[R] R commander (Rcmdr) won't start [SOLVED]

[Fox, John]

Dear Gabriele,

> On Dec 8, 2019, at 3:35 AM, gabriele pallotti <bolognareggio using gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear John, 
> thank you for your prompt reply. An inexperienced user like me tends to see the .Rdata folder like the document folder for other programs, and, as one doesn't have to delete the document folder when updating Libreoffice, tends to think the same for R. 

The potential problem with .RData is that it's not just a file that saves the contents of the R workspace at the end of a session, but that the saved workspace is then loaded at the start of a subsequent session. This can create problems (again, not just for the Rcmdr) in that subsequent session, and not only when R is updated.

> But let me take the opportunity to express a huge thank you for your work on Rcmdr. For people like me, who do statistical analyses just a few times a year, it is a very precious resource, which can also serve as an introduction to command-line R. As an applied linguist with a background in semiotics, I would have plenty of reasons to explain why a graphic interface is such a good thing. As a taxpayer, I appreciate the fact that it makes us saves money as it allows students and researchers in the humanities, like me, to do some basic statistics without buying SPSS licences. 
> I don't want to open a debate here on the pros and cons of graphical interfaces. Let me just say you're doing an excellent service to the community, both with your package and your replies to this forum, which shows you're a really kind person and deserve all our appreciation. 

Thank you for your very kind remarks.

Best,
 John

> Best wishes
> Gabriele Pallotti (Italy)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Il giorno ven 6 dic 2019 alle ore 22:58 Fox, John <jfox using mcmaster.ca> ha scritto:
> Dear Gabriele,
> 
> I'm glad that you were able to solve your problem. I spent a bit of time today updating my R from 3.6.0 to 3.6.1 and updating all R packages on Ubuntu, and, for what is now an obvious reason, I was unable to duplicate the problem.
> 
> Saving the .Rhistory file is benign but saving the R workspace at the end of a session in .RData can be problematic, and not just for the Rcmdr. You'll notice that while R makes saving the workspace the default (presumably to avoid inadvertent data loss, and in my opinion not a good default choice), the Rcmdr doesn't offer to save the R workspace when you select "File > Exit > From Commander and R" from the Rcmdr menus.
> 
> Best,
>  John
> 
>   -----------------------------
>   John Fox, Professor Emeritus
>   McMaster University
>   Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
>   Web: http::/socserv.mcmaster.ca/jfox
> 
> > On Dec 6, 2019, at 1:38 PM, gabriele pallotti <bolognareggio using gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > I managed to get Rcmdr working simply by deleting the .Rdata and .Rhistory
> > file from the work directory. It is rather weird, as I thought they only
> > contained data and settings, but probably some of these belonged to the
> > older version of R/Rcmdr and were not compatible with the new version.
> > I'll keep the old data files in a separate folder and try to open them as a
> > workspace after launching Rcmdr, but I won't do it now as I need Rcmdr to
> > work in the next days and I don't want to take any risks...
> > 
> >       [[alternative HTML version deleted]]
> > 
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