Please follow all steps explained below to setup your RStudio environment for this course and to solve your first RTutor problem set.

1 - Install R and RStudio

1.1 Install R

Download newest R (base) version from here:

https://cran.r-project.org/

Pick your operation system and the the subdirectory base. If you have a Windows PC you can directly click here:

https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/base/

The install the downloaded file. You don't need to adapt the default install options.

1.2 Install R-Studio

We will not directly start R, but use RStudio instead. Go to the following link to download RStudio onto your laptop and then install it:

https://www.rstudio.com/products/RStudio/#Desktop

It is not necessary to check/uncheck special options if you do not want to do so.

2. Adapt global options in R Studio

Click to watch a Youtube video for Step 2

2.1 Turn off "Save workspace" (Important!)

You should now definitely set the following options in RStudio to make sure that RTutor does not get caught in a state of perpetual error.

Go in RStudio to the Menu Tools -> Global Options. Set the options for "Workspace" as highlightes in yellow in the Screenshot below and then press "Ok".

2.2 Optional: Don't show R output inline

Personally I also turn off the default global option to show output of R code inline in RMarkdown documents. I think this makes RTutor problem sets easier to work with, but that is a matter of taste. See the screenshot to turn of that options:

3. Install all required R packages for this course

Please, follow this step even if you have already RTutor installed. RTutor is updated almost every semester.

Click to watch a Youtube video for Step 3

• Download the file install_packages.R from Moodle and open it with R-Studio. (You can just double click on the file in your file browser or choose in RStudio File -> Open File)

• You should now see a screen like the following:

• Execute all lines. You may do so by repeatedly pressing CTRL+RETURN or by using the Run Button on the top right corner of the top left window. You should do this line by line - in case there are error messages that have to be dealt with. The complete installation may take some while.

Important for Mac-OS Users: Install xquartz

If you have an Apple computer with Mac-OS, try to run in the R console the command library(compareGroups) after you have installed all packages. If that works without problems, all is fine. Otherwise, please install https://www.xquartz.org. The problem is described here.

4. Download and solve the first RTutor problem set

Click to watch a Youtube video for Step 4

• Create a folder in which you save all your RTutor problem sets of this course, like C:/courses/empecon/RTutor. Try to avoid any letters in your path that are not used in the english alphabet (e.g. no ü or ä or ß).

• Download the first problem set intro.zip from Moodle and extract the ZIP it in your problem set directory. If you are a Windows user and don't know how to extract a ZIP file see e.g. the description here.

• Now open the file intro.Rmd in RStudio. (You can double click on the file in your file explorer or choose in RStudio the menu entry File -> Open File.)

• Set your name in the file by changing the line

user.name = 'ENTER A USER NAME HERE' # set to your user name

for example to

user.name = 'clara_ulmer' # set to your user name

Your username should identify you and be the same for each problem set. Again avoid special character like ü or ß.

• Now scroll down and try to solve the first code chunk:

```{r "1_a"}

# enter your code here ...

```

Change it to

```{r "1_a"} 

123 + 257

```

• Now run the Addin Check Problem Set (see screenshot below)

• Now continue solving the problem set. Use Check Problem Set after each chunk you have worked on. If you have checked a chunk and get an error, you can click on Addin -> Hint or type hint() in the R console to get a hint.

• Follow the information at the end of the problem set to make a submission file that you can upload on Moodle.

• If RTutor behaves strangely follow the Guide for fixing errors when solving a problem set that is on Moodle.

5 Optional: Adding a shortcut for Check Problemset:

Instead of clicking on the Addin Check Problemset you might want to use a shortcut on your keyboard. To add one, follow these steps:

• Open the menu entry Tools -> Addins -> Browse Addins...

  

• A window opens. Choose the row labelled R Tutor Check Problemset by clicking on it. Then click on the button in the bottom left corner Keyboard Shortcuts.

  

• You can now add your preferred keyboard shortcut in the middle column. Just click in the middle column, enter your shortcut like CTRL + G and save it.

• Now every time you want to check your problem set, you just have to press that keyboard shortcut.