Title: Consistent Plot Rendering and Saving Across Interactive Sessions and Reports
Version: 0.1.0
Description: Renders plots to a temporary image using the ragg graphics device and returns knitr::include_graphics() output. Optionally saves the image to a specified path. This helps ensure consistent appearance across interactive sessions, saved files, and knitted documents. For more details see Pedersen and Shemanarev (2025) <doi:10.32614/CRAN.package.ragg>.
License: MIT + file LICENSE
Encoding: UTF-8
RoxygenNote: 7.3.3
Imports: knitr, ragg
Suggests: ggplot2, testthat (≥ 3.0.0)
Config/testthat/edition: 3
URL: https://github.com/TomNaber/sameplot
BugReports: https://github.com/TomNaber/sameplot/issues
NeedsCompilation: no
Packaged: 2026-01-27 10:29:33 UTC; thnab
Author: Tom Naber [aut, cre]
Maintainer: Tom Naber <tomnaber12@gmail.com>
Repository: CRAN
Date/Publication: 2026-01-31 18:50:02 UTC

Render a plot consistently across RStudio, saved files, and knitr output

Description

sameplot() renders plot to a temporary PNG using a ragg device and returns a knitr image include pointing to that PNG. This makes the displayed output consistent across interactive use and knitted documents. Optionally, when save = TRUE, the plot is also saved to file using a ragg device inferred from the file extension.

Usage

sameplot(
  plot,
  file = NULL,
  width = 6.4,
  height = 4.8,
  units = "in",
  background = "white",
  scaling = 1,
  bitsize = 8,
  res = 300,
  save = FALSE
)

Arguments

plot

A plot object. Typically a ggplot, but any object whose print() method draws to the active graphics device.

file

Output filename (relative or absolute). Must include an extension .png or .tif/.tiff. Required when save = TRUE.

width, height

Plot size.

units

Units for width and height (e.g., "in", "cm", "mm").

background

Background color passed to ragg devices.

scaling

Increase to make plot bigger within the same physical size.

bitsize

Record color as 8 bit or 16 bit. 16 bit may be useful for smoother gradients.

res

Resolution in pixels per inch passed to ragg devices.

save

Logical; if TRUE, also save the plot to file.

Details

When knitting to HTML (e.g., rmarkdown::html_document()), sameplot() requires the document to be self-contained so that the generated images are embedded in the output. Add this to your YAML: 

output:
  html_document:
    self_contained: true

Value

An object returned by knitr::include_graphics() (rendered by knitr in HTML/PDF output).

Examples


p <- ggplot2::ggplot(mtcars, ggplot2::aes(wt, mpg)) + ggplot2::geom_point()
sameplot(p)  # display via temp PNG

# Save to a temporary folder (safe for R CMD check)
out_png <- file.path(tempdir(), "p.png")
out_tif <- file.path(tempdir(), "p.tiff")
sameplot(p, out_png, save = TRUE)
sameplot(p, out_tif, save = TRUE)