diff --git a/R/DESCRIPTION b/R/DESCRIPTION
index f8ece4d2..c7ebf9e0 100755
--- a/R/DESCRIPTION
+++ b/R/DESCRIPTION
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 Package: loon
 Type: Package
 Title: Interactive Statistical Data Visualization
-Version: 1.3.9.9000
-Date: 2022-03-08
+Version: 1.4.0
+Date: 2022-03-12
 Authors@R: c(person(given = "Adrian", family = "Waddell", 
                     email = "adrian@waddell.ch", 
                     role = c("aut")),
diff --git a/R/NEWS.md b/R/NEWS.md
index ff7061a6..879cf616 100755
--- a/R/NEWS.md
+++ b/R/NEWS.md
@@ -1,8 +1,17 @@
-# loon 1.3.9.9000
+# loon 1.4.0
 
 Beginning changes before the next release on CRAN
 
-* Added "loon.shiny" to l_web() now that it appears as part of diveR package
+* Added `"loon.shiny"` to `l_web()` now that it appears as part of diveR package
+
+* Added arguments to `l_hist()` for character vectors and factors.
+
+  - Now factors ALWAYS created and placed in a layer. 
+  - Factor layer is simply hidden if `showFactors = FALSE`
+  - More flexibility given to user in terms of factor text size, 
+    angle of rotation, and colour
+  - Changed default y positions to 0 so that labels do not disappear with
+    switch to `yshows = "density"`.
 
 # loon 1.3.9
 
diff --git a/R/R/l_hist.R b/R/R/l_hist.R
index bb66e759..a709751e 100755
--- a/R/R/l_hist.R
+++ b/R/R/l_hist.R
@@ -308,9 +308,28 @@ l_hist.default <-  function(x,
 }
 
 #' @rdname l_hist
-#' @param showFactors whether to draw the factor names
+#' @param showFactors whether to show the factor levels as factor labels layered on the plot.
+#'        If \code{FALSE}, the factor labels are hidden and can be turned on
+#'        from the "layers" tab on the inspector.
+#' @param factorLabelAngle is the angle of rotation (in degrees) for the factor labels.
+#' If not specified, an angle of 0 is chosen if there are fewer than 10 labels; labels are
+#' rotated 90 degrees if there are 10 or more. This can also be a numeric vector of length
+#' equal to the number of factor levels in \code{x}.
+#' @param factorLabelSize is the font size for the factor labels (default 12).
+#' @param factorLabelColor is the colour to be used for the factor labels.
+#' (default is \code{l_getOption("foreground")}). Can be a vector of length
+#' equal to that of the number of factor levels in \code{x}.
+#' @param factorLabelY either a single number (default 0), or a numeric vector of length
+#' equal to that of the number of factor levels, determining the
+#' y coordinate(s) for the factor labels.
 #' @export
-l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
+l_hist.factor <-  function(x,
+                           showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L,
+                           factorLabelAngle,
+                           factorLabelSize = 12,
+                           factorLabelColor = l_getOption("foreground"),
+                           factorLabelY = 0,
+                           ...) {
 
     if(missing(x))
         return(
@@ -323,10 +342,36 @@ l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
         dotArgs$xlabel <-  gsub("\"", "", deparse(substitute(x)))
     }
 
+    if (!is.null(dotArgs$yshows)) {
+        if(dotArgs$yshows == "density"){
+            dotArgs$yshows <- "frequency"
+            warning("For character or factor data, `yshows` cannot be `density`.",
+                    "Switched `yshows` to ", dotArgs$yshows)
+        }
+    }
+
     x <- as.factor(x)
 
     levelNames <- levels(x)
     nlevels <- length(levelNames)
+    if(missing(factorLabelAngle)){
+        if(nlevels >= 10) {
+            factorLabelAngle <- 90
+        } else {
+            factorLabelAngle <- 0
+        }
+    }
+    if(!is.numeric(factorLabelY) | (length(factorLabelY) == 0)) {
+        warning("factorLabelY must be numeric; using default -1")
+        factorLabelY <- rep(-1, nlevels)
+    } else {
+        if(length(factorLabelY) != nlevels) {
+            factorLabelY <- rep(factorLabelY,
+                                length.out = nlevels)
+            }
+        }
+
+
     x <-  unclass(x)  # Get the level numbers as numeric values
     dotArgs$x <- x
 
