Is it possible to save a template answer somewhere on this site?

[Andrea]

Hi!

Most of the time, when I reply to a new question the first thing I suggest is to write a reprex, so I would like to write a template answer. Something like

@mara

Could you please turn this into a self-contained reprex (short for repr oducible ex ample)? It will help us help you if we can be sure we're all working with/looking at the same stuff.

install.packages("reprex")

If you've never heard of a reprex before, you might want to start by reading the tidyverse.org help page . The reprex dos and don'ts are also useful.

What to do if you run into clipboard problems

If you run into problems with access to your clipboard, you can specify an outfile for the reprex, and then copy and paste the contents into the forum.

reprex::reprex(input = "fruits_stringdist.R", outfile = "fruits_stringdist.md")

For pointers specific to the community site, check out the reprex FAQ.

or

@kmprioli

Hi there, and welcome to community.rstudio.com! To help you get the right help for your question, can you please turn it into a reprex ( repr oducible ex ample)? This will ensure we're all looking at the same data and code. A guide for creating a reprex can be found here .

Is it possible to do that using community tools, or should I just keep a template in a plain text file and copy as needed?

[mara]

Personally, I use a snippet on my computer for this. I use Alfred, but there are a lot of different options for this (including just rolling your own macros, or using System Preferences on a Mac).

There is a Discourse plugin called "Canned replies," but I think that might only work for moderators (or some other level of privilege— Curtis would know much better than I do):

Discourse Canned Replies

[Andrea]

Yep, "Canned replies" is currently only available to moderators. Could you expand a little bit on the System Preferences part? Since this year I'm a Mac user, so I'm always looking for Mac tip & tricks.

[mara]

Yep, it's the last one described here:

Typing shortcut utilities: 6 alternatives to TextExpander

[EconomiCurtis]

FWIW, I plan to get a discourse plugin added so all sustainers (level-4 leaders in discourse's system) have access to canned replies.

[Andrea]

One more question - you need the Alfred's Powerpack to enable snippet completion, right? I considered installing Alfred in the past, but since Spotlight works so well for me, I gave up. I may reconsider, though...

[mara]

Yes (see link above)

The snippets and text expansion features are part of Alfred's Powerpack.