[R] empty density plot for point pattern in spatstat

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On 19/06/2014 07:00, Adrian Baddeley wrote:
> I think I have the solution to the problem
> experienced by users of 'spatstat' on Windows machines,
> who are finding that plot.im() gives empty colour images.
>
> Short answer: set useRaster=FALSE in the call to plot.im.
>
> Long answer:
> spatstat::plot.im calls graphics::image.default with the argument 'useRaster=TRUE' by default.
> When useRaster=TRUE, the image is displayed by the function rasterImage from the graphics package.
> This is done to improve behaviour on *some* Windows systems.
> But, for unknown reasons, this does not work on Windows Server and on a few versions of Windows XP.
> On those systems you may need to set useRaster=FALSE to get a plot.

The likely reason is on ?image.

      limitations on the size of a raster image.  (Problems with the
      rendering of raster images have been reported by users of
      ‘windows()’ devices under Remote Desktop, at least under its
      default settings.)

People using Windows Server are almost certainly using Remote Desktop to 
access it.   The cause is some Windows GDI bug with low colour depths 
(which Remote Desktop reduces by default).  If people are seeing it on a 
local screen, ensure that the display is set to 24- or 32-bit colours.

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595