# Documentation

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# Axes Properties

Control axes appearance and behavior

Axes properties control the appearance and behavior of an Axes object. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the axes.

Starting in R2014b, you can use dot notation to query and set properties.

ax = gca; c = ax.Color; ax.Color = 'blue';

If you are using an earlier release, use the get and set functions instead.

## Appearance

expand all

Color of axes back planes, specified as an RGB triplet or one of the color options listed in the table.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet. 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]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

OptionDescriptionEquivalent RGB Triplet
'red' or 'r'Red[1 0 0]
'green' or 'g'Green[0 1 0]
'blue' or 'b'Blue[0 0 1]
'yellow' or 'y'Yellow[1 1 0]
'magenta' or 'm'Magenta[1 0 1]
'cyan' or 'c'Cyan[0 1 1]
'white' or 'w'White[1 1 1]
'black' or 'k'Black[0 0 0]
'none'No colorNot applicable

Example: ax.Color = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.Color = 'b'

Example: ax.Color = 'blue'

Axes box outline, specified as one of these values:

• 'off' — Do not display the box outline around the axes.

• 'on' — Display the box outline around the axes. In a 3-D view, the outline appears around the axes back planes. Use the BoxStyle property to change the extent of the outline.

The XColor, YColor, and ZColor properties control the color of the outline.

Example: ax.Box = 'on'

Style of axes box outline, specified as one of these values:

• 'back' — Outline the back planes of the 3-D box.

• 'full' — Outline the entire 3-D box.

The BoxStyle property affects only 3-D views.

Example: ax.BoxStyle = 'full'

Width of axes outline, tick marks, and grid lines, specified as a scalar value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: ax.LineWidth = 1.5

## Individual Axis Appearance and Scale

expand all

Component that controls the appearance and behavior of the x-axis, y-axis, or z-axis, returned as a NumericRuler, DatetimeRuler, DurationRuler, or CategoricalRuler object. The type of ruler that MATLAB® creates for each axis depends on the plotted data.

Modify the appearance and behavior of a particular axis by accessing the associated ruler and setting ruler properties. For a list of options, see:

For example, access the ruler for the x-axis through the XAxis property. Then, change the Color property of the ruler, and thus the color of the x-axis, to red. Similarly, change the color of the y-axis to green.

ax = gca; ax.XAxis.Color = 'r'; ax.YAxis.Color = 'g';

Use the XAxis, YAxis, and ZAxis properties to access the ruler objects and set ruler properties. If you want to set axes properties, set them directly on the Axes object. For example, ax.XAxisLocation = 'top' sets the XAxisLocation property of the Axes object.

Location of the x-axis, specified as one of these values:

• 'bottom' — Display the x-axis at the bottom of the axes.

• 'top' — Display the x-axis at the top of the axes.

• 'origin' — Display the x-axis so that it passes through the origin point (0,0).

This property applies only to 2-D views.

Example: ax.XAxisLocation = 'origin'

Location of y-axis, specified as one of these values:

• 'left' — Display the y-axis on the left side of the axes.

• 'right' — Display the y-axis on the right side of the axes.

• 'origin' — Display the y-axis so that it passes through the origin point (0,0).

This property applies only to 2-D views.

Example: ax.YAxisLocation = 'origin'

Color of the axis line, tick values, and labels in the x, y, or z direction, specified as an RGB triplet or one of the color options listed in the table.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet. 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]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

OptionDescriptionEquivalent RGB Triplet
'red' or 'r'Red[1 0 0]
'green' or 'g'Green[0 1 0]
'blue' or 'b'Blue[0 0 1]
'yellow' or 'y'Yellow[1 1 0]
'magenta' or 'm'Magenta[1 0 1]
'cyan' or 'c'Cyan[0 1 1]
'white' or 'w'White[1 1 1]
'black' or 'k'Black[0 0 0]
'none'No colorNot applicable

Setting this property sets the associated mode property to manual.

Setting the XColor property changes the x-axis label color, even if you previously specified the label color (for example, using the xlabel function). To prevent the XColor property from overriding the label color, set the XColor property first. Similarly, the YColor and ZColor properties override previously specified label colors.

Example: ax.XColor = [1 1 0]

Example: ax.YColor = 'y'

Example: ax.ZColor = 'yellow'

Selection mode for the axis line color, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use the default color. For related information about grid-line selection, see the GridColorMode property.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified color. To specify the color, set the XColor, YColor, or ZColor property.

Example: ax.XColorMode = 'auto'

Direction of increasing values along axis, specified as one of these values:

• 'normal' — Normal direction of increasing values:

• x-axis values increase from left to right.

• y-axis values increase from bottom to top (2-D view) or front to back (3-D view).

• z-axis values increase pointing out of the screen (2-D view) or from bottom to top (3-D view).

• 'reverse' — Reverse direction of increasing values:

• x-axis values decrease from left to right.

• y-axis values decrease from bottom to top (2-D view) or front to back (3-D view).

• z-axis values decrease pointing out of the screen (2-D view) or from bottom to top (3-D view).

Example: ax.XDir = 'normal'

Example: ax.YDir = 'reverse'

Scale of values along axis, specified as 'linear' or 'log'.

Example: ax.XScale = 'linear'

Example: ax.YScale = 'log'

Minimum and maximum limits, specified as a two-element vector of the form [min max], where max is greater than min. You can specify the limits as numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. However, the type of values that you specify must match the type of values along the axis.

You can specify both limits or you can specify one limit and let the axes automatically calculate the other. For an automatically calculated minimum or maximum limit, use -inf or inf, respectively.

Example: ax.XLim = [0 10]

Example: ax.YLim = [-inf 10]

Example: ax.ZLim = [0 inf]

Alternatively, use the xlim, ylim, and zlim functions to set the limits.

