Axes Appearance

Modify axis limits and tick values, add grid lines, combine multiple plots

You can customize axes by changing the limits, controlling the locations of the tick marks, formatting the tick labels, or adding grid lines. You also can combine multiple plots, either using separate axes in the same figure, or by combining the plots in the same axes, with the option to add a second y-axis.

Functions

expand all

Axes Limits and Aspect Ratios

`xlim`	Set or query x-axis limits
`ylim`	Set or query y-axis limits
`zlim`	Set or query z-axis limits
`axis`	Set axis limits and aspect ratios
`box`	Display axes outline
`tightPosition`	Position of axes plotting area
`daspect`	Control data unit length along each axis
`pbaspect`	Control relative lengths of each axis

Grid Lines, Tick Values, and Labels

`grid`	Display or hide axes grid lines
`xticks`	Set or query x-axis tick values
`yticks`	Set or query y-axis tick values
`zticks`	Set or query z-axis tick values
`xticklabels`	Set or query x-axis tick labels
`yticklabels`	Set or query y-axis tick labels
`zticklabels`	Set or query z-axis tick labels
`xtickformat`	Specify x-axis tick label format
`ytickformat`	Specify y-axis tick label format
`ztickformat`	Specify z-axis tick label format
`xtickangle`	Rotate x-axis tick labels
`ytickangle`	Rotate y-axis tick labels
`ztickangle`	Rotate z-axis tick labels
`datetick`	Date formatted tick labels
`ruler2num`	Convert data from specific ruler to numeric data
`num2ruler`	Convert numeric data for use with specific ruler

Multiple Plots

Combining Plots

`hold`	Retain current plot when adding new plots
`yyaxis`	Create chart with two y-axes
`legend`	Add legend to axes
`colororder`	Set color order for visualizing multiple data series

Tiling Plots

`tiledlayout`	Create tiled chart layout
`nexttile`	Create axes in tiled chart layout
`tilenum`	Tile location numbers in tiled chart layout
`tilerowcol`	Row and column numbers in tiled chart layout
`subplot`	Create axes in tiled positions

Clear or Create Axes

`cla`	Clear axes
`axes`	Create Cartesian axes
`figure`	Create figure window

Properties

Axes Properties	Axes appearance and behavior
Legend Properties	Legend appearance and behavior
TiledChartLayout Properties	Tiled chart layout appearance and behavior

Topics

Limits, Ticks, and Grids

Specify Axis Limits
Control where data appears in the axes by setting the axis limits.
Specify Axis Tick Values and Labels
Customize the tick values and labels along an axis, such as editing the tick value placement or modifying the tick label text and formatting.
Add Grid Lines and Edit Placement
Add grid lines to a graph and modify their placement and appearance.
Using Graphics Smoothing
This example shows how to use graphics and font smoothing in MATLAB plots.

Multiple Plots

Combine Multiple Plots
Show multiple plots together in the same figure, either by combining the plots in the same axes or by creating a tiled chart layout.
Create Chart with Two y-Axes
Create a chart with y-axes on both the left and right sides.
Modify Properties of Charts with Two y-Axes
Modify charts with two y-axes by setting axes properties or by accessing the underlying ruler objects.
Display Data with Multiple Scales and Axes Limits
Learn about techniques for visualizing data with multiple x- and y-axes, multiple colorbars, or with an x-axis that is broken into intervals.
Customized Presentations and Special Effects with Tiled Chart Layouts
Explore the different ways you can use a tiled chart layout to arrange the elements in a visualization.

Size and Aspect Ratio

Control Ratio of Axis Lengths and Data Unit Lengths
Control the axis and data unit lengths by setting the plot box aspect ratio and the data aspect ratio.
Control Axes Layout
Control the axes size and position, the layout of titles and labels, and the axes resize behavior.
Clipping in Plots and Graphs
This example shows how MATLAB® uses clipping in plots and how to control clipping.