Inactive Tutor answered • 09/09/26
Knitr is the package used by R and in R studio for exporting your R markdown file into a final form (HTML, PDF or word file).
In R studio, with your R markdown file open, you start your export by hitting the Knit button at the top of the page (the one that has the little yarn ball next to it 
, then select the file type.
If the Knit button fails, most commonly it is because the needed companion package (such as 'tinytex') was not installed and active in the library. Whether you need tinytex or a different package may depend on the current version of R, Knitr, and whether you use windows, mac or linux.
If you're still having difficulty, you may need to share the specific error message that pops up when you try to use the knit button, that'll point us in the right direction.
*Note: Be sure you set your working directory to the correct folder, as that is where the file will save to once you knit it. Often times students hit the knit button without assigning the working directory to the correct location, then the knit file gets saved to a random location on their computer where they can't find it. When this happens, students usually think the knit function is broken and can waste time trying to fix the wrong problem.
