Using munch with ggplot2

library(munch)
library(ggplot2)
library(flextable)
library(gdtools)
fset <- font_set_liberation()
set_theme(theme_minimal(base_family = "Liberation Sans", base_size = 11))

This vignette covers formatting in ‘ggplot2’ theme elements and text annotations using ‘munch’.

Simple markdown with element_md()

element_md() replaces element_text() to render markdown in titles, subtitles, captions, and axis labels.

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  labs(
    title = "**Fuel Consumption** vs *Weight*",
    subtitle = "Data from the `mtcars` dataset",
    caption = "Source: *Motor Trend* (1974)"
  ) +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_md(size = 16),
    plot.subtitle = element_md(size = 12, code_font_family = "Liberation Mono"),
    plot.caption = element_md(size = 9)
  )

ggplot(mtcars, aes(hp, mpg)) +
  geom_point() +
  labs(
    x = "Horsepower (*hp*)",
    y = "Miles per gallon (**mpg**)"
  ) +
  theme(
    axis.title.x = element_md(),
    axis.title.y = element_md()
  )

For advanced markdown rendering (images, spans, custom CSS), see also marquee::element_marquee().

Long titles

Titles, subtitles and captions wrap to the width of their column, and the plot keeps the space they need:

long_title <- paste(
  "A **long title** that needs several lines, because it is wider",
  "than the *panel* of the plot"
)

p <- ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  labs(title = long_title) +
  theme(plot.title = element_md())
p

With ‘patchwork’, or with a fixed aspect ratio such as coord_fixed(), this width is not known when the height of the title is computed. The text may need more lines than the space kept for it, and its first lines are cut. Set the maximum width of the text with width, in inches:

library(patchwork)

p <- p + theme(plot.title = element_md(width = 2.5))
p | p

Advanced formatting with element_chunks()

element_chunks() uses ‘flextable’ formatting functions (as_paragraph(), as_chunk(), etc.) to build rich text with superscripts, subscripts, colors, and highlighting, features that markdown does not support.

The as_paragraph() vocabulary

Build text by combining chunks inside as_paragraph():

Function	Description	Example
`as_chunk()`	Plain text	`as_chunk("text")`
`as_b()`	Bold	`as_b("bold")`
`as_i()`	Italic	`as_i("italic")`
`as_sup()`	Superscript	`as_sup("2")`
`as_sub()`	Subscript	`as_sub("2")`
`colorize()`	Colored text	`colorize(as_chunk("red"), color = "red")`
`as_highlight()`	Highlighted	`as_highlight(as_chunk("text"), color = "yellow")`

chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_b("Bold"), as_chunk(", "),
  as_i("italic"), as_chunk(", "),
  as_chunk("x"), as_sup("2"), as_chunk(", "),
  as_chunk("H"), as_sub("2"), as_chunk("O")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(plot.title = element_chunks(chunks))

Scientific notation

Superscripts and subscripts are essential for scientific text. element_chunks() makes them straightforward:

title_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Analysis: "),
  as_b("R"), as_sup("2"),
  as_chunk(" = 0.87, "),
  as_i("p"), as_chunk(" < 0.001")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  geom_smooth(method = "lm", se = FALSE) +
  theme(plot.title = element_chunks(title_chunks))

Chemical formulas:

subtitle_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Concentration of "),
  as_b("H"), as_sub("2"),
  as_b("SO"), as_sub("4"),
  as_chunk(" in solution")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(plot.subtitle = element_chunks(subtitle_chunks))

Units with exponents:

caption_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Units: mol\u00B7L"), as_sup("-1"),
  as_chunk(" | Speed: m\u00B7s"), as_sup("-2")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(plot.caption = element_chunks(caption_chunks))

Colors and highlighting

colorize() and as_highlight() add color and background highlighting:

title_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Results: "),
  colorize(as_chunk("significant"), color = "#E63946"),
  as_chunk(" difference")
)

subtitle_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Compare "),
  as_highlight(as_chunk(" Group A "), color = "yellow"),
  as_chunk(" vs "),
  as_highlight(as_chunk(" Group B "), color = "cyan")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(
    plot.title = element_chunks(title_chunks),
    plot.subtitle = element_chunks(subtitle_chunks)
  )

