shortcut for r assignment

RStudio shortcuts that will save your life

Learn some of the most useful tools to optimize your coding sessions in RStudio.

David U. Garibay-Treviño, MSc

November 10, 2023

1 Introduction

I remember when I started to code in R. I was highly inefficient and didn’t know any of the RStudio capabilities. I manually typed every part of the assignment operator ( < and then - ), as well as every # at the start of all the lines I wanted to comment. The mouse was my main tool to open new scripts, change tabs, and close tabs. When I had to read or write any file I had to double check how it was written and where it was located. And when an important script was lost, I did not have any alternative other than to check every one of the folders where I thought it could be placed.

At first I did not imagine that a blessed group of people already had thought about smart ways to tackle these and many other difficulties.

Everything started to change for me when I saw a colleague selecting multiples lines of code and commenting them all at once. I was amazed. I asked him how he did it, and from that point I started my journey to learn and use new shortcuts and commands in RStudio.

If you have kept thinking on how to speed up your code writing process or even if you only want to be more comfortable developing code, then you have arrived to the right place! In this brief tutorial I share some of the shortcuts I use the most. Besides from my own experience, I have also looked for what other users have talked on the subject (check Section 10 ).

To make this tutorial a little bit more intuitive. I have split the text in the next categories:

• Insert code
• Move between panes and tabs
• Find files and functions
• Running code
• Code completion

All the shortcuts in this tutorial will be listed inside of a table, where the title is the name (or description) of the shortcut, and the body shows how the shortcut should be typed for Windows and Mac OS. With nothing less to add let’s start!

Show keyboard shortcuts help is the first thing you have to keep in mind. This shortcut brings up a screen listing some of some of the most useful shortcuts in RStudio. In case you want to check the full list of shortcuts, in the upper right corner of the help screen you will find a link called See All Shortcuts . It will take you to a page containing all the shortcuts divided by OS. To exit the help screen you just have to press Esc .

2 Insert code

Want to create a new R Script? easy-peasy!

You want to assign an object? Instead of writting <- key by key, you can do it directly by pressing:

While concatenating functions or operations, forget about writing the pipe opearator by hand. You can insert it directly by pressing:

The type of pipe that is going to be inserted is defined at Global Options .

Currently there are two pipes that are commonly used:

• the magrittr pipe %>% , and
• the native pipe |> .

You can preset the pipe you want to insert by accessing Global Options/Code/Editing and defining if you want to use the native pipe (in case you don’t, the magrittr pipe will be automatically used).

You can forget of writing every component of the code chunks by hand while working on a Quarto or an R Markdown file, by using the insert code chunk shortcut.

It certainly will save you a good amount of time. Besides, it will help you to keep focused in the main things while creating a Notebook: improve your writing and develop code.

Comment/uncomment current line selection is one of the first shortcuts that I learned, and currently it is still among the ones I use the most. Instead of manually adding # at the start of each line you want to comment, select the section of code you want to coment, and then and then use this shortcut. Since commenting code is very common, this shortcut will save you an enormous amount of time.

In case you are looking how to organize your code scripts sections, subsections and other sorting levels, you will be happy to find about how to insert a new code section . This is ideal to have a good structure of your code, and the best part is that all the sections and subsections that you create will be visible in the code outline that is next to the Source button in Rstudio.

Here’s how to Toggle document outline in case you were looking for it.

The section breaks have a similar structure as the Quarto and RMarkdown headings . The number of # ’s at the beginning of each line defines the level of the headers:

• # stands for 1st level header,
• ## stands for 2nd level headers,
• ### stands for 3rd level headers, and so on.

Instead of manually indenting your code, you can make a selection of the code and indent every selected line. If want to reindent all the content of a script, first select all ( Ctrl + A for Windows, or Cmd + A for Mac) and then reindent. This will save you a lot of time and headaches figuring out how the code should be indented. This is a great aid to visually structure your code.

3 Edit code

You can move lines of code up or down without having to copy them.

You can also copy lines of code up or down without having to copy and paste them.

You can select code without using the mouse. To create or modify a selection using the keyboard, you have to maintain Shift pressed while moving your cursor. This will select anything that have been passed by your cursor. Once you stop pressing Shift you will stop modifying your selection.

You can move your cursor directly to the start or the end of a line only with your keyboard following the next key combination:

You can also move your cursor to the start or the end of a word with the following shortcut:

You can add multiple cursors to edit multiple lines of code simultaneously. For that you need to press the next combination of keys.

Once you know how to select, move the cursor to the start/end of a line, move the cursor to the start/end of a word, and add multiple cursors, you have all the ingredients to make more complex selections. You can combine select with any of these shortcuts to get different types of selections.

Here is an examples (in Mac format):

• You can make a selection from your cursor position to the end of a line by pressing Shift+Alt+Left in Windows (or Shift+Cmd+Left in Mac).

4 Move between panes and tabs

You can move focus to Source Editor , i.e., place the cursor in the active script, without taking your hands out of the keyboard with the following shortcut.

The same idea goes for the console. You can place the cursor in the Console by using:

I mainly use the shortcuts to move the cursor between the Source Editor (1) and the Console (2). In any case, you can focus the following elements inside RStudio just by changing the number of the key combination:

• 1 - Source Editor
• 2 - Console
• 4 - History
• 7 - Packages
• 8 - Environment

To move between tabs without taking your hands out of the keyboard you have to type:

The previous shortcut may not be practical if you have opened many tabs. If you know the name of the tab you want to go, you can open it directly using Switch to tab which shows a list of all the tabs. You can look for a specific tab by writing its name and access it by pressing enter .

You can close current document once you have finished working on it. This is very usefull to close multiple tabs without using the mouse.

5 Find files and functions

Find/Replace text shows a find/replace utility were you can find everything that match your search, one by one (by pressing the Next or Prev buttons), or at once (pressing All ). It also lets you replace all the matches with another text. When a part of the of code is previously selected, the search and replace utility will only look into the selected code by default. You can modify the behavior of this utility by modifying its different options.

The shortcut Go to file/function brings up a search box that allows you to:

• access the files where you have defined specific functions, or
• open files that are present in your current working directory.

To do this, you will have to type the name of the file/function that you want to check and then press enter .

In my consideration the most powerful and usefull search tool in the RStudio IDE is Find in files . It lets you find any text that matches your search among all the files present under your working directory or in any directory that you specify. It will list you all the findings disaggregating them by location. Just as Find/replace text this utility also lets you replace all the matches with specified text.

The most basic way to execute code in the Source Editor is to put the cursor in the line (or selection) of code you want to run and use this shortcut. This will execute the current line (or selection) and move your cursor to the next part of the code. It is very useful when you are running your Scritps step by step.

This shortcut is similar to the previous one, except that the cursor will remain in its place after executing the code. It can be very useful, specially while making code tests or developing figures in ggplot , and you don’t want to move your cursor away every time the code is executed.

Imagine that you have written a lot of lines in a script and you would like to run continue modifying it after restarting your computer You don’t have to run the code line by line until you arrive to a specific part of the code. With this shortcut you can place your cursor in a line and run everything before it. It is one of my favorites.

This is the complement of the previous shortcut. After placing the cursor in a specific line, you can run the rest of the code by using:

7 Code completion

Once you start typing, a completion list will pop up showing the names of functions, objects and snippets that match your text. If the list is not shown, you can make it appear by pressing Tab after typing something. Inside the list use the Up / Down arrows to move between the suggestions, and press Enter or Tab to select an option. To exit the completion list without making a selection just press Esc .

While using functions, you can list their arguments by pressing Tab or Ctrl+Space inside the function parentheses. As in the previous case, you have to use the Up / Down arrows to move between the options and press Enter or Tab once you have made your selection. This can be extremely useful if you want to be very specific about the arguments that are used inside of a function.

If you are using paths to read or write files, RStudio also has a completion tool to speed things up. To enter the path completion list you have to write quotation marks "" and press Tab while your cursor is inside. A list showing the folders and files of your current working directory will appear. You can navigate between the options using the Up / Down arrows or you can type the name of the file/folder you want to go. Press Enter or Tab to make your selection. If you have accessed a new folder the process will repeat until you select a file.

While navigating locations to save or read files, it is important to consider the following:

• "" starts navigation at your current working directory ,
• "/" starts navigation at you root directory , and
• "../" starts navigation one level above the working directory.

Snippets are pieces of re-usable boilerplate code. They are very useful to avoid the repetition of writing several lines of code since they are a way to automate the insertion of pre-made pieces of code.

To insert a snippet you have to write it and then select it from a completion list. It will be inserted along with some text placeholders which you can fill in. To move to the next placeholder you have to press Tab .

Let’s use the fun snippet, used to define new functions. First we have to write fun in an R script and select it from an autocompletion list. You will be able to recognize it because it has the {snippet} tag.

