R : Using shortcuts to insert operators writes to a different file

Question

I'm sharing a small but annoying issue that sometimes pops up when I'm using shortcuts to insert operators while working on a markdown file in R : the operator either does not get written, or even worse gets written on another file.

So let's say I am working on the file "report.rmd", and I want to insert the pipe operator using Ctrl+Maj+M, or the assignment operator using "Alt+-", and I have the file "test.R" opened. Well, I therefore type the aforementioned shortcuts and...nothing happens on my markdown file. But some nice operators that had nothing to do there get written on my test.R file.

The only way I found to solve this problem is to close and reopen RStudio (restarting unfortunately doesn't solve the issue).

While this is quite a minor problem, it's incredibly annoying. Did it ever happen to anyone of you, and if so do you know where it comes from and how to solve it?

Edit: Although I am still running into this issue (without being able to reproduce it consistently) I came into a somewhat lighter solution. Instead of restarting R, simply closing all tabs (closing just the problematic one doesn't work) solves the problem. I hope this helps narrowing down the possible origins of the problem.

Answer 1

Short Answer

re-define the key combo to Ctrl+Shift+ \ , assuming this does not create a conflict

Background

I've had a similar problem for a while, too. In my case, the shortcut never works. I can not find the source. I even found a conflict with Ctrl+Shift+M assigned to 2 Editor functions.

Image:Screen Capture 2 conflicting hotkey assignments

However, a simple key reassignment of the one that is not the pipe operator ("Expand to Matching")

Image:screen capture showing the hotkey conflict solveddidn't solve the issue in my case.

Solution

Here's what did the job for me

I managed to assign a different combo (that hasn't been assigned yet) and that is comfortable enough in the sense of its location on the keyboard

1. go to Tools → Modify Keyboard Shortcuts...
2. In the filter box, write "Pipe"
3. Direct the cursor to the text box showing the current shortcut, and press the new combo (e.g. Ctrl+Shift+ \ ), then Enter.
4. Remember to hit Apply
5. Make sure the new Combo isn't a duplicate of another command, by going back to step 1 and sorting the list by Shortcut, then scrolling down to find your new one. if there is an ovelap, consider changing one of them.