locator equivalent in ggplot2 (for maps)

Question

Note: This question is specific for mapping but I'd like to be able to use it when I plot in a standard Cartesian coordinate system.

I love base graphics but also like ggplot2 for many things. One of my most used base functions for fine tuning a graph is locator(n) but this produces an error in ggplot2.

library(ggplot2) 
county_df <- map_data('county')  #mappings of counties by state
ny <- subset(county_df, region=="new york")   #subset just for NYS
ny$county <- ny$subregion

ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat, group=group)) +  geom_polygon(colour='black', fill=NA)
locator(1)

Now grid.locator() as pointed out to me by Dason on talkstats.com (HERE) can return something. I just don't know how to use that something to get a map coordinate.

> grid.locator()
$x
[1] 286native

$y
[1] 133native

Units didn't seem to help as they are not map coordinates. Maybe I need some sort of conversion.

Thank you in advance.

EDIT: (based on DWin's response)

Dwin's got the right idea but the conversion factor is a little bit off. Help with that would be appreciated. In the example below I have a map with a red dot on it at the coordinates (x = -73 & y = 40.855). I threw Dwin's response into a function to return the coordinates. I would expect the results to be the coordinates I put in but they're not.

Ideas?

require(maps); library(ggplot2); require(grid)

county_df <- map_data('county')  #mappings of counties by state
ny <- subset(county_df, region=="new york")   #subset just for NYS
ny$county <- ny$subregion


NY <- ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat)) +  
          geom_polygon(aes(group=group), colour='black', fill=NA) +
          coord_map() + geom_point(aes(-73, 40.855, colour="red"))
NY  

gglocator <- function(object){
    require(maps); require(grid)
    z <- grid.locator("npc")
    y <- sapply(z, function(x) as.numeric(substring(x, 1, nchar(x))))
    locatedX <- min(object$data$long) + y[1]*diff(range(object$data$long))
    locatedy <- min(object$data$lat)  + y[2]*diff(range(object$data$lat))
    return(c(locatedX, locatedy))
}

#click on the red dot
gglocator(NY)  #I expect the results to be x = -73 & y = 40.855

EDIT 2: (Going off of Baptise's answer)

We're there

NY <- ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat)) +  
          geom_polygon(aes(group=group), colour='black', fill=NA) +
          coord_map() + geom_point(aes(-73, 40.855, colour="red")) +
          scale_x_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) + scale_y_continuous(expand=c(0,0))


NY 
x <- grid.ls()[[1]][grep("panel-", grid.ls()[[1]])] #locate the panel
seekViewport(x)
y <-  grid.locator("npc")
y <- as.numeric(substring(y, 1, nchar(y)-3))

locatedX <- min(NY$data$long) + y[1]*diff(range(NY$data$long))
locatedy <- min(NY$data$lat) + y[2]*diff(range(NY$data$lat))
locatedX; locatedy 

UPDATE: The gglocator function of the ggmap package now contains this functionality.

Answer 1

I wrote to the ggplot help list and received a very helpful response from David Kahle who happened to be interested in the same problem. His function is great in that:

1) you don't have to add scale y and scale x to the plot

2) it can find multiple points at once and return them as a data frame

3) it works on any type of ggplot, not just maps

gglocator <- function(n = 1, object = last_plot(), 
    message = FALSE, xexpand = c(.05,0), yexpand = c(.05, 0)){ 

  #compliments of David Kahle
  if(n > 1){
    df <- NULL
    for(k in 1:n){
      df <- rbind(df, gglocator(object = object, message = message, 
        xexpand = xexpand, yexpand = yexpand))
    }
    return(df)
  }

  x <- grid.ls(print = message)[[1]]
  x <- x[ grep("panel-", grid.ls(print=message)[[1]]) ] #locate the panel
  seekViewport(x)
  loc <-  as.numeric(grid.locator("npc"))

  xrng <- with(object, range(data[,deparse(mapping$x)]))
  yrng <- with(object, range(data[,deparse(mapping$y)]))    

  xrng <- expand_range(range = xrng, mul = xexpand[1], add = xexpand[2])
  yrng <- expand_range(range = yrng, mul = yexpand[1], add = yexpand[2])    

  point <- data.frame(xrng[1] + loc[1]*diff(xrng), yrng[1] + loc[2]*diff(yrng))
  names(point) <- with(object, c(deparse(mapping$x), deparse(mapping$y)))
  point
}

