RKWard 0.7.1 - Script and R markdown previews,

We are happy to announce a new release, RKWard 0.7.1, is available for download, today. In addition to a large number of bug fixes and small improvements, the most prominent new set of features in this release is the addition of (live) previews in the script editor. The preview feature can be used to preview both interactive console sessions, and R markdown documents, but also RKWard output and plots, while you are developing. Further, there have been siginificant improvements to code hinting in the script editor. Besides visual improvements and fixes, the code hinting now also supports completion of function argument names.

Update: On May 23, RKWard 0.7.1b has been released. This addresses several issues, importantly it contains a workaround for a bug in R 4.0.0 (fixed in R 4.0.1) that RKWard is fairly likely to trigger, and that may render your RKWard session unusable. Upgrading to RKWard 0.7.1b is strongly recommended, esp. when working with R 4.0.0.

As usual, please don't hesitate to contact us with your feedback, suggestions, and contributions!

The changes in detail:

• New features and improvements
  • Code hinting in script editor windows has been reworked, and now also completes argument names
  • Instead of installing rkward R packages at build time, install them at runtime, when needed
  • Add new commandline option "--r-executable=auto" for auto-detection of R installation
  • <browser> element in save file mode gains checkbox to control overwriting of existing files
  • Add command-line option --autoreuse to avoid shipping two separate .desktop files
  • <select> elements in plugin dialogs can be set to accept only a single selection
  • New R functions rk.capture.output() and and rk.end.capture.output()
  • Allow to reference current script file in plugins
  • Add various live-preview options for R scripts, including a preview of R markdown rendering
  • Make it possible to "link" to specific settings pages from the internal documentation
  • Slighlty less confusing output in case a package is installed from require(), such as in many plugins
  • Remove a bit of unused empty space around the main area of plugin dialogs
  • Expand root level objects (esp. data.frames) by default in plugin object lists. Add button to toggle back to collapsed.
  • Allow Tab-key to advance to the next row of data in data editor
  • Do not attempt object name hinting behind empty quoted strings or spaces.
  • rk.show.question() gains a parameter to allow setting a default button other than "yes"
  • new function rk.askYesNo() combines the functionality of askYesNo() (R >= 3.5.0) with rk.show.question() and is the default option for askYesNo() calls
  • Compile in ui definitions, instead of providing them as separate files
  • Offer R_LIBS_USER, instead of ~/.rkward/library as standard library installation location
  • Support R version placeholder (%v) in custom library locations.
  • File browser tool window follows changes in current working directory (while showing current working directory)
  • Show focus indication in highlighted item color (usually blue), instead of hardcoded red
• Bug fixes
  • Fixed: Underscore (_) was not accepted in names of newly created data.frames
  • Fixed: <browser> element could not be set to not required
  • Fixed: max.print option was not saved, correctly, when set from RKWard settings
  • Fixed: RKWard icon was missing for the "enhances RKWard" column in package installation dialog
  • Fixed a layout issue in plugins using <stretch>-elements that would sometimes also render top-left aligned UI-elements unusable.
  • Fix highlighting of "trailing" rows and columns in data editor
  • Fixed: Loading existing workspace from startup dialog failed silently.
  • Support handling of help:/ pages (e.g. RKWard plugins documentation) inside the RKWard help window, again.
  • Fix printing of strings with R 3.5.0 on Windows in the console
  • On Mac, do not attempt to start DBus, if it is already running
  • Fix most compiler warnings
  • File tool window gains button to switch to current working directory
  • Fix a crash when closing a plugin dialog with an active plot preview
  • Do not throw an error on objects that return non-numeric/non-scalar dim()
• Additional bug fixes in 0.7.1b
  • Workaround to avoid bug in R 4.0.0 when using for loop on top level context
  • Fixed: Hang when opening an empty workplace
  • Fixed: Crash when mousing over code preview window with focus-follows-mouse enabled