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

Selection mode for the axis limits, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Select axis limits based on the data plotted, that is, the total span of the XData, YData, or ZData of all the objects displayed in the axes.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified axis limits. To specify the axis limits, set the XLim, YLim, or ZLim property.

Example: ax.XLimMode = 'auto'

## Tick Values and Labels

expand all

Tick mark locations, specified as a vector of increasing values.

Example: ax.XTick = [2 4 6 8 10]

Example: ax.YTick = 0:10:100

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

Selection mode for the tick mark locations, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Select the tick mark locations based on the range of data for the axis.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified tick mark locations. To specify the values, set the XTick, YTick, or ZTick property.

Example: ax.XTickMode = 'auto'

Tick mark labels, specified as a cell array of character vectors or a string array. If you do not specify enough labels for all the ticks values, then the axes cycles through the specified labels. Tick labels support TeX and LaTeX markup. See the TickLabelInterpreter property for more information.

Example: ax.XTickLabel = {'Jan','Feb','Mar','Apr'}

Data Types: char | string

Selection mode for the tick mark labels, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Label tick marks with numeric values that span the range of the plotted data.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified tick mark labels. To specify the labels, set the XTickLabel, YTickLabel, or ZTickLabel property.

Example: ax.XTickLabelMode = 'auto'

Interpretation of tick label characters, specified as one of these values:

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

• 'latex' — Interpret labels using a subset of 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 text type and color, and include special characters in the text.

This table lists the supported modifiers when the TickLabelInterpreter property is set to 'tex', which is the default value. Modifiers remain in effect until the end of the text, except for superscripts and subscripts which only modify the next character or the text within the curly braces {}.

ModifierDescriptionExample
^{ }Superscript'text^{superscript}'
_{ }Subscript'text_{subscript}'
\bfBold font'\bf text'
\itItalic font'\it text'
\slOblique font (rarely available)'\sl text'
\rmNormal font'\rm text'
\fontname{specifier}Set specifier as the name of a font family to change the font style. You can use this in combination with other modifiers.'\fontname{Courier} text'
\fontsize{specifier}Set specifier as a scalar numeric value to change the font size.'\fontsize{15} text'
\color{specifier}Set specifer as one of these colors: red, green, yellow, magenta, blue, black, white, gray, darkGreen, orange, or lightBlue.'\color{magenta} text'
\color[rgb]{specifier}Set specifier as a three-element RGB triplet to change the font color.'\color[rgb]{0,0.5,0.5} text'

This table lists the supported special characters with the Interpreter property set to 'tex'.

Character SequenceSymbolCharacter SequenceSymbolCharacter SequenceSymbol

\alpha

α

\upsilon

υ

\sim

~

\angle

\phi

\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

\neq

\equiv

\oplus

\aleph

\Im

\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 TickLabelInterpreter property to 'latex'. 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 within the text.

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.

For more information about the LaTeX system, see The LaTeX Project website at http://www.latex-project.org/.

Rotation of tick labels, specified as a scalar value in degrees. Negative values give clockwise rotation.

Example: ax.XTickLabelRotation = 45

Example: ax.YTickLabelRotation = 90

Display of minor tick marks, specified as one of these values:

• 'off' — Do not display minor tick marks. This is the default value for an axis with a linear scale.

• 'on' — Display minor tick marks between the major tick marks on the axis. The space between the major tick marks determines the number of minor tick marks. This is the default value for an axis with a log scale.

Example: ax.XMinorTick = 'on'

Tick mark length, specified as a two-element vector of the form [2Dlength 3Dlength]. The first element is the tick mark length in 2-D views and the second element is the tick mark length in 3-D views. Specify the values in units normalized relative to the longest of the visible x-axis, y-axis, or z-axis lines.

Example: ax.TickLength = [0.02 0.035]

Tick mark direction, specified as one of these values:

• 'in' — Direct the tick marks inward from the axis lines. This is the default for 2-D views.

• 'out' — Direct the tick marks outward from the axis lines. This is the default for 3-D views.

• 'both' — Center the tick marks over the axis lines.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the tick label direction. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual' and does not automatically choose the tick label direction.

Example: ax.TickDir = 'out'

Selection mode for the TickDir property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use default tick direction.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified tick mark direction. To specify the tick mark direction, set the TickDir property.

Example: ax.TickDirMode = 'auto'

## Grid Lines

expand all

Display of grid lines, specified as one of these values:

• 'off' — Do not display the grid lines.

• 'on' — Display grid lines perpendicular to the axis, for example, along lines of constant x, y, or z values.

Alternatively, use the grid on or grid off command to set all three properties to 'on' or 'off', respectively. For more information, see grid.

Example: ax.XGrid = 'on'

Display of minor grid lines, specified as one of these values:

• 'off' — Do not display grid lines.

• 'on' — Display grid lines aligned with the minor tick marks of the axis. You do not need to enable minor ticks to display minor grid lines.

Alternatively, use the grid minor command to toggle the visibility of the minor grid lines.

Example: ax.XMinorGrid = 'on'

Line style used for grid lines, specified as one of the line styles in this table.

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
'-'Solid line

'--'Dashed line

':'Dotted line

'-.'Dash-dotted line

'none'No lineNo line

To display the grid lines, use the grid on command or set the XGrid, YGrid, or ZGrid property to 'on'.

Example: ax.GridLineStyle = '--'

Line style used for minor grid lines, specified as one of the line styles shown in this table.

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
'-'Solid line

'--'Dashed line

':'Dotted line

'-.'Dash-dotted line

'none'No lineNo line

To display minor grid lines, use the grid minor command or set the XGridMinor, YGridMinor, or ZGridMinor property to 'on'.

