[R] Graphics and LaTeX documents with the same font

[Frank E Harrell Jr]

jiho wrote:
> 
> On 2007-September-28  , at 16:57 , Frank E Harrell Jr wrote:
>> jiho wrote:
>>> On 2007-September-28  , at 15:18 , Paul Smith wrote:
>>>> On 9/28/07, Prof Brian Ripley <ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk> wrote:
>>>>>> I know how to export graphics as pdf files and then how to include
>>>>>> them in LaTeX documents. However, I do not know how to do in  
>>>>>> order to
>>>>>> have the text of the graphics written with the font selected for the
>>>>>> LaTeX document. Is that possible?
>>>>> [...]
>>> If you don't mind an extra step between R and LaTeX, you could use  
>>> Inkscape to modify your graphics:
>>>     http://www.inkscape.org/
>>> It is a (very nice!) vector graphics editor which:
>>> - works with SVGs (as produced with the RSvgDevice package)
>>> - imports PDFs (really well in the latest development version)
>>> - is available for free, on most platforms
>>> and
>>> - exports PDFs that nicely integrate in LaTeX documents
>>> - exports PSTricks graphics
>>> Then two roads are opened for you:
>>> 1- either get a TTF version of the LaTeX fonts (there are packages  
>>> for this on all linux distros I know, for use with Lyx and you can  
>>> probably find them on the web otherwise) and change all the fonts to  
>>> those once your document is in Inkscape (select all > text and font 
>>> >  select the font)
>>> 2- or open the document with inkscape and export it to pstricks
>>> I personally use Inkscape on all my R graphics because I find it  
>>> easier and quicker to get decent graphics and R and refine their 
>>> look  in Inkscape than to get them perfect in R in one shot ( though 
>>> with  ggplot2 things are improving on R's side).
> 
>> As this works against principles of reproducible research, I wouldn't 
>> recommend it.
> 
> Do you consider that changing the font size of the graphic would be 
> altering the research result? Or laying out a 2d contour and a 3d plot 

Not per se, but accidents happen when editing graphics.  More 
importantly it creates more work.  Datasets get updated/corrected and 
graphics need to be reproduced.

> in parallel, or changing the line color/pattern...? My modifications are 
> usually of this kind. Of course those things are doable with R but they 
> are usually immensely easier in a graphics program (where the color 
> palettes are predefined, the dash patterns are more diverse etc.).
> 
> For example, I often find myself using the same plot in an article, a 
> presentation, and a poster, usually with different color palettes and 
> font requirements. I just open the pdf, change the colors, font and font 
> size to match the design of the article/presentation/poster, realign the 
> labels a bit and re-save it. I don't think that I am doing any harm to 
> my result or present any false information to the readers, I just make 
> the graphics easier on their eyes.

A great application for a wrapper graphics function with an argument for 
presentation mode.

> 
> But maybe I am a bit too much of a purist on these maters. I just find 
> that, much too often, research results that represent months of work are 
> presented as narrow, black and white (possibly even pixallated!) 
> captures of article graphics which don't do justice to the quality of 
> the work behind them. I don't think there is any harm in making (good) 
> science look a bit "sexier", do you?

Yes there is harm.  But to make bold lines, easy to read titles is fine. 
  See the spar function in 
http://biostat.mc.vanderbilt.edu/SgraphicsHints for a starter.  Also see 
the setps, ps.slide, and setpdf functions in the Hmisc package.

Cheers
Frank

> 
> Jean-Olivier Irisson
> ---
> UMR 5244 CNRS-EPHE-UPVD, 52 av Paul Alduy, 66860 Perpignan Cedex, France
> +336 21 05 19 90
> http://jo.irisson.free.fr/work/
> 


-- 
Frank E Harrell Jr   Professor and Chair           School of Medicine
                      Department of Biostatistics   Vanderbilt University