linkaxes

Synchronize limits of multiple axes

Syntax

linkaxes(ax)

linkaxes(ax,dimension)

Description

linkaxes(ax) synchronizes the limits of the specified vector of axes. Synchronizing limits allows you to zoom or pan in one plot or figure and display the same range of data in another plot or figure. When you first call the linkaxes function, it chooses new limits that incorporate the current limits of all the specified axes.

Before R2026a: When you call the linkaxes function, all links created by previous calls to the function are canceled. For example, if you call linkaxes([ax1 ax2]) and then linkaxes([ax2 ax3]), the second call cancels the link between ax1 and ax2.

linkaxes(ax,dimension) synchronizes the axes limits for the specified axis dimensions. For example, linkaxes(ax,"x") synchronizes the limits for the x-axis only.

Examples

Synchronize and Change Axis Limits

Display a tiling of plots using the tiledlayout and nexttile functions.

Create a 3-by-1 tiled chart layout by using the tiledlayout function. Then, create the axes objects ax1, ax2, and ax3 by using the nexttile function and plot into each axes object.

tiledlayout(3,1)

% First plot
ax1 = nexttile;
x1 = linspace(0,6);
y1 = sin(x1);
plot(x1,y1)

% Second plot
ax2 = nexttile;
x2 = linspace(0,10);
y2 = 2*sin(2*x2);
plot(x2,y2)

% Third plot
ax3 = nexttile;
x3 = linspace(0,12,200);
y3 = 4*sin(6*x3);
plot(x3,y3)

Synchronize the axes limits of the three plots. Note that the new axes limits incorporate the old limits.

linkaxes([ax1 ax2 ax3])

Set the x-axis limits for the first plot. All of the x-axes are linked, so the x-axis limits in the second and third plots also change.

ax1.XLim = [0 4.5];

Panning or zooming into one of the plots displays the same range of data in the other two plots.

To remove the linking, use linkaxes([ax1 ax2 ax3],"off").

Synchronize and Change Axis Limits for Specified Dimension

Synchronize and modify the x-axis limits of multiple axes objects by using the linkaxes function.

Display a tiling of plots using the tiledlayout and nexttile functions. Create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout by using the tiledlayout function. Then, create the axes objects ax1 and ax2 by using the nexttile function and plot into each axes object.

t = tiledlayout(2,1);

% First plot
ax1 = nexttile;
p1 = peaks;
surf(ax1,p1)
view(3)

% Second plot
ax2 = nexttile;
p2 = peaks(25);
mesh(ax2,p2)

Synchronize the x-axis limits for the two axes objects. The x-axis limits for the newly linked axes objects update to encompass all the data.

linkaxes([ax1 ax2],"x")

Update the x-axis limits for all linked axes objects by setting the x-axis limits for just one of the axes objects.

ax1.XLim = [0 15];
ax2.XLim

ans = 1×2

     0    15

Remove the linking by turning off synchronization.

linkaxes([ax1 ax2],"off")

Synchronize Datetime Plots in Different Time Zones

When comparing two plots of datetime values in different time zones, set the ReferenceDate property of one of the rulers so that both plots reflect the same time zone.

Create a tiling of two plots that compare the number of New Year's Day revelers in London and New York on January 1, 2021. Start by plotting the London data in the first tile. By default, the plot uses the time zone of the data.

London = datetime(2021,1,1,0:17,0,0,"TimeZone","Europe/London");
y = (1./(1:18).^2) * 100000;
ax1 = nexttile;
semilogy(ax1,London,y)
grid on
title("New Year's Day Revelers in London")

Plot the New York data. This second plot is in the time zone of New York, so you cannot easily compare the number of revelers across the two locations at the same point in time by visual inspection.

NY = datetime(2021,1,1,0:17,0,0,"TimeZone","America/New_York");
ax2 = nexttile;
semilogy(ax2,NY,y)
grid on
title("New Year's Day Revelers in New York")

Change the time zone for the New York plot by setting the reference date of the x-axis to a datetime value in the time zone of "Europe/London". Then link the two axes. As a result, both plots reflect the same time zone.

ax2.XAxis.ReferenceDate = datetime(2022,1,1,"TimeZone","Europe/London");
linkaxes([ax1,ax2],"x")

Input Arguments

ax — Target axes

vector of Axes objects

Target axes, specified as a vector of Axes objects.

You can link any number of Axes objects. For example, linkaxes([ax1 ax2 ax3]) links ax1, ax2, and ax3.

dimension — Axis limits to synchronize

"xyz" (default) | "x" | "y" | "z" | "xy" | "xz" | "yz" | "off"

Axis limits to synchronize, specified as one of these values:

• "xyz" — Synchronize the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis limits.

• "x" — Synchronize only the x-axis limits.

• "y" — Synchronize only the y-axis limits.

• "z" — Synchronize only the z-axis limits.

• "xy" — Synchronize only the x-axis and y-axis limits.

• "xz" — Synchronize only the x-axis and z-axis limits.

• "yz" — Synchronize only the y-axis and z-axis limits.

• "off" — Turn off all synchronization among Axes objects in ax.

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

R2026a: Links are preserved across multiple calls

Calls to the linkaxes function preserve links established by prior calls to the function. Previously, calls to the linkaxes function canceled links established by prior calls to the function.

For example, link the x-axes of ax1 and ax2 and then link the y-axes of ax1 and ax3.

linkaxes([ax1 ax2],"x")
linkaxes([ax1 ax3],"y")

Starting in R2026a, the second function call preserves the link between the x-axes of ax1 and ax2. In previous releases, the second function call canceled the link between the x-axes of ax1 and ax2.

To preserve the previous behavior, you can explicitly cancel prior links before creating a new link. For example, to cancel all links involving ax1 or ax2, call linkaxes([ax1 ax2],"off").

R2022a: Link 3-D Cartesian axes

linkaxes now supports 3-D Cartesian axes. The x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis limits are now synchronized by default. You can specify 3-D axis limits to synchronize by using the dimension input argument.

Previously, linkaxes supported only 2-D Cartesian axes and synchronized the x-axis and y-axis limits by default.