<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>Advanced R barplot customization – the R Graph Gallery</title>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
<meta name="generator" content="pandoc" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no">
<meta name="description" content="Take your basic R barplot to the next step: modify axis, label orientation, margins, and more.">
<meta name="keywords" content="R,ggplot2,tidyverse,Example,Data,Dataviz,Datavisualization,Plot,Chart,Graph,Learning,Caveat,Pitfall,Mistake">
<meta name="author" content="Yan Holtz">
<!-- Control appearance when shared by social media -->
<meta property="og:title" content="Advanced R barplot customization" />
<meta property="og:image" content="https://github.com/holtzy/R-graph-gallery/raw/master/img/logo/R_single_big.png" />
<meta property="og:description" content="Take your basic R barplot to the next step: modify axis, label orientation, margins, and more." />
<meta property='og:url' content="https://www.r-graph-gallery.com/210-custom-barplot-layout.html" />
<meta property="og:type" content="website" />
<!-- Bootstrap core CSS -->
<link href="vendor/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
<!-- Custom fonts for this template -->
<link href="vendor/font-awesome/css/font-awesome.min.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css">
<!-- Custom styles for this template -->
<link href="css/agency.css" rel="stylesheet">
<!-- JQUERY -->
<script src="vendor/jquery/jquery.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body data-spy="scroll" data-target="#myScrollspy" data-offset="1">
<!-- THIS ALLOWS TO INSERT THE MENU -->
<nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg fixed-top" id="mainNav">
<div class="container">
<a href="index.html">← R Graph Gallery</a>
<button class="navbar-toggler navbar-toggler-right" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarResponsive" aria-controls="navbarResponsive" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation">
Menu
<i class="fa fa-bars"></i>
</button>
<div class="collapse navbar-collapse" id="navbarResponsive">
<ul class="navbar-nav text-uppercase ml-auto">
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" data-toggle="modal" href="#researchModal"><i class="fa fa-search"></i></a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" data-toggle="modal" href="#LogoMenu">Chart types</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item dropdown">
<a class="nav-link" href="#" id="navbarDropdown" role="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false">
Quick
</a>
<div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdown">
<p class="menuTitle"><i>Basics</i></p>
<div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/intro_d3js.html">Intro to d3</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/shape.html">Shape</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/basic_datamanipulation.html">Data wrangling</a>
<p class="menuTitle"><i>Customize</i></p>
<div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/custom_axis.html">Axis</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/custom_color.html">Color</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/custom_theme.html">Themes</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/custom_legend.html">Legend</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/custom_responsive.html">Responsivness</a>
<p class="menuTitle"><i>Interactivity</i></p>
<div class="dropdown-divider"></div>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/interactivity_tooltip.html">Tooltip</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/interactivity_button.html">Button</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/interactivity_zoom.html">Zoom</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/graph/interactivity_brush.html">Brushing</a>
<a class="dropdown-item" href="https://www.d3-graph-gallery.com/interactivity.html">Transition</a>
</div>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="../all.html">ALL</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="https://www.r-graph-gallery.com">R</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="https://www.python-graph-gallery.com">Python</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link js-scroll-trigger" href="https://www.data-to-viz.com">Data to viz</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link js-scroll-trigger" href="https://www.yan-holtz.com">Who am I</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link js-scroll-trigger" href="about.html">About</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</nav>
<!-- Header = Title in big + social media Icon + quick description -->
<header class="masthead">
<div class="textlanding">
<center><h1>Advanced R barplot customization</h1></center>
<hr class="short_hr">
<br>
<ul class="list-inline social-buttons">
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">
<i class="fa fa-twitter"></i>
</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item social-buttons">
<a href="https://github.com/holtzy">
<i class="fa fa-github" style="color: white"></i>
</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item social-buttons">
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yan-holtz-2477534a/">
<i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i>
</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item social-buttons">
<a href="https://www.yan-holtz.com">
<i class="fa fa-home"></i>
</a>
</li>
</ul>
<center><p style="max-width: 600px; margin-top: 40px">Take your basic R <a href="barplot.html">barplot</a> to the next step: modify axis, label orientation, margins, and more.</p></center>
<div style="text-align:center">
<a class="btn btn-secondary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href='barplot.html'>Barchart section</a>
<a class="btn btn-secondary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href='https://www.data-to-viz.com/graph/barplot.html'>Barplot tips</a>
</div>
</div>
</header>
<!-- STYLE for chart pages but not the rest of tthe website -->
<style>
img {
margin-top: 20px;
}
</style>
<div class="container">
<h1 id="start-basic-the-barplot-function">Start basic: the <code>barplot()</code> function</h1>
<hr />
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center">