@@ -342,7 +387,7 @@ l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
         uni_x <- unique(x)
         binwidth <- if(length(uni_x) == 1) {
             # This is a single bin histogram
-            # the binwidth can be set as any non-negtive value
+            # the bin width can be set as any non-negative value
             0.1
         } else {
             min(diff(sort(uni_x)))
@@ -354,11 +399,11 @@ l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
     hist <- do.call(l_hist.default, dotArgs)
 
     # Add level names to plot
-    ## Adjust text coords
+    ## Adjust text coordinates
     ## The reason to do so is to make sure that
-    ## `labels` always lay down the corresponding bins no matter how origin shifts
+    ## `labels` always lay down the corresponding bins
+    ##  no matter how origin shifts
 
-    if(!showFactors) return(hist)
 
     if(inherits(hist, "l_compound")) {
 
@@ -372,10 +417,16 @@ l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
 
                    text_adjust <- text_adjust - 0.5
 
-                   l_layer_texts(h, x = seq(nlevels) + text_adjust, y = rep(-1, nlevels),
-                                 text = levelNames, label = "Factor levels",
-                                 angle = 0,
-                                 size = 12, color = l_getOption("foreground"))
+                   text_layer <- l_layer_texts(h,
+                                               x = seq(nlevels) + text_adjust,
+                                               y = factorLabelY,
+                                               text = levelNames,
+                                               label = "Factor levels",
+                                               angle = factorLabelAngle,
+                                               size = factorLabelSize,
+                                               color = factorLabelColor)
+
+                   if(!showFactors) l_layer_hide(h, text_layer)
                })
 
     } else {
@@ -387,25 +438,67 @@ l_hist.factor <-  function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
 
         text_adjust <- text_adjust - 0.5
 
-        l_layer_texts(hist, x = seq(nlevels) + text_adjust, y = rep(-1, nlevels),
-                      text = levelNames, label = "Factor levels",
-                      angle = 0,
-                      size = 12, color = l_getOption("foreground"))
+        text_layer <- l_layer_texts(hist,
+                                    x = seq(nlevels) + text_adjust,
+                                    y = factorLabelY,
+                                    text = levelNames,
+                                    label = "Factor levels",
+                                    angle = factorLabelAngle,
+                                    size = factorLabelSize,
+                                    color = factorLabelColor)
+
+        if(!showFactors) l_layer_hide(hist, text_layer)
     }
 
     hist
 }
 
 #' @rdname l_hist
+#' @param showFactors whether to show the factor labels (unique strings in \code{x})
+#'        as a layer on the plot.
+#'        If \code{FALSE}, the factor labels are  hidden and can be turned on
+#'        from the "layers" tab on the inspector.
+#' @param factorLabelAngle is the angle of rotation (in degrees) for the factor labels.
+#' If not specified, an angle of 0 is chosen if there are fewer than 10 labels; labels are
+#' rotated 90 degrees if there are 10 or more.  This can also be a numeric vector of length
+#' equal to the number of factor labels.
+#' @param factorLabelSize is the font size for the factor labels (default 12).
+#' @param factorLabelColor is the colour to be used for the factor labels.
+#' (default is \code{l_getOption("foreground")}). Can also be a vector
+#' equal to that of the number of factor labels.
+#' @param factorLabelY either a single number, or a numeric vector of length
+#' equal to the number of factor labels, determining the
+#' y coordinate(s) for the factor labels.
 #' @export
-l_hist.character <- function(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...) {
+l_hist.character <- function(x,
+                             showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L,
+                             factorLabelAngle,
+                             factorLabelSize = 12,
+                             factorLabelColor = l_getOption("foreground"),
+                             factorLabelY = 0,
+                             ...) {
 
     if(missing(x))
         return(
             l_hist.default(x, ...)
         )
 
-    l_hist.factor(x, showFactors = showFactors, ...)
+    nlevels <- length(unique(x))
+    if(missing(factorLabelAngle)){
+        if(nlevels >= 10) {
+            factorLabelAngle <- 90
+        } else {
+            factorLabelAngle <- 0
+        }
+    }
+
+    l_hist.factor(x,
+                  showFactors = showFactors,
+                  factorLabelAngle = factorLabelAngle,
+                  factorLabelSize = factorLabelSize,
+                  factorLabelColor = factorLabelColor,
+                  factorLabelY = factorLabelY,
+                  ...)
 }
 
