12.7 Troubleshooting Package Downloads

12.7.1 What if you tell R to install a package you already have downloaded?

If you already have the package downloaded to your computer then a window will pop up asking you if you want to restart your computer. Normally this isn’t necessary; just click “no”. You might see a “warning” message pop up in the console such as “Warning in install.packages: package ‘cowplot’ is in use and will not be installed”. This isn’t a problem for basic R work. If you are doing serious work (e.g. for a publication) you should restart R.

12.7.2 What if I can’t get a package I need loaded?

• Talk to someone who is good w/R (eg, your professor)
• Google something like “how to install R package” for general info
• Google something like “problem loading R package”
• Copy and paste any error message you might be getting into Google and see if anyone has written about this problem

See above for reasons why a package might not load properly the 1st time you try.

12.7.3 Finding R help with Google

There’s lots of info about R on the web, and if you have a problem, then someone else has probably had it before and perhaps written something about it.

The website stackoverflow.com has lots of info about R. However, many people who use it are hard-core programmers, who can come across as jerks sometimes when they answer questions if you don’t follow the rules and protocols of stackoverflow.