theme_classic() no axis lines in version 2.1

[jscamac]

Shouldn't theme_classic actually have axis lines?
Is the update a mistake?

See theme_classic():
http://docs.ggplot2.org/dev/ggtheme.html

[Katiedaisey]

It seems my update to allow access to lower level elements (axis.line.x, panel.grid.major.y, etc) leaves changes to upper level elements unused. Let me give this some thought.

[steveharoz]

Here's a temporary workaround for the axes if anyone needs it until the issue's resolved:
theme_classic() + theme(
axis.line.x = element_line(colour = 'black', size=0.5, linetype='solid'),
axis.line.y = element_line(colour = 'black', size=0.5, linetype='solid'))

[jscamac]

Thanks. I already had the work around but thought I should let you know of the changes to the classic_theme.

[ustervbo]

I think the problem is related to #1567 and seems to stem from complete removal of axis lines by default

[Katiedaisey]

It has to do with how attributes for elements are inherited. To remove an attribute, like axis.line in some themes, the current code sets them as element_blank(). However if a subelement, axis.line.x and axis.line.y are added, they inherit element_blank and will not appear. Newly added elements need to inherit from the original object (line, rect, or text) skipping any blank elements but I'm still thinking on how to do that.

[bklingen]

Really would appreciate for theme_classic() to work as in version 2.0.0 (and all prior versions), showing the x and y axis line as before instead of drawing no axis at all. (And thanks for the, hopefully temporary, workaround). I have countless shiny applications that depend on the classic theme, and re-programming all of these would be a nightmare.

[Katiedaisey]

I think I have this completely fixed. Would anyone mind testing before I request a pull?

[steveharoz]

Hi @Katiedaisey. I pulled from your fork and tried running the example in http://docs.ggplot2.org/current/ggtheme.html
The ticks and labels look messed up, but I'm not sure if it's related.

ggplot(mtcars) + 
  geom_point(aes(x = wt, y = mpg, colour=factor(gear))) + 
  facet_wrap(~am) +
  theme_classic()

Nevertheless, axis lines appear to work:

ggplot(mtcars, aes(wt, mpg)) +
  geom_point() +
  theme(axis.line=element_line())

[Katiedaisey]

@steveharoz The ticks and labels were affected. They should also be fixed now.