UIAxes - UI axes appearance and behavior - MATLAB (original) (raw)

UIAxes Properties

UI axes appearance and behavior

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

ax = uiaxes; ax.Color = 'blue';

The properties listed here are valid for axes in App Designer, or in figures created with the uifigure function. For axes used in GUIDE, or in apps created with the figure function, see Axes Properties.

Font

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Font size, specified as a scalar numeric value. The font size affects the title, axis labels, and tick labels. It also affects any legends or colorbars associated with the axes. By default, the font size is measured in pixels. The default font size depends on the specific operating system and locale.

MATLAB automatically scales some of the text to a percentage of the axes font size.

Example: ax.FontSize = 12

Selection mode for the font size, specified as one of these values:

Scale factor for the label font size, specified as a numeric value greater than 0. The scale factor is applied to the value of theFontSize property to determine the font size for the _x_-axis, _y_-axis, and_z_-axis labels.

Example: ax.LabelFontSizeMultiplier = 1.5

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

Subtitle character thickness, specified as one of these values:

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

Units Description
'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 theFontSize is0.1 in normalized units, then the text is 1/10 of the height value stored in the axesPosition property.
'pixels' Pixels.On Windows® and Macintosh systems, the size of a pixel is 1/96th of an inch. This size is independent of your system resolution.On Linux® systems, the size of a pixel is determined by your system resolution.

To set both the font size and the font units in a single function call, you first must set the FontUnits property so that theUIAxes object correctly interprets the specified font size.

Ticks

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Tick values, specified as a vector of increasing values. If you do not want tick marks along the axis, then specify an empty vector[]. The tick values are the locations along the axis where the tick marks appear. The tick labels are the labels that you see next to each tick mark. Use the XTickLabels,YTickLabels, and ZTickLabels properties to specify the associated labels.

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

Example: ax.YTick = 0:10:100

Alternatively, use the xticks, yticks, and zticks functions to specify the tick values. For an example, see Specify Axis Tick Values and Labels.

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

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

Example: ax.XTickMode = 'auto'

Tick labels, specified as a cell array of character vectors, string array, or categorical array. If you do not want tick labels to show, then specify an empty cell array {}. If you do not specify enough labels for all the ticks values, then the labels repeat.

Tick labels support TeX and LaTeX markup. See theTickLabelInterpreter property for more information.

If you specify this property as a categorical array, MATLAB uses the values in the array, not the categories.

As an alternative to setting this property, you can use the xticklabels, yticklabels, and zticklabels functions. For an example, see Specify Axis Tick Values and Labels.

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

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

Example: ax.XTickLabelMode = 'auto'

Tick label rotation, specified as a numeric value in degrees. Positive values give counterclockwise rotation. Negative values give clockwise rotation.

Example: ax.XTickLabelRotation = 45

Example: ax.YTickLabelRotation = 90

Alternatively, use the xtickangle, ytickangle, and ztickangle functions.

Selection mode for the tick label rotation, specified as one of these values:

Minor tick marks, 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.

Example: ax.XMinorTick = 'on'

Tick mark direction, specified as one of these values:

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]

Rulers

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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:

Example: ax.XLimMode = 'auto'

Axis limit selection method, specified as a value from the table. The examples in the table show the approximate appearance for different values of the XLimitMethod property. Your results might differ depending on your data, the size of the axes, and the type of plot you create.

Value Description Example (XLimitMethod)
'tickaligned' In general, align the edges of the axes box with the tick marks that are closest to your data without excluding any data. The appearance might vary depending on the type of data you plot and the type of chart you create. Plotted sine wave with XLimitMethod set to 'tickaligned'.
'tight' Fit the axes box tightly around the data by setting the axis limits equal to the range of the data. Plotted sine wave with XLimitMethod set to 'tight'.
'padded' Fit the axes box around the data with a thin margin of padding on each side. The width of the margin is approximately 7% of your data range. Plotted sine wave with XLimitMethod set to 'padded'.

Note

The axis limit method has no effect when the corresponding mode property (XLimMode, YLimMode, or ZLimMode) is set to 'manual'.

Axis ruler, returned as a ruler object. The ruler controls the appearance and behavior of the _x_-axis,_y_-axis, or _z_-axis. Modify the appearance and behavior of a particular axis by accessing the associated ruler and setting ruler properties. The type of ruler that MATLAB creates for each axis depends on the plotted data. For a list of ruler properties, see:

For example, access the ruler for the _x_-axis through the XAxis property. Then, change theColor 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';

If the Axes object has two _y_-axes, then theYAxis property stores two ruler objects.

