[R] R 2.7.0: pdf() > pdf.options versus formals

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Mon, 26 May 2008, Hans-Joerg Bibiko wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I have a tiny question about the graphics change in R 2.7.0.
>
> If I write a script à la:
>
> options(device="pdf")
> formals(pdf)[c("file","onefile","width","height")] <- list("~/Rplot%03d.pdf", 
> FALSE, 8, 8)
> plot(3)
> plot(4)
>
> both plots will be written into ONE pdf file. (not two as expected)
> This worked fine under 2.6.x
>
> In R 2.7.0 I have to write:
>
> options(device="pdf")
> formals(pdf)[c("file","onefile","width","height")] <- list("~/Rplot%03d.pdf", 
> FALSE, 8, 8)
> pdf.options(onefile=F)
> plot(3)
> plot(4)
>
> In the NEWS doc for R 2.7.0 is written:
> pdf() now takes defaults from the new function pdf.options() ...
>
> Fine. But is there no way to use formals in that context (or more precisely 
> to preset 'onefile' because other arguments are taken from formals)?

No.  Any defaults you add to a local modification of pdf() are ignored.
If you want to make such a modification you also need to alter the body of 
the function.

> I have several scripts written for R 2.6 and that would mean that I have to 
> rewrite all of them.

That's what happens when you make alterations to R's own functions -- you 
have to track the changes to R.

I really don't see why you don't just call

pdf("~/Rplot%03d.pdf", width=8, height=8, onefile = FALSE)

which is what I see many other people doing. After all, if you do open 
multiple pdf() devices in the script they will write on the same files 
....

>
> R version 2.7.0 (2008-04-22)
> powerpc-apple-darwin8.10.1
>
> locale:
> en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8/C/C/en_US.UTF-8/en_US.UTF-8
>
> attached base packages:
> [1] stats     graphics  grDevices utils     datasets  methods   base
>
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> --Hans
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-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595