[R] Navigate to Index page of a package from R command prompt

Steven McKinney smckinney at bccrc.ca
Thu Jul 23 22:30:54 CEST 2009


Hi all,

Is there a way to navigate directly to the "Index" page of help
for a package?

Here's my connundrum:

I download and install package "foo".
I don't know what functions are in package "foo",
so I can't invoke the help for package "foo" via
> ?someFunction

help(package = "foo")
pops up some non-hyperlinked information page, not
package foo's help Index page.

If the package author kindly made a "foo" object or function
and put that in package "foo", then 
> ?foo
works and yields a help page for package "foo".
Now at the bottom of the help page is a hyperlink "Index"
and I can click that to navigate to the main help Index page
(the page I really want to get to straight from the R
command line).

I see that the link to "Index" for package "foo" appears always to be
(on my Mac)
file:///Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources/library/foo/html/00Index.html

e.g.
file:///Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources/library/cmprsk/html/00Index.html

file:///Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources/library/utils/html/00Index.html

Is there a command from the R listener that can take me directly to
this "00Index.html" page of help for package "foo"?

something like
> help("00Index", package = "utils")

(but this does not work)?

Any info appreciated

Best

Steven McKinney

Statistician
Molecular Oncology and Breast Cancer Program
British Columbia Cancer Research Centre




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