help.Rmd

---
title: 'Getting help'
---

# Getting help {#getting-help}

If you don't know or can't remember what a function does, R provides help files
which explain how they work. To access a help file for a function, just type
`?command` in the console, or run `?command` command within an R block. For
example, running `?mean` would bring up the documentation for the `mean`
function.

You can also type `CRTL-Shift-H` while your cursor is over any R function in the
RStudio interface.

It's fair to say R documentation isn't always written for beginners. However the
'examples' sections are usually quite informative: you can normally see this by
scrolling right to the end of the help file.

### Finding the backtick on your keyboard {- #backtick-location}

The backtick ``` symbol is unfamiliar to some readers. Here's where it is:

![On windows](media/backtick-windows-uk.png)

![On a Mac](media/backtick-mac-uk.png)