Files in R

This lesson is called Files in R, part of the Getting Started With R course. This lesson is called Files in R, part of the Getting Started With R course.

Transcript

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Your Turn

Create and save an R script file
Enter a mathematical expression on your R script file and run it

Have any questions? Put them below and we will help you out!

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Douglas Ndowo • March 21, 2024

Does this mean it’s possible to import a ready made code/Rscript file, maybe customize it to fit a particular dataset & operations?… 🤩I’m totally loving this

David Keyes Founder • March 21, 2024

Yes! And this is a major benefit of working in a code-based tool like R.

Tiffany A • April 22, 2024

This "Files in R" and "Projects" portion are not loading

David Keyes Founder • April 22, 2024

Can you explain a bit more what you mean please?

Question about file locations. I know it's important to be mindful of where we're saving files when using programs like R. I'm wondering if you have any tips when setting up a system for file management. e.g. is is advantageous to create a folder on your computer for all R script files (and have subfolders like "R files for Getting Started with R" and "R files for Quant Methods 1" etc)? or maybe it makes more sense to have your R script files in the various folders that contain other non-R documents related to each project you're working on? does it matter?

Libby Heeren Coach • May 14, 2024

How you evolve to use files and folders over time will greatly depend on your use cases and who you need to collaborate with, but we strongly advocate for working in RStudio Projects (see the lesson before this one). A project is essentially a folder on your computer that contains a .Rproj file. When you work inside that project in RStudio, you'll have all the files and data you need for that project in one place. This gets easier to understand with time and practice, but let me give you some resources! Also, it's good to note that project folders are a terminus - there should generally not be any more project folders (folders that contain .Rproj files) inside of an RStudio Project folder.

Here is the Projects section in the R for Data Science book: https://r4ds.hadley.nz/workflow-scripts#projects

Here is a blog post I like about how to set up a project folder for beginners. Your choice of what you call folders is up to you, but this gives a good intro and inspiration: https://martinctc.github.io/blog/rstudio-projects-and-working-directories-a-beginner%27s-guide/

As a personal example, I have a folder on my computer called GitHub that contains two folders, Personal and Clients. In my Personal folder, I have all my personal RStudio Project folders, like my website, and fun side projects. In my Client folder, I have a folder for each client, and inside the client folders there are RStudio Project folders.

Judith Pohla • September 21, 2024

Pending approval

After creating an R Script file, is it normal for me to see my personal file from my computer loaded in R Studio?

Gracielle Higino Coach • September 21, 2024

Yes! =D The file management panel in RStudio shows the files in your working directory, and you can navigate them as you do in your file explorer in your computer. You can even move, delete and rename things from there!