r - Local Variables Within aes

Question

I'm trying to use a local variable in aes when I plot with ggplot. This is my problem boiled down to the essence:

xy <- data.frame(x=1:10,y=1:10)

plotfunc <- function(Data,YMul=2){
    ggplot(Data,aes(x=x,y=y*YMul))+geom_line()
}

plotfunc(xy)

This results in the following error:

Error in eval(expr, envir, enclos) : object 'YMul' not found

It seems as if I cannot use local variables (or function arguments) in aes. Could it be that it occurrs due to the content of aes being executed later when the local variable is out of scope? How can I avoid this problem (other than not using the local variable within aes)?

Answer 1

I would capture the local environment,

xy <- data.frame(x=1:10,y=1:10)

plotfunc <- function(Data, YMul = 2){
    .e <- environment()
    ggplot(Data, aes(x = x, y = y*YMul), environment = .e) + geom_line()
}

plotfunc(xy)