[R] two questions - function help and 32vs64 bit sessions

[Duncan Murdoch]

On 14/07/2014, 11:42 AM, Fowler, Mark wrote:
> Hello,
> 
>  
> 
> Two unrelated questions, and neither urgent.
> 
>  
> 
> Windows 7, R 3.0.1. Using R Console, no fancy interface.
> 
>  
> 
> The function help ultimately becomes lost to a session kept running for
> extended periods (days). I.e. with a new session if you invoke the Help
> menu 'R functions (txt)...' it activates the html help and goes to the
> named function page. This will work fine for at least a day, but
> typically the next day invoking the help menu in this fashion will fail,
> as R looks for a temporary address it creates on your computer. This
> gets lost, possibly due to network administration activity. So then I
> save and start another session with same Rdata. Trivial enough but
> irritating. Anybody know how to restore the 'link' without ending and
> restarting the session?

I never have sessions that last that long, so I haven't tried this, but
I'd expect you could restart the help system in this way:

tools::startDynamicHelp(FALSE) # shut it down
tools::startDynamicHelp(TRUE)  # start it up

Duncan Murdoch

> 
>  
> 
> I have a mix of 32-bit and 64-bit requirements, with 64 the default. I
> became used to starting R sessions directly from the appropriate Rdata
> workspaces. With the latest version I need to start from the generic
> icon and then load the workspace if I want 32-bit. Anybody know a way to
> make the Rdata files keep track of which bit version they work with, or
> some trick that accomplishes the same objective? The 32-bit requirement
> is usually just RODBC, and the need for it is scattered over lots of
> workspaces. Again, trivial but a nuisance. A more pragmatic motive is to
> not oblige users of applications to think about it. Any way to make a
> session switch 'bits' with a source file?
> 
>  
> 
> Mark Fowler 
> Population Ecology Division 
> Bedford Inst of Oceanography 
> Dept Fisheries & Oceans 
> Dartmouth NS Canada 
> B2Y 4A2 
> Tel. (902) 426-3529 
> Fax (902) 426-9710 
> Email Mark.Fowler at dfo-mpo.gc.ca <mailto:Mark.Fowler at dfo-mpo.gc.ca>  
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
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> 
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