GraphPlot Properties

Graph plot appearance and behavior

GraphPlot properties control the appearance and behavior of plotted graphs. By changing property values, you can modify aspects of the graph display. Use dot notation to refer to a particular object and property:

G = graph([1 1 1 1 5 5 5 5],[2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9]);
h = plot(G);
c = h.EdgeColor;
h.EdgeColor = 'k';

Color

NodeColor — Node color

[0 0.4470 0.7410] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | matrix | 'flat' | 'none'

Node color, specified as one of these values:

• 'none' — Nodes are not drawn.

• 'flat' — Color of each node depends on the value of NodeCData.

• matrix — Each row is an RGB triplet representing the color of one node. The size of the matrix is numnodes(G)-by-3.

• RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, or color name — All nodes use the specified color.

  RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

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

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

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

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

  Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB^® uses in many types of plots.

  RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
  [0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
  [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
  [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
  [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
  [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
  [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
  [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: plot(G,'NodeColor','k') creates a graph plot with black nodes.

NodeColorMode — Control how NodeColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

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

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of the NodeColor property by using the SeriesIndex property of the GraphPlot object and the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• 'manual' — You control the value of the NodeColor property manually, either by setting the value of the NodeColor property directly on the object, or by including a color in the LineSpec argument when you call a plotting function.

If you change the value of the NodeColor or NodeCData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the NodeColorMode property to 'manual'.

EdgeColor — Edge color

[0 0.4470 0.7410] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | matrix | 'flat' | 'none'

Edge color, specified as one of these values:

• 'none' — Edges are not drawn.

• 'flat' — Color of each edge depends on the value of EdgeCData.

• matrix — Each row is an RGB triplet representing the color of one edge. The size of the matrix is numedges(G)-by-3.

• RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, or color name — All edges use the specified color.

  RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

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

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

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

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

  Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

  RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
  [0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
  [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
  [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
  [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
  [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
  [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
  [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: plot(G,'EdgeColor','r') creates a graph plot with red edges.

EdgeColorMode — Control how EdgeColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

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

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of the EdgeColor property by using the SeriesIndex property of the GraphPlot object and the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• 'manual' — You control the value of the EdgeColor property manually, either by setting the value of the EdgeColor property directly on the object, or by including a color in the LineSpec argument when you call a plotting function.

If you change the value of the EdgeColor or EdgeCData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the EdgeColorMode property to 'manual'.

NodeCData — Color data of node markers

vector

Color data of node markers, specified as a vector with length equal to the number of nodes in the graph. The values in NodeCData map linearly to the colors in the current colormap, resulting in different colors for each node in the plotted graph.

EdgeCData — Color data of edge lines

vector

Color data of edge lines, specified as a vector with length equal to the number of edges in the graph. The values in EdgeCData map linearly to the colors in the current colormap, resulting in different colors for each edge in the plotted graph.

SeriesIndex — Series index

positive whole number | "none"

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for reassigning the node or edge colors of several GraphPlot objects so that they match each other. By default, the SeriesIndex property of a GraphPlot object is a number that corresponds to its order of creation, starting at 1. MATLAB uses the number to calculate indices for assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The indices refer to the rows of the arrays stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes.

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

MATLAB automatically updates the node and edge colors of the GraphPlot object when you change its SeriesIndex, or when you change the ColorOrder property on the axes. However, the following conditions must be true for the changes to have any effect:

• If NodeColorMode is 'auto', then SeriesIndex affects the color of the nodes.

• If EdgeColorMode is 'auto', then SeriesIndex affects the color of the edges.

• The SeriesIndex property of the GraphPlot object must have a value greater than 0.

• The NextSeriesIndex property of the Axes object must have a value greater than 0.

Node and Edge Styling

Marker — Node marker symbol

'o' (default) | character vector | cell array | string vector

Node marker symbol, specified as one of the values listed in this table, or as a cell array or string vector of such values. The default is to use circular markers for the graph nodes. Specify a cell array of character vectors or string vector to use different markers for each node.

