gen_grob: Render a flextable as a graphic object

In flextable: Functions for Tabular Reporting

Render a flextable as a graphic object

Description

gen_grob() converts a flextable into a Grid Graphics object (grob) that can be drawn on any R graphic device. This is the function behind save_as_image() and the patchwork integration (wrap_flextable()).

Typical uses:

• embed a flextable in a ggplot2 plot (via wrap_flextable() or cowplot)

• export a flextable as a PNG or SVG image (via save_as_image())

Text wrapping and scaling are supported. The fit argument controls how the table adapts to the available space (fixed size, auto-fit width, or fill the device).

Not recommended for very large tables because the grid calculations can be slow.

Limitations: equations (as_equation()) and hyperlinks (officer::hyperlink_ftext()) are not rendered.

Use a 'ragg', 'svglite' or 'ggiraph' device for correct rendering.

Usage

gen_grob(
  x,
  ...,
  fit = c("auto", "width", "fixed"),
  scaling = c("min", "full", "fixed"),
  wrapping = TRUE,
  autowidths = TRUE,
  just = NULL
)

Arguments

x	a 'flextable' object, see flextable-package to learn how to create 'flextable' object.
...	Reserved for extra arguments
fit	Determines the fitting/scaling of the grob on its parent viewport. One of auto, width, fixed, TRUE, FALSE: auto or TRUE (default): The grob is resized to fit in the parent viewport. The table row heights and column widths are resized proportionally. width: The grob is resized horizontally to fit the width of the parent viewport. The column widths are resized proportionally. The row heights are unaffected and the table height may be smaller or larger than the height of the parent viewport. fixed or FALSE: The grob will have fixed dimensions, as determined by the column widths and the row heights.
scaling	Determines the scaling of the table contents. One of min, full, fixed, TRUE, FALSE: min or TRUE (default): When the parent viewport is smaller than the necessary, the various content sizes (text font size, line width and image dimensions) will decrease accordingly so that the content can still fit. When the parent viewport is larger than the necessary, the content sizes will remain the same, they will not increase. full: Same as min, except that the content sizes are scaled fully, they will increase or decrease, according to the size of the drawing surface. fixed or FALSE: The content sizes will not be scaled.
wrapping	Determines the soft wrapping (line breaking) method for the table cell contents. One of TRUE, FALSE: TRUE: Text content may wrap into separate lines at normal word break points (such as a space or tab character between two words) or at newline characters anywhere in the text content. If a word does not fit in the available cell width, then the text content may wrap at any character. Non-text content (such as images) is also wrapped into new lines, according to the available cell width. FALSE: Text content may wrap only with a newline character. Non-text content is not wrapped. Superscript and subscript chunks do not wrap. Newline and tab characters are removed from these chunk types.
autowidths	If TRUE (default) the column widths are adjusted in order to fit the contents of the cells (taking into account the wrapping setting).
just	Justification of viewport layout, same as just argument in grid::grid.layout(). When set to NULL (default), it is determined according to the fit argument.

Value

a grob (gTree) object made with package grid

size

The size of the flextable can be known by using the method dim on the grob.

caption

It's important to note that captions are not part of the table itself. This means when exporting a table to PNG or SVG formats (image formats), the caption won't be included. Captions are intended for document outputs like Word, HTML, or PDF, where tables are embedded within the document itself.

See Also

Other functions for flextable output and export: df_printer(), flextable_to_rmd(), htmltools_value(), knit_print.flextable(), plot.flextable(), print.flextable(), save_as_docx(), save_as_html(), save_as_image(), save_as_pptx(), save_as_rtf(), to_html.flextable(), wrap_flextable()

Examples

library(ragg)
library(gdtools)
register_liberationsans()

set_flextable_defaults(font.family = "Liberation Sans")

ft <- flextable(head(mtcars))
gr <- gen_grob(ft)

plot(gr)

flextable documentation built on June 2, 2026, 9:08 a.m.