Second, the fun snippet will be inserted with three placeholders: one to define the function name , another to define the function variables , and the last one to define the body of the function. Don’t forget to press Tab to move to the next placeholder once you finish filling them!

Here’s a list of some useful snippets:

• fun to declare a new function,
• lib to declare a new library to be imported,
• mat to insert a new matrix,
• for to insert a for loop,
• while to insert a while loop,
• if to insert an if conditional statement,
• el to insert and else conditional statement,
• ei to insert and else if conditional statement,
• apply to insert an apply function, and
• shiny to insert a shiny app template.

Besides, you can customize and create your own snippets! . To do this, you have to access Global Options/Code/Editing and click into Edit Snippets .

You can look for more details on how to create custom snippets at this website .

9 Conclusion

As we have seen here, there are several shortcuts and commands that are incorporated into the RStudio IDE. It will take you some time learning and getting used to them. You will practice some more than others, and that is normal. Every developer has different tasks and priorities. Little by little you will notice how you are incorporating them in your usual workflow, and eventually, you will know more tips and tricks than the ones listed in this site.

In the meanwhile, I hope this is useful for you, and I wish you the best of lucks in your path developing R code!

Just one last thing. RStudio allows you to create and customize keyboard shortcuts in Tools/Modify keyboard shortcuts you can more details about this in this website .

10 References

• Keyboard Shortcuts in the RStudio IDE
• RStudio Shortcuts and Tips (Updated 2022)
• 23 RStudio Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts
• 6 RStudio Keyboard Shortcuts (that will change your life)
• Custom Shortcuts - RStudio User Guide
• R Tips & Tricks

Cite this page: Garibay-Treviño, D. (2023, November 10). R shortcuts that will save your life . Hertie Coding Club. URL

11 Appendix

Source code of this document is available on this Github repository

RStudio Shortcuts and Tips [Updated 2022]

