[R-SIG-Mac] How to change default Browser for R

[Marc Schwartz]

> On Aug 4, 2018, at 2:41 AM, Christofer Bogaso <bogaso.christofer using gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> In my Mac, I have 2 browsers installed :
> 
> Chrome (system default)
> Google Chrome Canary
> 
> While for my regular browsing work I use Chrome, However for R I prefer to
> use Canary (like, opening Help page). Is there any way to set Canary only
> for R, however keeping system default unchanged.
> 
> Thanks for your feedback.


Hi,

There are several steps involved during R ?Startup that set system and session specific ?options.

In your ~/.Rprofile, for session specific settings, you can add something like the following:

  options(browser = "/usr/bin/open -a '/Applications/Google Chrome.app'")

replacing the Chrome binary filename above with the Canary name.

Be sure to exit your R session after setting the above, then start a new session to pick up the change.

The above works for me, to change the default from Safari to Chrome, just within my R session, without affecting the system default.

Regards,

Marc Schwartz