nullPlot function

Create a blank plot with optional labels

Create a blank plot with optional labels for margins

nullPlot(
  xaxt = "n",
  yaxt = "n",
  xlab = "",
  ylab = "",
  col = "transparent",
  xlim = c(1, 2),
  ylim = c(1, 2),
  las = graphics::par("las"),
  doBoxes = TRUE,
  doUsrBox = doBoxes,
  fill = "#FFFF9966",
  doAxes = FALSE,
  doMargins = TRUE,
  marginUnit = c("lines", "inches"),
  plotAreaTitle = "Plot Area",
  plotSrt = 0,
  plotNumPrefix = "",
  bty = "n",
  showMarginsOnly = FALSE,
  add = FALSE,
  ...
)

Arguments

• xaxt: character value compatible withoptions("xaxt")
• yaxt: character value compatible with options("xaxt")
• xlab: character x-axis label
• ylab: character y-axis label
• col: character colors passed to plot()
• xlim: numeric x-axis range
• ylim: numeric y-axis range
• las: integer value indicating whether axis labels should be parallel (1) or perpendicular (2) to the axis line.
• doBoxes: logical whether to draw annotated boxes around the plot and inner and outer margins.
• doUsrBox: logical whether to draw a colored bow indicating the exact plot space, using the function usrBox().
• fill: character R color used to fill the background of the plot as used by usrBox().
• doAxes: logical whether to draw default x- and y-axes.
• doMargins: logical whether to label margins, only active when doBoxes=TRUE.
• marginUnit: character indicating the units used for margin labels.
• plotAreaTitle: character label printed in the center of the plot area.
• plotSrt: numeric angle for the plotAreaTitle, which is good for labeling this plot with vertical text when displaying a plot panel inside a grid layout, where the plot is taller than it is wide.
• plotNumPrefix: character or integer label appended as suffix to margin labels, which is useful when annotating multiple plots in a grid layout, where labels are sometimes quite close together. This label is but a simple attempt to sidestep the real problem of fitting labels inside each visual component.
• bty: character passed plot(), default "n" suppresses the default box, which can then be optionally drawn based upon the doBoxes parameter.
• showMarginsOnly: logical whether to create a new plot or to annotate an existing active plot.
• add: logical whether to add to an existing active R plot, or create a new plot window.
• ...: additional arguments are ignored.

Returns

no output, this function is called for the byproduct of creating a blank plot, optionally annotating the margins.

Details

This function creates an empty plot space, using the current graphics::par() settings for margins, text size, etc. By default it displays a box around the plot window, and labels the margins and plot area for review. It can be useful as a visual display of various base graphics settings, or to create an empty plot window with pre-defined axis ranges. Lastly, one can use this function to create a "blank" plot which uses a defined background color, which can be a useful precursor to drawing an image density which may not cover the whole plot space.

Examples

nullPlot()

nullPlot(doBoxes=FALSE)

See Also

Other jam plot functions: adjustAxisLabelMargins(), coordPresets(), decideMfrow(), drawLabels(), getPlotAspect(), groupedAxis(), imageByColors(), imageDefault(), minorLogTicksAxis(), plotPolygonDensity(), plotRidges(), plotSmoothScatter(), shadowText(), shadowText_options(), showColors(), sqrtAxis(), usrBox()