<h2><strong>Work Faster in RStudio - Shortcuts, Tips, &amp; Tricks</strong></h2> <strong>Updated</strong>: February 23, 2022. In this article, we have compiled many of our favorite RStudio shortcuts and tips to help increase your productivity while working with the RStudio IDE. We’ll also provide information about supplemental tools and techniques that are useful for data scientists that work with R. You can expect to learn the following from today's article: <ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#navigate">How to Navigate RStudio</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#shortcuts">How to Use Shortcuts </a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#execute">How to Execute and Format Code</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#history">Console History & The History Pane</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#tabs">Dealing with Tabs</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#code-inserting">Code Inserting Shortcuts</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#code-snippets">How to Use Code Snippets</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#custom-snippets">How to Create Custom Snippets in RStudio</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#rstudio-search">How to Use Search in RStudio</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#multiple-cursors">How to Edit with Multiple Cursors</a></li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="#addins">How to Use R Addins</a></li><li><a href="#python-tips">RStudio and Python - Best Tips and Tricks</a></li><li><a href="#bonus">Bonus Tips: vim settings, .RProfile, .Renviron, and Docker</a></li></ul> <strong>Note</strong>: We present both PC and Mac shortcuts in the GIFs, but we refer only to PC shortcuts in the article. Most Mac shortcuts fall under this dependence: <ul><li>CTRL = ⌘ Command</li><li>Alt = ⌥ Option</li></ul> In some cases, Ctrl will also be the Control key on Mac, which might be confusing at first. We recommend you to look up proper shortcuts on <a href="https://support.rstudio.com/hc/en-us/articles/200711853-Keyboard-Shortcuts" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">RStudio's website</a> or within or within RStudio itself by pressing <strong>⌥ Option + Shift + K (Alt + Shift + K)</strong>. <strong>Note</strong>: At the time of writing this article, Posit PBC was RStudio PBC. We use RStudio and Posit interchangeably in this text (e.g. RStudio Connect == Posit Connect). <hr /> <h2 id="navigate">How to Navigate the RStudio IDE</h2> We guarantee you'll use at least a few RStudio panes regularly. If you want to speed up your workflow, you should learn how to focus between them quickly, without a mouse or a trackpad. Start by pressing <b>Ctrl </b>(in this case also Control on Mac) and a number corresponding to the desired pane. <blockquote><strong>Working with Workbench? Use Appsilon's <a href="https://appsilon.com/top-5-tips-for-rstudio-desktop-workbench/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Top 5 Tips for RStudio Workbench and Desktop</a>.</strong></blockquote> Add <b>Shift </b>to the combination if you want to toggle maximize pane for the one that you are switching to at the same time. The only pane with a different access shortcut is the terminal (<b>Shift+Alt+t</b>). Preset windows: <ul><li>Help: <strong>3</strong></li><li>History: <strong>4</strong></li><li>Plots: <strong>5</strong></li><li>Environment: <strong>8</strong></li></ul> The two you'll mostly use are <i>Source Editor</i> (<b>1</b>) and <i>Console</i> (<b>2</b>).  <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12197" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0222df75d40a9af727f72_1_blog_movingfocus_optimized-1.gif" alt="" width="882" height="488" /> Let’s now discuss how you can improve how you work in those. <h2 id="shortcuts">Tips for How to Use Shortcuts in RStudio</h2> Usually, the first thing you have to do when starting a new R project is to write some code. There are some features that can make writing code both easier and faster. Even basic tricks can have a significant impact once you master them - especially when combined. <h3>Code Completion</h3> A suggestion list will pop up as you type or can be accessed manually by either pressing <b>Tab </b>or <b>Ctrl + Space</b>. You can adjust the settings in <b>Global Options -&gt;  Code -&gt; Completion</b>. To fill in the suggested phrase you have to press either <b>Tab </b>or <b>Enter</b>. Pressing <b>Ctrl + Space</b> with the auto-completion list open will close it. You can navigate through the suggestion list with arrows or just hover over the item before filling it in. <img class="size-full wp-image-12199 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0222e9bd6df84c7f62f02_2_unnamed-1.gif" alt="" width="512" height="284" /> If the list is too long, try writing more letters to narrow it down. It’s good to know that auto-completion in R supports <b>fuzzy matching</b>. This means you don’t really have to type all the letters - you can skip any of them as long as those typed are in order and identify what you are looking for. It is especially useful for long function names that you use often. Mastering this will allow you to type code much faster. Note that for fuzzy matching to work with auto-completion, the suggestion popup must be already active. In case it doesn’t behave as you would expect, try tweaking it in code completion options. <h3>Paths</h3> When you need to type a path, can use file path auto-complete which can be brought up by pressing the auto-completion shortcut (<b>Tab </b>or <b>Ctrl + Space</b>) from a pair of double or single quotes.  By default it starts in your working directory, you can navigate from the root location like in shell console starting with "/", or step-up levels in the directory tree by stacking "../" <img class="size-full wp-image-12201 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0222e40e2bdeffdb128f9_3_file_autocomplete-1.gif" alt="" width="546" height="268" /> <h2 id="execute">How to Execute and Format Code in RStudio</h2> We'll now go over a set of useful RStudio shortcuts and tips that allow you to run the code in R scripts in different ways, reformat the R script, fix indentations, and move code blocks throughout the file. <h3>Shortcuts to run R code</h3> Leverage the following shortcuts to make running your R code easier: <ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Ctrl + Enter</b> - Runs the current line and jumps to the next one, or runs the selected part without jumping further.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Alt + Enter</b> - Allows running code without moving the cursor to the next line if you want to run one line of code multiple times without selecting it.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Ctrl + Alt + R</b>  - Runs the entire script.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Ctrl + Alt + B/E</b> - Run the script from the <b>B</b>eginning to the current line and from the current line to the <b>E</b>nd.</li></ul> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12203" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b022305b956c19cd8ea707_4_blog_code_execution_optimized-1.gif" alt="" width="916" height="578" /> <h3>Reformat R scripts</h3> Use the following shortcuts in RStudio to reformat your code: <ul><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Ctrl + I</b> - Fixes line indentations.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;"><b>Ctrl + Shift + A - </b>Does a complete reformat of the selected part of a code.</li></ul> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12205" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02230d9e8a647cdc5265c_5_blog_reformat_optimized-1.gif" alt="" width="864" height="537" /> If you are not happy with the outcome of those you can always undo the changes. We recommend the <a href="https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/styler/styler.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">styler</a> package if you're looking for a more flexible solution for styling. <h3>Move code blocks through the R script</h3> Moving lines of code up and down is easily achieved with an <b>Alt + Up/Down </b>combination; there is no need to cut and paste. You can move a single active line that way, or even a whole selection. If you need to remove something <b>Ctrl + D</b> will delete the current line/selection in no time. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12207" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02231feb7b3e305d896e8_6_blog_movingcode-1.gif" alt="" width="929" height="319" /> <h2 id="history">Console History &amp; History Pane</h2> You only have to run a piece of code once in the console. Accessing previously executed lines is as easy as navigating with the up arrow and down arrows to cycle between them in chronological order. For more visual feedback, press the <strong>Ctrl + Up</strong> arrow to get a list of the last commands. If you combine it with typing in a part of the searched phrase you can narrow it down and easily find even complicated commands that are buried deep in the history. It will also override autocomplete popup if it's active. <strong>Note</strong>: searching console history doesn’t support fuzzy matching. If you want to clear your console, use <b>Ctrl+L</b>. The command history will be preserved. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12209 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02232a2bcff34651683e1_7_console_history_optimized-1.gif" alt="" width="1385" height="574" /> There is also a <i>History</i> pane(<b>4</b>) that stores executed commands. It allows search and easy selection of the ones you need (pick range with <b>Shift</b> or gather individual positions with <b>Ctrl</b>). Then insert them back into the console (<b>Enter</b>) or source file (<b>Shift</b> + <b>Enter</b>). The latter helps you avoid copying multiple commands from the console to source manually which is troublesome due to line signs ">" that get copied as well and would otherwise have to be removed. <h2 id="tabs">Dealing with Tabs</h2> You'll work with more than one tab more often than not. Switching between them is easy with <b>Ctrl+Tab</b> and <b>Ctrl+Shift+Tab</b> combinations. It allows you to jump to the next and previous tab, respectively. An alternative way to do the same is with <b>Ctrl + F11</b>/<b> F12 </b>if it suits you better. It is also possible to jump to the first or last one by adding <b>Shift</b> to those. The last option is navigating through tabs in the order they were accessed with <b>Ctrl + F9/F10</b>. <h3>Navigate tabs history</h3> <img class="size-full wp-image-12211 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02233d9e8a647cdc5289b_8_tabs-navigate-tab-history-1.gif-and-shift-tab-1.gif" alt="" width="734" height="420" /> <h3>Jumping tabs</h3> <img class="size-full wp-image-12213 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b022356738007ca36721f0_9_tabs_next_previous_first_last-1.gif" alt="" width="734" height="420" /> <h3>Going through tabs</h3> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12215 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02236a20f7e6672b83295_10_jumpingtabs_merged-1.gif" alt="" width="1089" height="618" /> <h3>Closing tabs</h3> You can close a current tab with<b> Ctrl + w</b>. It is a much better choice than using those small "x" buttons on the right side of your tabs. If you get to the point where you have a huge amount of tabs open you can: <i>Close All</i>  |<b> Ctrl + Shift + w</b> (+ <b>Alt</b> to keep the currently open one): <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12217 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02238a2bcff34651689c2_11_closing_tabs-1.gif" alt="" width="1088" height="682" /> Or if you prefer to keep many tabs open, you can search through your open tabs with <b>Ctrl + Shift + </b>. Remember to be exact, as there's no fuzzy matching here. This search can also be activated with the"<b>&gt;&gt;</b>" icon on the tabs bar. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12219 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b02239a597077171c05d00_12_blog_tabs_search-1.gif" alt="" width="1010" height="462" /> The above shortcuts are also accessible from the File dropdown menu - this can come in handy while using the RStudio browser session or simply if you forget them. <h2 id="code-inserting">Code Inserting Shortcuts in RStudio</h2> We'll now go over a couple of interesting shortcuts that automatically insert code to your R scripts. <h3>Operators and sections</h3> <ul><li><b>Alt + (-)</b> - Inserts the assignment operator (<code>&lt;-</code>) with spaces surrounding it.</li><li><b>Ctrl + Shift + M</b> - Inserts the magrittr/pipe operator (<code>%&gt;%</code>) with spaces surrounding it.</li><li><b>Ctrl + Shift + R</b> - Creates a foldable comment section in your code. These are used for code externalization with <code>knitr:read_chunk()</code> function. <a href="https://yihui.name/knitr/demo/externalization/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more</a>.</li><li><b>Alt + L</b> - Collapse active section.</li><li><strong>Alt + O</strong> - Collapse all sections.</li><li><b>Alt + Shift + L</b> - Open active section.</li><li><strong>Alt + Shift + O</strong> - Open all sections</li></ul> <img class="size-full wp-image-12221 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0223b4d04f717e1cb5cda_13_insertcode7-1.gif" alt="" width="936" height="389" /> <h3>Function/Variable extraction</h3> If you have a statement that you want to convert into a function, don’t start from scratch. Select it and press <b>Ctrl + Alt + X</b> - a shortcut for "extract into function". You only need to provide the function name, all necessary inputs will be filled in automatically. There is also a similar shortcut for a variable extraction available with <b>Ctrl + Alt + V. </b>Here's a usage example: <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12223 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0223b31010cba0b0e8821_14_extract_fun_var-1.gif" alt="" width="936" height="422" /> <h3>Renaming in Scope</h3> If you have to change a variable name in multiple places but you are afraid that "find and replace" will mess up your code, fear not. It's possible to rename in scope only. It's achieved by selecting the function or variable we want to change and pressing <b>Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M.</b> It selects all occurrences in scope, you will have to just type a new name. Yes, the shortcut is long, but it can be helpful. We find it to be easier to remember as an extension of the magrittr operator shortcut, so <b>Pipe</b> <b>+</b> <b>Alt</b>. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12225 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0223c92a26c843b64b548_15_rename_in_scope-1.gif" alt="" width="936" height="400" /> <h2 id="code-snippets">Using Code Snippets in RStudio</h2> Tired of writing the same chunks of code over and over and having to remember all of the brackets and required parameters for functions? A good way to avoid it is by using code snippets. This part of our RStudio shortcuts and tips article teaches you everything you need to know. <h3>What are code snippets?</h3> Code snippets are pieces of re-usable boilerplate code. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12227 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0223db90a6b94c7bd7b01_16_shinyapp_snippet-1.gif" alt="" width="634" height="302" /> Snippets are perfect for automatically inserting boilerplate code and avoiding the duplication of simple tasks. If you are looking for a way to speed up writing large parts of code when time is limited (e.g. live coding during a presentation), code snippets can be very useful. <h3>How do I use code snippets?</h3> Snippets can be recognized on your auto-completion list by a {snippet} tag. Write the snippet name, press <b>Shift + Tab</b>, or <b>Tab</b> twice to use it. If your input is needed to complete it - just fill out positions with elements that are important. You can cycle through them with <b>Tab</b>. Some of the snippets which are available by default include: <ul><li style="font-weight: 400;">Declarations - lib, req, fun, ret, mat</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Loops - for, while, switch</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Conditionals - if, el, and ei for conditionals</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Apply family functions - apply, lapply, sapply, etc.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">S4 classes/methods definitions - sc, sm, and sg.</li><li style="font-weight: 400;">Shiny App template - shinyapp</li></ul> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12229 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0223e8587215be0b15d1a_17_snippets4-1.gif" alt="" width="578" height="507" /> And that's just for R! There are also snippets for other languages and it is very easy to customize and define your own! You might have noticed that we used insertOperatorsExample, a simple <b>custom snippet we</b> created on the first GIF demonstrating operator shortcuts. <h2 id="custom-snippets">How to Create Custom Code Snippets in RStudio</h2> For customizing or creating your own snippets use the <b>Edit Snippets</b> button under the <b>Snippets</b> section in <em>Tools -&gt; Global Options -&gt; Code</em><b>.</b> To better understand how to can create snippets, let’s take a look at a matrix and function snippets declarations code as an example. <pre>matrix(${1:data}, nrow = ${2:rows}, ncol = ${3:cols}) </pre> $ sign is used as a special character to denote where the cursor should jump after completing each section of a snippet. Inside the brackets, we have a field index (the order in which the cursor will jump after pressing the tab), 0 is used as the last field, and the text after a colon is used as information on what should be placed in that spot. In order to insert a literal "$" inside a snippet, it must be escaped as \$. Snippets, besides generating code templates, can also run R code. It allows you to create dynamic snippets. By using r expr anywhere in your snippet your R code will be executed when the snippet is expanded, and the result inserted into the document.   As an example, take a look at the timestamp snippet declaration that is available by default. <pre>`r paste("#", date(), "------------------------------\n")` </pre> It runs a paste function to insert a comment with a current date into the code. Its execution resolves into something like this: Let's now create a custom snippet for inserting the pipe operator, but instead of space we will have a new line right after it: <pre>`r paste(" %&gt;%\n")` </pre> <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12231 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0224022f94709a7bfe978_18_pipesnippet-1-1.gif" alt="" width="448" height="186" /> <h2 id="rstudio-search">Using Search in RStudio</h2> In case you don’t have a lot of code yet, there are tools to generate it quickly. The next question is then, how to find things that you are looking for. There are multiple options available for search that you can use. Go to file function <b>Ctrl + (.)</b>.  In there you can quickly search your project for a file or function and jump directly to it. It supports fuzzy matching so it’s easy to find what you need. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12233 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b022419b9335fb8c0b3661_19_searching2-1.gif" alt="" width="918" height="415" /> For more robustness, press <b>Ctrl + Shift + F</b> to call the Find in Files window. It allows you to search through files in a directory that you can specify (even outside the project). You can jump between elements you found by double-clicking them in the Find in Files window which opens next to the console. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12235 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b022436eae3fdad86c7171_20_searching2-1-1.gif" alt="" width="1020" height="512" /> If you want to search only inside an active source tab you can use the find bar with <b>Ctrl + F</b>. It brings several additional options like replacing texts and searching inside a selected part of code only. It can also be useful for multiple cursor editing, which we'll discuss in the section below. We've covered more methods in <a href="https://appsilon.com/r-studio-shortcuts-and-tips/">an additional RStudio article </a>- search within console history and search through your tabs. You can refer to it if you want to get more details on those. <blockquote><strong>With R Shiny you can build beautiful, interactive web apps. Discover the possibilities with <a href="https://demo.appsilon.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Appsilon's Shiny Demos</a>. </strong></blockquote> <h2 id="multiple-cursors">How to Edit With Multiple Cursors in RStudio</h2> In RStudio, you can write and edit in more than one place at a time with multiple cursors. Press <b>Ctrl + Alt + (Up/Down)</b> to create a new cursor in the direction in which you press. If you want to quickly select more lines use <b>Alt</b> and drag with the mouse to create a rectangular selection, or <b>Alt + Shift</b> and click to create a rectangular selection from the current cursor position to the clicked position.  This way of editing may look intimidating at first, and may not be easy to operate initially. However, knowing it is there can save you time when you encounter repetitive multi-line tasks. Try playing around with using multiple cursors and see how it feels. Below you can see an example of how using multiple cursors might look: <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12237 aligncenter" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0224331010cba0b0e88ba_21_multiple-line-editing4-1.gif" alt="" width="1503" height="818" /> Another way is to use the Find/Replace toolbar from the previous paragraph to place multiple cursors. Just search for a phrase and press the <b>All </b>button to select all matching items. It will create a cursor for each matching phrase. If you don’t want to search throughout the entire file you can also limit the area for a searched phrase by selecting a part you are interested in and checking the box with the "In selection" option. <img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-12241" src="https://webflow-prod-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/6525256482c9e9a06c7a9d3c%2F65b0224540e2bdeffdb13956_22_multiple-line-editing4_1-1.gif" alt="" width="996" height="555" /> <h2 id="addins">How to Use R Addins</h2> R Addins are a broad topic that deserves an article on its own. We'll give you a brief introduction to the concept. <h3>What are R addins?</h3> R Addins allow you to execute R functions in an interactive way right from RStudio. Addins are distributed as R packages and can be launched either through the <i>Addins</i> dropdown on the toolbar or through assigned keyboard shortcuts. We distinguish two types of addins: <ul><li><strong>Text macros</strong> - They insert text into the console/source pane or can transform text within the source pane.</li><li><strong>Shiny Gadgets</strong> - Interactive Shiny applications launched inside RStudio which may also perform transformations like text macros, but their possibilities are much more extensive.</li></ul> <h3>Testing out some addins</h3> To quickly try addins you can install some examples from RStudio Github. <pre>devtools::install_github("rstudio/addinexamples", type = "source") </pre> It will give you a text macro for inserting <code>%in%</code> operator, as well as three shiny gadgets for a small sneak, peek of what's possible. As we mentioned, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to an addin the same way as you do it with regular shortcuts.  You can find them easily by filtering "Addin" (all of them have their scope set like that). <h3>Make your own R addins</h3> If you want to check out more of them try the <a href="https://github.com/daattali/addinslist" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">addinslist</a> package by Dean Attali. If you would like to create your own addins, you can find more information on how to do it <a href="https://rstudio.github.io/rstudioaddins/#developing-addins" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>. <h2 id="python-tips">RStudio IDE and Python - Best Tips and Tricks</h2> If you're working on a project that primarily uses R with occasional Python scripts, RStudio should be your IDE of choice. <strong>Go to File -&gt; New File -&gt; Python Script</strong> to create a new Python file. <h3>How to run Python scripts from R</h3> Create a new Python script in RStudio - we've named ours <code>pyscript.py</code>. It prints the sum of two numbers: <pre>if __name__ == '__main__':  x = 5  y = 10  print(f"{x} + {y} = {x + y}") </pre> To run the script from R, you have to import the <code>reticulate</code> package and call the <code>run_py_file()</code> function with the path of the Python script provided as an argument: <pre>library(reticulate) py_run_file("") </pre> <h3>How to call Python in R scripts</h3> It's recommended to use the <code>reticulate</code> package when you're writing the code in both R and Python, but R is the dominant language. In the opposite case, opt for <code>rpy2</code>. The following code snippet shows you how to create a crosstab from the MTCars dataset, convert it into a Pandas DataFrame, and then back to R: <pre>library(reticulate) # Import Pandas module pd &lt;- import(module = "pandas", as = "pd", convert = FALSE) data &lt;- mtcars # From R to Python mtcars_crosstab &lt;- pd$crosstab(  index = data$cyl,  columns = data$gear ) # From Python to R mtcars_crosstab_r &lt;- py_to_r(mtcars_crosstab) </pre> <h3>Use different Python environment</h3> Functions <code>use_virtualenv()</code> and <code>use_condaenv()</code> functions enable you to specify versions of Python in virtual or conda environments. Here's how to use them: <pre>library(reticulate) use_virtualenv("myenv") use_condaenv("myenv") </pre> <h2 id="bonus">Bonus RStudio Tips</h2> <h3>Tip: Use vim settings</h3> Keep your hands in one place! It’s a powerful method for programmers. Examples: <code>dd</code> to delete the whole line, <code>7dd</code> to delete 7 lines, navigate, macros, jumping around whole words instead of letters. <h3>Tip: Use .RProfile</h3> When you develop an R package, it’s useful to load frequently used dev packages in the .RProfile file (placed in the main package directory). For example: <pre>library(devtools) library(testthat) </pre> This way you can use functions like test(), check() without specific package reference or loading the packages on your own. <h3>Tip: Increase security with .Renviron</h3> Do not keep credentials inside your project code. A good practice is to keep them “gitignored” inside the <b>.Renviron file</b>: <pre>db_password=MySecretPassword </pre> And use a variable in the code with Sys.getenv("db_password"). <h3>Tip: Use Docker</h3> If you want to keep a consistent environment for your project development within a team, use a dockerized version of RStudio (<a href="https://hub.docker.com/r/rocker/rstudio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://hub.docker.com/r/rocker/rstudio/</a>). <hr /> <h2>Tell Us About Your RStudio Shortcuts and Tips</h2> There is obviously plenty more to explore on the topic of improving your RStudio workflow, and we hope you are inspired to pursue further exploration and experiment on your own. If you end up with something useful as a result - be it a code snippet, an addition, or just something useful that we did not mention here, please share it as a comment below. We’ll be updating this page regularly with more RStudio shortcuts and tips. If you're interested in making more out of your data, check out how Appsilon builds the world's most <a href="https://appsilon.com/shiny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">advanced R Shiny Dashboards</a>. And be sure to sign-up for updates on Appsilon's <a href="https://appsilon.com/blog/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">R and Shiny educational blog</a>. We provide the R community with the best tools, tips, shortcuts, and <a href="https://appsilon.com/opensource/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">open-source packages</a> to make the most out of your data science needs. <h2>Related RStudio Reads</h2><ul><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/r-studio-shortcuts-and-tips-2/">RStudio Shortcuts and Tips</a></li><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/r-studio-shortcuts-and-tips-part-2/">RStudio Shortcuts and Tips part 2</a></li><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/top-5-tips-for-rstudio-desktop-workbench/">Top Tips for RStudio Workbench and Desktop</a></li></ul> <h2>Further Reading</h2> If you’re looking for more R tutorials, try these out: <ul><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/video-tutorial-create-and-customize-a-simple-shiny-dashboard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Video Tutorial: Create and Customize a Simple Shiny Dashboard</a></li><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/is-it-possible-to-build-a-video-game-in-r-shiny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tutorial: How I Built a Video Game in R Shiny</a></li><li><a href="https://appsilon.com/howto-css-and-shiny/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Tutorial: How to Use CSS to Style Your R Shiny Dashboards</a></li></ul>

