The purpose of the column plan (col_plan) is to allow
the user to specify how columns in the final table should appear in
regards to their labels and ordering. Similar to the column styling plan
(col_style_plan), col_plan refers to the final
columns of the table, i.e., the values found in the column
variable(s) from the input dataset. The col_plan is like an
advanced version of dplyr’s select function; just like
select, the user can add, drop, order, and/or rename
columns all in one step. What sets the col_plan apart,
however, is the ability to also specify column spanners and labels in a
hierarchical fashion, as well as preferentially selecting the
last instance a column is selected. For column spanning,
multiple column columns need to exist in the input dataset.
Let’s look at the workflow in more detail with the following dataset
which includes a single column variable:
dat <- tribble(
~group, ~label, ~my_col, ~parm, ~val,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "col1" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "col2" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "mycol3", "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "col4" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "mycol5", "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "col1" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "col2" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "mycol3", "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "col4" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "mycol5", "value", 2,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "col1" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "col2" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "mycol3", "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "col4" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "mycol5", "value", 3)This is what this data looks like formatted as a basic table.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = my_col,
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| col1 | col2 | mycol3 | col4 | mycol5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g1 | |||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | |||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Simple Column Selection
In the case of a single column variable with no column spanners,
col_plan behaves similarly to
dplyr::select.
If we want to remove one of the columns we specify within a
col_plan:
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = my_col,
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
-mycol5
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| col1 | col2 | mycol3 | col4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| g1 | ||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | ||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Just like dplyr::select, we can also reorder, rename,
and remove columns, using tidyselect syntax if we’d
like:
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = my_col,
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
# reordering
group,
label,
starts_with("col"),
# renaming
new_col_3 = mycol3,
# removing
-mycol5
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| col1 | col2 | col4 | new_col_3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| g1 | ||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | ||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Unlike dplyr::select though, col_plan respects the
last time a column is defined in the plan. This allows for
reordering/moving a column to the end very easily.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = my_col,
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
group,
label,
starts_with("col"),
everything(),
col1 # moved to end
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| col2 | col4 | mycol3 | mycol5 | col1 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g1 | |||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | |||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Naming the Group-Label Header
It is also possible to provide a combined header for the group and
label columns - this is termed the “stub” in {gt}. To achieve this,
rename the group variable in the column plan, just as you
would with other columns. If multiple group variables
exist, any of them can be renamed. If more than one is renamed, {tfrmt}
will use the highest level group name available.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = my_col,
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
my_grp = group, # rename group
label,
starts_with("col"),
everything(),
col1
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| my_grp | col2 | col4 | mycol3 | mycol5 | col1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| g1 | |||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | |||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Note that it is not currently possible to provide individual column headers if there are multiple group/label columns.
Editing and Moving Column Spanners
Multiple column variables are used to form the hierarchy
of column spanners and column labels, which is driven by the order of
the column variables. The first variable specified
represents the highest level spanner, while the last variable specified
represents the lowest level column label.
Let’s consider an example dataset with multiple column
variables. This dataset has three tiers, span2 with one
unique value, span1 with two unique values and
my_col which has 4 unique values. The NA’s
indicate there should be no spanning over those values.
dat <- tribble(
~group, ~label, ~span2, ~span1, ~my_col, ~parm, ~val,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col1" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col2" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", NA, NA, "mycol3", "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", "column cols", "col 4" , "col4" , "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel1", NA, NA, "mycol5", "value", 1,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col1" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col2" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", NA, NA , "mycol3", "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", "column cols", "col 4" , "col4" , "value", 2,
"g1", "rowlabel2", NA, NA, "mycol5", "value", 2,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col1" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "column cols", "cols 1,2", "col2" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", NA, NA, "mycol3", "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", "column cols", "col 4" , "col4" , "value", 3,
"g2", "rowlabel3", NA, NA, "mycol5", "value", 3,
)Similar to the case of 1 column variable, the user may
remove and rename values for the lowest level column
variable within col_plan. To edit or move the columns based on the the
column spanners, span_structure must be used. Here we want
to bring all the columns that start with “col” together, as well as
rename mycol3 and drop mycol5.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
# specify spanner columns and unique column from data
column = c(span2, span1, my_col),
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
group,
label,
starts_with("col"),
new_col_3 = mycol3,
-mycol5
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| column cols | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cols 1,2 | col 4 | new_col_3 | ||
| col1 | col2 | col4 | ||
| g1 | ||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | ||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Renaming column spanners can also be specified using
span_structure. We can rename multiple spanners within
the same level in the same span_structure - here
"cols 1,2" becomes "first cols" and
"col 4" becomes "just col4" for the
span1 level. But when renaming multiple spanners in
different levels we need to create a new
span_structure for each level - so we write
"column cols" becomes "most columns" for the
span2 level in a separate span_structure.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = c(span2, span1, my_col),
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
# rename column spanner in same level
span_structure(span1 = c("first cols" = "cols 1,2",
"just col4" = "col 4")),
# rename column spanner in different level
span_structure(span2 = c("most columns" = "column cols")),
group,
label,
starts_with("col"),
new_col_3 = mycol3,
-mycol5
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| most columns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| first cols | just col4 | new_col_3 | ||
| col1 | col2 | col4 | ||
| g1 | ||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | ||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Let’s suppose we want to move the “col 4” column to the beginning and
also reorder “col1” and “col2”. To achieve this, we can use
span_structure. span_structure allows you to
specify value(s) for a given column column, to specify the order. So can
select "col 4" from span1. Then use another
span_strcture to select "col2" and then
"col1" from my_col when span1
equals "col 1,2",and finally all the other columns.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = c(span2, span1, my_col),
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
group,
label,
# reordering spanners
span_structure(span1 = c("col 4")),
span_structure(span1 = c("cols 1,2"), my_col = c("col2", "col1")),
everything(),
new_col_3 = mycol3,
-mycol5
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| column cols | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| col 4 | cols 1,2 | new_col_3 | ||
| col4 | col2 | col1 | ||
| g1 | ||||
| rowlabel1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| rowlabel2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| g2 | ||||
| rowlabel3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Reordering with multiple column variables is simplest
when the lowest level column variable contains unique values (i.e.,
there is 1 value per column in the final table), like in the example
above. But, that isn’t always the case take the following example:
dat <- tribble(
~group, ~label, ~span , ~my_col, ~parm, ~val,
"g1", "stats", "Placebo" , "sd" , "sd" , 1.435,
"g1", "stats", "Placebo" , "mean" , "mean", 2.843,
"g1", "stats", "Treatment", "mean" , "mean", 1.234,
"g1", "stats", "Treatment", "sd" , "sd" , 2.123,
)For this table we want to ensure "Treatment" is always
before "Placebo" and that "mean" comes before
"sd". To do that we can make one
span_structure that specifies both the order of the
span level and the order of the my_col
level.
tfrmt(
group = group,
label = label,
param = parm,
value = val,
column = c(span, my_col),
body_plan = body_plan(
frmt_structure(group_val = ".default", label_val = ".default", frmt("x.xx"))
),
col_plan = col_plan(
group,
label,
span_structure(span = c("Treatment", "Placebo"),
my_col = c("mean", "sd"))
)
) %>%
print_to_gt(dat)| Treatment | Placebo | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mean | sd | mean | sd | |
| g1 | ||||
| stats | 1.23 | 2.12 | 2.84 | 1.44 |
For more examples of col_plan see the examples or
unusual table vignettes.