Merge multiple csv by columns r

Question

I have multiple csv files, and these files contain some identical columns as well as different columns. For example,

#1st.csv
col1,col2 
1,2

#2nd.csv
col1,col3,col4
1,2,3

#3rd.csv
col1,col2,col3,col5
1,2,3,4

I try to combine these files based on the same columns, but for those different columns, I simply include all columns but fill the cell with NA (for those data without that columns).

So I expect to see:

col1,col2,col3,col4,col5
1,2,NA,NA,NA            #this is 1st.csv
1,NA,2,3,NA             #this is 2nd.csv
1,2,3,NA,4              #this is 3rd.csv

Here is the r code I give, but it returns an error message

> Combine_data <- smartbind(1st,2nd,3rd)

Error in `[<-.data.frame`(`*tmp*`, , value = list(ID = c(1001, 1001,  : 
  replacement element 1 has 143460 rows, need 143462

Does anyone know any alternative or elegant way to get the expected result?

The R version is 3.3.2.

try Combine_data <- plyr::rbind.fill(1st,2nd,3rd). That is assuming that you've already imported the data from those csv files. — Abdou
– Abdou, Commented Dec 8, 2016 at 14:51

Nick Criswell · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-08 14:54:28Z

2

You should be able to accomplish this with the bind_rows function from dplyr

df1 <- read.csv(text = "col1, col2 
1,2", header = TRUE)

df2 <- read.csv(text = "col1, col3, col4
1,2,3", header = TRUE)

df3 <- read.csv(text = "col1, col2, col3, col5
1,2,3,4", header = TRUE)

library(dplyr)

res <- bind_rows(df1, df2, df3)
> res
  col1 col2 col3 col4 col5
1    1    2   NA   NA   NA
2    1   NA    2    3   NA
3    1    2    3   NA    4

answered Dec 8, 2016 at 14:54

Nick Criswell

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