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Changelog

Source: NEWS.md

easytable 2.1.0

Breaking Changes

  • Removed markdown output mode from easytable(). Supported outputs are now "word" (default) and "latex".

  • Renamed CSV export argument:

    • Old: csv
    • New: export.csv (must end with .csv)

New Features

  • Direct Word file export with new export.word argument (must end with .docx).
    • Example: easytable(m1, m2, export.word = "mytable.docx")
  • Interaction term wrapping in term column: interaction labels now wrap after * to reduce table width (e.g., x1 * on one line, x2 on the next line).

Formatting and Consistency

  • Word/HTML and LaTeX alignment improved:
    • Shared measure-row detection for divider placement
    • Single divider between coefficient block and model-stat block
    • Zebra striping constrained to coefficient block only

Documentation

  • Rewrote README.md around a clearer user promise: easy to use, easy to read.
  • Added a dedicated penguins tutorial vignette: penguins-tutorial.
  • Added a developer roadmap vignette: developer-roadmap.
  • Added architecture and maintenance guides:
    • DESIGN_PHILOSOPHY.md
    • AI_NOTES.md
  • Reorganized _pkgdown.yml navigation and article structure.
  • Added LICENSE.md so the MIT license text is human-readable in the repository.

Testing Infrastructure

  • Added tests/README.md with a deterministic, CI-safe testing protocol.
  • Added tests/run-tests.R with a committed core profile.
  • Added tests/testthat/helper-testing-profiles.R for environment-aware test skipping.
  • Added tests/testthat/test-design-invariants.R to lock key table invariants.

API and Validation UX

  • Added validate_output_format() to provide friendly, explicit output-format validation.
  • Reworded key validation errors to be more beginner-friendly and actionable.

easytable 2.0.1

New Features

  • Direct model interface: New easytable() function accepts model objects directly through dots, like easytable(m1, m2, m3). This provides a more intuitive API for multiple model input.

  • Default model naming: Model columns are now automatically named “Model 1”, “Model 2”, etc. when using the new easytable() interface.

  • Custom model names: Added model.names parameter to specify custom column names for models. Example: easytable(m1, m2, model.names = c("Baseline", "Full"))

  • Enhanced term label formatting: Term labels are now automatically formatted for improved readability:

    • Factor levels separated with colon (e.g., digital_confidence:low)
    • Interactions displayed with asterisk and spaces (e.g., var1 * var2)
    • Polynomial contrasts shown as L indices (e.g., var:L1 for .Q, var:L2 for .L)
    • Common variable names abbreviated (e.g., fin.prud for financial_prudence)

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed markdown output: Resolved issue with stray vertical bars appearing inside table cells. Markdown tables now use <br> for line breaks within cells, ensuring proper rendering.

  • Improved markdown formatting: Ensured coefficient formatting (stars, standard errors) is consistent across markdown and LaTeX output formats.

Backward Compatibility

  • The original easy_table() function with list-based interface remains fully functional for backward compatibility.

  • All existing code using easy_table(list(Model1 = m1, Model2 = m2)) continues to work without changes.

Migration from 2.0.0

Most users can adopt the new interface immediately:


# Old way (still works)
models <- list(Model1 = m1, Model2 = m2)
easy_table(models)

# New way (recommended)
easytable(m1, m2)

# With custom names
easytable(m1, m2, model.names = c("Model1", "Model2"))

easytable 2.0.0

Major Changes

This is a complete rewrite of easytable with breaking changes. Version 2.0.0 modernizes the package architecture and dramatically expands functionality.

New Features

  • Multi-format output: Now supports Word (via flextable), Markdown (for Quarto/RMarkdown), and LaTeX/PDF output
    • New output parameter: "word", "markdown", or "latex"
    • Default remains "word" for backward compatibility
  • Modular architecture: Complete refactor into clean, maintainable modules
    • parse_models.R: Extract coefficients and statistics
    • transform_table.R: Handle control variables and organization
    • format_word.R, format_markdown.R, format_latex.R: Format-specific renderers
    • validators.R: Comprehensive input validation
  • Enhanced validation: Informative error messages with clear guidance
    • Validates model types and structure
    • Checks for required packages and provides installation instructions
    • Warns about control variables not found in models
  • Better dependency management:
    • Only core dependencies (broom, dplyr, magrittr) are always loaded
    • Format-specific packages loaded conditionally
    • Clear error messages when optional packages are missing

Breaking Changes

⚠️ IMPORTANT: The following changes may affect existing code:

  1. Removed runtime installation (CRITICAL SECURITY FIX)

    • OLD: Package automatically installed missing dependencies

    • NEW: Users must install dependencies themselves

    • If you get an error about missing packages, install them with:

      
install.packages(c("flextable", "lmtest", "sandwich", "margins"))
  2. Function parameter changes
    • OLD: F and T were accepted
    • NEW: Must use FALSE and TRUE (best practice)
    • This shouldn’t affect most code, but if you passed variables named F or T, they won’t work
  3. Improved join operations
    • Fixed warnings from dplyr about unspecified join columns
    • No user-facing changes, but cleaner console output

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed control variable regex bug: Previously, searching for control variable “hp” would also match “hpq”. Now uses word boundaries for exact matching.

