Devices {grDevices} | R Documentation

## List of Graphical Devices

### Description

The following graphics devices are currently available:

`windows`:

  On Windows only, the graphics device for Windows (on screen, to printer and to Windows metafile).

`pdf`:

  Write PDF graphics commands to a file

`postscript`:

  Writes PostScript graphics commands to a file

`xfig`:

  Device for XFIG graphics file format

`bitmap`:

  bitmap pseudo-device via `Ghostscript` (if available).

`pictex`:

  Writes TeX/PicTeX graphics commands to a file (of historical interest only)

The following devices will be functional if R was compiled to use them (they exist but will return with a warning on other systems):

`cairo_pdf`, `cairo_ps`:

  PDF and PostScript devices based on cairo graphics.

`svg`:

  SVG device based on cairo graphics

`png`:

  PNG bitmap device

`jpeg`:

  JPEG bitmap device

`bmp`:

  BMP bitmap device

`tiff`:

  TIFF bitmap device

On Unix-alikes (incl. Mac) only:

`X11`:

  The graphics device for the X11 windowing system

`quartz`:

  The graphics device for the macOS native Quartz 2d graphics system. (This is only functional on macOS where it can be used from the `R.app` GUI and from the command line: but it will display on the local screen even for a remote session.)

### Details

If no device is open, calling any high-level graphics function will cause a device to be opened. Which device is determined by `options("device")` which is initially set as the most appropriate for each platform: a screen device for most interactive use and `pdf` (or the setting of R_DEFAULT_DEVICE) otherwise. The exception is interactive use under Unix if no screen device is known to be available, when `pdf()` is used.

It is possible for an R package (or an R front-end such as RStudio) to provide further graphics devices and several packages on CRAN do so. These include other devices outputting SVG and PGF/TiKZ (TeX-based graphics, see http://pgf.sourceforge.net/).

### See Also

The individual help files for further information on any of the devices listed here;

on Windows:

  `windows.options`,

on a Unix-alike:

  `X11.options`, `quartz.options`,

`ps.options` and `pdf.options` for how to customize devices.

`dev.interactive`, `dev.cur`, `dev.print`, `graphics.off`, `image`, `dev2bitmap`.

On Unix-alikes only:
`capabilities` to see if `X11`, `jpeg`, `png`, `tiff`, `quartz` and the cairo-based devices are available.

### Examples

    ## Not run:
    ## open the default screen device on this platform if no device is
    ## open
    if(dev.cur() == 1) dev.new()

    ## End(Not run)

[Package grDevices version 3.6.1 Index]