Bar Properties

Bar chart appearance and behavior

Bar properties control the appearance and behavior of a Bar object. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the bar chart. Use dot notation to query and set properties.

b = bar(1:10);
c = b.FaceColor
b.FaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Color and Styling

FaceColor — Fill color

'flat' | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...

Fill color, specified as 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The 'flat' option uses the CData property value of the Bar object to color the faces.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Starting in R2017b, the default value is an RGB triplet from the ColorOrder property of the axes. In previous releases, the default value was 'flat' and the colors were based on the colormap.

Example: b = bar(1:10,'FaceColor','red')

Example: b.FaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.FaceColor = 'flat';

Example: b.FaceColor = '#D2F9A7';

FaceColorMode — Control how FaceColor is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Control how the FaceColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB^® controls the value of the FaceColor property by using the SeriesIndex property of the Bar object and the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• "manual" — You set the value of the FaceColor property directly, or indirectly as a function argument when you create the Bar object.

If you change the value of the FaceColor property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the FaceColorMode property to "manual".

EdgeColor — Outline color

'flat' | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...

Outline color, specified as 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. If there are 150 bars or fewer, the default value is [0 0 0], which corresponds to black. If there are more than 150 adjacent bars, the default value is 'none'.

Starting in R2017b, the 'flat' option uses the CData values to color the edges. In previous releases, the 'flat' option colored the edges using colors from the colormap.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = bar(1:10,'EdgeColor','red')

Example: b.EdgeColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.EdgeColor = 'flat';

Example: b.EdgeColor = '#D2F9A7';

FaceAlpha — Face transparency

1 (default) | scalar in range [0,1]

Face transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

Example: b = bar(1:10,'FaceAlpha',0.5)

Example: b.FaceAlpha = 0.5;

EdgeAlpha — Edge transparency

1 (default) | scalar in range [0,1]

Edge transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

Example: b = bar(1:10,'EdgeAlpha',0.5)

Example: b.EdgeAlpha = 0.5;

LineStyle — Line style

"-" (default) | "--" | ":" | "-." | "none"

Line style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Line Style	Description	Resulting Line
"-"	Solid line
"--"	Dashed line
":"	Dotted line
"-."	Dash-dotted line
"none"	No line	No line

LineWidth — Width of bar outlines

0.5 (default) | positive value

Width of bar outlines, specified as a positive value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: 1.5

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

SeriesIndex — Series index

positive whole number | "none"

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for matching the colors of graphics objects, such as text, plot lines, or other Bar objects.

By default, the SeriesIndex property of a Bar object is a number that corresponds to its order of creation, starting at 1. MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for automatically assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. Any objects in the axes that have the same SeriesIndex number will have the same color.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme. (since R2023b)

How Manual Color Assignment Overrides SeriesIndex Behavior

To manually control the colors of the bars, use either of these approaches:

• One color for all bars — Set the FaceColor property to a color name, RGB triplet, or a hexadecimal color code.

• Different colors for one or more bars — Set the FaceColor property to "flat". Then set the CData property to an RGB triplet, matrix of RGB triplets, scalar colormap index, or a vector of colormap indices.

When you manually set the color of a Bar object, MATLAB disables automatic color selection for that object and allows your color to persist, regardless of the value of the SeriesIndex property. The mode properties, FaceColorMode and CDataMode, indicate whether the colors have been set manually (by you) or automatically. A value of "manual" indicates manual selection, and a value of "auto" indicates automatic selection.

To enable automatic selection again, set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number and perform either of these steps:

• Set the FaceColorMode property to "auto".

• Set the FaceColor property to "flat", and set the CDataMode property to "auto".

In some cases, MATLAB sets the SeriesIndex property to 0, which also disables automatic color selection.

Bar Labels

Labels — Bar labels

empty string (default) | string vector | cell array of character vectors | numeric vector | datetime vector | duration vector | categorical vector

Since R2024b

Bar labels, specified as a string vector, cell array of character vectors, numeric vector, datetime vector, duration vector, or categorical vector. The length of the vector must match the number of bars.

When the chart displays multiple series of grouped or stacked bars, each series corresponds to one Bar object. Set the Labels property for each Bar object that you want labeled.

