Feature request: factors in col_types

[qdread]

I would like to request that the col_types argument of read_excel() and related functions allow specifying factor as a column type. This is especially relevant for columns that are automatically guessed to be numeric but that I would like to treat as factors (e.g., numerical IDs of experimental blocks). Of course it is possible to coerce those columns to factor in a later step, but it would be helpful if it were possible to do this within read_excel().

[jennybc]

Yes. readxl is going to get a major upgrade re: column type specification and that will absolutely include supporting factors.

[Sibojang9]

Any update on this request? has this been implemented? It seems quite some time now. Thanks.