Thread: [Matplotlib-users] Common ylabel for subplots

Hello,

I have six subplots in my canvas, and wondering how to place a common ylabel
into the canvas in matplotlib? (Let say instead of having six same text on
the y-axes just to replace them with one bigger text encompassing all six
y-axes.)

Is this available in ml or am I too blind to see this feature?

Thanks,

Gökhan

Does this get you close?  It seems what your trying to do might be a bit 
ambiguous, but I understand the problem with the y-axis when there are 
lots of subplots.

Maybe it would be better to change the y-ticker to make fewer ticks or 
the labels to be smaller.

-Chip

from matplotlib import pyplot as plt

t = [0,1]
y=[0,1]

fig = plt.figure()

plt.axes([0.1,0.1,0.8,0.8], frameon=True, axisbg='w')
ax = fig.add_subplot(211)
plt.setp(ax.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
plt.plot(t,y)
ax = fig.add_subplot(212)
plt.setp(ax.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
plt.plot(t,y)
plt.show()


Gökhan SEVER wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I have six subplots in my canvas, and wondering how to place a common 
> ylabel into the canvas in matplotlib? (Let say instead of having six 
> same text on the y-axes just to replace them with one bigger text 
> encompassing all six y-axes.)
> 
> Is this available in ml or am I too blind to see this feature?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Gökhan
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
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I don't know if there is a betteer way to do it, but I think you can
just attach a text artist to the figures canvas.

Best,
J.

On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Gökhan SEVER <gok...@gm...> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I have six subplots in my canvas, and wondering how to place a common ylabel
> into the canvas in matplotlib? (Let say instead of having six same text on
> the y-axes just to replace them with one bigger text encompassing all six
> y-axes.)
>
> Is this available in ml or am I too blind to see this feature?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gökhan
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San Francisco, CA
> -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the Enterprise
> -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source participation
> -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code: SFAD
> http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H
> _______________________________________________
> Matplotlib-users mailing list
> Mat...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users
>
>

I don't know how to do this in matplotlib. Can you give an example?

Chip,

I tried your method but didn't work for me :(

So far, my best approach is use some GIMP tricks on transparent canvas. With
these improvements I am finishing my first official poster.

Thanks.
Gökhan


> On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 6:01 PM, Jonathan Taylor <
> jon...@ut...> wrote:
>
>> I don't know if there is a betteer way to do it, but I think you can
>> just attach a text artist to the figures canvas.
>>
>> Best,
>> J.
>>
>> On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Gökhan SEVER <gok...@gm...>
>> wrote:
>> > Hello,
>> >
>> > I have six subplots in my canvas, and wondering how to place a common
>> ylabel
>> > into the canvas in matplotlib? (Let say instead of having six same text
>> on
>> > the y-axes just to replace them with one bigger text encompassing all
>> six
>> > y-axes.)
>> >
>> > Is this available in ml or am I too blind to see this feature?
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> >
>> > Gökhan
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> > Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009, San
>> Francisco, CA
>> > -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing the
>> Enterprise
>> > -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open source
>> participation
>> > -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the source code:
>> SFAD
>> > http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Matplotlib-users mailing list
>> > Mat...@li...
>> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users
>> >
>> >
>>
>
>

Gökhan SEVER wrote:
> I don't know how to do this in matplotlib. Can you give an example?
> 
> Chip,
> 
> I tried your method but didn't work for me :(

Well, I'm using matplotlib 0.98.5.2, I'm not sure if that makes a 
difference or not.

Here's what I'm seeing:

http://yfrog.com/090366p

It's pretty rough, but I thought it might give you an idea or two.  Like 
I said, I've been meaning to clean up my subplots too I just haven't had 
time to do it.  I'd be curious to see how you do it if you get it working :)

-Chip


I'm pasting the source again in case I fumbled the last attempt:

#!/usr/bin/env python

# Make one axis that spans several subplots

from matplotlib import pyplot as plt

t = [0,1]
y = [0,1]

fig = plt.figure()

plt.axes([0.1,0.1,0.8,0.8], frameon=True, axisbg='w')
ax = fig.add_subplot(211)
plt.setp(ax.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
plt.plot(t,y)
ax = fig.add_subplot(212)
plt.setp(ax.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
plt.plot(t,y)
plt.show()



