calculated dummy variables

I'm very new to Stata (switching from SAS), and am trying to generate the code to solve for what is probably a very simple problem for most experienced Stata users. Here goes:

• I'm using a data set with approximately 12,950 results.
• I've already calculated 4 dummy variables, which are: VAR1, VAR2, VAR3, and VAR4
• I want to generate a new variable, VAR5, which will be the result of five possible outcomes. See the following table as an example:

Possible	Dummy Variables				Desired
Outcomes	VAR1	VAR2	VAR3	VAR4	VAR5
1	96	64	32	12	96
2	.	62	30	13	62
3	.	.	24	10	24
4	.	.	.	11	11
5	.	.	.	.	.

• What I want to have in VAR5 is the result from the earliest VAR, else "."
• As can be seen in Outcome 1, VAR5 = the result from VAR1 (96), since it is the earliest. Outcome 2 = the VAR2 result (62) since VAR 1 = ".", Outcome 3 = the VAR3 result since VAR1 and VAR2 = ".", Outcome 4 = VAR4 result since VAR1, VAR2 and VAR3 are all ".", and, finally, Outcome 5 would return "." since VAR1, VAR2, VAR3 and VAR4 are all "."

I would appreciate any and all assistance.

Cheers!