[R] Producing "Editable" Graphs for PowerPoint

[Michael Prager]

Paul--

It is hard to fight the tide, even when it contains sewage, but (you 
probably agree) this is an idiotic requirement.  Not only does this 
journal want to change your work (which journals do much too much), they 
also want you to help them use of low-class tools to do so.

You could try asking the journal to tell you what changes they feel are 
needed & promising to make them yourself.  That's what I would do, but 
there's no guarantee it will succeed.

An alternative would be to make EPS files from R and send them to them. 
The XP version (and presumably above) of MSPP can import and edit EPS 
files. If the journal doesn't like the *way* it edits them, well, what 
can you do?  Maybe that will allow you to gently suggest that their 
requirement is all wet.

We need somehow to restore the roles of authors and journals.  Authors 
are supposed to write the stuff, and journals figure how to get it into 
print.  Somewhere along the line, journals have taken on all the 
prerogatives of collaborators.  It seems to me that is a conflict of 
interest.

Good luck!

Regards,
...Mike



Paul Hewson wrote:

>Hello,
>
>(apologies, I'm not entirely sure whether this question is about R or my
>limitations with PowerPoint).   I've submitted a paper (which has been
>accepted) but the journal now require me to submit graphs that are
>"editable in PowerPoint".   I would be grateful for suggestions as to
>how I should do this.
>
>The best route seems to be to copy-and-paste the figures from the
>windows() device as a metafile.   However, on converting the graphs to
>an editable format and "ungrouping" them, it appears that every line,
>tickmark, dot and dash is treated as a separate entity by PowerPoint
>(for example even the horizontal and vertical parts of "+" are
>separated).   Alternatively, reading in the files from a saved metafile
>is even more problematic: having used par(new = TRUE) I have a set of
>layered graphs and all but the last one dissapear once I open the
>graphic for editing.
>
>Is this normal for a figure "editable by PowerPoint" or am I doing
>something horribly wrong somewhere?    
>
>Many thanks
>
>Paul
>
>
>  
>

-- 
Michael H. Prager, Ph.D.
Population Dynamics Team
NOAA Center for Coastal Habitat and Fisheries Research
NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center
Beaufort, North Carolina  28516  USA
http://shrimp.ccfhrb.noaa.gov/~mprager/