_x_-axis location, specified as one of the values in this table. This property applies only to 2-D views.

Value Description Result
'bottom' Bottom of the axes.Example: ax.XAxisLocation = 'bottom' Empty axes with the x-axis at the bottom.
'top' Top of the axes.Example: ax.XAxisLocation = 'top' Empty axes with the x-axis at the top.
'origin' Through the origin point (0,0).Example: ax.XAxisLocation = 'origin' Empty axes with the x-axis at the origin.

_y_-axis location, specified as one of the values in this table. This property applies only to 2-D views.

Value Description Result
'left' Left side of the axes.Example: ax.YAxisLocation = 'left' Empty axes with the y-axis on the left.
'right' Right side of the axes.Example: ax.YAxisLocation = 'right' Empty axes with the y-axis on the right.
'origin' Through the origin point (0,0).Example: ax.YAxisLocation = 'origin' Empty axes with the y-axis at the origin.

Color of the axis line, tick values, and labels in the_x_, y, or_z_ direction, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The color also affects the grid lines, unless you specify the grid line color using theGridColor or MinorGridColor property.

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

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" Sample of the color red
"green" "g" [0 1 0] "#00FF00" Sample of the color green
"blue" "b" [0 0 1] "#0000FF" Sample of the color blue
"cyan" "c" [0 1 1] "#00FFFF" Sample of the color cyan
"magenta" "m" [1 0 1] "#FF00FF" Sample of the color magenta
"yellow" "y" [1 1 0] "#FFFF00" Sample of the color yellow
"black" "k" [0 0 0] "#000000" Sample of the color black
"white" "w" [1 1 1] "#FFFFFF" Sample of the color white
"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._ Sample of the "gem" color palette
"glow" — Dark theme default Sample of the "glow" color palette

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: ax.XColor = [1 1 0]

Example: ax.YColor = 'yellow'

Example: ax.ZColor = '#FFFF00'

Property for setting the _x_-axis grid color, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The mode value only affects the _x_-axis grid color. The_x_-axis line, tick values, and labels always use theXColor value, regardless of the mode.

The _x_-axis grid color depends on both theXColorMode property and theGridColorMode property, as shown here.

XColorMode GridColorMode x-Axis Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' GridColor property
'manual' GridColor property
'manual' 'auto' XColor property
'manual' GridColor property

The _x_-axis minor grid color depends on both theXColorMode property and theMinorGridColorMode property, as shown here.

XColorMode MinorGridColorMode x-Axis Minor Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' MinorGridColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property
'manual' 'auto' XColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property

Property for setting the _y_-axis grid color, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The mode value only affects the _y_-axis grid color. The_y_-axis line, tick values, and labels always use theYColor value, regardless of the mode.

The _y_-axis grid color depends on both theYColorMode property and theGridColorMode property, as shown here.

YColorMode GridColorMode y-Axis Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' GridColor property
'manual' GridColor property
'manual' 'auto' YColor property
'manual' GridColor property

The _y_-axis minor grid color depends on both theYColorMode property and theMinorGridColorMode property, as shown here.

YColorMode MinorGridColorMode y-Axis Minor Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' MinorGridColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property
'manual' 'auto' YColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property

Property for setting the _z_-axis grid color, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The mode value only affects the _z_-axis grid color. The_z_-axis line, tick values, and labels always use theZColor value, regardless of the mode.

The _z_-axis grid color depends on both theZColorMode property and theGridColorMode property, as shown here.

ZColorMode GridColorMode z-Axis Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' GridColor property
'manual' GridColor property
'manual' 'auto' ZColor property
'manual' GridColor property

The _z_-axis minor grid color depends on both theZColorMode property and theMinorGridColorMode property, as shown here.

ZColorMode MinorGridColorMode z-Axis Minor Grid Color
'auto' 'auto' MinorGridColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property
'manual' 'auto' ZColor property
'manual' MinorGridColor property

_x_-axis direction, specified as one of these values.

Value Description Result in 2-D Result in 3-D
'normal' Values increase from left to right.Example: ax.XDir = 'normal' 2-D axes with the x-axis direction set to 'normal'. The tick values for the x-axis increase from left to right. 3-D axes with the x-axis direction set to 'normal'. If you look at the x-y plane, the x-axis tick values increase from left to right.
'reverse' Values increase from right to left.Example: ax.XDir = 'reverse' 2-D axes with the x-axis direction set to 'reverse'. The tick values for the x-axis increase from right to left. 3-D axes with the x-axis direction set to 'reverse'. If you look at the x-y plane, the x-axis tick values increase from right to left.

