Adding Text to Plots
This lesson is called Adding Text to Plots, part of the Fundamentals of R course. This lesson is called Adding Text to Plots, part of the Fundamentals of R course.
Transcript
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# Load Packages -----------------------------------------------------------
library(tidyverse)
# Import Data -------------------------------------------------------------
penguins <- read_csv("penguins.csv")
penguin_bill_length_by_island <-
penguins |>
group_by(island) |>
summarize(mean_bill_length = mean(bill_length_mm, na.rm = TRUE)) |>
arrange(mean_bill_length)
# Adding Text to Plots ---------------------------------------------------------
# Text is just another geom.
# We can use geom_text() to add labels to our figures.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text()
# Those text labels are too long!
# Let's create a new variable to use for plotting.
# We're using the number() function from the scales package
# to make this variable
library(scales)
penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2 <-
penguin_bill_length_by_island |>
mutate(
mean_bill_length_one_digit = number(
mean_bill_length,
accuracy = 0.1
)
)
# Now let's plot using our new data frame
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text()
# Note that we use mean_bill_length_one_digit for the label aesthetic property
# and mean_bill_length for y.
# If you use mean_bill_length_one_digit for both, your graph will
# look different.
penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length_one_digit,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text()
# We can use the hjust and vjust arguments to horizontally and vertically
# adjust text.
# vjust = 0 puts the labels on the outer edge of the bars.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text(vjust = 0)
# vjust = 1 puts the labels at the inner edge of the bars.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text(vjust = 1)
# I often do something like vjust = 1.5 to give a bit more padding.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text(vjust = 1.5)
# We can adjust the color of the text using the color argument.
# We're putting it outside of the aes() because we are setting it
# for the whole layer.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_text(
vjust = 1.5,
color = "white"
)
# geom_label() is nearly identical but it adds a background.
# With geom_label() the color argument determines the text and border color
# while the fill is the background color.
ggplot(
data = penguin_bill_length_by_island_v2,
mapping = aes(
x = island,
y = mean_bill_length,
fill = island,
label = mean_bill_length_one_digit
)
) +
geom_col() +
geom_label(
vjust = 1.5,
color = "white",
fill = "black"
)
Your Turn
# Load Packages -----------------------------------------------------------
library(tidyverse)
# Import Data -------------------------------------------------------------
penguins <- read_csv("penguins.csv")
# Adding Text to Plots ---------------------------------------------------------
# Copy your last code chunk.
# Then add text labels on the top of each bar that show the number of penguins of each species.
# You'll need to use geom_text() and the vjust argument to do this.
# Make the text labels show up in red.
# YOUR CODE HERE
# Do the same thing, but use geom_label() instead of geom_text().
# This time, make the text itself show up in white.
# YOUR CODE HERE
Learn More
Data Visualization: A Practical Introduction has a section in Chapter 5 on adding text to plots, as does Chapter 11 of R for Data Science.
Information about using vjust and hjust is on the geom_label page of the tidyverse website.
Also, check out the ggrepel package , which automatically adjusts overlapping text and labels.
Have any questions? Put them below and we will help you out!
Course Content
33 Lessons
1
The Grammar of Graphics
04:36
2
Scatterplots
03:40
3
Histograms
04:51
4
Bar Charts
04:53
5
Setting color and fill Aesthetic Properties
02:43
6
Setting color and fill Scales
05:12
7
Setting x and y Scales
02:58
8
Adding Text to Plots
05:50
9
Plot Labels
02:59
10
Themes
02:10
11
Facets
02:56
12
Save Plots
02:49
13
Bring it All Together (Data Visualization)
06:14
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