Get Graphics File from improve Repository

Retrieves graphics files (images, plots, figures) from the improve repository and returns metadata including the local file path. The graphics file is downloaded and cached locally for use in reports, visualizations, or further processing.

Usage

getGraphics(
  ident,
  from = pwd(),
  addAsLink = TRUE,
  caption = "",
  description = ""
)

Arguments

ident: Path, resource ID, or entity ID of the graphics file. Can be a relative path (from current step), absolute path, or improve identifier
from: Root path for resolving relative paths. Defaults to pwd() (current step location)
addAsLink: Logical. If TRUE, creates a link in the inventory for provenance tracking. Use improveClean() at workflow end to clean up links
caption: Custom caption text. If empty, defaults to entityID and lastModified timestamp
description: Custom description text. If empty, defaults to filename

Value

A data frame with the following columns:

caption: Character. Source information including entity version ID and last modified timestamp
path: Character. Local file system path to the downloaded graphics file
entityId: Character. Entity identifier on improve server
name: Character. Filename of the graphics file
description: Character. Description text (defaults to filename)
resource: List. Complete resource metadata from improve server (29 fields)

Details

Graphics files are cached locally in the graphics/ subdirectory of the current working directory. The file is downloaded but not loaded into R - use the returned path with appropriate display functions.

Common workflows:

For RMarkdown: Use showGraphics() to generate markdown syntax
For knitr chunks: Use includeGraphics() with knitr integration
For custom display: Use the path column with graphics functions
For metadata only: Access entityId, name, etc.

References

ics1141

Examples

if (FALSE) { # \dontrun{
# Get graphics file metadata
plot_info <- getGraphics("results/efficacy_plot.png")
plot_path <- plot_info$path

# Display in RMarkdown using helper function
showGraphics("results/efficacy_plot.png")

# Display in knitr chunk
includeGraphics("results/efficacy_plot.png")

# Custom display with base R
img_info <- getGraphics("figures/diagram.png")
# Use img_info$path with your preferred display method
} # }