_y_-axis direction, specified as one of these values.

Value Description Result in 2-D Result in 3-D
'normal' Values increase from bottom to top (2-D view) or front to back (3-D view).Example: ax.YDir = 'normal' 2-D axes with the x-axis direction set to 'normal'. The tick values for the y-axis increase from bottom to top. 3-D axes with the y-axis direction set to 'normal'. If you look at the x-y plane, the y-axis tick values increase from bottom to top.
'reverse' Values increase from top to bottom (2-D view) or back to front (3-D view).Example: ax.YDir = 'reverse' 2-D axes with the y-axis direction set to 'reverse'. The tick values for the y-axis increase from top to bottom. 3-D axes with the y-axis direction set to 'reverse'. If you look at the x-y plane, the y-axis tick values increase from top to bottom.

_z_-axis direction, specified as one of these values.

Value Description Result in 3-D
'normal' Values increase pointing out of the screen (2-D view) or from bottom to top (3-D view).Example: ax.ZDir = 'normal' 3-D axes with the z-axis direction set to 'normal'. If the z-axis is the vertical axis, its tick values increase from bottom to top.
'reverse' Values increase pointing into the screen (2-D view) or from top to bottom (3-D view).Example: ax.ZDir = 'reverse' 3-D axes with the z-axis direction set to 'reverse'. If the z-axis is the vertical axis, its tick values increase from top to bottom.

Grids

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Grid lines, 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.

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'

Since R2023a

Grid line width, specified as a positive number. Set this property or the MinorGridLineWidth property to control the thickness of the grid lines independently of the box outline and tick marks.

Example

Create vectors x and y, and plot them. Display the grid lines in the axes by calling grid on. Increase the thickness of the grid lines, box outline, and tick marks by setting theLineWidth property of the axes to1.5.

x = linspace(0,10); y = sin(x); plot(x,y) grid on ax = gca; ax.LineWidth = 1.5;

Line plot with a thick box outline, thick tick marks, and thick grid lines

Make the grid lines thinner by setting the grid line width to 0.5.

Updated plot with thin grid lines, but with the same thick box outline and thick tick marks

Since R2023a

How the grid line width is set, specified as one of these values:

MATLAB sets this property to "manual" when you explicitly set the GridLineWidth property to a value.

Color of grid lines, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

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

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" Sample of the color red
"green" "g" [0 1 0] "#00FF00" Sample of the color green
"blue" "b" [0 0 1] "#0000FF" Sample of the color blue
"cyan" "c" [0 1 1] "#00FFFF" Sample of the color cyan
"magenta" "m" [1 0 1] "#FF00FF" Sample of the color magenta
"yellow" "y" [1 1 0] "#FFFF00" Sample of the color yellow
"black" "k" [0 0 0] "#000000" Sample of the color black
"white" "w" [1 1 1] "#FFFFFF" Sample of the color white
"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._ Sample of the "gem" color palette
"glow" — Dark theme default Sample of the "glow" color palette

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)).

To set the colors for the axes box outline, use theXColor, YColor, andZColor properties.

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

Example: ax.GridColor = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.GridColor = 'blue'

Example: ax.GridColor = '#0000FF'

Property for setting the grid color, specified as one of these values:

Minor grid lines, 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.

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

Example: ax.XMinorGrid = 'on'

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

Line Style Description Resulting Line
"-" Solid line Sample of solid line
"--" Dashed line Sample of dashed line
":" Dotted line Sample of dotted line
"-." Dash-dotted line Sample of dash-dotted line, with alternating dashes and dots
"none" No line No line

To display minor grid lines, use the grid minor command or set the XMinorGrid, YMinorGrid, or ZMinorGrid property to'on'.

Example: ax.MinorGridLineStyle = '-.'

Since R2023a

Minor grid line width, specified as a positive number. Set this property or the GridLineWidth property to control the thickness of the grid lines independently of the box outline and tick marks.

Tip

Since R2023a

How the minor grid line width is set, specified as one of these values:

MATLAB sets this property to "manual" when you explicitly set the MinorGridLineWidth property to a value.

