[R-SIG-Mac] [R] Upgrading R means I lose my packages

[James Milks]

So, what it boils down to is that I'm installing my packages at too  
high of a level (I'm an administrator for my system) and should save  
them in places other than the R framework folder.

Thanks too all for the tips and links.

Jim Milks

On Aug 28, 2008, at 5:08 AM, Prof Brian Ripley wrote:

> The standard R mechanisms for installing packages into a different  
> library
> apply on Mac OS X just as anywhere else.  It was not said that R was  
> being run from the R.app GUI, but I'll assume that is the case.
>
> The rw-FAQ provides detailed advice for Windows users: see
>
> http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/rw-FAQ.html#What_0027s-the-best-way-to-upgrade_003f
> http://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/rw-FAQ.html#I-don_0027t-have-permission-to-write-to-the-R_002d2_002e7_002e2_005clibrary-directory
>
> The differences for Mac OS users are small -- some of the names and  
> how to set the library path via R_LIBS.
>
> We arrange not to install packages within .Library on any of our  
> systems -- and for most users they do not have permission to do so.
>
> On Wed, 27 Aug 2008, William Revelle wrote:
>
>> This is actually an R-sig-mac question so I am responding there.
>>
>>
>> In general, if you want to install a new version without losing the  
>> previous packages,  using the finder, go to Library/Receipts and  
>> remove the R.app and R.Gui receipts.  Then install the new version.  
>> That will keep the previous packages.  This is not mysterious, this  
>> is R.
>>
>>
>> Thanks to Simon et al. for the upgrade.
>>
>> Bill
>>
>>
>>
>> At 11:00 PM -0400 8/27/08, Charilaos Skiadas wrote:
>>> On Aug 27, 2008, at 10:40 PM, Rolf Turner wrote:
>>>> On 28/08/2008, at 2:02 PM, James Milks wrote:
>>>>> The title says it all.  Does anyone know of a way to save your  
>>>>> packages when you upgrade to a new version of R?  This may seem  
>>>>> petty, but I'm accumulating enough packages that having to  
>>>>> download and install each of them anew every time I install a  
>>>>> new version of R is rather of a pain. Ideally, I would like the  
>>>>> new version of R to recognize the packages I've installed on the  
>>>>> previous version without needing to reinstall the packages.  Is  
>>>>> that possible?
>>>>> My system: Mac OS 10.5.4.
>>>>> Current R version: 2.7.1
>>>> Mac OS moves in mysterious ways, but apparently your installation  
>>>> moves in more mysterious
>>>> ways than most.
>>>> I also (by necessity, not by choice) run Mac OS.  But I certainly  
>>>> don't lose my
>>>> packages when I update R.  The new version of R certainly  
>>>> ``recognizes'' the packages
>>>> that I have installed.  No action required.
>>>> There may be something funny about *where* you have your packages  
>>>> installed, and
>>>> what environment variables you have set.
>>>> To answer your question ``Is that possible?'' --- Yes.  Not just  
>>>> possible,
>>>> but universal.  Except, it would seem, in your case.  What have  
>>>> you done
>>>> to offend the gods? :-)
>>> Actually have had the same problem as James. By default, unless  
>>> I'm mistaken, R will save installed packages within the  
>>> "R.framework" framework (system-wide installation). This framework  
>>> gets completely replaced when a new version is installed. In my  
>>> system, the location of these packages is:
>>> /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources/library
>>> So unless I am mistaken you have to take some action to prevent  
>>> packages from being installed there. I do hope I am wrong.
>>>
>>>> 	cheers,
>>>>
>>>> 		Rolf Turner
>>> Haris Skiadas
>>> Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
>>> Hanover College
>>> ______________________________________________
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>>> 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.
>>
>>
>> -- 
>> William Revelle		http://personality-project.org/revelle.html
>> Professor http://personality-project.org/personality.html
>> Department of Psychology             http://www.wcas.northwestern.edu/psych/
>> Northwestern University	http://www.northwestern.edu/
>> Attend  ISSID/ARP:2009               http://issid.org/issid.2009/
>>
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>>
>
> -- 
> 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