R help - Nov 2005 - R Graphs in Powerpoint

I've tried several methods in OS X, and here's what works best for me. 
Save the R graphic as a PDF file.  Open it with Apple's "Preview"
application, and save it as a PNG file.  The resulting .png file can be inserted
into MS Word or PowerPoint, can be resized, and looks good on either OS X or
Windows.  There are other programs available for translating the pdf file to png
(like the shareware application Graphic Converter), but I've found that
Preview produces the best results.

Daniel Smith
Environmental Health Investigations Branch
California Dept of Health Services


-----Original Message-----
Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 15:14:06 -0800
From: Jarrett Byrnes <redbeard at arrr.net>
Subject: [R] R Graphs in Powerpoint
To: r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch
Message-ID: <1021e23a2ea288a066f22699f827cf73 at arrr.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

Hey, all.  Quick question.  I'm attempting to use some of the great 
graphs generated in R for an upcoming talk that I'm writing in 
Powerpoint.  Copying and pasting (I'm using OSX) yields graphs that 
look great in Powerpoint - until I resize them.  Then fonts, points, 
and lines all become quite pixelated and blurry.  Even if I size the 
window properly first, and then copy and paste in the graph, when I 
then view the slideshow, the graphs come out pixelated and blurry.

Is there any good solution to this, or is this some fundamental 
incompatibility that I can't get around?

-Jarrett

One other option, just to throw it out there, though it involves a few
more steps.

1. Generate the R plots as EPS files.

2. Import them into Powerpoint onto the required slides. Resize and/or
place as required. Recent versions of Powerpoint will auto-generate a
bitmapped preview image upon import.

3. Print the full Powerpoint presentation to a PS file, using a PS
printer driver. This will result in high quality images.

4. Convert the PS file to PDF, using Ghostscript (ps2pdf) or similar.

5. Display the presentation using Acrobat Reader in full screen mode to
your audience.


This works well, as long as you are not using complex object/slide
transitions, animations and the like in Powerpoint and takes advantage
of the higher quality vector format of EPS graphics as opposed to the
bitmapped graphic formats.

HTH,

Marc Schwartz


On Tue, 2005-11-01 at 13:43 -0800, Smith, Daniel (DHS-DEODC-EHIB)
wrote:
> I've tried several methods in OS X, and here's what works best for
me.
> Save the R graphic as a PDF file.  Open it with Apple's
"Preview"
> application, and save it as a PNG file.  The resulting .png file can
> be inserted into MS Word or PowerPoint, can be resized, and looks good
> on either OS X or Windows.  There are other programs available for
> translating the pdf file to png (like the shareware application
> Graphic Converter), but I've found that Preview produces the best
> results.    
> 
> Daniel Smith
> Environmental Health Investigations Branch
> California Dept of Health Services
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> Date: Mon, 31 Oct 2005 15:14:06 -0800
> From: Jarrett Byrnes <redbeard at arrr.net>
> Subject: [R] R Graphs in Powerpoint
> To: r-help at stat.math.ethz.ch
> Message-ID: <1021e23a2ea288a066f22699f827cf73 at arrr.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
> 
> Hey, all.  Quick question.  I'm attempting to use some of the great 
> graphs generated in R for an upcoming talk that I'm writing in 
> Powerpoint.  Copying and pasting (I'm using OSX) yields graphs that 
> look great in Powerpoint - until I resize them.  Then fonts, points, 
> and lines all become quite pixelated and blurry.  Even if I size the 
> window properly first, and then copy and paste in the graph, when I 
> then view the slideshow, the graphs come out pixelated and blurry.
> 
> Is there any good solution to this, or is this some fundamental 
> incompatibility that I can't get around?
> 
> -Jarrett