Step 1: Install the package

Released version of package spAddins can be installed from CRAN:

install.packages("spAddins")

Development version can be installed from GitHub:

if (!require(devtools)) install.packages("devtools")
library(devtools)
install_github("GegznaV/spAddins")

Step 2: Define keyboard shortcuts

Functions in the package are also RStudio addins. This fact allows setting user-defined RStudio keyboard shortcuts that call the functions in a more convenient way. Thus the second step is to define keyboard shortcuts for package’s spAddins functions of interest.

To learn how to add user defined RStudio keyboard shortcuts, visit these links: Keyboard Shorcuts and Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts.

Step 3: Place a cursor / Select some text

Package spAddins contains 3 types of addins:

• those which insert text;
• those which replace text;
• those which enclose text (insert symbols on both sides of selected text).

For addins which insert text, in either R editor or in R console place your cursor at the position at which the text should be inserted.

For addins which either replace or enclose text, in R editor or in R console select a piece of text in which certain symbols should be replaced or enclosed.

Step 4: Use the keyboard shortcuts

To call a desired addin function, apply an appropriate keyboard shortcut which in Step 2 was associated with that function.

Insert %>% operator

This example demonstrates how to use addins which insert text.

Let package spAddins be already installed. First, let’s set keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + . to call function insertPipeline_Addin() which inserts forward-pipe operator %>% operator at the cursor position. This operator is in package magrittr thus the package must be loaded:

library(magrittr)

To learn more about the %>% operator type:

?`%>%`

Next, place your cursor at the position, where the operator should be inserted. For example, between the name of data set iris and the name of a function head():

iris  head()

Apply the shortcut combination Ctrl + Alt + . As a result the operator is inserted:

iris %>% head()

Replace \ with /

This example describes how to use addins which replace text.

Conciser having a string "c:\data\" in which backslashes (\) must be replaced with forward slashes (/). Addin function Back2ForwardSlash() is designed exactly for this task. Let’s define a new shortcut combination, say Ctrl + Alt + Shift + /, which calls the addin function. Now to know the place where the replacement should be applied an appropriate piece of text in either R editor or R console must be selected. Thus let’s select whole string "c:\data\" and push Ctrl + Alt + Shift + /. The result: as expected, the string is converted into "c:/data/".

Enclose with **…**

This example describes how to use addins which enclose text.

Conciser having an R Markdown file and a string "This word should be in bold." in it. In this string word word must be in bold. Addin function enclose_with_asterisk2() encloses selected text in double asterisk ** signs, and this is interpreted as bold in R markdown. Let’s define shortcut combination, say Ctrl + Shift + B, which calls the addin function. Now select the word word which is either in R editor or R console and push Ctrl + Shift + B to call the addin function. The result: "This **word** should be in bold."

“Insert” family

These functions insert various R operators.

The following functions may be useful for editing R Markdown files or, if commented (#), for structuring R code files.

“Replace” family

“Enclose” family

These functions are useful for editing R Markdown files.