[BUGZILLA #17842] R should stop using Documents folder for libraries and settings files

[github-actions[bot]]

On Windows 10, R uses the user's Documents folder for storing all libraries. While technically permitted, this is causes problems:

• The Documents folder is conventionally for user-created documents. For the vast majority of uses of R, the modules are the opposite, simply "things I downloaded to make my program work".
• This causes problems with increasingly common cloud file backup utilities that back up the user's Documents folder. If you use OneDrive, Google Backup and Sync (Google Drive), and more, your Documents folder is backed up by default now. This means every time you install or update libraries, you're creating a lot of pointless work and network traffic for these non-original files to be backed up. Also, this may cause errors if there are collisions between the cloud sync utility and the module-installation process.

Since placing libraries in the Documents folder suggests that R's devs see libraries as a per-user deal, I recommend moving libraries to the AppData folder. On Windows 10, it is customarily at C:\Users*username*\AppData\Local.

I am not certain, but I think this is represented by CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA constant in Windows.

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METADATA

• Bug author - Aren Cambre
• Creation time - 2020-06-27 13:11:14 UTC
• Bugzilla link
• Status - UNCONFIRMED
• Alias - None
• Component - Windows GUI / Window specific
• Version - R 4.0.x
• Hardware - x86_64/x64/amd64 (64-bit) Windows 64-bit
• Importance - P5 enhancement
• Assignee - R-core
• URL -
• Modification time - 2020-06-27 14:03 UTC

[github-actions[bot]]

Just updated the title as I remembered hows R stores or references certain settings files, like .Renviron and .Rhistory, in the Documents folder. These, too, would make more sense in AppData\Local.

The only exception I can think of for these is if they are commonly user-edited. In my experience, user edits of these files are unusual and typically done by advanced users, so there is probably little value in keeping them in the Documents Folder.

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METADATA

• Comment author - Aren Cambre
• Timestamp - 2020-06-27 14:03:48 UTC