Example: ax.MinorGridLineStyle = '-.'

Color of grid lines, specified as an RGB triplet or one of the color options listed in the table.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet. 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]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

OptionDescriptionEquivalent RGB Triplet
'red' or 'r'Red[1 0 0]
'green' or 'g'Green[0 1 0]
'blue' or 'b'Blue[0 0 1]
'yellow' or 'y'Yellow[1 1 0]
'magenta' or 'm'Magenta[1 0 1]
'cyan' or 'c'Cyan[0 1 1]
'white' or 'w'White[1 1 1]
'black' or 'k'Black[0 0 0]
'none'No colorNot applicable

To set the colors for the axes box outline, use the XColor, YColor, and ZColor properties.

Setting this property sets the associated mode property to manual.

Example: ax.GridColor = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.GridColor = 'b'

Example: ax.GridColor = 'blue'

Selection mode for the GridColor property, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The color is based on the values of the GridColorMode, XColorMode, YColorMode, and ZColorMode properties.

These tables list the grid line colors for different combinations of color modes.

GridColorMode PropertyXColorMode Propertyx-Axis Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use XColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use GridColor property.
GridColorMode PropertyYColorMode Propertyy-Axis Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use YColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use GridColor property.
GridColorMode PropertyZColorMode Propertyz-Axis Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use ZColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use GridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use GridColor property.

Example: ax.GridColorMode = 'auto'

Color of minor grid lines, specified as an RGB triplet or one of the color options listed in the table.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet. 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]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

OptionDescriptionEquivalent RGB Triplet
'red' or 'r'Red[1 0 0]
'green' or 'g'Green[0 1 0]
'blue' or 'b'Blue[0 0 1]
'yellow' or 'y'Yellow[1 1 0]
'magenta' or 'm'Magenta[1 0 1]
'cyan' or 'c'Cyan[0 1 1]
'white' or 'w'White[1 1 1]
'black' or 'k'Black[0 0 0]
'none'No colorNot applicable

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = 'b'

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = 'blue'

Selection mode for the MinorGridColor property, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The minor grid line color is based on the values of the MinorGridColorMode, XColorMode, YColorMode, and ZColorMode properties.

These tables list the minor grid line colors for different combinations of color modes.

MinorGridColorMode PropertyXColorMode Propertyx-Axis Minor Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use XColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use MinorGridColor property.
MinorGridColorMode PropertyYColorMode Propertyy-Axis Minor Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use YColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use MinorGridColor property.
MinorGridColorMode PropertyZColorMode Propertyz-Axis Minor Grid-Line Color

'auto'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'auto'

'manual'

Use ZColor property.

'manual'

'auto'

Use MinorGridColor property.

'manual'

'manual'

Use MinorGridColor property.

Example: ax.MinorGridColorMode = 'auto'

Grid-line transparency, specified as a value in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 means opaque and a value of 0 means completely transparent.

Example: ax.GridAlpha = 0.5

Selection mode for the GridAlpha property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use default transparency value of 0.15.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified transparency value. To specify the value, set the GridAlpha property.

Example: ax.GridAlphaMode = 'auto'

Minor grid line transparency, specified as a value in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 means opaque and a value of 0 means completely transparent.

Example: ax.MinorGridAlpha = 0.5

Selection mode for the MinorGridAlpha property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use the default transparency value of 0.25.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified transparency value. To specify the value, set the MinorGridAlpha property.

Example: ax.MinorGridAlphaMode = 'auto'

Placement of grid lines and tick marks in relation to graphic objects, specified as one of these values:

• 'bottom' — Display tick marks and grid lines under graphics objects.

• 'top' — Display tick marks and grid lines over graphics objects.

This property affects only 2-D views.

Example: ax.Layer = 'top'

## Font Style

expand all

Font name, specified as the name of the font to use or 'FixedWidth'. To display and print properly, the font name must be a font that your system supports. The default font depends on the specific operating system and locale.

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

Example: 'Cambria'

Font size, specified as a scalar numeric value. The FontSize, LabelFontSizeMultiplier, and TitleFontSizeMultiplier properties determine the size of the text used for the axis labels and the title. The FontUnits property determines the units used to interpret the font size.

Example: ax.FontSize = 12

Scale factor for title font size, specified as a numeric value greater than 0. The axes applies this scale factor to the value of the FontSize property to determine the font size for the title.

Example: ax.TitleFontSizeMultiplier = 1.75

Scale factor for label font size, specified as a numeric value greater than 0. The axes applies this scale factor to the value of the FontSize property to determine the font size for the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis labels.

Example: ax.LabelFontSizeMultiplier = 1.5

Font size units, specified as one of the values in this table.

UnitsDescription
'points'Points. One point equals 1/72 inch.
'inches'Inches.
'centimeters'Centimeters.
'normalized' Interpret font size as a fraction of the axes height. If you resize the axes, the font size modifies accordingly. For example, if the FontSize is 0.1 in normalized units, then the text is 1/10 of the height value stored in the axes Position property.
'pixels'

Pixels.

Starting in R2015b, distances in pixels are independent of your system resolution on Windows® and Macintosh systems:

• On Windows systems, a pixel is 1/96th of an inch.

• On Macintosh systems, a pixel is 1/72nd of an inch.

On Linux® systems, the size of a pixel is determined by your system resolution.

If you set both the font size and the font units in one function call, you must set the FontUnits property first so that the axes correctly interprets the specified font size.

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.

### Note

The 'oblique' value has been removed. Use 'italic' instead.