Images in theme elements

as_image() embeds images inside element_chunks(). This is useful for logos or icons in titles:

r_logo <- file.path(R.home("doc"), "html", "logo.jpg")

title_chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_image(src = r_logo, width = 0.25, height = 0.2),
  as_chunk(" "),
  as_b("R Project"),
  as_chunk(" - fuel consumption data")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(plot.title = element_chunks(title_chunks))

Layout parameters

element_chunks() accepts the same layout parameters as element_md():

Parameter	Description
`hjust`	Horizontal justification (0-1)
`vjust`	Vertical justification (0-1)
`angle`	Text rotation angle
`lineheight`	Line height multiplier
`margin`	Margins around text
`width`	Maximum width of the text, in inches

chunks <- as_paragraph(
  as_chunk("Centered: R"), as_sup("2"),
  as_chunk(" = 0.75")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(plot.title = element_chunks(chunks, hjust = 0.5))

Text annotations with geom_text_md() and geom_label_md()

geom_text_md() and geom_label_md() render markdown-formatted labels directly on the plot, similar to geom_text() and geom_label().

annotations <- data.frame(
  x = c(15, 25, 30),
  y = c(4, 3, 2),
  label = c("**Group A**", "*Group B*", "`Group C`")
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point(alpha = 0.5) +
  geom_text_md(
    data = annotations,
    aes(x = x, y = y, label = label),
    size = 4,
    code_font_family = "Liberation Mono"
  )

geom_label_md() adds a background rectangle for better readability:

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  geom_smooth(method = "lm", se = FALSE) +
  geom_label_md(
    label = "**R\u00B2 = 0.75**\n\n*p < 0.001*",
    x = 28, y = 5,
    hjust = 0, vjust = 1,
    fill = "white",
    label.padding = unit(0.5, "lines")
  )

Text wrapping

geom_text_md() and geom_label_md() support the width parameter (in inches) for automatic line wrapping:

df <- data.frame(
  x = c(15, 30),
  y = c(4, 2.5),
  label = c(
    "This is a **long annotation** that will be *wrapped* automatically when it exceeds the specified `width`.",
    "A shorter **note**."
  )
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point(alpha = 0.3) +
  geom_text_md(
    data = df,
    aes(x = x, y = y, label = label),
    width = 2, hjust = 0, size = 3.5,
    code_font_family = "Liberation Mono"
  )

Images in labels

Use markdown image syntax ![](path) to embed images in geom_label_md():

r_logo <- file.path(R.home("doc"), "html", "logo.jpg")

df <- data.frame(
  x = 20, y = 4,
  label = sprintf("Built with ![](%s) and **ggplot2**", r_logo)
)

ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, wt)) +
  geom_point() +
  geom_label_md(
    data = df,
    aes(x = x, y = y, label = label),
    fill = "white",
    label.padding = unit(0.5, "lines")
  )

Alignment accuracy

‘munch’ measures text with ‘gdtools’, which adds up the advance widths of the glyphs read from the font file. Kerning, the adjustment of the space between some pairs of letters, is not applied. Devices such as ‘ragg’, ‘svglite’ or ‘ggiraph’ apply it when they draw the text, so a word can be drawn slightly narrower than measured.

The difference is negligible for most words, but can reach about 7% of the width of words with pairs such as “AV”, “To” or “WA” (for example “AVATAR”). Each word is placed at its measured position, so the differences do not add up along a line. Their visible effects are:

a slightly wider space after such a word;
with hjust = 1 (right-aligned), a line ending with such a word stops slightly before the right edge; with hjust = 0.5, the difference is half as large on each side; with hjust = 0, the left edge is exact.

Taking kerning into account in measurements is planned.

Choosing the right approach

Feature	`element_md()`	`element_chunks()`	`geom_*_md()`
Bold / Italic	`text` / `text`	`as_b()` / `as_i()`	`text` / `text`
Inline code	`text`	x	`text`
Superscript	x	`as_sup()`	x
Subscript	x	`as_sub()`	x
Colors	x	`colorize()`	x
Highlighting	x	`as_highlight()`	x
Use case	Theme elements	Theme elements	Text annotations

element_md(), simple markdown in theme elements (titles, captions, axes).
element_chunks(), rich formatting with superscripts, subscripts, colors. Uses the same vocabulary as ‘flextable’, making it easy to reuse patterns across plots and tables.
geom_text_md() / geom_label_md(), markdown annotations placed at specific coordinates on the plot.