 #' @rdname l_hist
diff --git a/R/R/l_layer.R b/R/R/l_layer.R
index b69f97c8..adf1327e 100755
--- a/R/R/l_layer.R
+++ b/R/R/l_layer.R
@@ -876,7 +876,7 @@ l_layer_text <- function(widget, x, y, text, color="gray60", size=6, angle=0,
 #' @param size font size
 #' @param angle text rotation
 #' @param anchor specifies how the information in a text is to be displayed in the widget.
-#' Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center).
+#' Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center").
 #' For example, "nw" means display the information such that its top-left corner is at the
 #' top-left corner of the widget.
 #' @param justify when there are multiple lines of text displayed in a widget,
diff --git a/R/man/l_hist.Rd b/R/man/l_hist.Rd
index b727832f..005b9eb5 100644
--- a/R/man/l_hist.Rd
+++ b/R/man/l_hist.Rd
@@ -36,9 +36,25 @@ l_hist(x, ...)
   ...
 )
 
-\method{l_hist}{factor}(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...)
+\method{l_hist}{factor}(
+  x,
+  showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L,
+  factorLabelAngle,
+  factorLabelSize = 12,
+  factorLabelColor = l_getOption("foreground"),
+  factorLabelY = 0,
+  ...
+)
 
-\method{l_hist}{character}(x, showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L, ...)
+\method{l_hist}{character}(
+  x,
+  showFactors = length(unique(x)) < 25L,
+  factorLabelAngle,
+  factorLabelSize = 12,
+  factorLabelColor = l_getOption("foreground"),
+  factorLabelY = 0,
+  ...
+)
 
 \method{l_hist}{data.frame}(x, ...)
 
@@ -140,7 +156,25 @@ specified (i.e. not \code{NULL}) then the plot widget needs to be placed using
 some geometry manager like \code{\link{tkpack}} or \code{\link{tkplace}} in
 order to be displayed. See the examples below.}
 
-\item{showFactors}{whether to draw the factor names}
+\item{showFactors}{whether to show the factor labels (unique strings in \code{x})
+as a layer on the plot.
+If \code{FALSE}, the factor labels are  hidden and can be turned on
+from the "layers" tab on the inspector.}
+
+\item{factorLabelAngle}{is the angle of rotation (in degrees) for the factor labels.
+If not specified, an angle of 0 is chosen if there are fewer than 10 labels; labels are
+rotated 90 degrees if there are 10 or more.  This can also be a numeric vector of length
+equal to the number of factor labels.}
+
+\item{factorLabelSize}{is the font size for the factor labels (default 12).}
+
+\item{factorLabelColor}{is the colour to be used for the factor labels.
+(default is \code{l_getOption("foreground")}). Can also be a vector
+equal to that of the number of factor labels.}
+
+\item{factorLabelY}{either a single number, or a numeric vector of length
+equal to the number of factor labels, determining the
+y coordinate(s) for the factor labels.}
 }
 \value{
 if the argument \code{by} is not set, a \code{loon} widget will be returned;
diff --git a/R/man/l_layer_texts.Rd b/R/man/l_layer_texts.Rd
index db4ce9e7..e3beafb9 100755
--- a/R/man/l_layer_texts.Rd
+++ b/R/man/l_layer_texts.Rd
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ l_layer_texts(
 \item{angle}{text rotation}
 
 \item{anchor}{specifies how the information in a text is to be displayed in the widget.
-Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center).
+Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center").
 For example, "nw" means display the information such that its top-left corner is at the
 top-left corner of the widget.}
 
diff --git a/R/vignettes/SavingLoonPlots.Rmd b/R/vignettes/SavingLoonPlots.Rmd
index 0a1e2b9c..9f17c802 100644
--- a/R/vignettes/SavingLoonPlots.Rmd
+++ b/R/vignettes/SavingLoonPlots.Rmd
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Saving loon plots"
 author: "R.W. Oldford"
-date: "20/04/2020"
+date: "April 20, 2020"
 output: 
   html_vignette:
     toc: true
diff --git a/R/vignettes/introduction.Rmd b/R/vignettes/introduction.Rmd
index b7c49f14..e6a44f5a 100755
--- a/R/vignettes/introduction.Rmd
+++ b/R/vignettes/introduction.Rmd
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Introduction to loon"
 author: "R.W. Oldford"
-date: "`r Sys.Date()`"
+date: "March 14, 2021"
 output:
   html_vignette:
     toc: true
diff --git a/R/vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd b/R/vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd
index 0874d718..b037ebba 100755
--- a/R/vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd
+++ b/R/vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 ---
 title: "Logical queries"
 author: "R.W. Oldford"
-date: "`r Sys.Date()`"
+date: "September 5, 2021"
 output:
   html_vignette:
     toc: true
diff --git a/docs/articles/introduction.html b/docs/articles/introduction.html
index ad9cd926..24a1d493 100755
--- a/docs/articles/introduction.html
+++ b/docs/articles/introduction.html
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@
       <h1 data-toc-skip>Introduction to loon</h1>
                         <h4 class="author">R.W. Oldford</h4>
             
