quarto - reactable output not shown if followed by other output

Question

I have a function which produces multiple tables, e.g. one a reactable, the other the simple printout of a dataframe.

When using the function in a quarto document and rendering it, the output of the reactable is omitted unless it comes last in the function.

Any idea what's going on? I assume it's related to the issue dealt with here, but I don't see how to overcome it.

Many thanks.

Below the code which should reproduce the issue in a qmd document.

---
title: "Untitled"
format: html
---


```{r}
#| echo: true
#| warning: false
library(tidyverse)
library(reactable)
```

Reactable first; not shown in output 

```{r}
fn_cars <- function(my_data) {

my_data[1:5,] %>% reactable()  
print(my_data[1:5,])

}
```

```{r}
fn_cars(my_data=mtcars)
```


Reactable last, shows in output.
```{r}
fn_cars <- function(my_data) {

print(my_data[1:5,])
my_data[1:5,] %>% reactable() 

}
```


```{r}
fn_cars(my_data=mtcars)
```

Answer 1

The problem you are facing is not actually quarto or reactable specific. Its actually how R function works. By default, an R function returns the value of the last expression evaluated.

So in your example, the first function is printing the my_data, since the print was the last expression and returning the my_data invisibly and so You are getting only the printed data, not the reactable. But the second function is printing the my_data and returning the reactable output and that's why you are getting both of them in the output in the second case.

With this fact in mind, either

fn_cars <- function(my_data) {
  table <- my_data[1:5, ] %>% reactable()
  print(my_data[1:5, ])
  table
}

fn_cars(my_data=mtcars)

or

fn_cars <- function(my_data) {
  print(my_data[1:5, ])
  table <- my_data[1:5, ] %>% reactable()
  table
}

fn_cars(my_data=mtcars)

will work as intended.