Table of Contents
To remove a legend in ggplot2, the user can use the “theme” function and set the legend position to “none”. This will remove the legend from the plot. Alternatively, the user can specify which specific legend to remove by using the “guides” function and setting the legend to “FALSE”. This will also remove the specified legend from the plot.
Remove a Legend in ggplot2 (With Examples)
You can use the following syntax to remove a legend from a plot in ggplot2:
ggplot(df, aes(x=x, y=y, color=z)) + geom_point() + theme(legend.position="none")
By specifying legend.position=”none” you’re telling ggplot2 to remove all legends from the plot.
The following step-by-step example shows how to use this syntax in practice.
Step 1: Create the Data Frame
First, let’s create a data frame:
#create data frame df <- data.frame(assists=c(3, 4, 4, 3, 1, 5, 6, 7, 9), points=c(14, 8, 8, 16, 3, 7, 17, 22, 26), position=rep(c('Guard', 'Forward', 'Center'), times=3)) #view data frame df assists points position 1 3 14 Guard 2 4 8 Forward 3 4 8 Center 4 3 16 Guard 5 1 3 Forward 6 5 7 Center 7 6 17 Guard 8 7 22 Forward 9 9 26 Center
Step 2: Create a Plot Using ggplot2
Next, let’s use ggplot2 to create a simple scatterplot:
library(ggplot2)
#create scatterplot
ggplot(df, aes(x=assists, y=points, color=position)) +
geom_point(size=3)
By default, ggplot2 includes a legend so that it’s easier to interpret the colors in the scatterplot.
Step 3: Remove the Legend from the Plot
Next, let’s use legend.position=”none” to remove the legend from the plot:
library(ggplot2)
#create scatterplot with no legend
ggplot(df, aes(x=assists, y=points, color=position)) +
geom_point(size=3) +
theme(legend.position="none")
The legend has been completely removed from the plot.
Additional Resources
The following tutorials explain how to perform other common operations in ggplot2: