RStudio Shortcuts and Settings

RStudio is the premier way to write R code. It is very user-friendly as it’s super easy to set up. But it also has a lot of pretty advanced features. In today’s blog post I’ll give you a list of my favorite RStudio tricks and shortcuts. If you want to see detailed explanations, you can check out my video here:

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RStudio Theme Setting

• Use a dark theme for better visibility
• Enable rainbow parentheses and rainbow indentations to improve code legibility
• Increase the size for better readability

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RStudio Settings

• Set up RStudio with the file on the left and the console on the right (as the console is more important than the environment tab for most use cases)
• Do not save anything into your environment when closing RStudio (Always start with a clean slate to avoid mistakes caused by leftover variables from previous sessions)

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Coding Basics

• Use Ctrl + Shift + M to create a pipe (|>) without typing special characters
• Use Ctrl + Enter to execute separate lines
• Use Ctrl + Shift + Enter to execute an entire file
• Select a specific part of the code and use Ctrl + Enter to execute only the selected portion (useful for debugging pipe chains step by step)
• Open function documentation with F1
• Move lines of code with Alt + arrows
• Indent with Tab and unindent with Shift + Tab
• Multiple cursors with Alt + click
• Use Ctrl + 1 and Ctrl + 2 to switch between the console and the current script window (eliminates the need to use the mouse for navigation)

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File and Text Search

• Use Ctrl + . to search for files AND functions
• Use Ctrl + F to search for specific text within the currently open file
• Use Ctrl + Shift + F to search for text within all files in the current project

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Command Palette and more shortcuts

• Use Ctrl + Shift + P to execute commands
• Helpful for using shortcuts that you might have forgotten (like expanding all folds or going to a file)
  • Run all code chunks (Ctrl + Alt + R)
  • Render current document (Ctrl + Shift + K)
  • Restarting R Session (Ctrl + Shift + F10)
  • Styling code with the styler package
  • Running your Golem apps,

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Conclusion

Feel free to share your favorite shortcuts, settings, or any other tips I might have missed in the comments below. Have a great day and see you next time. And if you found this helpful, here are some other ways I can help you:

• 3 Minute Wednesdays: A weekly newsletter with bite-sized tips and tricks for R users
• Insightful Data Visualizations for “Uncreative” R Users: A course that teaches you how to leverage {ggplot2} to make charts that communicate effectively without being a design expert.