<p><a href="208-basic-barplot.html">Graph #208</a> describes the most simple barchart you can do with <code>R</code> and the <code>barplot()</code> function. <a href="209-the-options-of-barplot">Graph #209</a> shows the basic options of <code>barplot()</code>.</p>
<p>Let’s recall how to build a basic <a href="barplot.html">barplot</a>:</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12">
<p><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode-1.png" width="100%" /></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sourceCode"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><span class="co"># create dummy data</span>
data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(
<span class="dt">name=</span>letters[<span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">:</span><span class="dv">5</span>],
<span class="dt">value=</span><span class="kw">sample</span>(<span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>),<span class="dv">5</span>)
)
<span class="co"># The most basic barplot you can do:</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value, <span class="dt">names=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>name, <span class="dt">col=</span><span class="st">"#69b3a2"</span>)</code></pre></div>
<h1 id="las">Axis labels orientation with <code>las</code></h1>
<hr />
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center">
<p>The <code>las</code> argument allows to change the orientation of the axis labels:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>0</code>: always parallel to the axis</li>
<li><code>1</code>: always horizontal</li>
<li><code>2</code>: always perpendicular to the axis</li>
<li><code>3</code>: always vertical.</li>
</ul>
<p>This is specially helpful for horizontal bar chart.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12">
<p><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode2-1.png" width="100%" /></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sourceCode"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><span class="co"># create dummy data</span>
data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(
<span class="dt">name=</span>letters[<span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">:</span><span class="dv">5</span>],
<span class="dt">value=</span><span class="kw">sample</span>(<span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>),<span class="dv">5</span>)
)
<span class="co"># The most basic barplot you can do:</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value, <span class="dt">names=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>name, <span class="dt">col=</span><span class="st">"#69b3a2"</span>, <span class="dt">horiz=</span>T , <span class="dt">las=</span><span class="dv">1</span>)</code></pre></div>
<h1 id="labels">Change group labels with <code>names.arg</code></h1>
<hr />
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center">
<p>Change the group names using the <code>names.arg</code> argument. The vector you provide must be the same length as the number of categories.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12">
<p><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode4-1.png" width="100%" /></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sourceCode"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><span class="co"># create dummy data</span>
data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(
<span class="dt">name=</span>letters[<span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">:</span><span class="dv">5</span>],
<span class="dt">value=</span><span class="kw">sample</span>(<span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>),<span class="dv">5</span>)
)
<span class="co"># Uniform color</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value, <span class="dt">names.arg=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="st">"group1"</span>,<span class="st">"group2"</span>,<span class="st">"group3"</span>,<span class="st">"group4"</span>,<span class="st">"group5"</span>), <span class="dt">col=</span><span class="st">"#69b3a2"</span>)</code></pre></div>
<h1 id="width">Axis labels & axis title style</h1>
<hr />
<p><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode6-1.png" width="50%" /><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode6-2.png" width="50%" /></p>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center">
<p>Customize the labels:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>font.axis</code>: font: 1: normal, 2: bold, 3: italic, 4: bold italic</li>
<li><code>col.axis</code>: color</li>
<li><code>cex.axis</code>: size</li>
</ul>
<p>Customize axis title:</p>
<ul>
<li><code>font.lab</code></li>
<li><code>col.lab</code></li>
<li><code>cex.lab</code></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12">
</div>
</div>
<div class="sourceCode"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><span class="co"># create dummy data</span>
data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(
<span class="dt">name=</span>letters[<span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">:</span><span class="dv">5</span>],
<span class="dt">value=</span><span class="kw">sample</span>(<span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>),<span class="dv">5</span>)
)
<span class="co"># Customize labels (left)</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value, <span class="dt">names=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>name,
<span class="dt">names.arg=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="st">"group1"</span>,<span class="st">"group2"</span>,<span class="st">"group3"</span>,<span class="st">"group4"</span>,<span class="st">"group5"</span>),
<span class="dt">font.axis=</span><span class="dv">2</span>,
<span class="dt">col.axis=</span><span class="st">"orange"</span>,
<span class="dt">cex.axis=</span><span class="fl">1.5</span>
)
<span class="co"># Customize title (right)</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value, <span class="dt">names=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>name,
<span class="dt">xlab=</span><span class="st">"category"</span>,
<span class="dt">font.lab=</span><span class="dv">2</span>,
<span class="dt">col.lab=</span><span class="st">"orange"</span>,
<span class="dt">cex.lab=</span><span class="dv">2</span>
)</code></pre></div>
<h1 id="margin">Increase margin size</h1>
<hr />
