Please install the packrat package (install.packages(“packrat”)). We would like to use this for archiving what packages we use for output in our papers.
Rstudio -> Options -> General
UNCHECK “Restore .Rdata into workspace at startup”
“Save workspace to .RData on exit” SET to “Never”
We encourage R Markdown for documenting and explaining your output: this requires TeX on your computer (refer to Lyx instruction).
We only ask you to download a specific text editor for one reason. During paper production, if you get a merge conflict in Lyx that you have to solve in a text editor, it’s important that you use this one. Others might delete trailing white space which can screw up the spacing of the whole paper.
If you’d like to set VS Code as your default text editor in git (suggested), follow the instructions here.
Local set-up
~/repo/
Clone git repositories to a directory called “repo”. This makes sharing code bases between lab members easier.
For off campus access, you need VPN using Cisco AnyConnect
(More instruction on Athens and off-campus access needed)
Automeris.io plot digitizer
This is used to get numbers from data visualizations. This is useful when a publication includes a figure but not a table of values.
You can create an account at https://automeris.io/ and with your @uchicago.edu email address.
Create a saved search folder in Outlook for stand up and any other meetings you are expected to attend. This process will vary depending on which outlook you use, this explanation is for Outlook on Mac.
Open the outlook application from your laptop.
In the search bar at the top of the window, type: subject:(focal OR standup "gnlab events"). This will find google calendar notifications for stand up only. Edit this search to include keywords for other meetings using OR. For example, searching subject:(focal OR payvol "gnlab events") will find all google calendar notifications for all focal days and payvol meetings.
On the right of the search bar there are three lines. Click on these.
At the top of the panel that opens there will be a field called "Search In." Ensure this says "All Mailboxes."
Click the "save search" button in the bottom left of the panel and name your folder.
Please do not hesitate to ask if there is a piece of software or hardware that you could use, such as an additional monitor, keyboard, mouse, adapter, etc. We will generally have funds to purchase whatever you need to be productive. We will generally ask you to work with Stephen Lamb to complete the purchase.