Avoiding error when using rename in dplyr and column doesn't exist

Question

Is there a clever way to use the rename function in dplyr when in some instances the column to be renamed doesn\'t exist?

For example, I would like the following not to

Answer 1

Sometimes it's okay to not do everything in dplyr. This may be one of those times. I would set up a vector that operates as a key:

namekey <- c(mpg="miles_per_gallon", cyl="cylinders", disp="displacement", hp="horse_power",
             drat="rear_axle_ratio", wt="weight", qsec="quarter_mile_time", vs="v_s",
             am="transmission", gear="number_of_gears", carb="number_of_carburetors",
             foo="missing_variable")

mtcars1 <- mtcars[,1:2]
mtcars1$foo <- rnorm(nrow(mtcars1))

names(mtcars1) <- namekey[names(mtcars1)]

head(mtcars1)
#                   miles_per_gallon cylinders missing_variable
# Mazda RX4                     21.0         6       -0.9901081
# Mazda RX4 Wag                 21.0         6        0.2338014
# Datsun 710                    22.8         4       -0.3077473
# Hornet 4 Drive                21.4         6        1.1200518
# Hornet Sportabout             18.7         8        0.7482842
# Valiant                       18.1         6        0.4206614

Once you have your key, it's just a single, easy-to-understand line of code that does the rename.