xlim

Set or query x-axis limits

Syntax

xlim(limits)

xlim(limitmethod)

xlim(limitmode)

xl = xlim

limmethod = xlim("method")

limmode = xlim("mode")

___ = xlim(target,___)

Description

Specify Limits

xlim(limits) sets the x-axis limits for the current axes or chart. Specify limits as a two-element vector of the form [xmin xmax], where xmax is greater than xmin.

xlim(limitmethod) specifies the limit method MATLAB^® uses for automatic limit selection. Specify the limit method as "tickaligned", "tight", or "padded". MATLAB sets the XLimitMethod property of the axes to the value you specify. The limit method is not supported for standalone visualizations.

You can specify the limitmethod argument without parentheses. For example, xlim tight enables tight x-axis limits.

xlim(limitmode) specifies automatic or manual limit selection. The limitmode can have either of two values:

• "auto" — Enable automatic limit selection. MATLAB selects the limits based on the range of your data and the value of the XLimitMethod property of the axes. If you plot into the axes multiple times, the limits update to encompass all the data.

• "manual" — Freeze the x-axis limits at their current value.

You can specify the limitmode argument without parentheses. For example, xlim auto enables automatic limit selection.

Query Limits

xl = xlim returns the current limits as a two-element vector.

limmethod = xlim("method") returns the current x-axis limits method, which can be 'tickaligned', 'tight', or 'padded'.

limmode = xlim("mode") returns the current x-axis limits mode, which is either 'auto' or 'manual'. By default, the mode is automatic unless you specify limits or set the mode to manual.

Specify Target Axes or Chart

___ = xlim(target,___) uses the axes or standalone visualization specified by target instead of the current axes. Specify target as the first input argument for any of the previous syntaxes. You can include an output argument if the original syntax supports an output argument. Use quotes around the mode inputs, for example, xlim(target,"auto").

Examples

Set x-Axis Limits

Plot a line and set the x-axis limits to range from 0 to 5.

x = linspace(0,10);
y = sin(x);
plot(x,y)
xlim([0 5])

Use Semiautomatic x-Axis Limits

Create a surface plot and show only x values greater than 0. Specify the minimum x-axis limit as 0 and let MATLAB choose the maximum limit.

[X,Y,Z] = peaks;
surf(X,Y,Z)
xlim([0 inf])

Set Limits for x-Axis with Dates

Create a stem chart with dates along the x-axis. Set the x-axis limits to range from June 1, 2014 to June 5, 2014.

t = datetime(2014,06,1) + caldays(0:10);
y = rand(11,1);
stem(t,y,'filled')

tstart = datetime(2014,06,1);
tend = datetime(2014,06,5);
xlim([tstart tend])

Specify Tight x-Axis Limits

If you want the x-axis to automatically adjust to match the range of your x-coordinates, use the 'tight' limit method.

Create a line plot.

plot([1 2 3 4 5 6.3],[0 0.3 0.1 0.6 0.4 1])

Change the limit method to 'tight'.

xlim tight

Add another plot to the axes. The x-axis limits adjust to encompass the span of the new data.

hold on
plot([1 2 3 4 5 8.3],[0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.83])
hold off

Set x-Axis Limits for Specific Axes

Starting in R2019b, you can display a tiling of plots using the tiledlayout and nexttile functions. Call the tiledlayout function to create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout. Call the nexttile function to create the axes objects ax1 and ax2. Plot data into each axes. Then set the x-axis limits for the bottom plot by specifying ax2 as the first input argument to xlim.

tiledlayout(2,1)
x = linspace(0,5,1000);
y = sin(100*x)./exp(x);
ax1 = nexttile;
plot(ax1,x,y)

ax2 = nexttile;
plot(ax2,x,y)
xlim(ax2,[0 1])

Maintain Current x-Axis Limits

Use manual mode to maintain the current x-axis limits when you add more plots to the axes.

First, plot a line.

x = linspace(0,10);
y = sin(x);
plot(x,y);

Set the x-axis limits mode to manual so that the limits do not change. Use hold on to add a second plot to the axes.

xlim manual
hold on
plot(2*x,2*y)
hold off

The x-axis limits do not update to incorporate the new plot.