Thickness of the text characters, specified as one of these values:

• 'normal' — Default weight as defined by the particular font

• 'bold' — Thicker character outlines than normal

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

### Note

The 'light' and 'demi' font weight values have been removed. Use 'normal' instead.

Thickness of the title text, specified as one of these values:

• 'bold' — Thicker characters outlines than normal.

• 'normal' — Default weight as defined by the particular font.

Example: ax.TitleFontWeight = 'normal'

Text smoothing, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Use antialiasing to make text appear smoother on the screen.

• 'off' — Do not use antialiasing. Use this setting if the text seems blurry. In certain cases, smoothed text blends against the background color and results in a blurring effect.

Example: ax.FontSmoothing = 'off'

## Title, Axis Labels, and Legend

expand all

Text object for axes title. To add a title, set the String property of the text object. To change the title appearance, such as the font style or color, set other properties. For a complete list, see Text Properties.

ax = gca; ax.Title.String = 'My Title'; ax.Title.FontWeight = 'normal';

Alternatively, use the title function to add a title and control the appearance.

title('My Title','FontWeight','normal')

### Note

This text object is not contained in the axes Children property, cannot be returned by findobj, and does not use default values defined for text objects.

Text object for axis label. To add an axis label, set the String property of the text object. To change the label appearance, such as the font size, set other properties. For a complete list, see Text Properties.

ax = gca; ax.YLabel.String = 'My y-Axis Label'; ax.YLabel.FontSize = 12;

Alternatively, use the xlabel, ylabel, and zlabel functions to add an axis label and control the appearance.

ylabel('My y-Axis Label','FontSize',12)

### Note

These text objects are not contained in the axes Children property, cannot be returned by findobj, and do not use default values defined for text objects.

This property is read-only.

Legend associated with the axes, specified as a legend object. You can use this property to determine if the axes has a legend.

ax = gca; lgd = ax.Legend if ~isempty(lgd) disp('Legend Exists') end

You also can use this property to access properties of an existing legend. For a complete list of properties, see Legend Properties.

plot(rand(3)) legend({'Line 1','Line 2','Line 3'},'FontSize',12) ax = gca; ax.Legend.TextColor = 'red';

## Line Colors and Line Styles

expand all

Colors for multiline plots, specified as a three-column matrix of RGB triplets. Each row of the matrix defines one color in the color order. The default color order has seven colors

Default Color OrderAssociated RGB Triplets

 [ 0 0.4470 0.7410 0.8500 0.3250 0.0980 0.9290 0.6940 0.1250 0.4940 0.1840 0.5560 0.4660 0.6740 0.1880 0.3010 0.7450 0.9330 0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]

Some graphics functions reset this property to the default value before plotting. To specify the color order, you can change the default value before plotting. For example, this code changes the default value for all future axes.

co = [1 0 0.4 0.8 0.2 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.4 0.6 0.7 0.2 0.8 0.8 0 1 0.9]; set(groot,'defaultAxesColorOrder',co)

Next color to use in the color order, specified as a positive integer. For example, if this property is set to 1, then the next plot added to the axes uses the first color in the color order. If the index value exceeds the number of colors in the color order, then the index value modulo the number of colors determines the next color used.

If you used a hold on command or if the NextPlot property of the axes is set to 'add', then the color order index value increases every time a new plot is added. Reset the color order by setting the ColorOrderIndex property to 1.

Example: ax.ColorOrderIndex = 5

Line styles and markers for multiline plots, specified as a cell array. You can combine line and marker specifiers in a single entry.

Example: {'-*',':','o'}

MATLAB cycles through the line styles only after using all the colors contained in the ColorOrder property. The default LineStyleOrder has only one line style.

SpecifierLine Style
'-' (default) Solid line
'--'Dashed line
':'Dotted line
'-.'Dash-dotted line
'+'Plus sign markers
'o'Circle markers
'*'Star markers
'.'Point markers
'x'Cross markers
's'Square markers
'd'Diamond markers
'^'Upward-pointing triangle markers
'v'Downward-pointing triangle markers
'>'Right-pointing triangle markers
'<'Left-pointing triangle markers
'p'Five-pointed star (pentagram) markers
'h'Six-pointed star (hexagram) markers

Some graphics functions reset this property to the default value before plotting. To specify the line styles, you can change the default value before plotting. For example, this code changes the default value for all future axes.

set(groot,'defaultAxesLineStyleOrder',{'-*',':','o'})

Next line style to use in the line style order, specified as a positive integer. For example, if this property is set to 1, then the next plot added to the axes uses the first line style in the line style order. If the index value exceeds the number of line styles in the line style order, then the index value modulo the number of line styles determines the next line style used.

If you used a hold on command or if the NextPlot property of the axes is set to 'add', then the line style order index value increases every time a new plot is added. Subsequent plots cycle through the line style order. Reset the line style order by setting the LineStyleOrderIndex property to 1.

Example: ax.LineStyleOrderIndex = 1

## Color and Transparency Mapping

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Color limits for objects in axes that use the colormap, specified as a two-element vector of the form [cmin cmax]. This property determines how data values map to the colors in the colormap where:

• cmin specifies the data value that maps to the first color in the colormap.

• cmax specifies the data value that maps to the last color in the colormap.

The axes linearly interpolates data values between cmin and cmax across the colormap. Values outside this range use either the first or last color, whichever is closest.

For information on changing the colormap, see the colormap function. For information on color mapping, see the caxis function.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the color limits. If you assign a value to this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual' and does not automatically choose the color limits.

Selection mode for the CLim property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Set the CLim property to span the CData limits of the graphics objects displayed in the axes.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified values. To specify the values, set the CLim property. The axes does not change the values when the limits of the axes children change.