Color of minor grid lines, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

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

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" Sample of the color red
"green" "g" [0 1 0] "#00FF00" Sample of the color green
"blue" "b" [0 0 1] "#0000FF" Sample of the color blue
"cyan" "c" [0 1 1] "#00FFFF" Sample of the color cyan
"magenta" "m" [1 0 1] "#FF00FF" Sample of the color magenta
"yellow" "y" [1 1 0] "#FFFF00" Sample of the color yellow
"black" "k" [0 0 0] "#000000" Sample of the color black
"white" "w" [1 1 1] "#FFFFFF" Sample of the color white
"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._ Sample of the "gem" color palette
"glow" — Dark theme default Sample of the "glow" color palette

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)).

To display minor grid lines, use the grid minor command or set the XMinorGrid, YMinorGrid, or ZMinorGrid property to'on'.

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = 'blue'

Example: ax.MinorGridColor = '#0000FF'

Property for setting the minor grid color, specified as one of these values:

Labels

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Text object for axes title. To add a title, set theString 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 = uiaxes; ax.Title.String = 'My Graph Title'; ax.Title.FontWeight = 'normal';

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

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

Text object for the axes subtitle. To add a subtitle, set theString property of the text object. To change its appearance, such as the font angle, set other properties. For a complete list, see Text Properties.

ax = uiaxes; ax.Subtitle.String = 'An Insightful Subtitle'; ax.Subtitle.FontAngle = 'italic';

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

% subtitle function subtitle(ax,'Insightful Subtitle','FontAngle','italic')

% title function [t,s] = title(ax,'Clever Title','Insightful Subtitle'); s.FontAngle = 'italic';

Note

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

Title and subtitle horizontal alignment with the plot box, specified as one of the values from the table.

TitleHorizontalAlignment Value Description Appearance
'center' The title and subtitle are centered over the plot box. Title and subtitle centered over the plot box.
'left' The title and subtitle are aligned with the left side of the plot box. Title and subtitle aligned with left edge of the plot box.
'right' The title and subtitle are aligned with the right side of the plot box. Title and subtitle aligned with right edge of the plot box.

Text object for axis label. To add an axis label, set theString 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 = uiaxes; ax.YLabel.String = '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(ax,'My y-Axis Label','FontSize',12)

This property is read-only.

Legend associated with the UIAxes object, specified as aLegend object. To add a legend to the axes, use thelegend function. Then, you can use this property to modify the legend. For a complete list of properties, see Legend Properties.

ax = uiaxes; ax.Legend.TextColor = 'red';

You also can use this property to determine if the axes has a legend.

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

Multiple Plots

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Since R2023a

How to cycle through the line styles when there are multiple lines in the axes, specified as one of the values from this table.

The examples in this table were created using the default colors in theColorOrder property and three line styles (["-","-o","--"]) in the LineStyleOrder property.

Value Description Example
"aftercolor" Cycle through the line styles of the LineStyleOrder after the colors of the ColorOrder. Six lines that use the "aftercolor" line style cycling method. Each line is a different color with the same line style.
"beforecolor" Cycle through the line styles of theLineStyleOrder before the colors of theColorOrder. Six lines that use the "beforecolor" line style cycling method. The first three lines use all three line styles with the first color. The last three lines repeat the line styles with the second color.
"withcolor" Cycle through the line styles of theLineStyleOrder with the colors of theColorOrder. Six lines that use the "withcolor" line style cycling method. The first three lines use all three line styles with the first three colors. The last three lines repeat the line styles with the next three colors.

This property is read-only.

SeriesIndex value for the next plot object added to the axes, returned as a whole number greater than or equal to 0. This property is useful when you want to track how the objects cycle through the colors and line styles. This property maintains a count of the objects in the axes that have a numericSeriesIndex property value. MATLAB uses it to assign a SeriesIndex value to each new object. The count starts at 1 when you create the axes, and it increases by 1 for each additional object. Thus, the count is typically n+1, where n is the number of objects in the axes.

If you manually change the ColorOrderIndex orLineStyleOrderIndex property on the axes, the value of theNextSeriesIndex property changes to 0. As a consequence, objects that have a SeriesIndex property no longer update automatically when you change the ColorOrder orLineStyleOrder properties on the axes.

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

Note

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

Color and Transparency Maps

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Color map, specified as an m-by-3 array of RGB (red, green, blue) triplets that define m individual colors.

Example: ax.Colormap = [1 0 1; 0 0 1; 1 1 0] sets the color map to three colors: magenta, blue, and yellow.

MATLAB accesses these colors by their row number.

Alternatively, use the colormap function to change the color map.

