Question

This question demonstrates how to put an equation into a ggplot2 qplot.

q <- qplot(cty, hwy, data = mpg, colour = displ)
q + xlab(expression(beta +frac(miles, gallon)))

How could I create an empty ggplot2 plot so that I could add the label to an empty canvas?

Answer 1

df <- data.frame()
ggplot(df) + geom_point() + xlim(0, 10) + ylim(0, 100)

and based on @ilya’s recommendation, geom_blank is perfect for when you already have data and can just set the scales based on that rather than define it explicitly.

ggplot(mtcars, aes(x = wt, y = mpg)) + geom_blank()