Alpha limits for images, patches, and surfaces with transparency, specified as a two-element vector of the form [amin amax]. This property determines how values in the AlphaData properties of image, patch, and surface objects map to the figure alpha map, where:

• amin specifies the data value mapped to the first alpha value in the figure alpha map.

• amax specifies the data value mapped to the last alpha value in the figure alpha map.

The axes linearly interpolates data values between amin and amax across the figure alpha map. Values outside this range use either the first or last alpha map value, whichever is closest.

The Alphamap property of the figure contains the alpha map. For more information, see the alpha function.

Selection mode for the ALim property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Set the alpha limits to span the AlphaData values of the graphics objects in the axes.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified alpha limits. To specify the alpha limits, set the ALim property.

Background light color, specified as an RGB triplet or one of the color options listed in the table. The light is a directionless light that shines uniformly on all objects in the axes when there is a visible light object in the axes.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet. 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]. Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

OptionDescriptionEquivalent RGB Triplet
'red' or 'r'Red[1 0 0]
'green' or 'g'Green[0 1 0]
'blue' or 'b'Blue[0 0 1]
'yellow' or 'y'Yellow[1 1 0]
'magenta' or 'm'Magenta[1 0 1]
'cyan' or 'c'Cyan[0 1 1]
'white' or 'w'White[1 1 1]
'black' or 'k'Black[0 0 0]
'none'No color[0 0 0]

Example: ax.AmbientLightColor = [1 0 1]

Example: ax.AmbientLightColor = 'm'

Example: ax.AmbientLightColor = 'magenta'

## Multiple Plots

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Properties to reset when adding a new plot to the axes, specified as one of these values:

• 'add' — Add new plots to the existing axes. Do not delete existing plots or reset axes properties before displaying the new plot.

• 'replacechildren' — Delete existing plots before displaying the new plot. Reset the ColorOrderIndex and LineStyleOrderIndex properties to 1, but do not reset other axes properties. The next plot added to the axes uses the first color and line style based on the ColorOrder and LineStyle order properties. This value is similar to using cla before every new plot.

• 'replace' — Delete existing plots and reset all axes properties, except Position and Units, to their default values before displaying the new plot.

• 'replaceall' — Delete existing plots and reset all axes properties, except Position and Units, to their default values before displaying the new plot. This value is similar to using cla reset before every new plot.

### Note

For axes with only one y-axis, the 'replace' and 'replaceall' property values are equivalent. For axes with two y-axes, the 'replace' value affects only the active side while the 'replaceall' value affects both sides.

Figures also have a NextPlot property. Alternatively, you can use the newplot function to prepare figures and axes for subsequent graphics commands.

Order for rendering objects, specified as one of these values:

• 'depth' — Draw objects in back-to-front order based on the current view. Use this value to ensure that objects in front of other objects are drawn correctly.

• 'childorder' — Draw objects in the order in which they are created by graphics functions, without considering the relationship of the objects in three dimensions. This value can result in faster rendering, particularly if the figure is very large, but can also result in improper depth sorting of the objects displayed

## Visibility

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State of visibility, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Display the object.

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

Clipping of objects to the axes limits, specified as either 'on' or 'off'. The clipping behavior of an object within the Axes object depends on both the Clipping property of the Axes object and the Clipping property of the individual object. The property value of the Axes object has these effects:

• 'on' — Allow each individual object within the axes to control its own clipping behavior based on the Clipping property value for the object.

• 'off' — Disable clipping for all objects within the axes, regardless of the Clipping property value for the individual objects. Parts of objects can appear outside of the axes limits. For example, parts can appear outside the limits if you create a plot, use the hold on command, freeze the axis scaling, and then add a plot that is larger than the original plot.

This table lists the results for different combinations of Clipping property values.

Clipping Property for Axes ObjectClipping Property for Individual ObjectResult
'on''on'Individual object is clipped. Others might or might not be.
'on''off'Individual object is not clipped. Others might or might not be.
'off''on'Individual object and other objects are not clipped.
'off''off'Individual object and other objects are not clipped.

Thick lines and markers might display outside the axes limits, even if clipping is enabled. If a plot contains markers, then as long as the data point lies within the axes, MATLAB draws the entire marker. If a plot uses thick lines, then part of the line might appear outside the limits depending on the value of the ClippingStyle property of the Axes object.

• When the ClippingStyle property is set to '3dbox' (the default), MATLAB draws the line using the full line width even if part of the line width is outside the axes.

• When the ClippingStyle property is set to 'rectangle', MATLAB clips the line width at the limits.

Boundaries used for clipping, specified as one of the values in this table.

ValueDescriptionsIllustration of Boundary Region
'3dbox'Clip plotted objects to the six sides of the axes box defined by the axis limits.

'rectangle'Clip plotted objects to a rectangular boundary enclosing the axes in any given view.

The ClippingStyle property has no effect if the Clipping property is set to 'off'.

## Location and Size

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Size and location, excluding a margin for the labels, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height].

• The left and bottom elements define the distance from the lower left corner of the container (typically a figure, panel, or tab) to the lower left corner of the position boundary.

• The width and height elements are the position boundary dimensions.

By default, the values are measured in units normalized to the container. To change the units, set the Units property.

The red rectangle shows the region defined by the Position property. The region does not include the tick labels, axis labels, or title. For axes in a 3-D view, the Position property is the smallest rectangle that encloses the axes.

2-D View of Axes3-D View of Axes

If you want to specify the position and account for the text around the axes, then set the OuterPosition property instead. The ActivePositionProperty determines whether to base the axes size on the Position or OuterPosition property values. Other axes properties that affect the size and shape include the DataAspectRatio, PlotBoxAspectRatio, and CameraViewAngle properties. The actual axes size is the largest possible size that conforms to all the position-related properties without extending outside the position boundary.