#Example 1
require(maps); library(ggplot2); require(grid)
county_df <- map_data('county')  #mappings of counties by state
ny <- subset(county_df, region=="new york")   #subset just for NYS
ny$county <- ny$subregion


NY <- ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat)) +  
          geom_polygon(aes(group=group), colour='black', fill=NA) +
          coord_map() + geom_point(aes(c(-78, -73), c(41, 40.855), 
          colour=c("blue", "red"))) + opts(legend.position = "none") 


NY 
gglocator(2)

#Example 2
df <- data.frame(xvar = 2:10, yvar = 2:10)
ggplot(df, aes(xvar, yvar)) + geom_point() + geom_point(aes(x = 3, y = 6))
gglocator()

UPDATE: The gglocator function of the ggmap package now contains this functionality.

Answer 2

Need to use a unit system that makes sense and save the information in the ggplot object so you can convert from "npc" units to map units:

require(maps)
require(grid)
NY <- ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat, group=group)) +  geom_polygon(colour='black', fill=NA)
 grid.locator("npc")
# clicked in middle of NY State:

#$x
#[1] 0.493649231346082npc
#
#$y
#[1] 0.556430446194226npc
 range(NY$data$long)
#[1] -79.76718 -71.87756
 range(NY$data$lat)
#[1] 40.48520 45.01157
 locatedX <- min(NY$data$long) + 0.493649231346082*diff(range(NY$data$long))
 locatedX
#[1] -75.87247
locatedY <- min(NY$data$lat) +  0.556430446194226*diff(range(NY$data$lat))
locatedY
#[1] 43.00381

Answer 3

I get the correct result if I add scale_x_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) + scale_y_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) to the plot, and seekViewport("panel-3-4") before grid.locator()

Answer 4

Here's the final results using everything DWin and Baptise gave me wrapped up into a function. I also inquired on the ggplot help list and will report and additional information back here.

require(maps); require(ggplot2); require(grid)

ny <- map_data('county', 'new york')

NY1 <- ggplot(ny, aes(long, lat)) +  
          geom_polygon(aes(group=group), colour='black', fill=NA) +
          coord_map() + geom_point(aes(c(-78, -73), c(41, 40.855), 
          colour=c("blue", "red"))) + opts(legend.position = "none") 

NY <- NY1 + scale_x_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) + 
          scale_y_continuous(expand=c(0,0))
          #the scale x and y have to be added to the plot

NY 

ggmap.loc <- function(object){
    x <- grid.ls()[[1]][grep("panel-", grid.ls()[[1]])] #locate the panel
    seekViewport(x)
    y <-  as.numeric(grid.locator("npc"))
    locatedX <- min(object$data$long) + y[1]*diff(range(object$data$long))
    locatedy <- min(object$data$lat) + y[2]*diff(range(object$data$lat))
    return(c(locatedX, locatedy))
}

ggmap.loc(NY)

Answer 5

These posts were very helpful, but it's been a few years so a few things are broken. Here is some new code that works for me. The code to find the correct viewport didn't work, so instead I used current.vpTree() to manually search for the right viewport, then copied that into seekViewport(). Note the viewport for me was 'panel.6-4-6-4' and not the old style panel-*. Finally, I wasn't getting the right answers when rendering in rstudio, instead I had to use x11().

Here is a complete example. Hope this is helpful.

library(ggplot2)
library(grid)

object<-ggplot(dat=data.frame(x=1:5,y=1:5),aes(x=x,y=y)) + 
  geom_point()  +
  scale_x_continuous(expand=c(0,0)) +
  scale_y_continuous(expand=c(0,0))
x11()
print(object)
formatVPTree(current.vpTree()) #https://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~paul/useR2015-grid/formatVPTree.R
seekViewport('panel.6-4-6-4')
y <-  as.numeric(grid.locator("npc"))
locatedX <- min(object$data$x) + y[1]*diff(range(object$data$x))
locatedY <- min(object$data$y) + y[2]*diff(range(object$data$y))
locatedX; locatedY