Scale for color mapping, specified as one of these values:

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:

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

Transparency map, specified as an array of finite alpha values that progress linearly from0 to 1. The size of the array can be_m_-by-1 or 1-by-m. MATLAB accesses alpha values by their index in the array. An alphamap can be any length.

Scale for transparency mapping, specified as one of these values:

Alpha limits, specified as a two-element vector of the form [amin amax]. This property affects theAlphaData values of graphics objects, such as surface, image, and patch objects. This property determines how theAlphaData values map to the figure alpha map, where:

The UIAxes object interpolates data values betweenamin 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 thealpha function.

Box Styling

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Color of plot area, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The color affects the area defined by theInnerPosition property value.

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

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" Sample of the color red
"green" "g" [0 1 0] "#00FF00" Sample of the color green
"blue" "b" [0 0 1] "#0000FF" Sample of the color blue
"cyan" "c" [0 1 1] "#00FFFF" Sample of the color cyan
"magenta" "m" [1 0 1] "#FF00FF" Sample of the color magenta
"yellow" "y" [1 1 0] "#FFFF00" Sample of the color yellow
"black" "k" [0 0 0] "#000000" Sample of the color black
"white" "w" [1 1 1] "#FFFFFF" Sample of the color white
"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._ Sample of the "gem" color palette
"glow" — Dark theme default Sample of the "glow" color palette

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: ax.Color = [0 0 1]

Example: ax.Color = 'blue'

Example: ax.Color = '#0000FF'

Color of margin around plot area, returned as 'none'.

Note

Setting this property has no effect.

Line width of axes outline, tick marks, and grid lines, specified as a positive numeric value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: ax.LineWidth = 1.5

Box outline, 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.

Value Description 2-D Result 3-D Result
'on' Display the box outline around the axes. For 3-D views, use the BoxStyle property to change extent of the outline.Example: ax.Box = 'on' 2-D axes with the box outline on. The axes appears as a closed rectangle. 3-D axes with the box outline on. The axes appears as a closed cube.
'off' Do not display the box outline around the axes.Example: ax.Box = 'off' 2-D axes with the box outline off. The axes appears as an L shape consisting of one horizontal x-axis intersecting with one vertical y-axis. 3-D axes with the box outline off. The x-y plane is an L shape consisting of one x-axis intersecting with one y-axis. The z-axis extends up from a corner of the x-y plane.

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

Example: ax.Box = 'on'

Box outline style, specified as 'back' or'full'. This property affects only 3-D views.

Value Description Result
'back' Outline the back planes of the 3-D box.Example: ax.BoxStyle = 'back' 3-D axes with the box style set to 'back'.
'full' Outline the entire 3-D box.Example: ax.BoxStyle = 'full' 3-D axes with the box style set to 'full'.

Clipping of objects to the axes limits, specified as'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or0 (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.

The clipping behavior of an object within the Axes object depends on both the Clipping property of the Axes object and theClipping property of the individual object. The property value of the Axes object has these effects:

This table lists the results for different combinations ofClipping property values.

Clipping Property for Axes Object Clipping Property for Individual Object Result
'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' All objects are unclipped.
'off' 'off' All objects are unclipped.

Clipping boundaries, specified as one of the values in this table. If a plot contains markers, then as long as the data point lies within the axes limits, MATLAB draws the entire marker.

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

Value Descriptions Illustration of Boundary Region
'3dbox' Clip plotted objects to the six sides of the axes box defined by the axis limits.Thick lines might display outside the axes limits. 3-D axes containing a plotted surface with the clipping style set to '3dbox'. The surface clips at the boundaries of the plot box.
'rectangle' Clip plotted objects to a rectangular boundary enclosing the axes in any given view.Clip thick lines at the axes limits. 3-D axes containing a plotted surface with the clipping style set to 'rectangle'. The surface extends beyond the plot box boundaries, but it clips to the edges of a rectangle that encloses the plot box.

Background light color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The background light is a directionless light that shines uniformly on all objects in the axes. To add light, use the light function.

