Reading csv file using R and RStudio

Question

I am trying to read a csv file in R, but I am getting some errors. This is what I have and also I have set the correct path

mydata <- read.csv("food_poisioning.csv")

But I am getting this error

Error in make.names(col.names, unique = TRUE) : 
  invalid multibyte string at '<ff><fe>Y'
In addition: Warning messages:
1: In read.table(file = file, header = header, sep = sep, quote = quote,  :
  line 1 appears to contain embedded nulls
2: In read.table(file = file, header = header, sep = sep, quote = quote,  :
  line 2 appears to contain embedded nulls

I believe I am getting this error because my csv file is actually not separated by comma, but it has spaces. This is what is looks like:

I tried using sep=" ", but it didn't work.

Answer 1

If you're having difficulty using read.csv() or read.table() (or writing other import commands), try using the "Import Dataset" button on the Environment panel in RStudio. It is useful especially when you are not sure how to specify the table format or when the table format is complex.

For your .csv file, use "From Text (readr)..."

A window will pop up and allow you to choose a file/URL to upload.
You will see a preview of the data table after you select a file/URL.
You can click on the column names to change the column class or even "skip" the column(s) you don't need.
Use the Import Options to further manage your data.

Here is an example using CreditCard.csv from Vincent Arel-Bundock's Github projects :

You can also modify and/or copy and paste the code in Code Preview, or click Import to run the code when you are ready.