[Rd] In Rd: \describe \itemize and \item

[Nicholas L Crookston]

I rebuilt a test version of my yaImpute package using Uwe Ligges' windows 
build service. 
I got this reply: Check result: OK
R version 2.9.0 Under development (unstable) (2009-01-27 r47756)

Here is the issue: I have the following construct in help files (this 
example relates to "data"):

\format{
  A data frame with 847 rows and 29 columns: \cr\cr
  Ground based measurements of trees (Y-variables):
  \itemize{
     \item{TopHt}{Height of tallest trees (ft)}
     \item{LnVolL}{Log of the volume \eqn{(ft^3/acre)} of western larch}
 ...... many lines deleted ......
     \item{LnVolPP}{Log of the volume \eqn{(ft^3/acre)} of ponderosa pine}
     \item{CCover}{Canopy cover (percent)}
  }
  Geographic Location, Slope, and Aspect (X-variables):
  \itemize{
    \item{utmx}{UTM easting at plot center}
    \item{utmy}{UTM northing at plot center}
...... many lines deleted ......
    \item{elevm}{Mean elevation (ft) above sea level over plot}
    \item{slpsinaspm}{Mean of slope (proportion) times the sine of aspect}
  }
...... many lines deleted ......
}

What I get in the help file is:
=========================
Format  <this word is set in bold, correctly>
A data frame with 847 rows and 29 columns: 

Ground based measurements of trees (Y-variables): 

   TopHt 
      Height of tallest trees (ft) 
   LnVolL 
      Log of the volume (ft^3/acre) of western larch 
========================= ......and so on........
[I've inserted 3 spaces to mimic tabs in this illustration]

I would expect (and I used to get) something like this:
=========================
Ground based measurements of trees (Y-variables): 

 <bullet here>  TopHt   Height of tallest trees (ft) 
 <bullet here>  LnVolL  Log of the volume (ft^3/acre) of western larch 
=========================

Note that in version 2.6.2 (under SuSE 10.3) this code fails the check, 
but my original code worked. 

The entire issue came up in reference to Kurt Hornik's recent mail that we 
get our help files ready for the next release of R. 

My current production help files work, but do not comply with the 
instructions as I understand them and fail the check on the development 
versions. I'm not sure I have fixed them correctly, but I'm trying!

Suggestions?  Comments?

Thanks, Nick.

PS: If this Email is not simple text, please let me know.

Nicholas L. Crookston, Operations Research Analyst
Rocky Mountain Research Station
USDA Forest Service
1221 South Main, Moscow, ID 83843
Office: (208) 883-2317, FAX: (208) 883-2318
EMail: ncrookston at fs.fed.us