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

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" Sample of the color red
"green" "g" [0 1 0] "#00FF00" Sample of the color green
"blue" "b" [0 0 1] "#0000FF" Sample of the color blue
"cyan" "c" [0 1 1] "#00FFFF" Sample of the color cyan
"magenta" "m" [1 0 1] "#FF00FF" Sample of the color magenta
"yellow" "y" [1 1 0] "#FFFF00" Sample of the color yellow
"black" "k" [0 0 0] "#000000" Sample of the color black
"white" "w" [1 1 1] "#FFFFFF" Sample of the color white
"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._ Sample of the "gem" color palette
"glow" — Dark theme default Sample of the "glow" color palette

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: ax.AmbientLightColor = [1 0 1]

Example: ax.AmbientLightColor = 'magenta'

Example: ax.AmbientLightColor = '#FF00FF'

Position

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Inner size and location, excluding labels and margins, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. The values are measured in the units specified by theUnits property, which defaults to pixels.

If you want to specify the position and account for the text around the axes, then set the either the Position or theOuterPosition property. These figures show the areas defined by the Position (orOuterPosition) in blue, and theInnerPosition in red.

2-D View of Axes 3-D View of Axes
2-D axes with a title and axis labels. The inner position is outlined in red. It encloses the plot box only. The title, axis labels, and tick labels lie outside this rectangle. The outer position is outlined in blue. It encloses the plot box, the title, and the axis labels. 3-D axes with a title and axis labels. The inner position is outlined in red. It encloses the plot box. The title and axis labels lie outside this rectangle. Depending on the orientation of the plot box, some of the tick labels might lie inside or outside of this rectangle. The outer position is outlined in blue. It encloses the plot box, the title, and all of the axis labels.

MATLAB automatically sets InnerPosition to the largest possible values that conform to all other properties. Other UIAxes properties that affect the axes size and shape include Position,DataAspectRatio andPlotBoxAspectRatio.

Note

Size and location of the axes, including the labels and margins, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height].

This property value is identical to the Position property value.

This property is read-only.

Margin for text labels, returned as a four-element vector of the form[left bottom right top]. The elements define the distances between the bounds of the InnerPosition property and the extent of the axes text labels and title. By default, the values are measured in pixels. To change the units, set theUnits property.

Position property to hold constant when adding, removing, or changing decorations, specified as one of the following values:

Note

Setting this property has no effect when the parent container is aTiledChartLayout object.

Position units, specified as one of these values.

Units Description
'normalized' 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 letterx.Character height = distance between the baselines of two lines of text.
'points' Typography points. One point equals 1/72 inch.
'pixels' On Windows and Macintosh systems, the size of a pixel is 1/96th of an inch. This size is independent of your system resolution.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 asPosition.

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.

Alternatively, use the daspect function to change the data aspect ratio.

Example: ax.DataAspectRatio = [1 1 1]

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

Data aspect ratio mode, specified as one of these values:

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.

Alternatively, use the pbaspect function to change the data aspect ratio.

If you specify the axis limits, data aspect ratio, and plot box aspect ratio, then MATLAB ignores the plot box aspect ratio. It adheres to the axis limits and data aspect ratio.

Example: ax.PlotBoxAspectRatio = [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:

Layout options, specified as aGridLayoutOptions orTiledChartLayoutOptions object. This property specifies options when the axes is in a grid layout or a tiled chart layout. If the axes is not in either type of layout, then this property is empty and has no effect.

To position the axes in a specific row and column of a grid layout, set the Row and Column properties on the GridLayoutOptions object. For example, this code places the axes in the third row and second column of a grid layout.

g = uigridlayout([4 3]); ax = uiaxes(g); ax.Layout.Row = 3; ax.Layout.Column = 2;

To make the axes span multiple rows or columns, specify theRow or Column property as a two-element vector. For example, this axes spans columns2 through3:

ax.Layout.Column = [2 3];

View

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

Note

Setting the azimuth and elevation angles might reset other camera-related properties. For best results, set the azimuth and elevation angles before setting other camera-related properties.

Example: ax.View = [45 45]

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

Camera location, or the viewpoint, specified as a three-element vector of the form [x y z]. This vector defines the axes coordinates of the camera location, which is 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 property is set to 'perspective', then as you change theCameraPosition setting, the amount of perspective also changes.

Alternatively, use the campos function to set the camera location.

Example: ax.CameraPosition = [0.5 0.5 9]

Data Types: single | double

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

Camera target point, 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.

Alternatively, use the camtarget function to set the camera target.

Example: ax.CameraTarget = [0.5 0.5 0.5]

Data Types: single | double

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

Vector defining upwards direction, specified as a three-element direction vector of the form [x y z]. For 2-D views, the default value is [0 1 0]. For 3-D views, the default value is[0 0 1]. For an illustration, see Camera Graphics Terminology.

Alternatively, use the camup function to set the upwards direction.

