[Rd] a simple suggestion for the next version of R windows

[Prof Brian Ripley]

I don't see how it can work, period.  The `name of the workspace file' is
always .Rdata unless you loaded it from the RGui menu.  *Perhaps* the
suggestion was to give the working directory, but that is a different
concept.

There *is* a need to identify the window.  In either an MDI or SDI session
there can be console plus graphics windows, pagers and editors.  In SDI,
they appear as separate items (all with the same icon) on the task bar and
one does need to know which is which -- that is one of the main purposes
of the window title.   BTW, that icon is usually far from `big blue' on 
high-resolution screens and can be quite inconspicuous, especially if the 
background colour is blue (as it is in the standard XP schemes).

I suspect it is really unusual to run more than one R session in different
consoles, and when I do I know which is which from their screen
positioning.  I do more often run multiple Rterm.exe, and the same comment
applies there (they change the terminal title to `Rterm' and don't change
the icon).

What might be useful is to implement a setWindowTitle() function, which
append a string (default the current working directory?) to the title
(still keeping `R console' or `Rterm').

Finally, please do not post to both R-help-request (that's for
subscriptions etc so I guess you meant R-help) and R-devel.  There is a
specific address for comments on R for Windows, and it is in the README,
etc:

Feedback
========

Please send comments and bug reports to

        R-windows at r-project.org


On Sun, 25 Apr 2004, Tao Shi wrote:

> Hi, Andy:
> 
> Thanks!  I think it also depends on people's working hobby.
> 
> What you suggested is a good way around it.  But I'm still thinking since 
> the R window already has the big blue R logo to identify itself, the word "R 
> console" is really redundant and could be replaced by something more 
> informative.  Not nesessarly everytime you change to a new diretory, you 
> need to change to a new identifier, but at least the every first .RData file 
> you loaded.  I don't know.......  Something along that line.  It will be 
> very helpful when you use Alt+Tab to move between windows, b/c all you see 
> are "R console"s.......
> 
> ...Tao
> 
> 
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: "Liaw, Andy" <andy_liaw at merck.com>
> To: "'Tao Shi'" <shitao at hotmail.com>,r-help-request at stat.math.ethz.ch
> CC: r-devel at stat.math.ethz.ch
> Subject: RE: [Rd] a simple suggestion for the next version of R windows
> Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2004 23:18:06 -0400
> 
> I don't see how this can work.  I frequently run only one R session (also in
> SDI), but change working directories several times during the session, with
> or without loading the workspace files in those directories, depending on
> what I need to do.  I don't think the Window title can change every time I
> do setwd("somewhereElse"); load(".RData").

It could -- it could display the current working directory.

> One possibility that could probably help you is to change the R command
> prompt from "> " to the current working directory plus "> ".  I believe this
> can be done with the taskCallbackManager().
> 
> Andy
> 
>  > From: Tao Shi
>  >
>  > Is it possible to replace the word "R Console" on the title
>  > bar (is it what
>  > it's called? It's the blue area above menu bar) with the name
>  > of the work
>  > space file you're using or loaded, so people who are runing multple R
>  > sessions at same time can identify them immediately.  I'm
>  > using 1.9.0 in SDI
>  > mode.
>  >
>  > Thanks,
>  >
>  > ...Tao


-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595