Can build_readme show link to .md file in the console?

[dmuenz]

When using build_readme() to turn README.Rmd into README.md, the status message printed to the console links only to the Rmd file:

> devtools::build_readme()
ℹ Installing mypackage in temporary library
ℹ Building /path/to/mypackage/README.Rmd

But between the two files (Rmd and md), I think the user more likely already has the Rmd file open for editing. Could the console message also link to the md file to make it easier to open and preview? Something like...

ℹ Building /path/to/mypackage/README.Rmd into /path/to/mypackage/README.md

Or the other way around, which makes a little more sense to me:

ℹ Building /path/to/mypackage/README.md from /path/to/mypackage/README.Rmd

This all might apply to build_rmd() as well, but I haven't used that function yet.

Thanks for your consideration, and more importantly thanks for the amazing package.

[jennybc]

It certainly could do this. I usually inspect the changes to README.md as a git diff, though. Other than the first render, this seems to show me what I care about.

Also, having the README.md open (which I still end up doing fairly often) invariably leads me to editing README.md by mistake. Which I then catch via a git hook and have to back out of and apply the edits to README.Rmd.

I'm not saying "no" to this, but just pointing out that it's not a no-brainer.

[dmuenz]

Good point about unintended consequences. My current workflow as I’m drafting a new README is to edit the Rmd file in RStudio, build it into an md file with build_readme, then open the md file and click the “preview” button to review it. But I’m totally new to package development and git, so it seems my workflow is missing some key steps. Thanks for your thoughtful response.

[jennybc]

I do basically what you describe above. So, yeah, that first development effort of the README feels a bit awkward, with having to preview the md with a separate gesture. But once the README exists and just gets modifications occasionally, I feel the need to preview it locally. Git diffs are fine and perhaps the occasional look at how it renders on GitHub or the pkgdown site (where it comes index.html, by default).

I would be nice to have the preview without opening the .md file, which tempts you to edit it.

[dmuenz]

That’s a good idea. Just as RStudio provides a “Preview” button for the .md file, maybe it could offer a “Build & Preview” button for the .Rmd file (and maybe also a plain “Build” button). Currently there’s a “Knit” button, but it causes an error for me because the package I’m developing isn’t installed, whereas build_readme gets around this by installing a temporary copy of the package. Any objection to me making this feature request on the RStudio GitHub and referencing this issue?

[hadley]

@dmuenz go for it.