How to automatically load settings in R on OSX? How to find R_HOME, configure Rprofile.site, etc?

Question

I have a Macintosh and I am trying to automatically load packages, homemade functions, and use modified setting every time I start R. I believe this can be done with a file call

Answer 1

Michael, I too have found this topic to be a bit confusing. I'm on a Mac as well. I created an "Rprofile" file which has all my customizations in it. Here's how mine works (I don't think there is anything special about my set up):

1. The "Rprofile" goes in /Users/michael
2. The "Rprofile" has to be composed of commands that R will understand (for instance, you can source it).
3. The "Rprofile" has to be called .Rprofile The leading period means that the file is hidden from the normal operating system. You have to open a terminal window and do an >ls -la to see it (assuming you cd to that directory, if necessary). Plus you'll see lots of other hidden files. And it probably doesn't exist until you create it, next step.
4. I use TextEdit to create a file called R.txt and put the commands in there (start simple for testing purposes).
5. Then, in a terminal window, I type >cp R.txt .Rprofile which copies the visible R.txt to the invisible .Rprofile You can check by doing >ls -la again to see it in the directory listing.
6. Restart R and see if it worked. For instance, if you put library(ggplot2) in your R.txt, that library should be loaded upon start up. If it doesn't, then a command from that library won't work, like qplot(x = 1:10, y = 1:10). Other people put in commands like cat("My .Rprofile works!\n) which should display during launching.

HTH Bryan