resetPar <- function() {
dev.new()
op <- par(no.readonly = TRUE)
dev.off()
op
}
works after a fashion, but it does flash a new device on screen temporarily...
E.g.:
> par(mfrow = c(2,2)) ## some random par change
> par("mfrow")
[1] 2 2
> par(resetPar()) ## reset the pars to defaults
> par("mfrow") ## back to default
[1] 1 1
par() # view current settings
opar <- par() # make a copy of current settings
par(col.lab="red") # red x and y labels
hist(mtcars$mpg) # create a plot with these new settings
par(opar) # restore original settings
An alternative solution for preventing functions to change the user par. You can set the default parameters early on the function, so that the graphical parameters and layout will not be changed during the function execution. See ?on.exit for further details.