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
"o"	Circle
"+"	Plus sign
"*"	Asterisk
"."	Point
"x"	Cross
"_"	Horizontal line
"|"	Vertical line
"square"	Square
"diamond"	Diamond
"^"	Upward-pointing triangle
"v"	Downward-pointing triangle
">"	Right-pointing triangle
"<"	Left-pointing triangle
"pentagram"	Pentagram
"hexagram"	Hexagram
"none"	No markers	Not applicable

Example: '+'

Example: 'diamond'

MarkerSize — Node marker size

positive value | vector

Node marker size, specified as a positive value in point units or as a vector of such values. Specify a vector to use different marker sizes for each node in the graph. The default value of MarkerSize is 4 for graphs with 100 or fewer nodes, and 2 for graphs with more than 100 nodes.

Example: 10

LineStyle — Line style

'-' (default) | '--' | ':' | '-.' | 'none' | cell array | string vector

Line style, specified as one of the line styles listed in this table, or as a cell array or string vector of such values. Specify a cell array of character vectors or string vector to use different line styles for each edge.

Character(s)	Line Style	Resulting Line
'-'	Solid line
'--'	Dashed line
':'	Dotted line
'-.'	Dash-dotted line
'none'	No line	No line

LineWidth — Edge line width

0.5 (default) | positive value | vector

Edge line width, specified as a positive value in point units, or as a vector of such values. Specify a vector to use a different line width for each edge in the graph.

Example: 0.75

EdgeAlpha — Transparency of graph edges

0.5 (default) | scalar value between 0 and 1 inclusive

Transparency of graph edges, specified as a scalar value between 0 and 1 inclusive. A value of 1 means fully opaque and 0 means completely transparent (invisible).

Example: 0.25

ArrowSize — Arrow size

positive value | vector of positive values

Arrow size, specified as a positive value in point units or as a vector of such values. As a vector, ArrowSize specifies the size of the arrow for each edge in the graph. The default value of ArrowSize is 7 for graphs with 100 or fewer nodes, and 4 for graphs with more than 100 nodes.

ArrowSize only affects directed graphs.

Example: 15

ArrowPosition — Position of arrow along edge

0.5 (default) | scalar | vector

Position of arrow along edge, specified as a value in the range [0 1] or as a vector of such values with length equal to the number of edges. A value near 0 places arrows closer to the source node, and a value near 1 places arrows closer to the target node. The default value is 0.5 so that the arrows are halfway between the source and target nodes.

ArrowPosition only affects directed graphs.

ShowArrows — Toggle display of arrows on directed edges

on/off logical value

Toggle display of arrows on directed edges, specified as 'off' or 'on', 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.

For directed graphs the default value is 'on' so that arrows are displayed, but you can specify a value of 'off' to hide the arrows on the directed edges. For undirected graphs ShowArrows is always 'off'.

Position

XData — x-coordinate of nodes

vector

Note

XData and YData must be specified together so that each node has a valid (x,y) coordinate. Optionally, you can specify ZData for 3-D coordinates.

x-coordinate of nodes, specified as a vector with length equal to the number of nodes in the graph.

YData — y-coordinate of nodes

vector

Note

XData and YData must be specified together so that each node has a valid (x,y) coordinate. Optionally, you can specify ZData for 3-D coordinates.

y-coordinate of nodes, specified as a vector with length equal to the number of nodes in the graph.

ZData — z-coordinate of nodes

vector

Note

XData and YData must be specified together so that each node has a valid (x,y) coordinate. Optionally, you can specify ZData for 3-D coordinates.

z-coordinate of nodes, specified as a vector with length equal to the number of nodes in the graph.

Node and Edge Labels

NodeLabel — Node labels

node IDs (default) | vector | cell array of character vectors

Node labels, specified as a numeric vector or cell array of character vectors. The length of NodeLabel must be equal to the number of nodes in the graph. By default NodeLabel is a cell array containing the node IDs for the graph nodes:

• For nodes without names (that is, G.Nodes does not contain a Name variable), the node labels are the values unique(G.Edges.EndNodes) contained in a cell array.

• For named nodes, the node labels are G.Nodes.Name'.

