ShinyUiEditor: Out of Alpha

We're excited to announce that ShinyUiEditor, a drag-and-drop interface for building Shiny apps, is officially out of its "alpha" stage

Nick Strayer

Oct 30, 2023

What’s New?#

We’re excited to announce that ShinyUiEditor, a drag-and-drop interface for building Shiny apps, is officially out of its “alpha” stage. With a year of rigorous development and community feedback behind us, the editor is more robust, feature-rich, and ready for you to try it out!

The Journey So Far#

ShinyUiEditor debuted at RStudioConf::2022, offering an initial glimpse and hands-on experience for adventurous users. Since then, we have made significant advancements, including the addition of server awareness functionality, and reducing friction for users when adding and updating input and outputs in their apps.

New ways of running#

We have also introduced two new ways of running the UI editor.

The first is a “static” mode that runs directly on the editor’s website with no need to install anything. This eliminates the need for installation and provides copy-and-pastable code for your app once you’re done.

The second is a VSCode extension, allowing you to open the editor right next to your app’s script to instantly see updates.

Better looking apps#

To ensure apps created with the UI editor look great, we have added new bslib components like value boxes and cards.

On the less exciting – but very important – front, we have also focused on bug fixes, stability improvements, and overall performance enhancements.

The Road Ahead#

Just because we’re out of alpha doesn’t mean we’re done adding features and generally improving the editor. Some upcoming features include exciting components like bslib::sidebar_layout() and bslib::accordian(), and a greater variety of templates to start from. Keep an eye on the GitHub repository and editor website to stay up-to-date with the latest.

We’re Listening#

Feedback isn’t just appreciated—it’s crucial. Your insights and suggestions will greatly influence ShinyUiEditor’s continued development. Join the conversation through our Discord channel or raise an issue on our GitHub page .

We can’t wait to see what you build!

Mar 12

Recreating Septa Transit Timetables in Python

Recently, Rich and I were poking around transit data, and we were struck by the amount of structuring that goes into transit timetables. For example, consider this weekend rail schedule table from SEPTA, Philadelphia’s transit agency. Notice these big pieces: The vertical text on the left indicating trains are traveling “TO CENTER CITY”. The blue header, and spanner columns (“Services” and “Train Number”) grouping related columns. The striped background for easier reading. Also the black background indicating stations in Center City (the urban core). Tables like this often have to be created in tools like Illustrator, and updated by hand. At the same time, when agencies automate table creation, they often sacrifice a lot of the assistive features and helpful affordances of the table.

Mar 5

Outgrowing your laptop with R and Positron

R-Ladies Abuja has posted a recording of a recent talk on Positron, and you can find it here!

Quarto icon, PDF file icon, accessibility icon, and validation shield

Mar 5

PDF Accessibility and Standards

Quarto 1.9 brings PDF accessibility and standards support, building on new tagging features in LaTeX and Typst.

Stay Connected

Get the latest updates on Posit open source projects and insights from our community.