LabelLocation — Location of bar labels

"end-inside" | "end-outside"

Since R2024b

Location of bar labels, specified as "end-inside" or "end-outside". You might need to adjust the axes limits to provide enough space for the labels.

Value	Example
"end-inside"
"end-outside"

LabelLocationMode — Control how LabelLocation is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2024b

Control how the LabelLocation property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of the LabelLocation property depending on whether the bars are grouped or stacked.

• "manual" — You set the value of the LabelLocation property directly, and the location does not change.

If you change the value of the LabelLocation property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the LabelLocationMode property to "manual".

LabelColor — Label color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...

Since R2024b

Label color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name. To use a different color for each label, specify an m-by-3 matrix of RGB triplets or a string vector of m hexadecimal color codes, color names, or short names. The value m is the number of labels (one for each bar).

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1], for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

LabelColorMode — Control how LabelColor is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2024b

Control how the LabelColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of the LabelColor property by selecting a neutral contrasting color.

• "manual" — You set the value of the LabelColor property directly, and the color does not change.

If you change the value of the LabelColor property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the LabelColorMode property to "manual".

FontName — Font name

supported font name | "FixedWidth"

Font name, specified as a supported font name or "FixedWidth". To display and print text properly, you must choose a font that your system supports. The default font depends on your operating system and locale.

To use a fixed-width font that looks good in any locale, use "FixedWidth". The fixed-width font relies on the root FixedWidthFontName property. Setting the root FixedWidthFontName property causes an immediate update of the display to use the new font.

FontSize — Font size

scalar numeric value

Font size, specified as a scalar value greater than zero in point units. The default font size depends on the specific operating system and locale. One point equals 1/72 inch.

FontWeight — Character thickness

'normal' (default) | 'bold'

Character thickness, specified as 'normal' or 'bold'.

MATLAB uses the FontWeight property to select a font from those available on your system. Not all fonts have a bold weight. Therefore, specifying a bold font weight can still result in the normal font weight.

FontAngle — Character slant

'normal' (default) | 'italic'

Character slant, specified as 'normal' or 'italic'.

Not all fonts have both font styles. Therefore, the italic font might look the same as the normal font.

Interpreter — Text interpreter

'tex' (default) | 'latex' | 'none'

Text interpreter, specified as one of these values:

• 'tex' — Interpret characters using a subset of TeX markup.

• 'latex' — Interpret characters using LaTeX markup.

• 'none' — Display literal characters.

TeX Markup

By default, MATLAB supports a subset of TeX markup. Use TeX markup to add superscripts and subscripts, modify the font type and color, and include special characters in the text.

Modifiers remain in effect until the end of the text. Superscripts and subscripts are an exception because they modify only the next character or the characters within the curly braces. When you set the interpreter to "tex", the supported modifiers are as follows.

Modifier	Description	Example
^{ }	Superscript	"text^{superscript}"
_{ }	Subscript	"text_{subscript}"
\bf	Bold font	"\bf text"
\it	Italic font	"\it text"
\sl	Oblique font (usually the same as italic font)	"\sl text"
\rm	Normal font	"\rm text"
\fontname{specifier}	Font name — Replace specifier with the name of a font family. You can use this in combination with other modifiers.	"\fontname{Courier} text"
\fontsize{specifier}	Font size —Replace specifier with a numeric scalar value in point units.	"\fontsize{15} text"
\color{specifier}	Font color — Replace specifier with one of these colors: red, green, yellow, magenta, blue, black, white, gray, darkGreen, orange, or lightBlue.	"\color{magenta} text"
\color[rgb]{specifier}	Custom font color — Replace specifier with a three-element RGB triplet.	"\color[rgb]{0,0.5,0.5} text"

This table lists the supported special characters for the "tex" interpreter.