Switch back to automatically updated limits by resetting the mode to automatic.

xlim auto

Return x-Axis Limits

Create a scatter plot of random data. Return the values of the x-axis limits.

x = randn(50,1);
y = randn(50,1);
scatter(x,y)

xl = xlim

xl = 1×2

    -3     4

Input Arguments

limits — Minimum and maximum limits

two-element vector

Minimum and maximum limits, specified as a two-element vector of the form [xmin xmax], where xmax is greater than xmin. 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 x-axis.

You can specify both limits, or specify one limit and let MATLAB automatically calculate the other. For an automatically calculated minimum or maximum limit, use -inf or inf, respectively. MATLAB uses the "tight" limit method to calculate the corresponding limit.

Example: xlim([0 1])

Example: xlim([-inf 1])

Example: xlim([0 inf])

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

limitmethod — Limit selection method

"tickaligned" (default) | "padded" | "tight"

Limit selection method, specified as a value from the table.

The examples in the table show the approximate appearance for each method. Your results might differ depending on your data, the size of the axes, and the type of plot you create.

Value	Description	Example
"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.
"tight"	Fit the axes box tightly around the data by setting the axis limits to the data range.
"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 the data range.

Note

• The limit method has no effect when the XLimMode property of the axes is set to "manual".

• Specifying the limit method is not supported for standalone visualizations such as heatmap or stackedplot.

limitmode — Limit mode

"auto" | "manual"

Limit mode, specified as one of the following values:

• "auto" — Enable automatic limit selection, which is based on the total span of the data and the value of the XLimitMethod property of the axes. If you plot into the axes multiple times, the limits update to encompass all the data. You can use this option if you change the limits and want to set them back to the default values.

• "manual" — Freeze the limits at the current values. Use this option if you want to retain the current limits when adding new data to the axes using the hold on command.

When you specify this argument, MATLAB sets the XLimMode property of the axes to the value you specify. However, the XLimMode property changes to "manual" whenever you set the x-axis limits explicitly, either by calling xlim(limits), or by setting the value of the XLim property on the axes.

target — Target axes or chart

axes object | standalone visualization | array of axes or standalone visualizations

Target axes or chart, specified as one of the following:

• An axes object.

• A standalone visualization that has an XLimits property, such as a heatmap chart or a stackedplot.

• An array of axes or standalone visualizations that belong to the same class. To determine the class, use the class function.

If you do not specify this argument, then xlim sets the limits on the graphics object returned by the gca command.

Output Arguments

xl — Current limits

two-element vector

Current limits, returned as a two-element vector of the form [xmin xmax].

Querying the limits returns the XLim or XLimits property value for corresponding Axes or graphics object.

limmethod — Current limits method

'tickaligned' | 'tight' | 'padded'

Current limits method, returned as one of these values:

• '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.

• 'tight' — Fit the axes box tightly around the data by setting the axis limits to the data range.

• '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 the data range.

Querying the x-axis limits method returns the XLimitMethod property value for the corresponding Axes object.

limmode — Current limits mode

'auto' | 'manual'

Current limits mode, returned as one of these values:

• 'auto' — Automatically determine the limits.

• 'manual' — Use manually specified limits that do not update to reflect changes in the data.

Querying the x-axis limits mode returns the XLimMode property value for the corresponding Axes object.

Algorithms

The xlim function sets and queries several axes properties related to the x-axis limits.

• XLim — Property that stores the x-axis limits.

• XLimMode — Property that stores the x-axis limits mode. When you set the x-axis limits, this property changes to "manual".

• XLimitMethod — Property that controls how the x-axis limits are calculated when the XLimMode property is set to "auto".

Version History

Introduced before R2006a

R2022a: Query the axis limit method

Query the current axis limit method using the "method" input argument.

R2021a: Set the axis limit method

Set the method that MATLAB uses for automatic limit selection by specifying the limitmethod argument. This argument can have a value of 'tickaligned', 'tight', or 'padded'.