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RStudio Shortcuts and Tips

by Paweł Przytuła · May 29, 2020

This article is originally published at https://appsilon.com

Updated: May 2020 by Appsilon Data Science

How to Work Faster in RStudio

In this article we have compiled many of our favorite RStudio keyboard shortcuts, tips, and tricks to help increase your productivity while working with the RStudio IDE. We’ll also provide information about supplemental tools and techniques that are useful for data scientists that work with R.

Here’s what we cover:

How to Navigate RStudio

• How to Use Shortcuts 
• How to Execute and Format Code
• Console History & The History Pane

Dealing with Tabs

• Code Inserting Shortcuts
• How to Use Code Snippets
• How to Create Custom Snippets in RStudio
• How to Use Search in RStudio
• How to Edit with Multiple Cursors

How to Use R Addins

• Bonus Tips: vim settings, .RProfile, .Renviron, and Docker

*Note: Although we present both options in the gifs (PC and Mac shortcuts), we refer to PC shortcuts in the text. If you are a Mac user most of the shortcuts fall under this dependence: Ctrl == ⌘ Command   &&  Alt == ⌥ Option Keep in mind that in some cases Ctrl will also be the control key on Mac which can be confusing. You can always look up the proper shortcuts on RStudio’s website or within RStudio itself with: ⌥ Option+Shift+K ( Alt + Shift + K )

Depending on your work, you will use at least a few RStudio panes on a regular basis. Learning how to change focus between those utilized the most in a quick manner, and without using your pointing device, is a crucial skill for speeding up your workflow. It is achieved by pressing Ctrl (in this case also Control on Mac) and a number corresponding to the desired pane. By adding a Shift to the combination you can also toggle maximize pane for the one that you are switching to at the same time, very handy if you need a broader perspective. The only pane with a different access shortcut is the terminal ( Shift+Alt+t ). Preset windows: Help ( 3 ), History ( 4 ), Plots ( 5 ), or Environment ( 8 ). The two that you will be mostly jumping between frequently are Source Editor ( 1 ) and Console ( 2 ). Let’s now discuss how you can improve how you work in those.

How to Use Shortcuts in RStudio

Usually, the first thing you have to do when you start working is creating some code.  It is crucial to be aware that there are some features that can make it both easier and faster. Even basic tricks can have a great impact once you master using them, especially when combined together.

Code Completion

A suggestion list will pop up as you type or can be accessed manually by either pressing Tab or Ctrl + Space . You can adjust those settings in Global Options ->  Code -> Completion .   To fill in the suggested phrase you have to press either Tab or Enter , pressing Ctrl + Space with auto-completion list open will close it. You can navigate through the suggestion list with arrows or just hover over the item before filling it in.

If the list is too long, try providing more letters to narrow it down. Beside auto-completing functions and variables, you can also insert snippets . We will get back to discuss those later. It’s good to be aware that auto-completion in R, as well as some search fields, supports fuzzy matching which means that you don’t really have to type all the letters, you can skip any of them as long as those typed are in order and identify what you are looking for. It is especially useful for long function names that you use often. Mastering this will allow you to type code much faster. Note that for fuzzy matching to work with auto-completion, suggestion popup must be already active. In case it doesn’t behave as you would expect, try tweaking it in code completion options.

If you need to type a path, you can use file path auto-complete which can be brought up by pressing the auto-completion shortcut ( Tab or Ctrl + Space ) from a pair of double or single quotes. 

By default it starts in your working directory, you can navigate from the root location like in shell console starting with “/”, or step up levels in the directory tree by stacking “../”

How to Execute and Format Code in RStudio

Executing code in your scripts can be very easy with the following shortcuts:

• Ctrl + Enter – Will run current line and jump to the next one, or run selected part without jumping further.
• Alt + Enter – Allows running code without moving the cursor to the next line if you want to run one line of code multiple times without selecting it.
• There is also Ctrl + Alt + R to run whole script and
• Ctrl + Alt + B/E combinations to run it from B eginning to the current line and from the current line to the E nd.

If you want to make your code look better quickly try using the following:

• Ctrl + I to fix lines indentation
• Ctrl + Shift + A for complete reformat of the selected part of a code

If you are not happy with the outcome of those you can always undo the changes. If you look for a more flexible solution for styling check out the styler package.

You may also benefit from remembering these super helpful shortcuts:

Moving lines of code up and down is easily achieved with an Alt + Up/Down combination; there is no need to cut and paste. You can move a single active line that way, or even whole selection. If you need to remove something Ctrl + D will delete current line/selection in no time.

Console History & History Pane

Everything that you passed to the console doesn’t have to be typed again. Accessing previously executed lines is as easy as navigating with the up arrow and down arrows to cycle between them in chronological order. If you want more visual feedback you can press Ctrl + Up arrow to get a list of last commands. If you combine it with typing in a part of the searched phrase you can narrow it down and easily find even complicated commands that are buried deep in the history. It will also override autocomplete popup if its active. Note: searching console history doesn’t support fuzzy matching so you have to be exact . If you want to clear your console use Ctrl+L , the command history will be preserved.

There is also a History pane( 4 ) which stores executed commands. It allows search, easy selection of the ones you need (pick range with shift or gather individual positions with ctrl ). Then easily insert them back into the console ( Enter ) or source file ( Shift + Enter ). The latter helps you avoid copying multiple commands from console to source manually which is troublesome due to line signs “>” that get copied as well and would otherwise have to be removed.

If you find yourself working on more than one tab in a source editor, you might find it helpful to switch between them with Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab combinations. It will allow you to jump to the next and previous tab respectively, there is another way to do this with Ctrl + F11 / F12 if it suits you better. It is also possible to jump to the first or last one by adding Shift to those. Last option that is quite interesting is navigating through tabs in the order they were accessed with Ctrl + F9/F10 .

Navigate tabs history back and forward:

Jumping tabs:, going through tabs back and forth:.

Closing a current tab is easy with Ctrl + w . It is a much better choice than using those small “x” buttons on the right side of your tabs. If you get to the point where you have a huge amount of tabs open you can:

Close All   | Ctrl + Shift + w (+ Alt to keep the currently open one):

Or if you prefer to keep a lot of tabs open, you can search through your open tabs with Ctrl + Shift + . Be exact! No fuzzy matching here. This search can also be activated with “ >> ” icon on tabs bar.

The above shortcuts are also accessible from the File dropdown menu – this can come in handy while using RStudio browser session or simply if you forget them.

Code Inserting Shortcuts in RStudio

Operators and sections.

Let’s start with some shortcuts that are easy and very useful! If you want to speed up typing the most common operators you will definitely love these:

Alt + (-) for inserting assignment operator <-

Ctrl + Shift + M for a magrittr operator (aka pipe)  %>%

The nice thing about those two is the fact that spaces are inserted along with the operator.

Ctrl + Shift + R  is an easy way to create foldable comment sections in your code.

It’s worth it to know about the appliance of those sections for code externalization with knitr:read_chunk() function. If you want to know more about that check the details .

You can open/collapse those comment sections (as well as other kinds of sections e.g. inside curly braces {} or in Rmd) with

Alt + L – collapse

Alt + Shift + L – open

To collapse or open all sections, instead of the active one, just replace L with O on those shortcuts.

Function/Variable Extraction

If you have written a statement that you would like to convert into a function, don’t start from scratch. Select it and try Ctrl + Alt + X – shortcut for “extract into function”. You only need to provide the function name, all necessary inputs will be filled automatically. There is also a similar shortcut for a variable extraction available with Ctrl + Alt + V. Here you have an example of usage.

Renaming in Scope

If you have to change a variable name in multiple places but you are afraid that ‘find and replace’ will mess up your code, you should be aware that it is possible to rename in scope only. It is achieved by selecting the function or variable we want to change and press Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M.

It will select all occurrences in scope, you will have to just type a new name.

Using Code Snippets in RStudio

Are you tired of writing the same chunks of code over and over and having to remember all of the brackets and required parameters for functions? A great way to avoid writing so much, especially a common code, is to use code snippets.

What are code snippets?

Code snippets are pieces of re-usable boilerplate code.

Snippets are perfect for automatically inserting boilerplate code and avoiding the duplication of simple tasks. If you are looking for a way to speed up writing large parts of code when time is limited (e.g. live coding during a presentation), code snippets can be very useful.

How do I use code snippets?

Snippets can be recognized on your auto-completion list by a {snippet} tag.

Write the snippet name, press Shift + Tab , or Tab twice to use it. If your input is needed to complete it – just fill out positions with elements that are important. You can cycle through them with Tab .

Some of the snippets which are available by default include:

• Declarations – lib, req, fun, ret, mat
• Loops – for, while, switch
• Conditionals – if, el, and ei for conditionals
• Apply family functions – apply, lapply, sapply, etc.
• S4 classes/methods definitions – sc, sm, and sg.
• Shiny App template – shinyapp

And that’s just for R! There are also snippets for other languages and it is very easy to customize and define your own!

You might have noticed that I used insertOperatorsExample, a very simple custom snippet I created on the first gif showing operator shortcuts.

How to Create Custom Code Snippets in RStudio

For customizing or creating your own snippets use Edit Snippets button under Snippets section in

Tools -> Global Options ->  Code

To understand better how you can create your snippets let’s take a look at a matrix and function snippets declarations code as an example.