Character Sequence	Symbol	Character Sequence	Symbol	Character Sequence	Symbol
\alpha	α	\upsilon	υ	\sim	~
\angle	∠	\phi	ϕ	\leq	≤
\ast	*	\chi	χ	\infty	∞
\beta	β	\psi	ψ	\clubsuit	♣
\gamma	γ	\omega	ω	\diamondsuit	♦
\delta	δ	\Gamma	Γ	\heartsuit	♥
\epsilon	ϵ	\Delta	Δ	\spadesuit	♠
\zeta	ζ	\Theta	Θ	\leftrightarrow	↔
\eta	η	\Lambda	Λ	\leftarrow	←
\theta	θ	\Xi	Ξ	\Leftarrow	⇐
\vartheta	ϑ	\Pi	Π	\uparrow	↑
\iota	ι	\Sigma	Σ	\rightarrow	→
\kappa	κ	\Upsilon	ϒ	\Rightarrow	⇒
\lambda	λ	\Phi	Φ	\downarrow	↓
\mu	µ	\Psi	Ψ	\circ	º
\nu	ν	\Omega	Ω	\pm	±
\xi	ξ	\forall	∀	\geq	≥
\pi	π	\exists	∃	\propto	∝
\rho	ρ	\ni	∍	\partial	∂
\sigma	σ	\cong	≅	\bullet	•
\varsigma	ς	\approx	≈	\div	÷
\tau	τ	\Re	ℜ	\neq	≠
\equiv	≡	\oplus	⊕	\aleph	ℵ
\Im	ℑ	\cup	∪	\wp	℘
\otimes	⊗	\subseteq	⊆	\oslash	∅
\cap	∩	\in	∈	\supseteq	⊇
\supset	⊃	\lceil	⌈	\subset	⊂
\int	∫	\cdot	·	\o	ο
\rfloor	⌋	\neg	¬	\nabla	∇
\lfloor	⌊	\times	x	\ldots	...
\perp	⊥	\surd	√	\prime	´
\wedge	∧	\varpi	ϖ	\0	∅
\rceil	⌉	\rangle	〉	\mid	|
\vee	∨	\langle	〈	\copyright	©

LaTeX Markup

To use LaTeX markup, set the interpreter to "latex". For inline mode, surround the markup with single dollar signs ($). For display mode, surround the markup with double dollar signs ($$).

LaTeX Mode	Example	Result
Inline	"$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$"
Display	"$$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$$"

The displayed text uses the default LaTeX font style. The FontName, FontWeight, and FontAngle properties do not have an effect. To change the font style, use LaTeX markup.

The maximum size of the text that you can use with the LaTeX interpreter is 1200 characters. For multiline text, this reduces by about 10 characters per line.

MATLAB supports most standard LaTeX math mode commands. For more information, see Supported LaTeX Commands. For examples that use TeX and LaTeX, see Greek Letters and Special Characters in Chart Text.

Bar Graph Type

BarLayout — Arrangement of bars

'grouped' (default) | 'stacked'

Arrangement of bars, specified as one of these values:

• 'grouped' — Group bars by rows in Y, where Y is the input argument to the bar or barh function that created the bar chart.

• 'stacked' — Display one bar for each row in Y. The bar height is the sum of the elements in the row. Each bar is multicolored. Colors correspond to distinct elements and show the relative contribution each row element makes to the total sum.

BarWidth — Relative width of individual bars

0.8 (default) | scalar in range [0, 1]

Relative width of individual bars, specified as a scalar in the range [0, 1]. Use this property to control the space between the bars within a group. The default value is 0.8, which separates the bars slightly. If you set this property to 1, the adjacent bars touch.

For example, these bar charts are same except for their BarWidth values. As the BarWidth value increases, the bars become wider.

The BarWidth value is relative to the GroupWidth property, which controls the amount of space for a group of bars. As the GroupWidth value increases, the bars become wider. (since R2024a)

Plotting groups of bars produces multiple Bar objects. Changing the BarWidth property of one object changes the value for all of the objects.

GroupWidth — Width of bar groups

scalar in range [0, 1]

Since R2024a

Width of the bar groups, specified as a scalar in the range [0, 1]. This property specifies the fraction of the available space for a group of bars. It has no effect if the bars are not grouped. A value of 1 uses all of the available space for each group, but it minimizes the space between groups. Smaller values produce thinner bars with more space between the groups.

For example, these bar charts are the same except for their GroupWidth values. As the GroupWidth value increases, the bars become wider and the groups become harder to distinguish.

Plotting groups of bars produces multiple Bar objects. Changing the GroupWidth property of one object changes the value for all of the objects.

GroupWidthMode — Control how GroupWidth is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2024a

Control how the GroupWidth property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB selects the GroupWidth value based on the number of groups.

