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help in a separate window under linux

3 messages · Jonathan Baron, Peter Dalgaard, root

Jonathan Baron
# 
1. help.start() puts them in a browser.

2. You can make a bookmark or button on your browser for the R
documents in html on your disk, usually in /usr/lib/R/doc/html.

3. You can have R itself running twice in different windows, once
just for help.  This is probably the most straightforward answer.
(In Gnome, you can put it in a different virtual desktop, and
switch back and forth with alt-shift-arrow - which is exceedingly
easy on a Kinesis keyboard.  I do this because my monitor is only
17 inches, which is about right for one window.)

4. You can use ESS, which uses the bottom half of the screen for
help.  I usually find that I want the whole screen, though, so I
end up closing the help window.

Perhaps there are other answers.  Jon Baron
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Peter Dalgaard
# 
baron at cattell.psych.upenn.edu (Jonathan Baron) writes:
5. library(tcltk); options(pager=tkpager)

6. options(pager="./mypager") with mypager
#!/bin/sh
cat > /tmp/foo
xterm -e less /tmp/foo &

(getting a unique tempfile name and removing it when you're through
reading is - um - an exercise for the reader)

7. options(pager=function(file, header, title, delete.file)
     system(paste("xterm", "-e less", file, "&")))

(getting the title right is going to be tricky:  it is generally
something like "R Help on `ls'" and the quotes will confuse the shell) 

The latter two obviously only work when less is installed...
root
# 
Many thanks to Jonathan & Peter.

Suggestion 5
is perfect for me.

Stuart
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