> 
> So far, my best approach is use some GIMP tricks on transparent canvas. 
> With these improvements I am finishing my first official poster.
> 
> Thanks.
> Gökhan
>  
> 
>     On Tue, Mar 10, 2009 at 6:01 PM, Jonathan Taylor
>     <jon...@ut... <mailto:jon...@ut...>>
>     wrote:
> 
>         I don't know if there is a betteer way to do it, but I think you can
>         just attach a text artist to the figures canvas.
> 
>         Best,
>         J.
> 
>         On Mon, Mar 9, 2009 at 12:15 PM, Gökhan SEVER
>         <gok...@gm... <mailto:gok...@gm...>> wrote:
>          > Hello,
>          >
>          > I have six subplots in my canvas, and wondering how to place
>         a common ylabel
>          > into the canvas in matplotlib? (Let say instead of having six
>         same text on
>          > the y-axes just to replace them with one bigger text
>         encompassing all six
>          > y-axes.)
>          >
>          > Is this available in ml or am I too blind to see this feature?
>          >
>          > Thanks,
>          >
>          > Gökhan
>          >
>          >
>          >
>         ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>          > Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), March 24-25, 2009,
>         San Francisco, CA
>          > -OSBC tackles the biggest issue in open source: Open Sourcing
>         the Enterprise
>          > -Strategies to boost innovation and cut costs with open
>         source participation
>          > -Receive a $600 discount off the registration fee with the
>         source code: SFAD
>          > http://p.sf.net/sfu/XcvMzF8H
>          > _______________________________________________
>          > Matplotlib-users mailing list
>          > Mat...@li...
>         <mailto:Mat...@li...>
>          > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users
>          >
>          >
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
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> _______________________________________________
> Matplotlib-users mailing list
> Mat...@li...
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/matplotlib-users

Hi Gökhan et al,

I hope the following code might help you out and show you the basic idea 
of sharing the same x and y axis over several subplots. I've made a plot 
with 2 x 2 subplots sharing both x and y axis and showing only the 
labels at the left and the labels at the bottom.

    import pylab

    figprops = dict(figsize=(8., 8. / 1.618),
    dpi=128)                              # Figure properties
    adjustprops = dict(left=0.1, bottom=0.1, right=0.97, top=0.93,
    wspace=0.08,
                      
    hspace=0.1)                                                  #
    Subplot properties

    fig =
    pylab.figure(**figprops)                                                 
    # New figure
    fig.subplots_adjust(**adjustprops)        
                                         # Tunes the subplot layout

    ax = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 1)
    bx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 2, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
    cx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 3, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
    dx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 4, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)

    ax.plot(X1, Y1, 'k-')
    bx.plot(X2, Y2, 'k-')
    cx.plot(X3, Y3, 'k-')
    dx.plot(X4, Y4, 'k-')

    pylab.setp(ax.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
    pylab.setp(bx.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
    pylab.setp(bx.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
    pylab.setp(dx.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)

You can make the subplots come closer by changing the /wspace/ and 
/hspace/ entries in the /adjustprops/ dictionary.

Cheers,
Sebastian


Gökhan SEVER wrote:
> I don't know how to do this in matplotlib. Can you give an example?
>
> Chip,
>
> I tried your method but didn't work for me :(
>
> So far, my best approach is use some GIMP tricks on transparent 
> canvas. With these improvements I am finishing my first official poster.
>
> Thanks.
> Gökhan

Hello Sebastian,

Not sure I could create a same-axes ylabels subplots similar to the one that
is shown on the given screenshot with your code. (
http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8793/subplots.png)

Sorry haven't managed to make LateX work on my matplotlib outputs :(

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Gökhan


On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 8:49 AM, Sebastian Krieger <seb...@io...>wrote:

>  Hi Gökhan et al,
>
> I hope the following code might help you out and show you the basic idea of
> sharing the same x and y axis over several subplots. I've made a plot with 2
> x 2 subplots sharing both x and y axis and showing only the labels at the
> left and the labels at the bottom.
>
> import pylab
>
> figprops = dict(figsize=(8., 8. / 1.618),
> dpi=128)                              # Figure properties
> adjustprops = dict(left=0.1, bottom=0.1, right=0.97, top=0.93, wspace=0.08,
>
> hspace=0.1)                                                  # Subplot
> properties
>
> fig =
> pylab.figure(**figprops)                                                  #
> New figure
> fig.subplots_adjust(**adjustprops)
>                                      # Tunes the subplot layout
>
> ax = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 1)
> bx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 2, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
> cx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 3, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
> dx = fig.add_subplot(2, 2, 4, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
>
> ax.plot(X1, Y1, 'k-')
> bx.plot(X2, Y2, 'k-')
> cx.plot(X3, Y3, 'k-')
> dx.plot(X4, Y4, 'k-')
>
> pylab.setp(ax.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
> pylab.setp(bx.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
> pylab.setp(bx.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
> pylab.setp(dx.get_yticklabels(), visible=False)
>
> You can make the subplots come closer by changing the *wspace* and *hspace
> * entries in the *adjustprops* dictionary.
>
> Cheers,
> Sebastian
>
>
> Gökhan SEVER wrote:
>
>  I don't know how to do this in matplotlib. Can you give an example?
>
> Chip,
>
> I tried your method but didn't work for me :(
>
> So far, my best approach is use some GIMP tricks on transparent canvas.
> With these improvements I am finishing my first official poster.
>
> Thanks.
> Gökhan
>
>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
  <meta content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
I think now I got what you want. Simply put the label on the middle
subplot. If it's too big it will span accross the other plots.<br>
<blockquote><tt>import pylab</tt><br>
  <br>
  <tt>figprops = dict(figsize=(8., 8. / 1.618),
dpi=128)                              # Figure properties</tt><br>
  <tt>adjustprops = dict(left=0.1, bottom=0.1, right=0.97, top=0.93,
wspace=0.2,</tt><br>
  <tt>                  
hspace=0.2)                                                  # Subplot
properties</tt><br>
  <br>
  <tt>fig =
pylab.figure(**figprops)                                                 
# New figure</tt><br>
  <tt>fig.subplots_adjust(**adjustprops)                                             
# Tunes the subplot layout</tt><br>
  <br>
  <tt>ax = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 1)</tt><br>
  <tt>bx = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 2, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)</tt><br>
  <tt>cx = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 3, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)</tt><br>
  <br>
  <tt>pylab.setp(ax.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)</tt><br>
  <tt>pylab.setp(bx.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)</tt><br>
  <br>
  <tt>bx.set_ylabel('This is a long label shared among more axes',
fontsize=14)</tt><br>
  <tt>cx.set_xlabel('And a shared x label', fontsize=14)</tt><br>
</blockquote>
Cheers,<br>
Sebastian<br>
<br>
Gökhan SEVER wrote:
<blockquote
 cite="mid:49d...@ma..."
 type="cite">Hello Sebastian,<br>
  <br>
Not sure I could create a same-axes ylabels subplots similar to the one
that is shown on the given screenshot with your code. (<a
 moz-do-not-send="true"
 href="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8793/subplots.png">http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8793/subplots.png</a>)<br>
  <br>
Sorry haven't managed to make LateX work on my matplotlib outputs :(<br>
  <br>
Thanks for your time and consideration.<br>
  <br>
Gökhan<br>
</blockquote>
</body>
</html>

Voila,

This was what I have been looking for exactly.

Thanks for the solution.

PS: I have edited the related wiki page reflecting this method, as well:
http://www.scipy.org/Cookbook/Matplotlib/Multiple_Subplots_with_One_Axis_Label

Gökhan

On Thu, Mar 12, 2009 at 10:28 AM, Sebastian Krieger <seb...@io...>wrote:

>  I think now I got what you want. Simply put the label on the middle
> subplot. If it's too big it will span accross the other plots.
>
> import pylab
>
> figprops = dict(figsize=(8., 8. / 1.618),
> dpi=128)                              # Figure properties
> adjustprops = dict(left=0.1, bottom=0.1, right=0.97, top=0.93, wspace=0.2,
>
> hspace=0.2)                                                  # Subplot
> properties
>
> fig =
> pylab.figure(**figprops)                                                  #
> New figure
> fig.subplots_adjust(**adjustprops)
> # Tunes the subplot layout
>
> ax = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 1)
> bx = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 2, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
> cx = fig.add_subplot(3, 1, 3, sharex=ax, sharey=ax)
>
> pylab.setp(ax.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
> pylab.setp(bx.get_xticklabels(), visible=False)
>
> bx.set_ylabel('This is a long label shared among more axes', fontsize=14)
> cx.set_xlabel('And a shared x label', fontsize=14)
>
> Cheers,
> Sebastian
>
> Gökhan SEVER wrote:
>
> Hello Sebastian,
>
> Not sure I could create a same-axes ylabels subplots similar to the one
> that is shown on the given screenshot with your code. (
> http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/8793/subplots.png)
>
> Sorry haven't managed to make LateX work on my matplotlib outputs :(
>
> Thanks for your time and consideration.
>
> Gökhan
>
>