For more information on the axes position, see Control Axes Layout.

This property is read-only.

Margins for the text labels, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom right top]. The elements define the distances between the bounds of the Position property and the extent of the axes text labels and title. By default, the values are measured in units normalized to the figure or uipanel that contains the axes. To change the units, set the Units property.

The Position property and the TightInset property define the tightest bounding box that encloses the axes and its labels and title. The figure shows the region defined by combining the TightInset values and the Position values.

For more information, see Control Axes Layout.

Size and location, including the labels and a margin, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. The default value of [0 0 1 1] includes the whole interior of the container.

• The left and bottom elements define the distance from the lower left corner of the container (typically a figure, panel, or tab) to the lower left corner of the outer position boundary.

• The width and height elements are the outer position boundary dimensions.

By default, the values are measured in units normalized to the container. To change the units, set the Units property.

The red rectangle shows the region defined by the OuterPosition property. The illustrations show an outer position value of [0.1 0.1 0.8 0.8].

2-D View of Axes3-D View of Axes

For more information on the axes position, see Control Axes Layout.

Position property to hold constant during resize operation, specified as one of these values:

• 'outerposition' — Hold the OuterPosition property constant. Resizing the figure does not clip any of the text.

• 'position' — Hold the Position property constant.

A figure can change size if you interactively change resize it or during a printing or exporting operation.

Position units, specified as one of the values in this table.

UnitsDescription
'normalized' (default)Normalized with respect to the container, which is typically the figure or a panel. The lower left corner of the container maps to (0,0) and the upper right corner maps to (1,1).
'inches'Inches.
'centimeters'Centimeters.
'characters'Based on the default uicontrol font of the graphics root object:
• Character width = width of letter x.

• Character height = distance between the baselines of two lines of text.

'points'Typography points. One point equals 1/72 inch.
'pixels'

Pixels.

Starting in R2015b, distances in pixels are independent of your system resolution on Windows and Macintosh systems:

• On Windows systems, a pixel is 1/96th of an inch.

• On Macintosh systems, a pixel is 1/72nd of an inch.

On Linux systems, the size of a pixel is determined by your system resolution.

When specifying the units as a Name,Value pair during object creation, you must set the Units property before specifying the properties that you want to use these units, such as Position.

## Aspect Ratio

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Type of projection onto 2-D screen, specified as one of these values:

• 'orthographic' — Maintain the correct relative dimensions of graphics objects regarding the distance of a given point from the viewer, and draw lines that are parallel in the data on the screen.

• 'perspective' — Incorporate foreshortening, which allows you to perceive depth in 2-D representations of 3-D objects. Perspective projection does not preserve the relative dimensions of objects. Instead, it displays a distant line segment smaller than a nearer line segment of the same length. Lines that are parallel in the data might not appear parallel on screen.

Relative length of data units along each axis, specified as a three-element vector of the form [dx dy dz]. This vector defines the relative x, y, and z data scale factors. For example, specifying this property as [1 2 1] sets the length of one unit of data in the x-direction to be the same length as two units of data in the y-direction and one unit of data in the z-direction.

The DataAspectRatio property interacts with the PlotBoxAspectRatio, XLimMode, YLimMode, and ZLimMode properties to control how MATLAB scales the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis.

Setting a value for the DataAspectRatio disables the “stretch-to-fill figure shape” behavior if DataAspectRatioMode, PlotBoxAspectRatioMode, and CameraViewAngleMode are all set to 'auto'.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the ratio values. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Example: [1 1 1]

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

Selection mode for the DataAspectRatio property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use values that make best use of the area provided by the figure.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified values. To specify the values, set the DataAspectRatio property. Changing DataAspectRatioMode to 'manual' disables the “stretch-to-fill figure shape” behavior if DataAspectRatioMode, PlotBoxAspectRatioMode, and CameraViewAngleMode are all 'auto'.

This table describes the behavior for various combinations of properties when you disable the stretch-to-fill behavior.

XLimitMode, YLimitMode, and ZLimitMode

DataAspectRatioMode

PlotBoxAspectRatioMode

Behavior

'auto'

'auto'

'auto'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions.

'auto'

'auto'

'manual'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions, and modifies DataAspectRatio to achieve the specified PlotBoxAspectRatio within those limits.

'auto'

'manual'

'auto'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions, and modifies PlotBoxAspectRatio to achieve the specified DataAspectRatio within those limits.

'auto'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB chooses limits that completely fit and center the plot within the specified PlotBoxAspectRatio given the specified DataAspectRatio. This might produce empty space around 2 of the 3 dimensions.

'manual'

'auto'

'auto'

MATLAB honors the specified limits and modifies the DataAspectRatio and PlotBoxAspectRatio as necessary.

'manual'

'auto'

'manual'

The axes honors the specified limits and PlotBoxAspectRatio values, and modifies the DataAspectRatio values as necessary.

'manual'

'manual'

'auto'

The axes honors the specified limits and DataAspectRatio values and modifies the PlotBoxAspectRatio values as necessary.

One set to 'manual' and two set to 'auto'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB selects the limits to honor the specified aspect ratios and specified limits.

Two set to 'manual' and one set to 'auto', or all three set to 'manual'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB ignores the PlotBoxAspectRatio value and uses the specified limits and DataAspectRatio.

Relative length of each axis, specified as a three-element vector of the form [px py pz] defining the relative x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis scale factors. The plot box is a box enclosing the axes data region as defined by the axis limits.

