title	author	date	output
README	Niall Goulding	16 January 2017	html_document

#DCMS Map Maker

##Intro

This package is used to make maps for DCMS statistical publications. It combines input data in a standard format with an Ordnance Survey boundary line shapefile distributed under the Open Government License. It outputs a graphics file of the map.

This package is used to make maps for DCMS statistical publications. It combines input data in a standard format with an Ordnance Survey boundary line shapefile distributed under the Open Government License.

##Installation

install.packages("devtools")
library(devtools)
install_github("DCMSstats/dcmsmaps")

##Usage

library(dcmsmaps)

dcmsmaps(csvfile = "~/Documents/mydata.csv", outfile = "~/Documents/mymap.eps", mincol = "#3CB43C", maxcol = "#5B7DC8", england = FALSE, labels = TRUE, scale = TRUE, pound = FALSE)

• set csvfile to equal the name of your input csv file in the standard format (remember to use double slashes, e.g. \\, if you're on Windows)
• set outfile to be the name of your output map in EPS format
• mincol is the hexidecimal colour to set the lower end of your map's scale
• maxcol is the hexidecimal colour to set the upper end of your map's scale
• set england to TRUE if your map is only for England, FALSE for the whole UK
• set englandwales to TRUE if your map is only for England and Wales, FALSE for the whole UK
• set labels to FALSE to turn map labels off
• set scale to FALSE to turn the colour scale legend off
• set pound to TRUE if you want the data displayed on your map to be prefixed with a £ sign, e.g., if you're plotting GVA per region.

Input data

The code is flexible enough to work with population like figures, £thousands and precise GBP values.

Remember to follow the standard format for your input data CSV file. An example file is included in this package. It should be formatted as follows:

NAME	mapdata
East Midlands	70.7
East of England	71.0
London	77.5
North East	69.2
North West	70.0
South East	72.8
South West	71.6
West Midlands	70.2
Yorkshire and the Humber	70.0
Northern Ireland	69.3
Scotland	70.4
Wales	69.8

If the names of the UK regions and devoled administrations, and the column headings, are misspelt or otherwise different to this the map will not be created properly.

Using the output in Microsoft Office

This package produces an EPS file, which is a graphics file that doesn't suffer from pixelation or compression issues when you save your Document or Presentation to PDF. To use it in PowerPoint etc. select Insert > Picture > mymap.eps. Then save it to PDF and it'll look nice no matter how much you zoom in!