Doubling Pawn to free a line for your Rook

Very often in my game the situation arises, where I have the opportunity to force the opponent to double his pawns and vice-versa.

However, I'm really uncertain if it's a good idea or not because it gives the Rook a free line.

I mean, when the Rook already has a free line, it really should be a nobrainer to force the enemy to double his pawns but what if not? How would you evalute this for each side?

In short it depends on the position. In long (very long) here's a nice article: http://home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Articles/doubled_pawns.htm

It can be a disaster (I should probably play hxg6 though).

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=483382935

If you give your opponent an open file against your king, and the doubled pawn actually strengthens the centre (like here) it's probably a bad idea.

Thanks a lot! This was exactly what I've been looking for!

Edit: Conclusion: A semi-open file by slight means is not a compensation for a doubled pawn.