R devel - Sep 2015 - Default location where packages are stored under Windows

With a default installation of R on Windows platforms, packages are stored under
Program Files/R/R-3.X.X/library. This often causes permission problems, as this
directory is always read only by default, requiring the user to either change
permissions for that directory or to change the directory where packages are
stored later on option wise through modification of .libPaths in .Rprofile. For
most users I imagine this is slightly annoying, having to do this over and over.
I was just wondering if the default directory to store packages on Windows
platforms could therefore not better be made the personal library folder,
Users/Username/Documents/R/win-library/3.XX/, or perhaps even better, Users/All
Users/Documents/R/win-library/3.XX/, so that downloaded packages are available
for all users ?



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On Sat, Sep 5, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Tom Wenseleers
<Tom.Wenseleers at bio.kuleuven.be> wrote:
> I was just wondering if the default directory to store packages on Windows
platforms could therefore not better be made the personal library folder,
Users/Username/Documents/R/win-library/3.XX/

I think this is already the case? The first time you try to install a
package as non-admin, you will be prompted with a message that the
global library is not writable and if you want to create a user
library. Once the user library exists, R will make that the default by
putting it on the head of .libPaths() at the start of every R session.

Hi Jeroen,
Yes I noticed this - but with students etc it often still causes confusion, and
I was just wondering if it would not be better to make it the default during
installation of a new R version, as opposed to only changing over the first time
you try to install a package and R noticing that the default directory is not
writable...

cheers,
Tom

________________________________________
From: Jeroen Ooms [jeroenooms at gmail.com]
Sent: 05 September 2015 14:45
To: Tom Wenseleers
Cc: r-devel at r-project.org
Subject: Re: [Rd] Default location where packages are stored under Windows

On Sat, Sep 5, 2015 at 2:05 PM, Tom Wenseleers
<Tom.Wenseleers at bio.kuleuven.be> wrote:
> I was just wondering if the default directory to store packages on Windows
platforms could therefore not better be made the personal library folder,
Users/Username/Documents/R/win-library/3.XX/

I think this is already the case? The first time you try to install a
package as non-admin, you will be prompted with a message that the
global library is not writable and if you want to create a user
library. Once the user library exists, R will make that the default by
putting it on the head of .libPaths() at the start of every R session.