dev2bitmap {grDevices} | R Documentation

## Graphics Device for Bitmap Files via GhostScript

### Description

`bitmap` generates a graphics file. `dev2bitmap` copies the current graphics device to a file in a graphics format.

### Usage

    bitmap(file, type = "png256", height = 6, width = 6, res = 72,
           pointsize, ...)

    dev2bitmap(file, type = "png256", height = 6, width = 6, res = 72,
               pointsize, ...)

### Arguments

`file` | The output file name, with an appropriate extension.
`type` | The type of bitmap. the default is `"png256"`.
`height` | The plot height, in inches.
`width` | The plot width, in inches.
`res` | Resolution, in dots per inch.
`pointsize` | The pointsize to be used for text: defaults to something reasonable given the width and height
`...` | Other parameters passed to `postscript`.

### Details

`dev2bitmap` works by copying the current device to a `postscript` device, and post-processing the output file using `ghostscript`. `bitmap` works in the same way using a `postscript` device and postprocessing the output as “printing”.

You will need a version of `ghostscript` (5.10 and later have been tested): the full path to the executable can be set by the environment variable `R_GSCMD`. (If this is unset the command `"gswin32c.exe"` is used.)

The types available will depend on the version of `ghostscript`, but are likely to include `"pcxmono"`, `"pcxgray"`, `"pcx16"`, `"pcx256"`, `"pcx24b"`, `"pcxcmyk"`, `"pbm"`, `"pbmraw"`, `"pgm"`, `"pgmraw"`, `"pgnm"`, `"pgnmraw"`, `"pnm"`, `"pnmraw"`, `"ppm"`, `"ppmraw"`, `"pkm"`, `"pkmraw"`, `"tiffcrle"`, `"tiffg3"`, `"tiffg32d"`, `"tiffg4"`, `"tifflzw"`, `"tiffpack"`, `"tiff12nc"`, `"tiff24nc"`, `"psmono"`, `"psgray"`, `"psrgb"`, `"bit"`, `"bitrgb"`, `"bitcmyk"`, `"pngmono"`, `"pnggray"`, `"png16"`, `"png256"`, `"png16m"`, `"jpeg"`, `"jpeggray"`, `"pdfwrite"`.

Note: despite the name of the functions they can produce PDF via `type = "pdfwrite"`, and the PDF produced is not bitmapped.

For formats which contain a single image, a file specification like `Rplots%03d.png` can be used: this is interpreted by GhostScript.

For `dev2bitmap` if just one of `width` and `height` is specified, the other is chosen to preserve aspect ratio of the device being copied.

### Value

None.

### Note

Use of `bitmap` will leave a temporary file (with file name starting `Rbit`). Use of the `pdf`, `bmp`, `png` and `jpeg` devices is preferable to using these functions.

### See Also

`postscript`, `png` and `jpeg` and on Windows `bmp`.

`pdf` generate PDF directly.

To display an array of data, see `image`.

[Package grDevices version 2.3.1 Index]