-            <h4 class="date">2022-03-08</h4>
+            <h4 class="date">2022-03-12</h4>
       
       <small class="dont-index">Source: <a href="https://github.com/great-northern-diver/loon/blob/master/vignettes/introduction.Rmd"><code>vignettes/introduction.Rmd</code></a></small>
       <div class="hidden name"><code>introduction.Rmd</code></div>
diff --git a/docs/articles/logicalQueries.html b/docs/articles/logicalQueries.html
index 31de94d2..b0845922 100644
--- a/docs/articles/logicalQueries.html
+++ b/docs/articles/logicalQueries.html
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@
       <h1 data-toc-skip>Logical queries</h1>
                         <h4 class="author">R.W. Oldford</h4>
             
-            <h4 class="date">2022-03-08</h4>
+            <h4 class="date">2022-03-12</h4>
       
       <small class="dont-index">Source: <a href="https://github.com/great-northern-diver/loon/blob/master/vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd"><code>vignettes/logicalQueries.Rmd</code></a></small>
       <div class="hidden name"><code>logicalQueries.Rmd</code></div>
diff --git a/docs/articles/teaching-example-smoothing.html b/docs/articles/teaching-example-smoothing.html
index 86542e6c..d48094f2 100644
--- a/docs/articles/teaching-example-smoothing.html
+++ b/docs/articles/teaching-example-smoothing.html
@@ -116,7 +116,7 @@
       <h1 data-toc-skip>Smoothers and Bone Mineral Density</h1>
                         <h4 class="author">R.W. Oldford</h4>
             
-            <h4 class="date">2022-03-08</h4>
+            <h4 class="date">2022-03-12</h4>
       
       <small class="dont-index">Source: <a href="https://github.com/great-northern-diver/loon/blob/master/vignettes/teaching-example-smoothing.Rmd"><code>vignettes/teaching-example-smoothing.Rmd</code></a></small>
       <div class="hidden name"><code>teaching-example-smoothing.Rmd</code></div>
diff --git a/docs/news/index.html b/docs/news/index.html
index 8e20b9f7..43a47a19 100755
--- a/docs/news/index.html
+++ b/docs/news/index.html
@@ -164,7 +164,16 @@ <h1 class="page-header" data-toc-text="1.3.9.9000">
 </h1>
 <p>Beginning changes before the next release on CRAN</p>
 <ul>
-<li>Added “loon.shiny” to l_web() now that it appears as part of diveR package</li>
+<li><p>Added <code>"loon.shiny"</code> to <code><a href="../reference/l_web.html">l_web()</a></code> now that it appears as part of diveR package</p></li>
+<li>
+<p>Added arguments to <code><a href="../reference/l_hist.html">l_hist()</a></code> for character vectors and factors.</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Now factors ALWAYS created and placed in a layer.</li>
+<li>Factor layer is simply hidden if <code>showFactors = FALSE</code>
+</li>
+<li>More flexibility given to user in terms of factor text size, angle of rotation, and colour</li>
+</ul>
+</li>
 </ul>
 </div>
     <div id="loon-139" class="section level1">
diff --git a/docs/pkgdown.yml b/docs/pkgdown.yml
index eadcd2f5..8e2b2154 100755
--- a/docs/pkgdown.yml
+++ b/docs/pkgdown.yml
@@ -7,5 +7,5 @@ articles:
   loonPlotsAndGridGraphics: loonPlotsAndGridGraphics.html
   savingLoonPlots: savingLoonPlots.html
   teaching-example-smoothing: teaching-example-smoothing.html
-last_built: 2022-03-09T01:06Z
+last_built: 2022-03-12T22:36Z
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/l_hist.html b/docs/reference/l_hist.html
index 0d27aaac..1384ae27 100644
--- a/docs/reference/l_hist.html
+++ b/docs/reference/l_hist.html
@@ -192,10 +192,26 @@ <h1>Create an interactive histogram</h1>
 <span class='op'>)</span>
 