Example: {'A', 'B', 'C'}

Example: [1 2 3]

Example: plot(G,'NodeLabel',G.Nodes.Name) labels the nodes with their names.

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

NodeLabelMode — Selection mode for node labels

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Selection mode for node labels, specified as 'auto' (default) or 'manual'. Specify NodeLabelMode as 'auto' to populate NodeLabel with the node IDs for the graph nodes (numeric node indices or node names). Specifying NodeLabelMode as 'manual' does not change the values in NodeLabel.

NodeLabelColor — Color of node labels

[0 0 0] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | matrix

Node label color, specified as one of these values:

• matrix — Each row is an RGB triplet representing the color of one node label. The size of the matrix is numnodes(G)-by-3.

• RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, or color name — All node labels use the specified color.

  RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

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

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

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

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

  Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

  RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
  [0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
  [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
  [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
  [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
  [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
  [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
  [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: plot(G,'NodeLabel',C,'NodeLabelColor','m') creates a graph plot with magenta node labels.

EdgeLabel — Edge labels

{} (default) | vector | cell array of character vectors

Edge labels, specified as a numeric vector or cell array of character vectors. The length of EdgeLabel must be equal to the number of edges in the graph. By default EdgeLabel is an empty cell array (no edge labels are displayed).

Example: {'A', 'B', 'C'}

Example: [1 2 3]

Example: plot(G,'EdgeLabels',G.Edges.Weight) labels the graph edges with their weights.

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

EdgeLabelMode — Selection mode for edge labels

'manual' (default) | 'auto'

Selection mode for edge labels, specified as 'manual' (default) or 'auto'. Specify EdgeLabelMode as 'auto' to populate EdgeLabel with the edge weights in G.Edges.Weight (if available), or the edge indices G.Edges(k,:) (if no weights are available). Specifying EdgeLabelMode as 'manual' does not change the values in EdgeLabel.

EdgeLabelColor — Color of edge labels

[0 0 0] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | matrix

Edge label color, specified as one of these values:

• matrix — Each row is an RGB triplet representing the color of one edge label. The size of the matrix is numedges(G)-by-3.

• RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, or color name — All edge labels use the specified color.

  RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

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

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

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

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

  Here are the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for the default colors MATLAB uses in many types of plots.

  RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
  [0 0.4470 0.7410]	"#0072BD"
  [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]	"#D95319"
  [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]	"#EDB120"
  [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]	"#7E2F8E"
  [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]	"#77AC30"
  [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]	"#4DBEEE"
  [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]	"#A2142F"

Example: plot(G,'EdgeLabel',C,'EdgeLabelColor','m') creates a graph plot with magenta edge labels.

Interpreter — Interpretation of text characters

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

Interpretation of text characters, specified as one of these values:

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

• 'latex' — Interpret characters using LaTeX markup.

• 'none' — Display literal characters.

TeX Markup

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

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

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

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

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

LaTeX Markup

To use LaTeX markup, set the Interpreter property to 'latex'. Use dollar symbols around the text, for example, use '$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$' for inline mode or '$$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$$' for display mode.

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

The maximum size of the text that you can use with the LaTeX interpreter is 1200 characters.

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

Font

NodeFontName — Font name for node labels

'Helvetica' (default) | supported font name | 'FixedWidth'

Font name for node labels, specified as a supported font name or 'FixedWidth'. For labels to display and print properly, you must choose a font that your system supports. The default font depends on the specific operating system and locale. For example, Windows^® and Linux^® systems in English localization use the Helvetica font by default.

To use a fixed-width font that looks good in any locale, specify 'FixedWidth'.

Example: 'Cambria'

NodeFontSize — Font size for node labels

8 (default) | positive number | vector of positive numbers

Font size for node labels, specified as a positive number or a vector of positive numbers. If NodeFontSize is a vector, then each element specifies the font size of one node label.

NodeFontWeight — Thickness of text in node labels

'normal' (default) | 'bold' | vector | cell array

Thickness of text in node labels, specified as 'normal', 'bold', or as a string vector or cell array of character vectors specifying 'normal' or 'bold' for each node.

