plotly / plotly/plotly.R

Bug: ggplotly ignores colours in ggplot2::scale_fill_gradientn when limits are below the range of the data

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bug ggplotly
Dominant language
R
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Description

This is an odd bug (reported first as a heatmaply issue).

If we create a ggplot2 object with colors based on scale_fill_gradientn, then ggplotly respect the colors. But if the limits are set to be within (instead of outside) the range of the data, then ggplotly stops respecting the colors. This may be some fallback for how to deal with NA colors (but I don't know enough about ggplotly to know for sure).

Here is a self contained example:


library(ggplot2)
library(viridis)
library(plotly)
# Equivalent fill scales do the same job for the fill aesthetic
p <- ggplot(faithfuld, aes(waiting, eruptions)) +
  geom_raster(aes(fill = density)) +
  scale_fill_gradientn(colours = viridis(10), limits = c(0.001,.01))
p
ggplotly(p)

Plot in ggplot2:
image

Plot in plotly (see the wrong colors produced!)
image

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by running the self-contained R example with ggplot2, viridis, and plotly, then compare the ggplot2 and ggplotly color output when scale_fill_gradientn limits are below the data range. Done means ggplotly preserves the intended gradient colors for this case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
r
Domain
data-visualization
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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