• "manual" — You specify the GroupWidth value.

Horizontal — Horizontal bar chart

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Horizontal bar chart, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Display bars horizontally. If you create a graph with barh, then the Horizontal property is set to 'on'.

• 'off' — Display bars vertically. If you create the chart with bar, then the Horizontal property is set to 'off'.

Baseline

BaseValue — Baseline value

0 (default) | numeric scalar value

Baseline value, specified as a numeric scalar value.

The baseline value that you specify applies to either the x-axis or the y-axis depending on the bar chart orientation. If you change the orientation of the bar chart from vertical to horizontal, or vice versa, the baseline value might change. Set the BaseValue property after setting the Horizontal property.

ShowBaseLine — Baseline visibility

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Baseline visibility, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Show the baseline.

• 'off' — Hide the baseline.

BaseLine — Baseline

Read-only: baseline object

This property is read-only.

Baseline object. For a list of baseline properties, see Baseline Properties.

Data

CData — Color data

RGB triplet | three-column matrix | scalar | vector

Color data, specified as one of these values:

• RGB triplet — Single RGB color value applies to all bars.

• Three-column matrix — One color per bar. Each row in the matrix specifies an RGB triplet for a particular bar.

• Scalar — Single color applies to all bars, where the color comes from the colormap.

• Vector — One color per bar. The colors come from the colormap.

By default, when you create a bar chart, the CData property contains a three-column matrix of RGB triplets. You can change the color for a particular bar by changing the corresponding row in the matrix.

This property applies only when the FaceColor or EdgeColor property is set to 'flat'.

Example

Change the color for a particular bar by setting the FaceColor property to 'flat'. Then change the corresponding row in the CData matrix to the new RGB triplet. For example, change the color of the second bar.

b = bar(1:10,'FaceColor','flat');
b.CData(2,:) = [0 0.8 0.8];

CDataMode — Control how CData is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Control how the CData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of the CData property.

• "manual" — You set the value of the CData property directly, or indirectly as a function argument when you create the Bar object.

If you change the value of the CData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the CDataMode property to "manual".

XData — Bar locations

vector

Bar locations, specified as a vector with no repeating values.

• For vertical bar charts, the values are the bar locations along the x-axis.

• For horizontal bar charts, the values are the bar locations along the y-axis.

Alternatively, specify the bar locations using the input argument X to the bar or barh function. If you do not specify X, then the indices of the values in YData determine the bar locations.

XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: 1:10

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical | datetime | duration

XDataMode — Selection mode for XData

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Selection mode for XData, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use the indices of the values in YData (or ZData for 3-D plots).

• 'manual' — Use manually specified values. To specify the values, set the XData property or specify the input argument X to the plotting function.

XDataSource — Variable linked to XData

'' (default) | character vector | string

Variable linked to XData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the XData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the XData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Example: 'x'

YData — Bar lengths

vector

Bar lengths, specified as a vector. Alternatively, specify the bar lengths using the input argument Y to the bar or barh function.

XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: 1:10

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | duration

YDataSource — Variable linked to YData

'' (default) | character vector | string

Variable linked to YData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the YData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the YData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Note

If you change one data source property to a variable that contains data of a different dimension, you might cause the function to generate a warning and not render the graph until you have changed all data source properties to appropriate values.

Example: 'y'

XEndPoints — x-coordinates of bar tips

Read-only: vector

This property is read-only.

x-coordinates of the tips of the bars, returned as a vector. These coordinates are useful when you want to add text, error bars, or other objects to the tips of the bars. For example, you can pass the value of this property to the text function when you want to add text to the tips of the bars.

YEndPoints — y-coordinates of bar tips

Read-only: vector

This property is read-only.

y-coordinates of the tips of the bars, returned as a vector. These coordinates are useful when you want to add text, error bars, or other objects to the tips of the bars. For example, you can pass the value of this property to the text function when you want to add text to the tips of the bars.

Legend

DisplayName — Legend label

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Legend label, specified as a character vector or string scalar. The legend does not display until you call the legend command. If you do not specify the text, then legend sets the label using the form 'dataN'.

Annotation — Include object in legend

Annotation object

Include the object in the legend, specified as an Annotation object. Set the underlying IconDisplayStyle property of the Annotation object to one of these values:

• "on" — Include the object in the legend (default).

• "off" — Do not include the object in the legend.

For example, to exclude the Bar object named obj from the legend, set the IconDisplayStyle property to "off".

obj.Annotation.LegendInformation.IconDisplayStyle = "off";

Alternatively, you can control the items in a legend using the legend function. Specify the first input argument as a vector of the graphics objects to include. If you do not specify an existing graphics object in the first input argument, then it does not appear in the legend. However, graphics objects added to the axes after the legend is created do appear in the legend. Consider creating the legend after creating all the plots to avoid extra items.

Interactivity

Visible — State of visibility

"on" (default) | on/off logical value

State of visibility, specified as "on" or "off", or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of "on" is equivalent to true, and "off" is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• "on" — Display the object.

• "off" — Hide the object without deleting it. You still can access the properties of an invisible object.

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

DataTipTemplate object

Data tip content, specified as a DataTipTemplate object. You can control the content that appears in a data tip by modifying the properties of the underlying DataTipTemplate object. For a list of properties, see DataTipTemplate Properties.

For an example of modifying data tips, see Create Custom Data Tips.

Note

The DataTipTemplate object is not returned by findobj or findall, and it is not copied by copyobj.

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

Context menu, specified as a ContextMenu object. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click the object. Create the context menu using the uicontextmenu function.

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then the context menu does not appear.

Selected — Selection state

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Selection state, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Selected. If you click the object when in plot edit mode, then MATLAB sets its Selected property to 'on'. If the SelectionHighlight property also is set to 'on', then MATLAB displays selection handles around the object.

• 'off' — Not selected.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Display of selection handles when selected, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Display selection handles when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

• 'off' — Never display selection handles, even when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

Clipping — Clipping of object to axes limits

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Clipping of the object to the axes limits, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• A value of 'on' clips parts of the object that are outside the axes limits.

• A value of 'off' displays the entire object, even if parts of it appear outside the axes limits. Parts of the object might appear outside the axes limits if you create a plot, set hold on, freeze the axis scaling, and then create the object so that it is larger than the original plot.

The Clipping property of the axes that contains the object must be set to 'on'. Otherwise, this property has no effect. For more information about the clipping behavior, see the Clipping property of the axes.

Callbacks

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Mouse-click callback, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

Use this property to execute code when you click the object. If you specify this property using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• Clicked object — Access properties of the clicked object from within the callback function.

• Event data — Empty argument. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then this callback does not execute.

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB creates the object. MATLAB initializes all property values before executing the CreateFcn callback. If you do not specify the CreateFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default creation function.

Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing component has no effect.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being created using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB deletes the object. MATLAB executes the DeleteFcn callback before destroying the properties of the object. If you do not specify the DeleteFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default deletion function.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being deleted using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Callback Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Callback interruption, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

This property determines if a running callback can be interrupted. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

MATLAB determines callback interruption behavior whenever it executes a command that processes the callback queue. These commands include drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, and pause.

If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then no interruption occurs. MATLAB first finishes executing the running callback, and later executes the interrupting callback.

If the running callback does contain one of these commands, then the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback determines if the interruption occurs:

• If the value of Interruptible is 'off', then no interruption occurs. Instead, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines if the interrupting callback is discarded or added to the callback queue.

• If the value of Interruptible is 'on', then the interruption occurs. The next time MATLAB processes the callback queue, it stops the execution of the running callback and executes the interrupting callback. After the interrupting callback completes, MATLAB then resumes executing the running callback.

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

• If the interrupting callback is a DeleteFcn, CloseRequestFcn, or SizeChangedFcn callback, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the running callback is currently executing the waitfor function, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the interrupting callback is owned by a Timer object, then the callback executes according to schedule regardless of the Interruptible property value.

Note

When an interruption occurs, MATLAB does not save the state of properties or the display. For example, the object returned by the gca or gcf command might change when another callback executes.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

Callback queuing, specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks. There are two callback states to consider:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

The BusyAction property determines callback queuing behavior only when both of these conditions are met:

• The running callback contains a command that processes the callback queue, such as drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, or pause.

• The value of the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback is 'off'.

Under these conditions, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines how MATLAB handles the interrupting callback. These are possible values of the BusyAction property:

• 'queue' — Puts the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution.