$ is used as a special character to denote where the cursor should jump after completing each section of a snippet. Inside the brackets, we have a field index (order in which the cursor will jump after pressing tab), 0 is used as the last field, and the text after a colon is used as information on what should be placed in that spot. In order to insert a literal “$” inside a snippet, it must be escaped as \$.

Snippets, besides generating code templates, can also run R code. It allows you to create dynamic snippets. By using ` r expr ` anywhere in your snippet your R code will be executed when the snippet is expanded, and the result inserted into the document.  

As an example take a look at the timestamp snippet declaration that is available by default.

It runs a paste function to insert a comment with a current date into code. Its execution resolves into something like this:

Equipped with this knowledge, let’s quickly create a custom snippet for inserting pipe, but instead of a space we will have a new line right after it:

Using Search in RStudio

So, if you don’t have a lot of code yet, you have the tools to quickly generate it.

The next question is then, how to find things that you are looking for quickly.

There are several available options for search that you can use.

Go to file function Ctrl + (.) allows you to quickly search your project for a file or function and jump directly to it. It supports fuzzy matching so it’s easy to find what you need.

If you need more robustness, use Ctrl + Shift + F to call the Find in Files window which allows you to search through files in a directory that you can specify (even outside the project). You can jump between elements you found by double-clicking them in the Find in Files window which opens next to the console.

If you want to search only inside an active source tab you can use the find bar with Ctrl + F which allows several additional options like replacing texts and searching inside a selected part of code only. It can also be useful for multiple cursor editing – see the section below.

We have already covered more methods in part 1 – search within console history and searching through your tabs. You can refer to it if you want to get more details on those.

How to Edit With Multiple Cursors in RStudio

In RStudio, it is possible to write and edit in more than one place at a time. There are a couple of ways to create multiple cursors. You can press Ctrl + Alt + (Up/Down) to create a new cursor in the direction in which you press. If you want to quickly select more lines use Alt and drag with the mouse to create a rectangular selection, or Alt + Shift and click to create a rectangular selection from the current cursor position to the clicked position. 

This way of editing may look intimidating  at first, and may not be easy to operate initially. However, knowing it is there can save you time when you encounter repetitive multi-line tasks. Try playing around with using multiple cursors and see how it feels.

Below you can see an example of how using multiple cursors might look:

Another way is to use the Find/Replace toolbar from the previous paragraph to place multiple cursors. Just search a phrase and press the All button to select all matching items. It will create a cursor for each matching phrase. If you don’t want to search throughout the entire file you can also limit the area for a searched phrase by selecting a part you are interested in and checking the box with the “In selection” option.

R Addins are a broad topic that could fill a blog post on their own. We just want to give you a brief introduction to this concept.

What are R Addins?

R Addins make it possible to execute R functions in an interactive way right from within the RStudio. Addins are distributed as R packages and can be launched either through the Addins dropdown on the toolbar or through assigned keyboard shortcuts.

We can distinguish two types of addins. Those are text macros and Shiny gadgets. Text macros insert text into the console / source pane or can transform text within the source pane.  Shiny gadgets are interactive Shiny applications launched inside RStudio which may also perform transformations like text macros, but their possibilities are much more extensive.

Test Out Some Addins

To quickly try addins you can install some examples from RStudio Github.

devtools::install_github(“rstudio/addinexamples”, type = “source”)

It will give you a text macro for inserting %in% operator as well as three shiny gadgets for a small sneak peek of what’s possible.

As I mentioned, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to an addin the same way as you do it with regular shortcuts.  You can find them easily by filtering “Addin” (all of them have their scope set like that).

Make Your Own R Addins

If you want to check out more of them try the addinslist package by Dean Attali.

If you would you like to create your own addins, you can find more information on how to do it here .

Bonus RStudio Tips 

Tip: use vim settings.

Keep your hands in one place! It’s a powerful method for programmers. Examples: dd to delete the whole line, 7dd to delete 7 lines, navigate, macros, jumping around whole words instead of letters.

Tip: Use .RProfile

When you develop an R package, it’s useful to load frequently used dev packages in the .RProfile file (placed in the main package directory). For example:

This way you can use functions like ` test(), check() ` without specific package reference or loading the packages on your own.

Tip: Increase Security with .Renviron

Do not keep credentials inside your project code. a good practice is to keep them “gitignored” inside the .renviron file :.

And use a variable in the code with `Sys.getenv(“db_password”)`.

Tip: Use Docker

If you want to keep a consistent environment for your project development within a team, use a dockerized version of RStudio ( https://hub.docker.com/r/rocker/rstudio/ ).

Tell Us About Your RStudio Tips

There is obviously plenty more to explore on the topic of improving your RStudio workflow, and we hope you are inspired to pursue further exploration and experiments on your own. If you end up with something useful as a result – be it a code snippet, an addin or just something useful that we did not mention her, why not share it as a comment below? We’ll be updating this page regularly with more RStudio tips.

Further Reading

If you’re looking for more R tutorials, try these out:

• Video Tutorial: Create and Customize a Simple Shiny Dashboard
• Tutorial: How I Built a Video Game in R Shiny
• Tutorial: How to Use CSS to Style Your R Shiny Dashboards

Article RStudio Shortcuts and Tips comes from Appsilon Data Science | End­ to­ End Data Science Solutions .

Thanks for visiting r-craft.org This article is originally published at https://appsilon.com Please visit source website for post related comments.

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6 Life-Altering RStudio Keyboard Shortcuts

Written by Matt Dancho on January 5, 2021

Written by Matt Dancho

This article is part of a R-Tips Weekly, a weekly video tutorial that shows you step-by-step how to do common R coding tasks.

The RStudio IDE is amazing. You can enhance your R productivity even more with these simple keyboard shortcuts.

Here are the links to get set up. 👇

Get the Code

• YouTube Tutorial

6 Keyboard Shortcuts (that will change your life)

Let’s speed up common activities with these 6 super-useful keyboard shortcuts.

1: Commenting & Uncommenting Code [Ctrl + Shift + C]

I use this all the time to turn text into commented text. Works with multiple lines too.

Go from this...

2: Add the Pipe %>% [Ctrl + Shift + M]

My students absolutely love this. You can easily add the Pipe %>% in any spot you’d like! Perfect for data wrangling with dplyr.

3: Insert The Assignment Operator [Alt + -]

My code has tons of assignment operators. This is a simple, time-saver that will make you more productive in building functions and assigning variables values.

4: Cursor-Select Multiple Lines [Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down/Click]

This is a recent addition to my portfolio of must-know keyboard shortcuts. Using Multi-Cursor Select has now become a go-to for editing R code .

Multi-Line Select

...And edit!

5: Find in Files [Ctrl + Shift + F]

THIS IS A SUPER POWER. Seriously. Learn to use this one right now!

Find in Files

Found every instance of ggplot by file!

6: Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet [Alt + Shift + K]

More shortcuts!!! Run this to get a Keyboard Shortcut Cheat Sheet.

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• About the author
• Researchgate
• Introduction
• 1.1. What is R?
• 1.2. A Collection of Useful Resources
• 1.3. Required software
• 1.4. Package Repositories
• 1.5. Learning R
• 1.6. Asking Questions
• 2.1. Windows
• 2.4. Installing Packages
• 2.5. Installing Bioconductor
• 2.6. Updating Packages
• 2.7. R Development Version
• 2.8. Troubleshooting
• 3.1. Download & Installation
• 3.2. Navigating RStudio
• 3.3. Working Directories, .RData & .Rhistory
• 3.4. Code Completion: Tab becomes your best friend
• 3.5. Retrieving Previous Commands
• 3.6. RStudio Library & Package Management
• 3.7. Getting Help
• 3.8. RStudio Keyboard Shortcuts
• 4. A brief introduction to R language
• 5. Data Management in R
• 6. Basic Statistical methods
• 7. Basic Plotting/Graphing in R
• 8.1. An Introduction to Bioconductor
• 9. Advanced Issues
• 10. Afterword
• 11. Cheat Sheet
• Published using GitBook

An Introduction to R and RStudio

Rstudio keyboard shortcuts.

Below I have included a list of useful RStudio keyboard shortcuts for Windows/Linux (for a detailed list of keyboard shortcuts and Mac keys visit http://rstudio.org/docs/using/keyboard_shortcuts ).

