How to install several versions of R on Mac without overwriting old version?

Question

How do I install multiple versions of R on a Mac without overwriting the old version? Where are the appropriate places to install them?

Answer 1

The most appropriate place would be in the R.framework directory. I have versions dating back to R 2.7 on this machine. Installing of a new version from the binary installation package will not overwrite earlier versions. This is what dragging the symlink "Current Version" folder gives when I drag-drop it into the current console window:

/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/Current

It's actually a reference to:

/Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Versions/2.15

(This is where the binary installer from CRAN will put successive versions by default if you just click OK to all the dialog boxes during installation.)