R ggplot2 - no background or grid lines in plot with RGui

Question

I'm having a strange problem with the output window in RGui (under Win XP). I should see a plot like the one below...

... when I run this script:

library(ggplot2)
x <- rnorm(100,0,1)
y <- rnorm(100,0,1)
z <- data.frame(x,y) 
g <- ggplot(z, aes(x,y)) + geom_point() + theme_gray()

Instead, in the plot window it shows a white background and white grid lines, like below.

R Plot Window

When I export the plot to .png and I "preview" it in windows explorer - it doesn't show a background or grid lines.

Png in Windows

Same Png in Gimp

Same Png uploaded to image hosting

Any ideas about what's going on? How can I get the plot to display correctly in RGui?

Dactylology

In Windows Explorer, do Tools/Folder Options.../File Types tab/ and then, in the populated list, search for PNG. What is the associated software for opening PNG files? Try to set it back to "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer" – Concessive

Thanks for the idea. But I'm really hoping to get something to fix how it shows up in the R plot window – Dactylology

I'm using R 2.10.1 on WinXP and it is showing up fine in R. Does the following change something: g <- ggplot(z, aes(x,y)) + geom_point() + theme_bw() Did you check or change screen settings? – Colly

Answer 1

Sounds like a problem with the device rather than R, try reinstalling GTK+. If that doesn't work try plotting jpegs instead of png's if you can.

Cranwell

I agree that it sounds like a device issue (a common problem with R, sadly!), but I strongly disagree with the recommendation to use JPGs. JPG is a lossy bitmap format, great for photos, terrible for things with lines. An alternative to PNG might be PDF, which is a lossless vector format ideal for graphs. Plus, you can use Inkscape to edit PDFs now, which is a great way to tweak ggplot (or any other R) output! – Quiff