plotprep {MQMF}

plotprep sets up a window and the par values for plotting

Description

plotprep sets up a window and changes the par values for plots. This is simply a utility function to save typing the standard syntax. Some of the defaults can be changed. Typing the name without () will provide a template for modification. If different par values are wanted then just include a par statement after plotprep(). Calling plotprep saves the current par settings and returns them invisibly. So to recover the original par settings use oldpar <- plotprep(), and, once you have completed your plot, you can include a par(oldpar) to recover your original settings. The default ratio of width to height approximates the golden ratio = (width x height)/width

Usage

plotprep(
  width = 6,
  height = 3.7,
  usefont = 7,
  cex = 0.75,
  newdev = FALSE,
  filename = "",
  resol = 300,
  verbose = FALSE
)

Arguments

width

defaults to 6 inches = 15.24cm - width of plot

height

defaults to 3.7 inches = 9.38cm - height of plot

usefont

default=7 (bold Times) 1=sans serif, 2=sans serif bold

cex

default=0.75, size of font used for text within the plots

newdev

reuse a previously defined graphics device or make a new one; default=FALSE

filename

default="" ie do not save to a filename. If filename is defined it makes that file as a png file with resolution resol

resol

resolution of the png file, if defined, default=300

verbose

set this to TRUE to turn on the reminder to include a graphics.off() command after tsaving a png file. Default=FALSE

Value

sets up a graphics device, if needed, and resets the default plotting par values. This changes the current plotting options! The original par values are returned invisibly.

Examples

 x <- rnorm(1000,mean=0,sd=1.0)
 plotprep(newdev=TRUE)
 hist(x,breaks=30,main="",col=2)
 oldpar <- plotprep(width=6,height=5,newdev=FALSE)
 par(mfrow = c(2,1)) # can run parset() or change the par settings
 hist(x,breaks=20,main="",col=2)
 hist(x,breaks=30,main="",col=3)
 par(oldpar)