The PlotBoxAspectRatio property interacts with the DataAspectRatio, XLimMode, YLimMode, and ZLimMode properties. Setting the PlotBoxAspectRatio disables the “stretch-to-fill figure shape” behavior, if DataAspectRatioMode, PlotBoxAspectRatioMode, and CameraViewAngleMode are all 'auto'.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the ratio values. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Example: [1,0.75,0.75]

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

Selection mode for the PlotBoxAspectRatio property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use values that make best use of the area provided by the figure.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified values. To specify the values, set the PlotBoxAspectRatio property. Changing PlotBoxAspectRatioMode to 'manual' disables the “stretch-to-fill figure shape” behavior if PlotBoxAspectRatioMode, DataAspectRatioMode, and CameraViewAngleMode are all 'auto'.

This table describes the behavior for various combinations of properties when you disable the stretch-to-fill behavior.

XLimitMode, YLimitMode, and ZLimitMode

DataAspectRatioMode

PlotBoxAspectRatioMode

Behavior

'auto'

'auto'

'auto'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions.

'auto'

'auto'

'manual'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions, and modifies DataAspectRatio to achieve the specified PlotBoxAspectRatio within those limits.

'auto'

'manual'

'auto'

MATLAB chooses limits that span the data range in all dimensions, and modifies PlotBoxAspectRatio to achieve the specified DataAspectRatio within those limits.

'auto'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB chooses limits that completely fit and center the plot within the specified PlotBoxAspectRatio given the specified DataAspectRatio. This might produce empty space around 2 of the 3 dimensions.

'manual'

'auto'

'auto'

MATLAB honors the specified limits and modifies the DataAspectRatio and PlotBoxAspectRatio as necessary.

'manual'

'auto'

'manual'

The axes honors the specified limits and PlotBoxAspectRatio values, and modifies the DataAspectRatio values as necessary.

'manual'

'manual'

'auto'

The axes honors the specified limits and DataAspectRatio values and modifies the PlotBoxAspectRatio values as necessary.

One set to 'manual' and two set to 'auto'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB selects the limits to honor the specified aspect ratios and specified limits.

Two set to 'manual' and one set to 'auto', or all three set to 'manual'

'manual'

'manual'

MATLAB ignores the PlotBoxAspectRatio value and uses the specified limits and DataAspectRatio.

## View

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Location of camera, or the viewpoint, specified as a three-element vector of the form [x y z]. This vector defines the axes coordinates of the location. Changing the CameraPosition property changes the point from which you view the axes.

The camera is oriented along the view axis, which is a straight line that connects the camera position and the camera target. For an illustration, see Camera Graphics Terminology.

If the Projection is 'perspective', then as you change the CameraPosition, the amount of perspective also changes.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the camera location. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Data Types: single | double

Selection mode for the CameraPosition property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Calculate the CameraPosition value such that the camera lies a fixed distance from the target along the azimuth and elevation specified by the current view, as returned by the view function. Functions like rotate3d, zoom, and pan, change this mode to 'auto' to perform their actions.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified value. To specify the value, set the CameraPosition property.

This table summarizes the camera behavior for various combinations of CameraViewAngleMode, CameraTargetMode, and CameraPositionMode property values.

CameraViewAngleModeCameraTargetModeCameraPositionModeBehavior
'auto''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'auto''manual''auto'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''manual''manual'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'manual''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid.

'manual''manual''auto'

Sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''manual''manual'

Uses specified camera values

Point used as camera target, specified as a three-element vector of the form [x y z]. This vector defines the axes coordinates of the point. The camera is oriented along the view axis, which is a straight line that connects the camera position and the camera target. For an illustration, see Camera Graphics Terminology.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the camera target point. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Data Types: single | double

Selection mode for the CameraTarget property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Position the camera target at the centroid of the axes plot box.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified camera target value. To specify a value, set the CameraTarget property.

This table summarizes the camera behavior for various combinations of CameraViewAngleMode, CameraTargetMode, and CameraPositionMode property values.

CameraViewAngleModeCameraTargetModeCameraPositionModeBehavior
'auto''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'auto''manual''auto'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''manual''manual'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'manual''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid.

'manual''manual''auto'

Sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''manual''manual'

Uses specified camera values

Vector defining upwards direction, specified as a three-element direction vector of the form [x y z]. For an illustration, see Camera Graphics Terminology.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the vector values. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Example: [sin(45) cos(45) 1]

Selection mode for the CameraUpVector property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Use [0 0 1] for 3-D views so that the positive z-direction is up. Use [0 1 0] for 2-D views so that the positive y-direction is up.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified vector defining the upwards direction. To specify a value, set the CameraUpVector property.

Field of view, specified as a scalar angle greater than 0 and less than or equal to 180. Changing the camera view angle affects the size of graphics objects displayed in the axes, but does not affect the degree of perspective distortion. The greater the angle, the larger the field of view and the smaller objects appear in the scene. For an illustration, see Camera Graphics Terminology.

If the associated mode property is set to 'auto', then MATLAB chooses the field of view value. If you set this property, then MATLAB sets the mode to 'manual'.

Example: 15

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

Selection mode for the CameraViewAngle property, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Select the field of view as the minimum angle that captures the entire scene, up to 180 degrees.

• 'manual' — Use the manually specified field of view. To specify a value, set the CameraViewAngle property.

This table summarizes the camera behavior for various combinations of CameraViewAngleMode, CameraTargetMode, and CameraPositionMode property values.

CameraViewAngleModeCameraTargetModeCameraPositionModeBehavior
'auto''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'auto''manual''auto'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'auto''manual''manual'

Sets CameraViewAngle to capture entire scene.

'manual''auto''auto'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid, sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''auto''manual'

Sets CameraTarget to plot box centroid.

'manual''manual''auto'

Sets CameraPosition along the view axis.

