[R] Windows RGui line editing

OKB (not okblacke) brenbarn at brenbarn.net
Sat Sep 19 20:31:42 CEST 2009


    	I've been using RGui and Tinn-R on Windows for a while now, but it 
continues to be a hassle that RGui supports only very rudimentary line 
editing.  I can't even use Shift+arrows to select text, let alone use 
things like Ctrl+arrows to jump left or right a word at a time.

    	I searched in the list archives and found what seem to be a few 
earlier references to this problem, but I couldn't find a clear answer 
on why it is or whether there's some workaround.  I saw something in the 
docs about it being due to a lack of readline support on Windows, but 
it's hard for me to understand how this can be a deal-breaker, given 
that there are tons of programs that run on Windows with full line 
editing (e.g., cmd.exe, text editors, Python's IDLE).

    	So, my question is, is there a way to use R in Windows with full 
line editing capabilities, or does every single person who uses R on 
Windows just suffer with this limitation?  (The main reason I'm asking 
is that it seems hard for me to believe the latter is true, so I feel 
like I must be missing something.)

Thanks,
-- 
--OKB (not okblacke)
Brendan Barnwell
"Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead, where there is
no path, and leave a trail."
	--author unknown




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