Example: ax.CameraUpVector = [sin(45) cos(45) 1]

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

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.

Example: ax.CameraViewAngle = 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:

Interactivity

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Options to customize interaction behavior, specified as aCartesianAxesInteractionOptions object. Use the properties of the CartesianAxesInteractionOptions object to customize the behavior of interactions with the axes. For a complete list of properties, see CartesianAxesInteractionOptions Properties.

Before R2024a: Specify this property as anInteractionOptions object instead of as aCartesianAxesInteractionOptions object.

The options set by the CartesianAxesInteractionOptions object apply to these interactions on the associated axes:

Example: ax.InteractionOptions.LimitsDimensions = "x" constrains all pan and zoom interactions to the_x_-dimension.

Toolbar with individual interaction buttons, specified as anAxesToolbar object or an empty array. Use this property to customize the appearance and behavior of the toolbar. Create the toolbar using the axtoolbar function. The toolbar appears at the top-right corner of the UI axes when you hover over it.

Toolbar that includes buttons for exporting content, data brushing, rotating 3-D views, panning, zooming, and restoring the original view.

The toolbar buttons depend on the contents of the UI axes, but typically include zooming, panning, rotating, brushing, exporting, and restoring the original view. You can customize the toolbar buttons using the axtoolbar and axtoolbarbtn functions.

For a complete list of properties, see AxesToolbar Properties.

To remove the toolbar, set this property to an empty array.

Built-in interactions, specified as an array of interaction objects or an empty array. These interactions are available within your chart through gestures. You do not have to select any axes toolbar buttons to use them.

The default set of built-in interactions depends on the chart type. You can replace the default set with a new set of interactions, but you cannot access or modify the default set of interactions.

To remove all interactions from the axes, set this property to an empty array. To temporarily disable the current set of interactions, call thedisableDefaultInteractivity function. You can reenable them by calling the enableDefaultInteractivity function.

For a list of interaction objects, see Customize Built-In Interactions.

Example: ax.Interactions = [panInteraction zoomInteraction] replaces the default set of built-in interactions with the panInteraction and zoomInteraction objects. This set of interactions enables dragging to pan within the chart and scrolling to zoom within the chart.

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.

Note

When the Visible property is 'off', the axes object is invisible, but child objects such as lines remain visible.

Location of mouse pointer, specified as a 2-by-3 array. TheCurrentPoint property contains the (x,y,z) coordinates of the mouse pointer with respect to the axes. The returned array is of the form:

[xfront yfront zfront xback yback zback]

The two points indicate the location of the last mouse click. However, if the figure has a WindowButtonMotionFcn callback defined, then the points indicate the last location of the mouse pointer. The figure also has a CurrentPoint property.

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.

Orthogonal Projection

When using orthogonal projection, the values depend on whether the click is within the axes or outside the axes.

Perspective Projection

Clicking outside of the UIAxes object in perspective projection returns the front point as the current camera position. 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.

Callbacks

Callback Execution Control

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This property is read-only.

Parent/Child

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Parent container, specified as a Figure,Panel, Tab, GridLayout, or TiledChartLayout object. If no container is specified, MATLAB calls the uifigure function to create a new Figure object that serves as the parent container.

Identifiers

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This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object returned as 'axes'.

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.

Version History

Introduced in R2016a

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The default ColorOrder, XColor,YColor, and ZColor property values in the light theme have changed slightly. This table lists the changes.

Property R2024b Color R2025a Color
ColorOrder RGB TripletSample[0.0000 0.4470 0.7410] Sample of dark blue color (R2024b)[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980] Sample of dark orange color (R2024b)[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250] Sample of dark yellow color (R2024b)[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560] Sample of dark purple color (R2024b)[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880] Sample of medium green color (R2024b)[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330] Sample of light blue color (R2024b)[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840] Sample of dark red color (R2024b) RGB TripletSample[0.0660 0.4430 0.7450] Sample of dark blue color (R2025a)[0.8660 0.3290 0.0000] Sample of dark orange color (R2025a)[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250] Sample of dark yellow color (R2025a)[0.5210 0.0860 0.8190] Sample of dark purple color (R2025a)[0.2310 0.6660 0.1960] Sample of medium green color (R2025a)[0.1840 0.7450 0.9370] Sample of light blue color (R2025a)[0.8190 0.0150 0.5450] Sample of dark magenta color (R2025a)
XColor, YColor, andZColor [0.15 0.15 0.15] [0.1294 0.1294 0.1294]

The InteractionOptions object is now calledCartesianAxesInteractionOptions. The behavior remains the same. The name of the InteractionOptions property has not changed. Starting in R2024a, set the InteractionOptions property using aCartesianAxesInteractionOptions object.