'manual''manual''manual'

Uses specified camera values

Azimuth and elevation of view, specified as a two-element vector of the form [azimuth elevation] defined in degree units.

Example: ax.View = [45 45];

## Identifiers

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This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object returned as 'axes'.

Tag to associate with the object, specified as a character vector or string.

Use this property to find objects in a hierarchy. For example, you can use the findobj function to find objects that have a specific Tag property value.

Example: 'January Data'

Data to associate with the object, specified as any MATLAB data, for example, a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. MATLAB does not use this data.

To associate multiple sets of data or to attach a field name to the data, use the getappdata and setappdata functions.

Example: 1:100

## Parent/Child

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Parent of axes, specified as figure object, uipanel object, or uitab object.

Children, returned as an array of graphics objects. Use this property to view a list of the children or to reorder the children by setting the property to a permutation of itself.

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

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 to the UI by another function. Set the 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 allows 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. This includes get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close.

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

## Interactive Control

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Location of mouse pointer, specified as a 2-by-3 array. The CurrentPoint property contains the coordinates of two points defined by the location of the mouse pointer with respect to the requested axes.

The two points indicate the location of the last mouse click, unless there is a WindowButtonMotionFcn callback defined for the figure. If the WindowButtonMotionFcn callback is defined, then the points indicate the last location of the mouse pointer.

If the click is within the axes in orthogonal projection, then the two points lie on the line that is perpendicular to the plane of the screen and that passes through the pointer. This is true for both 2-D and 3-D views.

The 3-D coordinates are the points, in the axes coordinate system, where this line intersects the front and back surfaces of the axes volume (which is defined by the axes x, y, and z limits).

The returned matrix is of the form:

[xfront yfront zfront xback yback zback]

The first row defines the point nearest to the camera position. The second row specified the point furthest from the camera position.

If the click is outside the axes in orthogonal projection, but within the figure, the returned values are:

• Back point — Point in the plane of the camera target (which is perpendicular to the viewing axis).

• Front point — Point in the camera position plane (which is perpendicular to the viewing axis).

These points lie on a line that passes through the pointer and is perpendicular to the camera target and camera position planes.

The values of the current point when using perspective projection can be different from the same point in orthographic projection because the shape of the axes volume can be different.

Clicking outside of the axes volume in perspective projection returns the front point as the current camera position at all times. Only the back point updates with the coordinates of a point that lies on a line extending from the camera position through the pointer and intersecting the camera target at that point.

For related information, see the axes Projection, CameraPosition, and CameraTarget properties. Also, see the figure CurrentPoint properties.

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 — You can access properties of the clicked object from within the callback function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. 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 Callback Definition.

### Note

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

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.

Selection state, specified as one of these values:

• '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.

Display of selection handles when selected, specified as one of these values:

• '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'.

## Callback Execution Control

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

• 'visible' — Can capture mouse clicks only when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on'. The HitTest property determines if the Axes object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

• 'all' — Can capture mouse clicks regardless of visibility. The Visible property can be set to 'on' or 'off'. The HitTest property determines if the Axes object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

• 'none' — Cannot capture mouse clicks. Clicking the Axes object passes the click to the object below it in the current view of the figure window, which is typically the axes or the figure. The HitTest property has no effect.

If you want an object to be clickable when it is underneath other objects that you do not want to be clickable, then set the PickableParts property of the other objects to 'none' so that the click passes through them.

Response to captured mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

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

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the Axes object that has:

• The HitTest property set to 'on'

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

### Note

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

Callback interruption, specified as 'on' or 'off'. The Interruptible property determines if a running callback can be interrupted.

### Note

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.

Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt a running callback. The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is allowed. If interruption is not allowed, then the BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if it is discarded or put in the queue.

If the ButtonDownFcn callback of the Axes object is the running callback, then the Interruptible property determines if it another callback can interrupt it:

• 'on' — Interruptible. Interruption occurs at the next point where MATLAB processes the queue, such as when there is a drawnow, figure, getframe, waitfor, or pause command.

• If the running callback contains one of these commands, then MATLAB stops the execution of the callback at this point and executes the interrupting callback. MATLAB resumes executing the running callback when the interrupting callback completes. For more information, see Interrupt Callback Execution.

• If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then MATLAB finishes executing the callback without interruption.

• 'off' — Not interruptible. MATLAB finishes executing the running callback without any interruptions.

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.

Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt a running callback. The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is allowed. If interruption is not allowed, then the BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if it is discarded or put in the queue.

If a callback of the Axes object tries to interrupt a running callback that cannot be interrupted, then the BusyAction property determines if it is discarded or put in the queue. Specify the BusyAction property as one of these values:

• 'queue' — Put the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution. This is the default behavior.

• 'cancel' — Discard the interrupting callback.

## Creation and Deletion Control

expand all

Creation 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 create the object. MATLAB executes the callback after creating the object and setting all of its properties. Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing object has no effect. To have an effect, you must specify the CreateFcn property during object creation. One way to specify the property during object creation is to set the default property value for the object. See Default Property Values for more information.

If you specify this callback using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• Created object — You can access properties of the object from within the callback function. You also can access the object through the CallbackObject property of the root, which can be queried using the gcbo function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. 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 Callback Definition.

Deletion 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 delete the object MATLAB executes the callback before destroying the object so that the callback can access its property values.

If you specify this callback using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• Deleted object — You can access properties of the object from within the callback function. You also can access the object through the CallbackObject property of the root, which can be queried using the gcbo function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. 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 Callback Definition.

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as 'off' or 'on'. MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the delete function of the object begins execution (see the DeleteFcn property). The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the 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.

## See Also

### Topics

#### Introduced before R2006a

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