[Rd] You do need to follow the instructions! (was inst directory)

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Sat, 9 Oct 2004, Bob Wheeler wrote:

> R CMD check on a Windows system, halts with the following;
> 
>    installing inst files
> FIND: Parameter format not correct
> make[2]: *** [C:/AlgDesign/AlgDesign.Rcheck/AlgDesign/inst]Error 2
> make[1] *** [all] Error 2
> make: *** [pkg-AlgDesign] Error2
> *** Installation of AlgDesign failed ****

Note that this is actually coming from R CMD INSTALL

> The inst directory contains the sub directory doc with a pdf and dvi 
> file. Any sub directory in inst seems to cause this problem. The check 
> was OK prior to 1.9.0.
> 
> What has changed? If it is in the R documentation, I have missed it.

Please do not ignore warnings:

> FIND: Parameter format not correct

is almost certainly telling you that *you* have not followed the 
instructions.

You still have not told us your OS nor version of R, but seeing FIND up
there suggests this is Windows and that you have not followed the
instructions in README.packages correctly.  Please do read and follow the
injunction at the top of that file.  It looks like you have ignored

  To avoid frustration, please use our tool set, and make sure it is at 
  the front of your path (including before the Windows system 
  directories).

since you want find.exe from Rtools, not FIND.EXE from the Windows system 
directories.

I think you have leapt to incorrect conclusions about the source of this 
error.  As confirmation, it is a matter of public record that AlgDesign on 
CRAN does pass R CMD check on both Linux and Windows.

It would have been much better to have asked

`Why do I get the message "FIND: Parameter format not correct" when I try
to install a package (such as AlgDesign) with inst and inst/doc
directories.'

Please see both the posting guide and the section in the FAQ on BUGS.

-- 
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