12.4 Notebook vs HTML vs PDF vs Word

In RStudio, a Notebook can be created by going to:
File -> New File -> R Notebook

Alternatively, you can create a Markdown file using:
File -> New File -> R Markdown…

Don’t worry which you choose. As mentioned above, they are essentially the same thing but just come with different options. It is easy to switch from a Notebook to a Markdown file if you wish to create a PDF or Word document for instance.

If you are primarily doing analysis in the Notebook environment, choose Notebook. If you are primarily creating a PDF or Word document, choose R Markdown file.