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Figure margins too large

2 messages · Paul Gilbert, Martin Maechler

Original
Paul Gilbert
# 
I seem to remember an error like this being mentioned before, but if it wasn't:
Error in plot.new() : Figure margins too large
_
platform sparc-sun-solaris2.6
arch     sparc
os       solaris2.6
system   sparc, solaris2.6
status
major    0
minor    90.1
year     1999
month    December
day      15
language R

Paul Gilbert

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Martin Maechler
# 
PaulG> I seem to remember an error like this being mentioned before,
    PaulG> but if it wasn't:

    >> zz <- density(rnorm(100))
    >> plot(zz)
    PaulG> Error in plot.new() : Figure margins too large

    >> version
    PaulG> _
    PaulG> platform sparc-sun-solaris2.6
    PaulG> arch     sparc
    PaulG> os       solaris2.6
    PaulG> system   sparc, solaris2.6
    PaulG> status
    PaulG> major    0
    PaulG> minor    90.1
    PaulG> year     1999
    PaulG> month    December
    PaulG> day      15
    PaulG> language R

It means what it says : The figure margins are too large
and there's no room for the plot at all.

It must be that you have 
  - large fonts {large par("cex"), or large "rastersize" with postscript ...)
and/or
  - large  par("mar")
and/or
  - too small device.

I can reproduce the error message with
 
  postscript(file="/dev/null", height= 1)
  plot(1)

More "fun" is to

     x11()
     plot(1)
and resize the device window {repeatedly calling  plot(1)}
until the plot outline isn't drawn any more.
At the point you get (appropriately) the above error message.

Martin Maechler <maechler@stat.math.ethz.ch>	http://stat.ethz.ch/~maechler/
Seminar fuer Statistik, ETH-Zentrum  LEO D10	Leonhardstr. 27
ETH (Federal Inst. Technology)	8092 Zurich	SWITZERLAND
phone: x-41-1-632-3408		fax: ...-1228			<><
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