Console Clear console Ctrl+L Popup command history Ctrl+Up Yank line up to cursor Ctrl+U Yank line after cursor Ctrl+K Insert currently yanked text Ctrl+Y

Source New Document Ctrl+Shift+N Close active document Ctrl+Shift+L Run current line/selection Ctrl+Enter Run current document Ctrl+Shift+Enter Switch to tab Ctrl+Alt+Down Previous tab Ctrl+Alt+Left Next tab Ctrl+Alt+Right First tab Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Left Last tab Ctrl+Shift+Alt+Right Extract function from selection Ctrl+Alt+F Comment/uncomment Ctrl+Shift+C Delete Line Ctrl+D Move Lines Up/Down Alt+Up/Down Copy Lines Up/Down Ctrl+Alt+Up/Down Select Page Up/Down Shift+PageUp/PageDown Select to Start/End Shift+Alt+Up/Down

Completions (Console and Source) Attempt completion Tab or Ctrl+Space Navigate candidates Up/Down Accept selected candidate Enter, Tab, or Right Show help for selected candidate F1 Dismiss completion popup Esc

Views Move cursor to source Ctrl+1 Move cursor to console Ctrl+2 Show workspace Ctrl+3 Show data Ctrl+4 Show history Ctrl+5 Show files Ctrl+6 Show plots Ctrl+7 Show packages Ctrl+8 Show help Ctrl+9

Plots Previous plot Ctrl+PageUp Next plot Ctrl+PageDown *Note: newer releases of RStudio have resulted in a few of these shortcuts being depreciated.

Tips and tricks

• The command to clear all variables from the environment (workspace)
• In RStudio the keyboard shortcut for the pipe operator %>% is Ctrl + Shift + M (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + M (Mac).
• In RStudio the keyboard shortcut for the assignment operator <- is Alt + - (Windows) or Option + - (Mac).
• In RStudio use Ctrl + L to clear all the code from your console.
• If you’re typing in a script in the source editor pane but you want to move the curser to the console use Ctrl + 2 . You can also use Ctrl + 1 to move the curser back to the source editor.
• To run a line of code from the source editor use Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or Cmd + Enter (Mac).
• You can “tear” code panes or data view panes out of the RStudio window which can be particularly useful on big screens or when using multiple monitors.
• You can scroll through your command history by clicking Ctrl + ↑ (Windows) or Cmd + ↑ (Mac). If you know what the line of code you’re looking for started with, type the first few characters and then press Ctrl/Cmd + ↑ and it will only search a matching subset of the history.
• You can rename all instances of a variable name by highlighting one instance of the variable name and then using Code > Rename in Scope . This is better than using Edit > Replace and Find because it only looks for whole word matches.

This is an R Markdown document. Markdown is a simple formatting syntax for authoring HTML, PDF, and MS Word documents. For more details on using R Markdown see http://rmarkdown.rstudio.com . A useful guide to help you get started can be found here .

Rmarkdown is a great way to perform reproducible research and generate reports.

Super brief overview

• Create a new Rmd file. In RStudio File -> New File -> R Markdown...
• When you have a Rmd file open in RStudio there’s a Knit HTML button up the top of the source window. You click that button to turn the markdown into HTML (or PDF or Word).
• Text and R code can be combined in the Rmd file. Code chunks begin with three back ticks followed by r , the (optional) chunk name and any arugments: ```{r} or ```{r chunk_name, tidy=TRUE} . The chunk also ends with three back ticks ``` . Examples can be seen in the template that opens along as a new file in RStudio.

Including Plots

You can embed static plots in an rmarkdown document without doing anything special. Important chunk options are fig.width and fig.height to set the figure width and height for example ```{r, fig.width=4, fig.height=6} .

Chunk options

Some useful chunk options:

• tidy = TRUE makes the R code more readable (proper spacing)
• results = 'hide' hide the results of the chunk output (i.e. don’t show them)
• results = 'hold' hold the results of the chunk output until all commands in the chunk have been run
• warning = FALSE don’t show any warning messages (e.g. when ggplot2 drops observations)
• message = FALSE don’t show any messages (e.g. when packages load)
• {r chunkname} you can name your chunks with text immediately after the r . This can be particularly useful when errors pop up as it makes it easier to identify which chunk the error occurs in.

R news and tutorials contributed by hundreds of R bloggers

23 rstudio tips, tricks, and shortcuts.

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Casey Bates in R bloggers | 0 Comments

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RStudio is an open-source tool for programming in R. If you are interested in programming with R, it’s worth knowing about the capabilities of RStudio. It is a flexible tool that helps you create readable analyses, and keeps your code, images, comments, and plots together in one place.

In this blog post, we’ll cover some of the best features from the free version of RStudio: RStudio Desktop . We’ve collected some of the top RStudio tips, tricks, and shortcuts to quickly turn you into an RStudio power user!

1. Navigate Quickly Between Window Panes

RStudio window panes keep important information about your project accessible. Knowing how to toggle between panes without touching your mouse to move your cursor will save time and improve your workflow. Use these shortcuts to instantly move between panes:

• Control/Ctrl + 1 : Source editor (your script)
• Control/Ctrl + 2 : Console
• Control/Ctrl + 3 : Help
• Control/Ctrl + 4 : History
• Control/Ctrl + 5 : Files
• Control/Ctrl + 6 : Plots
• Control/Ctrl + 7 : Packages
• Control/Ctrl + 8 : Environment
• Control/Ctrl + 9 : Viewer

If you prefer to only have one pane in view at a time, add Shift to any of the above commands to maximize the pane. For example, enter Control/Ctrl + Shift + 1 to maximize the R script, notebook, or R Markdown file you are working in.

(Side note: The + we show in the shortcuts means “and”, so there’s no need to actually type the + key.)

But what if you want to return to the standard four-pane view? No problem! Enter Control/Ctrl + Shift + 0 :

2. Keyboard Shortcuts

Knowing RStudio keyboard shortcuts will save lots of time when programming. RStudio provides dozens of useful shortcuts that you can access through the menu at the top: Tools > Keyboard Shortcuts Help .

Another way to access RStudio keyboard shortcuts is with a shortcut! To access shortcuts, type Option + Shift + K on a Mac, or Alt + Shift + K on Linux and Windows.

Here are some of our favorite RStudio shortcuts:

• Insert the <- assignment operator with Option + - on a Mac, or Alt + - on Linux and Windows.
• Insert the pipe operator %>% with Command + Shift + M on a Mac, or Ctrl + Shift + M on Linux and Windows.
• Run the current line of code with Command + Enter on a Mac or Control + Enter on Linux and Windows.
• Run all lines of code with Command + A + Enter on a Mac or Control + A + Enter on Linux and Windows.
• Restart the current R session and start fresh with Command + Shift + F10 on a Mac or Control + Shift + F10 on Linux and Windows.
• Comment or uncomment lines with Command + Shift + C on a Mac or Control + Shift + C on Linux and Windows.
• Trying to remember a command you submitted earlier? Search the command history from the Console with Command + [up arrow] on a Mac or Control + [up arrow] on Linux and Windows.

There are many more useful shortcuts available, but by mastering the shortcuts above, you’ll be on your way to becoming an RStudio power user!

Another great resource for RStudio shortcuts is the official RStudio cheat sheet available here .

3. Save Time with Code Completion

After you begin typing, a suggestion window will pop up with matching names of functions, objects, and snippets. You can toggle through the list using the up or down arrows and hit return/Enter to make your selection.

Alternatively, you can utilize a very cool feature called fuzzy matching, which allows you to narrow your search options by entering letters unique to the item you are matching. You do not need to enter all of the letters as long as your entry matches the order of the string.

Let’s take a look at how these code completion methods work. First, we’ll select the installed.packages() function by typing part of the function name, and then use arrows to make the selection. Next, we’ll use fuzzy matching to only enter instd to narrow our selection further:

4. Quickly Find Files and Functions

In RStudio there’s no need to fumble through your folder structure to find files, and there’s no need to dig for functions! Enter the shortcut control/ctrl + . to open the Go to File/Function window and then use your fuzzy matching skills to narrow your selection:

5. Customize the Appearance

RStudio offers a wealth of options to customize the appearance to your liking. Under the RStudio tab, navigate to Preferences > Appearance to explore the many options available. A nice feature of RStudio is that you can quickly click through the Editor theme window to preview each theme.

6. Easy Links to Documentation

Under the Help tab in the lower-right window, you’ll find handy links to the online documentation for R functions and R packages. For example, if we search for information about the install.packages() function using the search bar, the official documentation is returned:

We can also access documentation in the Help tab by prepending a package or function with ? , (e.g. ?install.packages ) and running the command into the Console. With either approach, RStudio auto-fills matching function names as you type!

7. Preview and Save Your Plots

Plots generated during an RStudio session are displayed under the Plots tab in the lower-right window. In this window, you can inspect your plots by zooming in and out. If you want to save your plot, you can save the plot as a PDF or image file.

