rdataframeimportread.tablecustomcolumn

Custom column design

I have a raw dataset and the columns are not clearly defined at all. When I go to import the data using "Read.Table" in R, it automatically tries to approximate where the columns begin and end. But it is not correct. I know the number of characters per variable, but I am not sure how to customize them as one would in Excel(=Left(x,3) OR =MID(X,4,1)... etc.). Some variables are separated by spaces, some aren't. It is not consistent.

FYI: The document was originally ".dat", then I saved the file as a ".R" file.

Here is an example of my data

Any help is much appreciated! Let me know

Solution

  • You can use read_fwf from the great readr package, to specify the fix widths per variable.