Error in plot.new() : figure margins too large

hi all,
Not sure if this is mac/quartz specific or not.

With my default graph size (about 3*3 inches), this:

layout(matrix(c(1, 2, 3, 3), 2, byrow = TRUE))
plot(1:10); plot(11:20); plot(21:40)

gives the error "Error in plot.new() : figure margins too large?:

If I expand the quartz window, run the code (error free), then reduce the window (generating an in window ?margins" error message), then expand again: it redraws itself just fine.


Question: Why doesn?t the code execute the same way when the window is initially too small? (i.e., draw into a window minimally big enough to allow the scaled graph to be rendered, then try rendering in the desired window, keeping the plot code intact and making an in-window error if necessary)?


best, tim