Snapshots and bookmarks

Shiny’s bookmarking (enableBookmarking()) and shinysnap both let users return to a saved state. This vignette helps you choose between them, use them together, or switch an app from bookmarks to snapshot files.

What each one does

bookmarking shinysnap
where state is saved a URL ("url") or a server directory ("server") a file the user downloads and uploads
how it restores opens the URL in a new session restores the current session without reloading
dynamic inputs receive saved values when created, through restoreInput() receive saved values when created or when they appear in the browser
setup a UI function and enableBookmarking() no required UI changes
file contents JSON encoded in a URL, or .rds files JSON you can read in a text editor
support for app changes no migration helpers app name and version, validate and migrate hooks, and a restore report

Use bookmarking when you want to send a colleague a link to what you’re looking at. Use shinysnap when you want to save your work to a file and return to it later, perhaps after the app has been updated.

Using both

You can add shinysnap to an app that already uses bookmarking:

  • Ids excluded with setBookmarkExclude() are excluded from snapshots too.
  • Values that Shiny marks as unserializable, such as passwords, are never saved. This includes values excluded by a serializer registered with setSerializer().
  • During a restore, shinysnap makes the snapshot’s values available to restoreInput(), which supplies initial values to new inputs. It restores the previous settings when the restore finishes.
  • shinysnap’s own internal inputs are marked unserializable, so they never show up in a bookmark URL.

The callbacks, or hooks, work similarly in both packages. onBookmark(function(state) ...) and snap_on_save() write to state$values. onRestore() and snap_on_restore() read the saved values. If you use reactiveValues, snap_track() can save and restore them for you.

Turning a snapshot into a bookmark

Use snap_as_bookmark_url() to turn a snapshot into a link. The app must use enableBookmarking("url") and a UI function to open it:

library(shinysnap)
snap <- list(
  inputs = list(n = 100L, model = "complex", weights = c(0.5, 0.75)),
  values = list(note = "baseline")
)
snap_as_bookmark_url(snap, base_url = "https://example.org/app/")
#> [1] "https://example.org/app/?_inputs_&n=100&model=%22complex%22&weights=%5B0.5%2C0.75%5D&_values_&note=%22baseline%22"

Inside a server function, pass session instead of base_url to use the app’s current address. The result uses the same _inputs_ and _values_ keys and encoding as a URL created by session$doBookmark().

Migrating an app

  1. Remove enableBookmarking() and bookmarkButton(). Add snap_download_button() and snap_file_input() to the UI, and snap_download_handler() and snap_file_restore() to the server function. The UI no longer needs to be a function.
  2. Replace onBookmark() hooks with snap_on_save(), and onRestore() hooks with snap_track() for reactiveValues (they are written back for you) or snap_on_restore() for anything else.
  3. Keep setBookmarkExclude() calls; add snap_enable(exclude = ...) patterns for ids that should never be saved.
  4. Give the app a name and a version with snap_enable(), and write a migrate hook the first time a saved value changes meaning.
  5. In shiny::testServer() tests, use snap_as_test_inputs() to prepare the saved inputs for a session$setInputs() call.