[R] Deprecating download method='wininet' in R on Windows causes trouble with corporate proxy

[Selke, Gisbert W.]

On Fri, Sep 30, 2022 at 01:27 Henrik Bengtsson <henrik.bengtsson using gmail.com> wrote

> Is R centrally installed?  
It usually (but not always...) is installed through a central install process, but installations will not be kept synchronized. (I.e., we end up having independent installations, many different versions, many different collections of packages (and versions thereof).)

> If so, environment variables 'HTTP_PROXY', 'HTTPS_PROXY', and 'HTTPS_PROXY_USER' could 
> be set for all users by setting them in the R_HOME/etc/Renviron.site file.  
Yes, this can be delivered centrally. The problem arises if and when the variables for the proxy must be adapted (e.g., proxy URL changes). 
I am toying with the idea to source, from the Rprofile.site, a central configuration file (specified as a UNC path). Then, if the values of the environment variables need to be changed, this is done once for all, and roll-out to users will be immediate. 
[...]
> At least this avoid having to configure them in MS Windows settings, which is tedious to document and explain.
I fully agree!

Thank you for your advice, Henrik!