 <span class='co'># S3 method for factor</span>
-<span class='fu'>l_hist</span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span>, showFactors <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/length.html'>length</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/unique.html'>unique</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span><span class='op'>)</span><span class='op'>)</span> <span class='op'>&lt;</span> <span class='fl'>25L</span>, <span class='va'>...</span><span class='op'>)</span>
+<span class='fu'>l_hist</span><span class='op'>(</span>
+  <span class='va'>x</span>,
+  showFactors <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/length.html'>length</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/unique.html'>unique</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span><span class='op'>)</span><span class='op'>)</span> <span class='op'>&lt;</span> <span class='fl'>25L</span>,
+  <span class='va'>factorLabelAngle</span>,
+  factorLabelSize <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fl'>12</span>,
+  factorLabelColor <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='l_getOption.html'>l_getOption</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='st'>"foreground"</span><span class='op'>)</span>,
+  factorLabelY <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fl'>0</span>,
+  <span class='va'>...</span>
+<span class='op'>)</span>
 
 <span class='co'># S3 method for character</span>
-<span class='fu'>l_hist</span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span>, showFactors <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/length.html'>length</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/unique.html'>unique</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span><span class='op'>)</span><span class='op'>)</span> <span class='op'>&lt;</span> <span class='fl'>25L</span>, <span class='va'>...</span><span class='op'>)</span>
+<span class='fu'>l_hist</span><span class='op'>(</span>
+  <span class='va'>x</span>,
+  showFactors <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/length.html'>length</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='fu'><a href='https://rdrr.io/r/base/unique.html'>unique</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span><span class='op'>)</span><span class='op'>)</span> <span class='op'>&lt;</span> <span class='fl'>25L</span>,
+  <span class='va'>factorLabelAngle</span>,
+  factorLabelSize <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fl'>12</span>,
+  factorLabelColor <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fu'><a href='l_getOption.html'>l_getOption</a></span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='st'>"foreground"</span><span class='op'>)</span>,
+  factorLabelY <span class='op'>=</span> <span class='fl'>0</span>,
+  <span class='va'>...</span>
+<span class='op'>)</span>
 
 <span class='co'># S3 method for data.frame</span>
 <span class='fu'>l_hist</span><span class='op'>(</span><span class='va'>x</span>, <span class='va'>...</span><span class='op'>)</span>
@@ -341,7 +357,33 @@ <h2 class="hasAnchor" id="arguments"><a class="anchor" href="#arguments"></a>Arg
     </tr>
     <tr>
       <th>showFactors</th>
-      <td><p>whether to draw the factor names</p></td>
+      <td><p>whether to show the factor labels (unique strings in <code>x</code>)
+as a layer on the plot.
+If <code>FALSE</code>, the factor labels are  hidden and can be turned on
+from the "layers" tab on the inspector.</p></td>
+    </tr>
+    <tr>
+      <th>factorLabelAngle</th>
+      <td><p>is the angle of rotation (in degrees) for the factor labels.
+If not specified, an angle of 0 is chosen if there are fewer than 10 labels; labels are
+rotated 90 degrees if there are 10 or more.  This can also be a numeric vector of length
+equal to the number of factor labels.</p></td>
+    </tr>
+    <tr>
+      <th>factorLabelSize</th>
+      <td><p>is the font size for the factor labels (default 12).</p></td>
+    </tr>
+    <tr>
+      <th>factorLabelColor</th>
+      <td><p>is the colour to be used for the factor labels.
+(default is <code><a href='l_getOption.html'>l_getOption("foreground")</a></code>). Can also be a vector
+equal to that of the number of factor labels.</p></td>
+    </tr>
+    <tr>
+      <th>factorLabelY</th>
+      <td><p>either a single number, or a numeric vector of length
+equal to the number of factor labels, determining the
+y coordinate(s) for the factor labels.</p></td>
     </tr>
     </table>
 
diff --git a/docs/reference/l_layer_texts.html b/docs/reference/l_layer_texts.html
index 219a897a..16402e62 100644
--- a/docs/reference/l_layer_texts.html
+++ b/docs/reference/l_layer_texts.html
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ <h2 class="hasAnchor" id="arguments"><a class="anchor" href="#arguments"></a>Arg
     <tr>
       <th>anchor</th>
       <td><p>specifies how the information in a text is to be displayed in the widget.
-Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center).
+Must be one of the values c("n", "ne", "e", "se", "s", "sw", "w", "nw", "center").
 For example, "nw" means display the information such that its top-left corner is at the
 top-left corner of the widget.</p></td>
     </tr>