[R] File > Save As...

[Duncan Murdoch]

On 11-03-14 8:12 PM, Gene Leynes wrote:
> Yes, I understand.  Normally I use Eclipse, which does what I want for
> "save as..."
>
> The bigger issue is that R can't tell the location of an open script,
> which makes it harder to create new versions of existing work....

But it can.  If you open a script and choose save, it will be saved to 
the same place.  Or do you mean an executing script?  There are indirect 
ways to find the name of the executing script.  For example,
in R-devel (to become 2.13.0 next month), you can do this:


cat("This file is ", getSrcFilename(function(){}, full=TRUE), "\n")

The getSrcFilename() function will be new in 2.13.0.  You can do the 
same in earlier versions, but you need to program it yourself.

Duncan Murdoch




>
> Say you have some great analysis going in "Research 2011-01-01" with a
> folder for data, code, gui, other languages, excel, whatever else.
>
> Then you want to make a new folder for Research 2011-01-02" with the
> same structure.
>
> Making sure that you're setting the right directory in the new version
> adds a layer of complexity which would be nice to avoid.  It would be
> really nice to just copy the folders, and let the script detect it's own
> location so that it could read from the data sub-directory, the gui's
> sub-directory, etc.  What I want to be able to do is copy the tools I
> create into different client folders so that anyone can just use the
> tool without changing the source code.... which is simple for you or I,
> but prevents newcomers from using the tools.
>
> Apparently I'm in the minority on the next part: but the "save as" thing
> I was describing before seems very strange to me.  As I teach new people
> R it's always kind of a hangup that requires a little more explanation,
> but maybe it's the way I'm looking at it.
>
> Thanks for your reply Duncan.
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 14, 2011 at 6:57 PM, Duncan Murdoch
> <murdoch.duncan at gmail.com <mailto:murdoch.duncan at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     On 11-03-14 5:03 PM, Gene Leynes wrote:
>
>         As much as I love R, there are still the occasional shortcomings.
>
>         I would love to find a solution to the "save as..." problem.
>
>         Steps to reproduce the problem:
>
>             1. Open any version of he R GUI in Windows
>             2. Choose "File>  Open" from the menu
>             3. Open a script that is in a different directory
>             4. Choose "File>  Save As" from the menu
>
>
>         In just about any other application you would be presented with
>         a GUI
>         showing the current folder of the script and the current name of the
>         script.  You could then edit the name and save.
>
>         In R, you have to find the directory of the script and the
>         script name.  It
>         can be annoying from a GUI perspective, especially if you
>         typically work in
>         one directory and store your scripts somewhere else, and the
>         problem is
>         worse when you have many script versions or directories.
>
>         I know there are many ways to work around this issue.
>         I also know about the batch file project.
>
>         However, it seems like this is something that users shouldn't
>         *need* to work
>         around.
>
>         I think this is related to the fact that R has no way of knowing the
>         location of any open script file.
>         (Please correct me if I'm wrong about that last part! )
>
>         I think this has come up before, but I couldn't find it in my
>         searches.
>         Is this a problem for other users as well?
>         Should I post this to the development list?
>         Is this change known to be possible / impossible?
>         Can I help make the change?
>
>
>     I think it's simply a matter of different working patterns.  R
>     offers the current working directory to save into.  For some people,
>     that's fine.  Others (like you) want some other default.
>
>     I don't think we want to make the editor so elaborate that it caters
>     to every taste.  If you want a better editor, there are lots out
>     there, including several that have good integration with R (Emacs,
>     Eclipse, WinEdt, TinnR, etc.)  I think it would be best to use one
>     of those editors, customized to suit your needs.
>
>     Duncan Murdoch
>
>
>         Thanks
>
>         Gene
>
>                 [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
>
>         ______________________________________________
>         R-help at r-project.org <mailto:R-help at r-project.org> mailing list
>         https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-help
>         PLEASE do read the posting guide
>         http://www.R-project.org/posting-guide.html
>         and provide commented, minimal, self-contained, reproducible code.
>
>
>