edit                  package:utils                  R Documentation

Invoke a Text Editor

Description:

     Invoke a text editor on an R object.

Usage:

     ## Default S3 method:
     edit(name = NULL, file = "", title = NULL,
          editor = getOption("editor"), ...)

     vi(name = NULL, file = "")
     emacs(name = NULL, file = "")
     pico(name = NULL, file = "")
     xemacs(name = NULL, file = "")
     xedit(name = NULL, file = "")

Arguments:

    name: a named object that you want to edit. If name is missing then
          the file specified by 'file' is opened for editing.

    file: a string naming the file to write the edited version to.

   title: a display name for the object being edited.

  editor: a string naming the text editor you want to use.  On Unix the
          default is set from the environment variables 'EDITOR' or
          'VISUAL' if either is set, otherwise 'vi' is used.  On
          Windows it defaults to 'notepad'.

     ...: further arguments to be passed to or from methods.

Details:

     'edit' invokes the text editor specified by 'editor' with the
     object 'name' to be edited.  It is a generic function, currently
     with a default method and one for data frames and matrices.

     'data.entry' can be used to edit data, and is used by 'edit' to
     edit matrices and data frames on systems for which 'data.entry' is
     available.

     It is important to realize that 'edit' does not change the object
     called 'name'. Instead, a copy of name is made and it is that copy
     which is changed.  Should you want the changes to apply to the
     object 'name' you must assign the result of 'edit' to 'name'. 
     (Try 'fix' if you want to make permanent changes to an object.)

     In the form 'edit(name)', 'edit' deparses 'name' into a temporary
     file and invokes the editor 'editor' on this file. Quitting from
     the editor causes 'file' to be parsed and that value returned.
     Should an error occur in parsing, possibly due to incorrect
     syntax, no value is returned. Calling 'edit()', with no arguments,
     will result in the temporary file being reopened for further
     editing.

     Note that deparsing is not perfect, and the object recreated after
     editing can differ in subtle ways from that deparsed: see 'dput'
     and '.deparseOpts'. (The deparse options used are the same as the
     defaults for 'dump'.)  Editing a function will preserve its
     environment.  See 'edit.data.frame' for further changes that can
     occur when editing a data frame or matrix.

     Currently only the internal editor in Windows makes use of the 
     'title' option; it displays the given name in the window  header.

Note:

     The functions 'vi', 'emacs', 'pico', 'xemacs', 'xedit' rely on the
     corresponding editor being available and being on the path. This
     is system-dependent.

See Also:

     'edit.data.frame', 'data.entry', 'fix'.

Examples:

     ## Not run: 
     # use xedit on the function mean and assign the changes
     mean <- edit(mean, editor = "xedit")

     # use vi on mean and write the result to file mean.out
     vi(mean, file = "mean.out")
     ## End(Not run)

