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How to set default template for new ".R" files in rstudio

Background:
I like 'r'. I use Rstudio for it - it is a nice IDE. I use the revolution Analytics version of 'r', "revolution R Open".

I find that I type the same stuff in the annotation and structured programming regularly, and I want to save myself the re-typing.

Question:
How do I change the default file template so that the one I want, with some text already populated, comes up when I create a new blank R-script in Rstudio.

Clarifications:

  • I am not looking for this to be a manual process where I open one file, renaming it to a proper directory, and then work on it. I am looking to change the default so that this happens automatically.

Previous approach:

  • google
  • rstudio search (example)
  • search on stack-overflow
  • poking around rstudio menus/preferences

Thanks.

Solution

  • It was made possible to define user and system-wide templates for several file types with rstudio v1.3

    A few gotchas:

    1. it is necessary to create a 'templates' folder inside the .config directory
    2. specific filetypes must be named according to this scheme

    so, in this case, create a file called ~/.config/rstudio/templates/default.R or /etc/rstudio/templates/default.R for a user or system-wide .R file template, respectively.

    I think this a 'less manual' solution than the accepted answer