how to use if statement with plot_layout( )

Question

I would like to combine 3 plots(p1+p2+p3) together with conditional plot_layout() to p_all. However I could not get my if statement work. Could anyone guide me on this?

p3 is for sure exist, but p1|p2 might be null. layout_p is number of plot need to be bind.

{if(length(p1@data$Subject)>0) (p1)} +
{if(length(p2@data$Subject)>0) (p2)} +
p3+
{if(layout_p=3) (plot_layout(widths=c(5,5, 50)))}+
{if(layout_p=2) (plot_layout(widths=c(5, 55)))}+
{if(layout_p=1) (plot_layout(widths=c(60)))}

It's hard to tell without haveing a reproducible example. Please set it up and edit your question. For the first two conditions, wouldn't it be easier to decide based on the data? — Friede
– Friede, Commented Dec 4 at 14:35

I_O · Accepted Answer · 2025-12-04 15:52:33Z

2

If you want equal plot widths for any number of plots, that should be the default anyway.

To keep only plots whose data include a given variable (in your case Subject), you could, e. g.:

library(ggplot2)
library(patchwork)

p1 <- p3 <- ggplot(iris, aes(Species, Sepal.Length)) + geom_boxplot()
p2 <- ggplot(mtcars, aes(mpg, cyl)) + geom_point()


## these are the plots to keep:
plots <- list(p1, p2, p3) |> 
  Filter(f = \(p) length(p@data$Species)) ## in your case: p@data$Subject

## programmatically set plot widths (one broad, n-1 narrow):
n_narrow <- length(plots) - 1 ## number of narrow plots
small_width <- 5 ## width of narrow plots

widths <- c(rep(small_width, n_narrow),
            60 - prod(small_width, n_narrow)
            )

plots |> 
  Reduce(f = `+`) +
  plot_layout(widths = widths, 
              ## consider collecting redundant axes:
              axes = "collect" 
              )

edited Dec 4 at 15:52

answered Dec 4 at 14:59

I_O

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1 Comment

Stataq Dec 4 at 15:21

thanks for the answer. In fact my p1 and p2 will be a very narrow plot if they are not NULL. Is it a way to customize plot_layout()? for p1, p2 , if exist, then width=5. I updated my post to reflect this. Many thanks.

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