R: Copy Graphics Between Multiple Devices

dev2 {grDevices} | R Documentation

## Copy Graphics Between Multiple Devices

### Description

`dev.copy` copies the graphics contents of the current device to the device specified by `which` or to a new device which has been created by the function specified by `device` (it is an error to specify both `which` and `device`). (If recording is off on the current device, there are no contents to copy: this will result in no plot or an empty plot.) The device copied to becomes the current device.

`dev.print` copies the graphics contents of the current device to a new device which has been created by the function specified by `device` and then shuts the new device.

`dev.copy2eps` is similar to `dev.print` but produces an EPSF output file in portrait orientation (`horizontal = FALSE`). `dev.copy2pdf` is the analogue for PDF output.

`dev.control` allows the user to control the recording of graphics operations in a device. If `displaylist` is `"inhibit"` (`"enable"`) then recording is turned off (on). It is only safe to change this at the beginning of a plot (just before or just after a new page). Initially recording is on for screen devices, and off for print devices.

### Usage

    dev.copy(device, ..., which = dev.next())
    dev.print(device = postscript, ...)
    dev.copy2eps(...)
    dev.copy2pdf(..., out.type = "pdf")
    dev.control(displaylist = c("inhibit", "enable"))

### Arguments

`device` | A device function (e.g., `x11`, `postscript`, ...)
`...` | Arguments to the `device` function above: for `dev.copy2eps` arguments to `postscript` and for `dev.copy2pdf`, arguments to `pdf`. For `dev.print`, this includes `which` and by default any `postscript` arguments.
`which` | A device number specifying the device to copy to.
`out.type` | The name of the output device: can be `"pdf"`, or `"quartz"` (some Mac OS X builds) or `"cairo"` (Windows and some Unix-alikes, see `cairo_pdf`).
`displaylist` | A character string: the only valid values are `"inhibit"` and `"enable"`.

### Details

Note that these functions copy the device region and not a plot: the background colour of the device surface is part of what is copied. Most screen devices default to a transparent background, which is probably not what is needed when copying to a device such as `png`.

For `dev.copy2eps` and `dev.copy2pdf`, `width` and `height` are taken from the current device unless otherwise specified. If just one of `width` and `height` is specified, the other is adjusted to preserve the aspect ratio of the device being copied. The default file name is `Rplot.eps` or `Rplot.pdf`, and can be overridden by specifying a `file` argument.

Copying to devices such as `postscript` and `pdf` which need font families pre-specified needs extra care – R is unaware of which families were used in a plot and so they will need to manually specified by the `fonts` argument passed as part of `...`. Similarly, if the device to be copied from was opened with a `family` argument, a suitable `family` argument will need to be included in `...`.

The default for `dev.print` is to produce and print a postscript copy. This will not work unless `options("printcmd")` is set suitably and you have a PostScript printing system: see `postscript` for how to set this up. Windows users may prefer to use `dev.print(win.print)`.

`dev.print` is most useful for producing a postscript print (its default) when the following applies. Unless `file` is specified, the plot will be printed. Unless `width`, `height` and `pointsize` are specified the plot dimensions will be taken from the current device, shrunk if necessary to fit on the paper. (`pointsize` is rescaled if the plot is shrunk.) If `horizontal` is not specified and the plot can be printed at full size by switching its value this is done instead of shrinking the plot region.

If `dev.print` is used with a specified `device` (even `postscript`) it sets the width and height in the same way as `dev.copy2eps`. This will not be appropriate unless the device specifies dimensions in inches, in particular not for `png`, `jpeg`, `tiff` and `bmp` unless `units="inches"` is specified.

### Value

`dev.copy` returns the name and number of the device which has been copied to.

`dev.print`, `dev.copy2eps` and `dev.copy2pdf` return the name and number of the device which has been copied from.

### Note

Most devices (including all screen devices) have a display list which records all of the graphics operations that occur in the device. `dev.copy` copies graphics contents by copying the display list from one device to another device. Also, automatic redrawing of graphics contents following the resizing of a device depends on the contents of the display list.

After the command `dev.control("inhibit")`, graphics operations are not recorded in the display list so that `dev.copy` and `dev.print` will not copy anything and the contents of a device will not be redrawn automatically if the device is resized.

The recording of graphics operations is relatively expensive in terms of memory so the command `dev.control("inhibit")` can be useful if memory usage is an issue.

### See Also

`dev.cur` and other `dev.xxx` functions.

### Examples

    ## Not run:
    x11() # on a Unix-alike
    plot(rnorm(10), main="Plot 1")
    dev.copy(device=x11)
    mtext("Copy 1", 3)
    dev.print(width=6, height=6, horizontal=FALSE) # prints it
    dev.off(dev.prev())
    dev.off()

    ## End(Not run)

[Package grDevices version 2.15.1 Index]