  • Fixed deduplication issue: Improved handling of duplicate control variable rows (previously noted as “slight problem” in code)

  • Explicit namespace calls: All function calls use explicit namespaces (e.g., dplyr::filter) to prevent masking issues

  • Better handling of GLM models: Improved extraction of fit statistics for generalized linear models

Documentation

  • Comprehensive README: Installation, quick start, and feature overview
  • Detailed vignette: vignette("easytable-intro") with working examples
  • Function documentation: Complete roxygen2 documentation with examples
  • Developer guide: AI_NOTES.md with architecture and contributor guidelines

Testing

  • Full test coverage:
    • Unit tests for all modules
    • Integration tests for full pipeline
    • Tests for all output formats and parameter combinations
    • Using testthat framework

Performance

  • Modular design enables easier maintenance and future enhancements
  • Conditional loading of packages reduces memory footprint
  • Cleaner code with proper separation of concerns

Migration Guide: 0.1.0 → 2.0.0

If You’re Using Basic Features

Good news: Most basic usage should work without changes!


# This still works exactly the same
easy_table(model_list)

If You Had Issues with Missing Packages

Old behavior (0.1.0):


# Package would auto-install dependencies (security risk!)
easy_table(models)
# Installing package into '~/R/library'...

New behavior (2.0.0):


# Get clear error with installation instructions
easy_table(models)
# Error: Package 'flextable' is required for Word output.
#   Install it with: install.packages('flextable')

# You install once:
install.packages("flextable")

# Then use normally:
easy_table(models)

If You Want Markdown or LaTeX Output

New in 2.0.0:


# Markdown for Quarto/RMarkdown
easy_table(models, output = "markdown")

# LaTeX for PDF
easy_table(models, output = "latex")

If You’re Using Advanced Features

All advanced features work the same way:


# Robust SE - still works
easy_table(models, robust.se = TRUE)

# Marginal effects - still works
easy_table(models, margins = TRUE)

# Control variables - still works (now with fixed regex bug!)
easy_table(models, control.var = c("species", "island"))

# Highlighting - still works
easy_table(models, highlight = TRUE)

# CSV export - still works
easy_table(models, csv = "results")

Package Dependencies

Install what you need:


# For basic usage (Word output)
install.packages(c("broom", "dplyr", "flextable"))

# For robust standard errors
install.packages(c("lmtest", "sandwich"))

# For marginal effects
install.packages("margins")

# For Markdown/LaTeX output
install.packages("knitr")
install.packages("kableExtra")  # optional, for enhanced formatting

What Stays the Same

✅ Function name: easy_table() ✅ Default behavior: Word output via flextable ✅ Parameter names: robust.se, margins, control.var, highlight, csv ✅ Model support: lm, glm ✅ Significance stars: *** p < .01, ** p < .05, * p < .1 ✅ Model fit statistics: N, R sq., Adj. R sq., AIC

What’s Different

🔄 Must install dependencies manually (no more auto-install) 🆕 New output formats: markdown and latex 🐛 Control variable matching now works correctly 📚 Much better documentation and examples ✅ Comprehensive test coverage 🏗️ Cleaner, more maintainable code architecture

Detailed Changes by Component

Parse Models (R/parse_models.R)

Transform Table (R/transform_table.R)

Format Renderers

  • Word (R/format_word.R): Extracted and cleaned flextable code
  • Markdown (R/format_markdown.R): NEW - knitr/kableExtra support
  • LaTeX (R/format_latex.R): NEW - LaTeX with booktabs

Validators (R/validators.R)

Main Function (R/easytab.R)

  • Complete rewrite using modular components
  • Added output parameter with validation
  • Integrated validators → parser → transformer → formatter pipeline
  • Comprehensive roxygen2 documentation with examples
  • Maintains backward compatibility

Future Roadmap

The modular architecture in 2.0.0 makes it easy to add:

  • New model types: plm (panel data), fixest (fixed effects), survival models
  • New output formats: HTML tables, gt tables, custom formats
  • Theme system: Customizable table styling
  • More statistics: Confidence intervals, standardized coefficients
  • Enhanced features: Multi-equation models, nested model tests

Credits

  • Original package: Alfredo Hernandez Sanchez
  • 2.0.0 rewrite: Comprehensive modernization and expansion
  • Testing data: Palmer Penguins dataset (Horst et al.)

Feedback

Found a bug? Have a feature request? Please open an issue on GitHub: https://github.com/alfredo-hs/easytable/issues

easytable 0.1.0

Initial release (2024)

  • Basic functionality for creating Word regression tables
  • Support for lm and glm models
  • Robust standard errors via lmtest/sandwich
  • Marginal effects via margins package
  • Control variable grouping
  • Highlighting of significant results
  • CSV export

Note: Version 0.1.0 had critical issues: - Runtime package installation (security risk) - Monolithic code structure (hard to maintain) - Control variable regex bug - Limited to Word output only - No tests or comprehensive documentation

All issues resolved in 2.0.0.