How to make the View() and plot() command work like vscode-R?

[xiajunwen1007]

Describe the bug
When I debug a file and use the command View() or plot(), a new program window, like XQuartz, will pop up. Is there a way to open a new window inside vscode like VSCODE-R.

To Reproduce

my_function <- function(){
    df <- cars
    print('inside function') # <-- breakpoint here. Then run `View(df)` in debug console.
}

my_function()

Set a breakpoint at print(), then type View(df).

Screenshot

[ManuelHentschel]

You can add the following code to your .Rprofile in order to have these overwrites:

if(Sys.getenv('VSCODE_DEBUG_SESSION')=='1'){
    Sys.setenv(TERM_PROGRAM='vscode')
    source(file.path(Sys.getenv(if (.Platform$OS.type == "windows") "USERPROFILE" else "HOME"), ".vscode-R", "init.R"))
}

Some functions (like the httpgd based plot viewer) might be a bit buggy though.

[xiajunwen1007]

It doesn't work and no error occurs. After adding the code, everything is the same as before.

[ManuelHentschel]

Can you please try running the two lines inside the if part, e.g. as part of your .R file, and see if anything changes/any errors occur?

    Sys.setenv(TERM_PROGRAM='vscode')
    source(file.path(Sys.getenv(if (.Platform$OS.type == "windows") "USERPROFILE" else "HOME"), ".vscode-R", "init.R"))

[xiajunwen1007]

Thank you for your reply. Nothing happens. No errors and no changes. When I uninstall XQuartz, and try the command View(). There is no errors reminding me to install XQuartz which is different. So I guess it works partly.

[ManuelHentschel]

The sequence used to attach the modified versions of View() etc. is somewhat tricky. To manually reproduce it, please create a workspace with an empty .Rprofile, add a file that contains

print(View)
Sys.setenv(TERM_PROGRAM= 'vscode')
source(file.path(Sys.getenv(if (.Platform$OS.type == "windows") "USERPROFILE" else "HOME"), ".vscode-R", "init.R"))
.First.sys()
print(View)

and run this file in the debugger (e.g. using the default debug config Debug R-File).

If everything works as expected, the two print commands should print two different functions: first the original utils::View, then the modified version from vscode-R.

[xiajunwen1007]

Thank you very much! The two print commands do print different functions. Now everything works fine by your reply on the second floor. I cannot figure out why it doesn't work before.

[ManuelHentschel]

In my second reply, I forgot to mention that you have to manually call .First.sys(). This function is called as part of the R startup sequence after sourcing .Rprofile, so it is not needed, if the code is in the .Rprofile. But it needs to be called, if you are sourcing init.R after the startup is done.

You can add the following code to your .Rprofile in order to have these overwrites:

if(Sys.getenv('VSCODE_DEBUG_SESSION')=='1'){
    Sys.setenv(TERM_PROGRAM='vscode')
    source(file.path(Sys.getenv(if (.Platform$OS.type == "windows") "USERPROFILE" else "HOME"), ".vscode-R", "init.R"))
}

Some functions (like the httpgd based plot viewer) might be a bit buggy though.

Did you get this to work, as well?

[xiajunwen1007]

Yes, I get it to work. I have a unique workspace for writing R. When I restart the vscode, almost all keep. Maybe, in this case, I need only call .First.sys() once?
Yep, it is buggy. The bar() command would introduce a bug for plot. And when I right click a variable and click show in data viewer, nothing happens and the debugger console cannot respond any command.
Though it is buggy, It is much better than xQuratz. At last, thank you very much.

[ManuelHentschel]

Yes, I get it to work. I have a unique workspace for writing R. When I restart the vscode, almost all keep. Maybe, in this case, I need only call .First.sys() once?

Ideally, you can have code mentioned above in your .Rprofile, and .First.sys is called automatically by R itself during the startup sequence. In this case you don't have to call .First.sys at all.

[xiajunwen1007]

thank you！

[mdreier]

@ManuelHentschel Could you please add this information to the readme? It took me a while to find this issue and get the plots working with the debugger.

[ymansiaux]

In my second reply, I forgot to mention that you have to manually call .First.sys(). This function is called as part of the R startup sequence after sourcing .Rprofile, so it is not needed, if the code is in the .Rprofile. But it needs to be called, if you are sourcing init.R after the startup is done.

You can add the following code to your .Rprofile in order to have these overwrites:
if(Sys.getenv('VSCODE_DEBUG_SESSION')=='1'){
Sys.setenv(TERM_PROGRAM='vscode')
source(file.path(Sys.getenv(if (.Platform$OS.type == "windows") "USERPROFILE" else "HOME"), ".vscode-R", "init.R"))
}

Some functions (like the httpgd based plot viewer) might be a bit buggy though.

Did you get this to work, as well?

Hi @ManuelHentschel thanks so much for your work with the r debugger.

The last thing that still was a pain for me was the displaying of data frames and plots who was not integrated in the same viewer than in "regular" mode.

Setting this in my RProfile solved the problem. Do you think it could be done by default, or maybe referencing it in the README ?

Thanks very much

BW

Yohann