In this chapter, we will polish text that overflows: wrapping long axis labels and legend entries with stringr and scales.
Long category names overlap and wreck otherwise clean charts. Wrapped labels keep every category readable without shrinking fonts to microscopic sizes.
Angling text 90 degrees feels like a fix but forces readers to tilt their heads. Wrap first; rotate only when wrapping cannot save the layout.
Long labels collide on crowded axes:
df <- data.frame(
program = c("Engineering and Technology", "Business Administration",
"Health and Medical Sciences", "Arts and Humanities"),
students = c(320, 280, 240, 190)
)
ggplot(df) +
geom_bar(aes(program, students), stat = "identity", fill = "steelblue") +
theme(axis.text.x = element_text(angle = 30, hjust = 1))
str_wrap() inserts line breaks at a fixed width:
ggplot(df) +
geom_bar(aes(stringr::str_wrap(program, width = 15), students),
stat = "identity", fill = "steelblue") +
labs(x = "Program")
label_wrap() wraps at the scale level, keeping the underlying data untouched:
ggplot(df) +
geom_bar(aes(program, students), stat = "identity", fill = "steelblue") +
scale_x_discrete(labels = scales::label_wrap(15))
The same helper tidies wrapped plot titles and subtitles:
ggplot(df) +
geom_bar(aes(stringr::str_wrap(program, width = 15), students),
stat = "identity", fill = "steelblue") +
labs(x = "Program",
title = stringr::str_wrap("Student enrollment across four academic programs in 2024", width = 40))