8. Import and Preview Datasets

RStudio makes it easy to import and preview datasets, no coding required! Under the Environment tab in the upper-right window, there is feature that enables you to import a dataset. This feature supports a variety of formats:

You can even preview the dataset before it is loaded:

And after the dataset is loaded into RStudio, you can view it with the View() command, or by clicking the name of the dataset:

9. Review the Command History with One Click

Earlier, we learned the shortcut to the command history from the console. RStudio also enables you to view your entire command history in the upper-right window by clicking the History tab:

10. Save Your “Real” Work. Delete the Rest.

Practice good housekeeping to avoid unforeseen challenges down the road. If you create an R object worth saving, capture the R code that generated the object in an R script file. Save the R script, but don’t save the environment, or workspace, where the object was created. To prevent RStudio from saving your workspace, open Preferences > General and un-select the option to restore .RData into workspace at startup. Be sure to specify that you never want to save your workspace, like this:

Now, each time you open RStudio, you will begin with an empty session. None of the code generated from your previous sessions will be remembered. The R script and datasets can be used to recreate the environment from scratch.

11. Organize Your Work with Projects

RStudio offers a powerful feature to keep you organized; Projects. It is important to stay organized when you work on multiple analyses. Projects from RStudio allow you to keep all of your important work in one place, including code scripts, plots, figures, results, and datasets.

Create a new project by navigating to the File tab in RStudio and select New Project... . You have the option to create your new project in a new directory, or an existing directory. RStudio offers dedicated project types if you are working on an R package, or a Shiny Web Application.

RStudio Projects are useful when you need to share your work with colleagues. You can send your project file (ending in .Rproj ) along with all supporting files, which will make it easier for your colleagues to recreate the working environment and reproduce the results.

But if you want seamless collaboration, you may need to introduce package management into your workflow. Fortunately, RStudio offers a useful tool for package management, renv , that is now compatible with RStudio projects. We’ll cover renv next.

12. Manage Package Versions with renv

We love R at Dataquest, but managing package versions can be a challenge! Fortunately, R package management is easier than ever, thanks to the renv (“reproducible environment”) package from RStudio. And now, RStudio includes built-in support for renv .

We won’t get into the details of how to use renv with RStudio projects in this blog because RStudio provides you with the info you need in the link we provided and in the vignette . But using renv with RStudio can make R package management much easier, so we wanted to let you know!

The renv package is replacing the Packrat package that RStudio used to maintain.

To use the renv package with your RStudio projects upgrade to the latest version of RStudio and then install the renv package with library("renv") . From there you will have the option to use renv with all new projects:

If you would like to use renv with an existing project navigate to Tools > Project Options > Environments and check the box to enable renv :

13. Manage Version Control with GitHub in RStudio

In addition to managing packages in RStudio, you can also use GitHub with RStudio to maintain version control of your projects and R scripts. Check out this article from GitHub and this article from RStudio for all the information you need to integrate Git into your RStudio workflow.

14. Code Snippets

RStudio offers a very useful feature for inserting common chunks of code, called code snippets. One of our favorites is the lib snippet that saves you a bit of typing when calling the library() function to load an R package:

After you hit return to select the snippet, the library() function is loaded and the cursor is positioned so you can immediately begin typing the name of the package you want to load:

Our other favorite is the fun snippet that provides a basic template for writing a custom function. And you can even add snippets of your own! To learn more, check out this article on code snippets from RStudio.

15. Dig Into the Source Code of a Function

If you’d like to investigate the source code of a function, move your cursor to the function of interest and enter F2 (on a Mac you may need to enter fn + F2 ). This feature even works for functions loaded from any R packages you use.

16. Function Extraction

If you’ve written a chunk of code that you want to turn into a function, highlight the code chunk and enter control + option X on a Mac, Ctrl + Alt + X on Linux/Windows. A pop-up will appear that will ask you to select a function name.

After the function name is selected, the inputs and code structure needed to turn your code into a function will be added automatically.

If you have a variable that you would like to extract, highlight the variable and enter control + option V on a Mac, Ctrl + Alt + V on Linux/Windows.

17. Rename in Scope

At some point, you may need to change the name of a function or a variable used in one of your functions. But using find and replace to do this can be nerve-wracking! Fortunately, RStudio makes it possible to rename in scope. This means your changes will be limited to the variable or function of interest. This will prevent you from accidentally replacing a variable of the same name elsewhere in your code script. To use this feature select the function or variable you want to change and enter control + shift + option + M on a Mac, or Ctrl + Shift + Alt + M on Linux/Windows.

18. Multicursor Support

RStudio supports multiple cursors. Simply click and drag your mouse while holding down option on a Mac, or Alt on Windows/Linux.

19. Use Python with RStudio and reticulate

RStudio supports coding in python. The process to get python up and running within RStudio involves these general steps:

• Install a base version of Python
• Install pip and virtualenv
• Create a Python environment in your RStudio project
• Activate your Python environment
• Install desired Python packages in your environment
• Install and configure the R reticulate package to use Python

This article provides the code you’ll need for the steps above. We tried it out and were able to run python in RStudio in only a few minutes:

For full details, check out this RStudio tutorial .

20. Query SQL Using the DBI Package

There are many ways to run SQL queries in RStudio. Here are three of the most popular methods, beginning with the DBI package from R.

You’ll start by generating an in-memory SQL database to use in all your SQL query examples. You’ll generate a SQL database of the well-known “mtcars” dataset. Here’s the code:

21. Query SQL in R Markdown or Using an R Notebook

You can achieve the same result in R Notebook or R Markdown by creating a {sql} code chunk. Using the connection and database from the first example, run this code:

Specify output.var = "mt_cars_df" to save the results of your query to a dataframe. This dataframe is a standard R dataframe that is identical to the one you generated in the previous example. You can use this dataframe in R code chunks to perform analysis or to generate a ggplot, for example:

22. Query SQL with dbplyr

Finally, you’ll use the dbplyr package to write standard dplyr commands that get converted to SQL! Once again, using the connection and database from the first example, you can write a standard filter() call to query the cars with four cylinders, this returns a list object:

If you want to see the SQL code that this command was converted to, you can use the show_query() function from dbplyr :

There you have it! Three different approaches to querying a SQL database with similar results. The only difference between the examples is that the dbplyr method returns a tibble, whereas the first two methods return a standard R dataframe.

To learn more about querying SQL databases with RStudio, check out this article .

23. Take it to the Cloud!

RStudio now offers a cloud-based version of RStudio Desktop called, you guessed it… RStudio Cloud . RStudio Cloud allows you to code in RStudio without installing software, you only need a web browser.

Work in RStudio Cloud is organized into projects similar to the desktop version, but RStudio Cloud enables you to specify the version of R you wish to use for each project.

RStudio Cloud also makes it easy and secure to share projects with colleagues, and ensures that the working environment is fully reproducible every time the project is accessed.

As you can see, the layout of RStudio Cloud is very similar to RStudio Desktop:

Bonus: Cheatsheets

RStudio has published numerous cheatsheets for working with R, including a detailed cheatsheet on using RStudio! Select cheatsheets can be accessed from within RStudio by selecting Help > Cheatsheets .

Additional Resources

RStudio has published numerous in-depth how to articles about using RStudio. Find them here .

Casey is passionate about working with data, and is the R Team Lead at Dataquest. In his free time he enjoys outdoor adventures with his wife and kids.

The post 23 RStudio Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts appeared first on Dataquest .

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R Markdown Cookbook

17.1 use rstudio keyboard shortcuts.

The R Markdown format can be used with any editor of your choice, as long as R, the rmarkdown package, and Pandoc are installed. However, RStudio is deeply integrated with R Markdown, so you can work with R Markdown smoothly.

Like any IDE (Integrated Development Environment), RStudio has keyboard shortcuts. A full list can be found under the menu Tools -> Keyboard Shortcuts Help . Some of the most useful shortcuts related to R Markdown are summarized in Table 17.1 .

Additionally, you can press F7 to spell-check your document. You can also restart the R session by Ctrl + Alt + F10 (or Command + Option + F10 on macOS). Restarting regularly is helpful for reproducibility, because results are more likely to be reproducible if they are computed from a new R session. This can also be done through the drop-down menu Restart R and Run All Chunks behind the Run button on the toolbar.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Some shortcuts may differ if non-default keybindings are selected (e.g., Emacs, Vim, or Sublime Text).

Command Palette

A command palette is a software affordance that gives instant, searchable access to all of a program’s commands. Command palettes have become a fixture of modern IDEs, and with good reason. They improve:

Keyboard accessibility ; even commands that do not have keyboard shortcuts are easily invoked from the palette.

Speed ; it is often much faster to invoke a command from the palette with a few quick keystrokes than to reach for the mouse or drill into a menu.

Discoverability ; since the palette lists all the commands, it can be browsed to find a command for a task by name without trying to figure out which menu or toolbar might contain it.

All shortcuts can be accessed via the Command Palette:

It’s also available on the Tools menu ( Tools -> Show Command Palette ).

Accessibility

Editing (console and source), completions (console and source), main menu (server).

• How to Contribute
• Request Shortcuts

134 Shortcuts for RStudio

Jump to: Console , Source , Completions (Console and Source) , Views , Build , Debug , Plots , Git / SVN , Session , Editing (Console and Source)

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RStudio Shortcuts

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