• 'cancel' — Does not execute the interrupting callback.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

Ability to capture mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

• 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the Bar object that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. The HitTest property determines if the Bar object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

• 'none' — Cannot capture mouse clicks. Clicking the Bar object passes the click to the object below it in the current view of the figure window. The HitTest property of the Bar object has no effect.

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Response to captured mouse clicks, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Trigger the ButtonDownFcn callback of the Bar object. If you have defined the ContextMenu property, then invoke the context menu.

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the Bar object that meets one of these conditions:

  • HitTest property is set to 'on'.

  • PickableParts property is set to a value that enables the ancestor to capture mouse clicks.

Note

The PickableParts property determines if the Bar object can capture mouse clicks. If it cannot, then the HitTest property has no effect.

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

Read-only: on/off logical value

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the DeleteFcn callback begins execution. The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the component object no longer exists.

Check the value of the BeingDeleted property to verify that the object is not about to be deleted before querying or modifying it.

Parent/Child

Parent — Parent

Axes object | Group object | Transform object

Parent, specified as an Axes, Group, or Transform object.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

Children, returned as an empty GraphicsPlaceholder array or a DataTip object array. Use this property to view a list of data tips that are plotted on the chart.

You cannot add or remove children using the Children property. To add a child to this list, set the Parent property of the DataTip object to the chart object.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

"on" (default) | "off" | "callback"

Visibility of the object handle in the Children property of the parent, specified as one of these values:

• "on" — Object handle is always visible.

• "off" — Object handle is invisible at all times. This option is useful for preventing unintended changes by another function. Set HandleVisibility to "off" to temporarily hide the handle during the execution of that function.

• "callback" — Object handle is visible from within callbacks or functions invoked by callbacks, but not from within functions invoked from the command line. This option blocks access to the object at the command line, but permits callback functions to access it.

If the object is not listed in the Children property of the parent, then functions that obtain object handles by searching the object hierarchy or querying handle properties cannot return it. Examples of such functions include the get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close functions.

Hidden object handles are still valid. Set the root ShowHiddenHandles property to "on" to list all object handles regardless of their HandleVisibility property setting.

Identifiers

Type — Type of graphics object

Read-only: 'bar' (default)

This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'bar'. Use this property to find all objects of a given type within a plotting hierarchy, such as searching for the type using findobj.

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Object identifier, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify a unique Tag value to serve as an identifier for an object. When you need access to the object elsewhere in your code, you can use the findobj function to search for the object based on the Tag value.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

User data, specified as any MATLAB array. For example, you can specify a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. Use this property to store arbitrary data on an object.

If you are working in App Designer, create public or private properties in the app to share data instead of using the UserData property. For more information, see Share Data Within App Designer Apps.

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

R2024b: Add labels to ends of bars

Add labels to the ends of bars and position them using the Labels and LabelLocation properties of a Bar object. You can also adjust aspects of the font by setting the LabelColor, FontName, FontSize, FontWeight, and FontAngle properties. To create the labels with LaTeX markup, set the Interpreter property.

R2024a: Control bar group width

Control the bar group width by setting the GroupWidth property of at least one Bar object in the axes.

A value of 1 uses all of the available space for each group, but it minimizes the space between groups. Smaller values produce thinner bars with more space between the groups.

R2023b: Opt out of automatic color selection with SeriesIndex="none"

Opt out of automatic color selection for Bar objects by setting the SeriesIndex property to "none". When you specify "none", the Bar object has a neutral color.

To enable automatic color selection again, set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number.

R2023a: BaseValue property no longer changes with axes limits

The BaseValue property of a bar chart no longer depends on the axes limits. The property value stays the same when you change axes limits or pan within the axes.

R2020a: Control automatic color selection with the SeriesIndex property

Control how Bar objects vary in color by setting the SeriesIndex property. This property is useful when you want to match the colors of different objects in the axes.

R2020a: UIContextMenu property is not recommended

Setting or getting UIContextMenu property is not recommended. Instead, use the ContextMenu property, which accepts the same type of input and behaves the same way as the UIContextMenu property.

There are no plans to remove the UIContextMenu property, but it is no longer listed when you call the set, get, or properties functions on the Bar object.