Development of the ggExpress package for quick ggpubr based plotting ala 'Type less, Plot more'. This package is a work in progress.
Install directly from GitHub via devtools with one R command:
# install.packages("devtools"); # If you don't have it.
require("devtools")
# Install dependencies
devtools::install_github(repo = "vertesy/Stringendo", ref = "main", upgrade = F)
devtools::install_github(repo = "vertesy/ReadWriter", ref = "main", upgrade = F)
devtools::install_github(repo = "vertesy/CodeAndRoll2", ref = "main", upgrade = F)
devtools::install_github(repo = "vertesy/MarkdownHelpers", ref = "main", upgrade = F)
# Install ggExpress
devtools::install_github(repo = "vertesy/ggExpress", ref = "main", upgrade = F)...then simply load the package:
require("ggExpress")Alternatively, you can simply source it from the web. This way function help will not work, and you will have no local copy of the code on your hard drive.
source("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vertesy/ggExpress/main/R/ggExpress.functions.R")
source("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vertesy/ggExpress/main/R/ggExpress.auxiliary.functions.R")If you encounter a bug, something doesn't work or is unclear, please let me know by raising an issue on ggExpress – Please check if it has been asked.
# ggExpress mini-vignette: plot, annotate & export in one line
# -----------------------------------------------------------
library(ggExpress)
# (Optional) If you use MarkdownReports, switch on automatic markdown links once:
# b.mdlink <- TRUE # q* functions will then append image links to the active report
# 1) Numeric vector → histogram + density, auto labels, auto filenames, ggplot objects ----
weight <- rnorm(1000)
# One line:
# - guesses a plot title from the object name 'weight'
# - draws a histogram with median line
# - saves PNG
# - returns the ggplot object for further customization
weight_hist <- qhistogram(
vec = weight,
plot = T,
vline = 0,
caption = "Auto-annotated histogram"
)
# 1b) You still have a regular ggplot object, that you can further modify and simply resave:
(weight_hist <- weight_hist + ggplot2::theme_minimal() + ggplot2::labs(subtitle = "Modified with theme_minimal") )
qqSave(weight_hist) # Saves with the auto-generated filename from the variable name
# Same vector, different geometry, same automatic annotations,
# but this time also save as PDF and the ggplot object:
qdensity(
vec = weight,
subtitle = "Same variable, density view",
also.pdf = TRUE, # save both .png and .pdf
save.obj = TRUE # also save ggplot object as .qs
)Saved as .png by default.
| Histogram | Density plot |
|---|---|
 |
 |
# 2) Named vector → barplot & pie chart with auto labels and filenames --------------------
Medals <- c(Bulgaria = 12, Brazil = 29, Burkina = 5)
# One liners annotated and saved plots with full path printed on the console
qbarplot(Medals)
# > /your/path/Medals.bar.png
qpie(Medals)
# > /your/path/Medals.pie.png
# Barplot:
# - uses names(counts) as x-labels
# - auto-generates plot title from 'counts'
# - writes files like 'counts.demo.bar.png' / '.pdf'
qbarplot(
vec = Medals,
label = Medals, # show values on bars
ylab = "Count",
suffix = "demo", # Add a suffix string to the filename
palette_use = "npg",
)
# Pie chart:
# - again uses names(counts) as slice labels
# - can show both % and absolute values
qpie(
vec = Medals,
both_pc_and_value = TRUE,
LegendTitle = "Country"
)| Bar plot | Pie chart |
|---|---|
 |
 |
# 3) Data frame → scatter plot with automatic x/y labels and export -----------------------
patient_measurements <- data.frame(
height_cm = rnorm(200, mean = 170, sd = 10),
weight_kg = rnorm(200, mean = 70, sd = 12)
)
# Minimal scatter:
# - plot title from 'patient_measurements'
# - x/y labels from 'height_cm' and 'weight_kg'
# - filename guessed from the data frame name
qscatter(patient_measurements)
# You can add contours and correlation annotation, and any other ggpubr stats:
qscatter(
patient_measurements,
add_contour_plot = TRUE,
correlation_r2 = 'pearson'
)
# At this point you have:
# - a set of .png and .pdf files with auto-generated, informative filenames
# - matching ggplot objects (p_hist, p_dens, p_bar, p_pie, p_scatter) that you can further modify or embed in other figures.
# - (optionally) auto-saved ggplot objects as .qs files.| Simple | Customized |
|---|---|
 |
 |
Updated: 2025/12/02 20:14
Quickly draw and save a histogram (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a histogram of a distribution provided as a numeric vector. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::gghistogram(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a density plot (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a density plot of a distribution provided as a numeric vector. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggdensity(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a pie chart (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a pie chart of a distribution provided as a numeric table. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggpie(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a bar plot (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a bar plot of a distribution provided as a numeric vector. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggbarplot(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
qbarplot.stacked.from.wide.df - Barplot for tibbles or dataframes. Draw and save a stacked barplot for each row of a dataframe.
qbarplot.df - Barplot for tibbles or dataframes. Draw and save a barplot for tibbles or dataframes
Quickly draw and save a scatter plot (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a scatter plot of two variables provided as a 2-column data frame or matrix. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggscatter(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a boxplot (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a boxplot from a two-column data frame or a named list of values. The first column (or list names) is plotted on the X axis, the second column (or list values) on the Y axis. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a violin plot (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a violin plot from a two-column data frame or a named list of values. The first column (or list names) is plotted on the X axis, the second column (or list values) on the Y axis. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggviolin(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument.#' It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a stripchart (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a stripchart from a two-column data frame or a named list of values. The first column (or list names) is plotted on the X axis, the second column (or list values) on the Y axis. It is a wrapper around ggpubr::ggstripchart(), with the automation of many features. All ggpubr parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quickly draw and save a Venn Diagram (png, pdf, ggobj.qs). This all-in-one function draws, annotates, displays and saves a Venn Diagram from a named list of values. It is a wrapper around ggVennDiagram::ggVennDiagram(), with the automation of many features. All ggVennDiagram parameters can be accessed through the ... argument. It can automatically save the plot as png (default) and/or pdf files, and the ggplot object as a .qs file.
Quick Heatmap Plot. Generates a heatmap plot using the ggheatmap package with features such as automatic file saving and markdown link generation. This function simplifies the process of creating and customizing heatmaps, with support for clustering, annotations, and scaling.
Draw and Save a Doubledecker Mosaic Plot. Creates a mosaic-style (doubledecker) stacked bar plot where the X-axis bar width is proportional to the group size and the Y-axis variable determines the color (fill). This function wraps ggmosaic::geom_mosaic() in the style of ggExpress plotting wrappers and supports automatic file saving, Markdown linking, and default color palettes.
qqSave. Quick-Save ggplot objects
q32vA4_grid_plot. Plot up to 6 panels (3-by-2) on vertically standing A4 page.
qA4_grid_plot. Plot up to 6 panels (3-by-1) on vertically standing A4 page.
qMarkdownImageLink. Insert Markdown image link to .md report
qqqAxisLength. Define Axis Length
qqqNamed.Vec.2.Tbl. Convert a named vector to a table.
qqqTbl.2.Vec. Convert a table to a named vector.
qqqList.2.DF.ggplot. Convert a list to a two-column data frame to plot boxplots and violin plots
Assert Maximum Categories in a data frame Column. Checks if the number of unique categories in a column of a dataframe is within the allowed limit.