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12 align-self-center">
<p>If your group names are long, you need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>rotate them to avoid overlapping. This is done with <code>las</code></li>
<li>increase bottom margin size using the <code>mar</code> parameter of the <code>par()</code> function. Four values are provided: bottom, left, top, right respectively.</li>
</ul>
<p><u>Note</u>: prefer a <a href="209-the-options-of-barplot.html#horiz">horizontal barplot</a> in this case.</p>
</div>
<div class="col-md-6 col-sm-12">
<p><img src="210-custom-barplot-layout_files/figure-html/thecode5-1.png" width="100%" /></p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sourceCode"><pre class="sourceCode r"><code class="sourceCode r"><span class="co"># create dummy data</span>
data <-<span class="st"> </span><span class="kw">data.frame</span>(
<span class="dt">name=</span>letters[<span class="dv">1</span><span class="op">:</span><span class="dv">5</span>],
<span class="dt">value=</span><span class="kw">sample</span>(<span class="kw">seq</span>(<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">15</span>),<span class="dv">5</span>)
)
<span class="co"># Increase margin size</span>
<span class="kw">par</span>(<span class="dt">mar=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="dv">11</span>,<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">4</span>,<span class="dv">4</span>))
<span class="co"># Uniform color</span>
<span class="kw">barplot</span>(<span class="dt">height=</span>data<span class="op">$</span>value,
<span class="dt">col=</span><span class="st">"#69b3a2"</span>,
<span class="dt">names.arg=</span><span class="kw">c</span>(<span class="st">"very long group name 1"</span>,<span class="st">"very long group name 2"</span>,<span class="st">"very long group name 3"</span>,<span class="st">"very long group name 4"</span>,<span class="st">"very long group name 5"</span>),
<span class="dt">las=</span><span class="dv">2</span>
)</code></pre></div>
<!-- Close container -->
</div>
<!-- ============================ RELATED SECTION ============================ -->
<section class="bg-light" id="portfolio_landing" style="padding-top: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 100px;">
<div class="container">
<p class="mySeryTitle">Related chart types</p>
<hr>
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="barplot.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Bar150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Barplot</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="spider.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Spider150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Spider / Radar</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="wordcloud.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Wordcloud150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Wordcloud</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="parallel.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Parallel1150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Parallel</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="lollipop.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/Lollipop150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Lollipop</div>
</div>
<div class="col-md-2 col-sm-4 portfolio-item ">
<a class="portfolio-link" href="circular_barplot.html">
<div class="portfolio-hover">
<div class="portfolio-hover-content">
<i class="fa fa-plus fa-3x"></i>
</div>
</div>
<img class="img-fluid" src="img/section/CircularBarplot150.png" alt="">
</a>
<div class="captionPortfolio">Circular Barplot</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- ============================ CONTACT SECTION ============================ -->
<section id="contact" class="bg" style="background-color: white; padding-top: 60px">
<div class="container">
<div class="row">
<div class="col-lg-2 text-center"></div>
<div class="col-lg-8 text-center">
<br><br><br>
<h2 class="section-heading text-uppercase" style="color: black">Contact</h2>
<p>This document is a work by <a href="https://www.yan-holtz.com">Yan Holtz</a>. Any feedback is highly encouraged. You can fill an issue on <a href="https://github.com/holtzy/D3-graph-gallery/issues">Github</a>, drop me a message on <a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">Twitter</a>, or send an email pasting <a href="">yan.holtz.data</a> with <a href="">gmail.com</a>.</p>
<div style="text-align:center">
<a class="btn btn-primary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href="https://github.com/holtzy">Github</a>
<a class="btn btn-primary btn-xl text-uppercase js-scroll-trigger" href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">Twitter</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<!-- ============================ FOOTER SECTION ============================ -->
<footer class="bg-light" id="myFooter">
<div class="container" >
<div class="row">
<div class="col-md-4">
<span class="copyright">Copyright © the R graph gallery 2018</span>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<ul class="list-inline social-buttons">
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="https://twitter.com/R_Graph_Gallery">
<i class="fa fa-twitter"></i>
</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="https://github.com/holtzy">
<i class="fa fa-github"></i>
</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/yan-holtz-2477534a/">
<i class="fa fa-linkedin"></i>
</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="col-md-4">
<ul class="list-inline quicklinks">
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="#">Privacy Policy</a>
</li>
<li class="list-inline-item">
<a href="#">Terms of Use</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</footer>
<script>
// add bootstrap table styles to pandoc tables
function bootstrapStylePandocTables() {
$('tr.header').parent('thead').parent('table').addClass('table table-condensed');
}
$(document).ready(function () {
bootstrapStylePandocTables();
});
</script>
<!-- ============================ JAVASCRIPT SECTION ============================ -->
<!-- Bootstrap core JavaScript -->
<script src="vendor/bootstrap/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script>
<!-- Custom scripts for this template -->
<script src="js/agency.min.js"></script>
</body>
</html>