0

I'm trying to use a font in ggplot that I can only get through the extrafont package. When I then want to combine multiple plots using the cowplot package, I always a large number of errors of the sort:

46: In grid.Call(C_textBounds, as.graphicsAnnot(x$label),  ... :
  font width unknown for character 0x65
47: In grid.Call(C_textBounds, as.graphicsAnnot(x$label),  ... :
  font width unknown for character 0x63
48: In grid.Call(C_textBounds, as.graphicsAnnot(x$label),  ... :
  font width unknown for character 0x69
49: In grid.Call(C_textBounds, as.graphicsAnnot(x$label),  ... :
  font width unknown for character 0x65
50: In grid.Call(C_textBounds, as.graphicsAnnot(x$label),  ... :
  font width unknown for character 0x73

Note the package does actually produce the output (ie a plot side-by-side) but the error messages concern me.

What I tried so far:

  • Installing the fonts using extrafont::font_install()
  • Loading the fonts using extrafont::loadfonts()

I have extrafont and extrafontdb as well as cowplot installed.

Here an example of my use:

library(tidyverse)
library(extrafont)
library(cowplot)
library(palmerpenguins)
data(penguins)


penguins %>% 
  select(year, flipper_length_mm,species) %>% 
  ggplot(aes(x=year,y=flipper_length_mm,fill=species)) +
  geom_col() + 
  labs(title = "First Plot") + 
  theme(text = element_text(family = "Georgia")) -> plot1


penguins %>% 
  select(year, bill_length_mm,species) %>% 
  ggplot(aes(x=year,y=bill_length_mm,fill=species)) +
  geom_col() + 
  labs(title = "Second Plot") + 
  theme(text = element_text(family = "Georgia")) -> plot2

cowplot::plot_grid(plot1,plot2)

enter image description here

Moritz Schwarz
  • 2,019
  • 2
  • 15
  • 33
  • 2
    You'll have to set a null device that supports your font: https://wilkelab.org/cowplot/reference/set_null_device.html Unfortunately there are some bugs in the currently released cowplot version, so you may have to install the development version for this to fully work. I'm planning to make a new release soon. – Claus Wilke Aug 23 '20 at 15:38
  • Fantastic Claus, many thanks for your comment and the work you are doing! What works for me now without any errors by setting `set_null_device("png")` and then saving it using `ggsave` as a PDF with `cairo_pdf` as the device. Does that workflow make sense or would you suggest something different? The main thing I'm concerned with is seeing a preview in RStudio and then saving a PDF. Thanks! – Moritz Schwarz Aug 23 '20 at 15:45
  • 1
    Yes, this should be fine. If you want to be absolutely certain you get the correct font metrics at all times you could define a `cairo_pdf` null device, as shown at the link I posted above. But it's unlikely to ever cause noticeable differences in the output. – Claus Wilke Aug 23 '20 at 18:13

1 Answers1

2

Just quickly answering this thanks to Claus Wilke's answer in the comments:

It is necessary to set the null device. You may have to install the development version for this to fully work (it did work fine for me!).

The short answer:

set_null_device(cairo_pdf)
cowplot::plot_grid(plot1,plot2)

And the error messages disappear. Using set_null_device("png") also worked for me, but given that I'm aiming to save a PDF, this is the safer option according to Claus.

In full:

library(tidyverse)
library(extrafont)
library(cowplot)
library(palmerpenguins)
data(penguins)


penguins %>% 
  select(year, flipper_length_mm,species) %>% 
  ggplot(aes(x=year,y=flipper_length_mm,fill=species)) +
  geom_col() + 
  labs(title = "First Plot") + 
  theme(text = element_text(family = "Georgia")) -> plot1


penguins %>% 
  select(year, bill_length_mm,species) %>% 
  ggplot(aes(x=year,y=bill_length_mm,fill=species)) +
  geom_col() + 
  labs(title = "Second Plot") + 
  theme(text = element_text(family = "Georgia")) -> plot2


set_null_device(cairo_pdf)
cowplot::plot_grid(plot1,plot2)
Moritz Schwarz
  • 2,019
  • 2
  • 15
  • 33