Search code examples
rlistfactors

missing factors when `unlist()` or `flatten()` a list

When unlisting unlist() or flattening flatten() a list with a factor variable, factors values are lost in the process. Additionally, when unlist() everything is converted into "character". Which is the correct way to proceed? Below is my desired output. Thanks.

L <- list(x = structure(1L, .Label = c("Jujutsu", "Kaisen"), class = "factor"), 
          y = 2020,
          z = "Shinjuku")

unlist()

unlist(L)
# x          y          z 
# "1"     "2020" "Shinjuku"

flatten()

flatten(L)
# $x
# [1] 1
# 
# $y
# [1] 2020
# 
# $z
# [1] "Shinjuku"

Desired output.

# $x
# [1] "Jujutsu" 
# 
# $y
# [1] 2020
# 
# $z
# [1] "Shinjuku"
Solution

  • One option could be:

    map(.x = L, ~ if(is.factor(.x)) as.character(.x) else .x)

$x
[1] "Jujutsu"

$y
[1] 2020

$z
[1] "Shinjuku"