Use the LineStyleCyclingMethod property to control how different lines are distinguished from one another in the axes.

Change the thickness of grid lines independently of the box outline and tick marks by setting the GridLineWidth andMinorGridLineWidth properties of the axes. Before R2023a, the LineWidth property of the axes was the only property for controlling the grid line width. However, that property controlled the grid lines, box outline, and tick marks together. Now you can control the thickness of the grid lines separately.

Use the InteractionOptions property to control the behavior of axes interactions, such as pan, zoom, and rotate.

Control the selection mode for tick label rotation by setting theXTickLabelRotationMode,YTickLabelRotationMode, orZTickLabelRotationMode property.

You can remove all the tick marks from the axes by setting theTickDir property to "none".

Control the axis limits for your plots by setting theXLimitMethod, YLimitMethod, orZLimitMethod on the axes.

Setting the BackgroundColor property on aUIAxes object no longer has any effect. Starting in R2020b, the area around the plot box is transparent regardless of the value of theBackgroundColor property.

To produce the same effect as setting the background color in previous releases, create a panel with the desired BackgroundColor value, and then place the UIAxes in the panel.

The stacking order (also called the Z-order) of objects in the figure has changed so that UIAxes objects and their contents appear behind all UI components in the figure. This behavior is consistent with the behavior of other types of axes.

For example, this code creates a figure, a button, and then aUIAxes object.

fig = uifigure; b = uibutton(fig); uax = uiaxes(fig);

In R2020a, executing the preceding code displays the UIAxes in front of the button, as shown in the figure on the left. The figure on the right shows the behavior in R2020b, where the UIAxes appears behind UI components regardless of the order of creation.

Comparison of button and UIAxes stacking order in R2020a and R2020b.

The order of the objects listed in the Children property of the figure also reflects this change. The UIAxes object is always after UI components in the list.

ans =

2×1 graphics array:

Button (Button) UIAxes

Plot objects such as lines might not clip to the bounds defined by theOuterPosition property of the UIAxes. The lines extend beyond the bounds when the Clipping property of each line is set to 'off'. In previous releases, the lines clip to the OuterPosition regardless of the value of theClipping property. For example, the plot on the left shows the R2020a behavior, and the plot on the right shows the R2020b behavior. In both cases, the Clipping properties of the lines are set to'off'.

Comparison of clipping behavior in R2020a and R2020b.

To prevent the axes content from overlapping with components in your app, set theClipping property of each object in the axes to'on'.

The SizeChangedFcn callback for UIAxes objects has been removed. If your app requires a callback that executes when the size of the axes changes, create a SizeChangedFCn callback for the parent figure or another container.

When you create a plot in a UIAxes object, and then create a colorbar or legend for that plot, the parent object of the colorbar or legend is the same as the parent object of the UIAxes object. In previous releases, the parent object of the colorbar or legend is theUIAxes object.

You can control the alignment of a plot title by setting theTitleHorizontalAlignment property of the axes to"left", "right", or"center".

Add a subtitle to your plot by setting the Subtitle property or calling the subtitle function. To control the appearance of the subtitle, set the SubtitleFontWeight property.

Set the PositionConstraint property of anAxes object to control the space around the plot box when you add or modify decorations such as titles and axis labels.

If you change the axes ColorOrder orLineStyleOrder properties after plotting into the axes, the colors and line styles in your plot update immediately. In R2019a and previous releases, the new colors and line styles affect only subsequent plots, not the existing plots.

To preserve the original behavior, set the axes ColorOrderIndex orLineStyleOrderIndex property to any value (such as its current value) before changing the ColorOrder orLineStyleOrder property.

There is a new indexing scheme that enables you to change the colors and line styles of existing plots by setting the ColorOrder orLineStyleOrder properties. MATLAB applies this indexing scheme to all objects that have aColorMode, FaceColorMode,MarkerFaceColorMode, or CDataMode. As a result, your code might produce plots that cycle though the colors and line styles differently than in previous releases.

In R2019a and earlier releases, MATLAB uses a different indexing scheme which does not allow you to change the colors of existing plots.

To preserve the way your plots cycle through colors and line styles, set the axesColorOrderIndex or LineStyleOrderIndex property to any value (such as its current value) before plotting into the axes.