• 'bold' — Thicker character outlines than normal

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

Not all fonts have a bold font weight.

Data Types: cell | char | string

NodeFontAngle — Character slant of text in node labels

'normal' (default) | 'italic' | vector | cell array

Character slant of text in node labels, specified as 'normal', 'italic', or as a string vector or cell array of character vectors specifying 'normal' or 'italic' for each node.

• 'italic' — Slanted characters

• 'normal' — No character slant

Not all fonts have both font styles.

Data Types: cell | char | string

EdgeFontName — Font name for edge labels

'Helvetica' (default) | supported font name | 'FixedWidth'

Font name for edge labels, specified as a supported font name or 'FixedWidth'. For labels to display and print properly, you must choose a font that your system supports. The default font depends on the specific operating system and locale. For example, Windows and Linux systems in English localization use the Helvetica font by default.

To use a fixed-width font that looks good in any locale, specify 'FixedWidth'.

Example: 'Cambria'

EdgeFontSize — Font size for edge labels

8 (default) | positive number | vector of positive numbers

Font size for edge labels, specified as a positive number or a vector of positive numbers. If EdgeFontSize is a vector, then each element specifies the font size of one edge label.

EdgeFontWeight — Thickness of text in edge labels

'normal' (default) | 'bold' | vector | cell array

Thickness of text in edge labels, specified as 'normal', 'bold', or as a string vector or cell array of character vectors specifying 'normal' or 'bold' for each edge.

• 'bold' — Thicker character outlines than normal

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

Not all fonts have a bold font weight.

Data Types: cell | char | string

EdgeFontAngle — Character slant of text in edge labels

'normal' (default) | 'italic' | vector | cell array

Character slant of text in edge labels, specified as 'normal', 'italic', or as a string vector or cell array of character vectors specifying 'normal' or 'italic' for each edge.

• 'italic' — Slanted characters

• 'normal' — No character slant

Not all fonts have both font styles.

Data Types: cell | char | string

Legend

DisplayName — Text used by legend

'' (default) | character vector

Text used by the legend, specified as a character vector. The text appears next to an icon of the GraphPlot.

Example: 'Text Description'

For multiline text, create the character vector using sprintf with the new line character \n.

Example: sprintf('line one\nline two')

Alternatively, you can specify the legend text using the legend function.

• If you specify the text as an input argument to the legend function, then the legend uses the specified text and sets the DisplayName property to the same value.

• If you do not specify the text as an input argument to the legend function, then the legend uses the text in the DisplayName property. If the DisplayName property does not contain any text, then the legend generates a character vector. The character vector has the form 'dataN', where N is the number assigned to the GraphPlot object based on its location in the list of legend entries.

If you edit interactively the character vector in an existing legend, then MATLAB updates the DisplayName property to the edited character vector.

Annotation — Legend icon display style

Annotation object

This property is read-only.

Legend icon display style, returned as an Annotation object. Use this object to include or exclude the GraphPlot from a legend.

1. Query the Annotation property to get the Annotation object.

2. Query the LegendInformation property of the Annotation object to get the LegendEntry object.

3. Specify the IconDisplayStyle property of the LegendEntry object to one of these values:

   • 'on' — Include the GraphPlot object in the legend as one entry (default).

   • 'off' — Do not include the GraphPlot object in the legend.

   • 'children' — Include only children of the GraphPlot object as separate entries in the legend.

If a legend already exists and you change the IconDisplayStyle setting, then you must call legend to update the display.

Interactivity

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

DataTipTemplate object

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

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

Note

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

Visible — State of visibility

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

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

• "on" — Display the object.

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

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

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

Note

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

Selected — Selection state

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

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

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

• 'off' — Not selected.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

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

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

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

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

Callbacks

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

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

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

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

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

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

• The GraphPlot object — You can access properties of the GraphPlot 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 Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Note

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

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

CreateFcn — Creation callback

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

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 GraphPlot. Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing GraphPlot has no effect. You must define a default value for this property, or define this property using a Name,Value pair during GraphPlot creation. MATLAB executes the callback after creating the GraphPlot and setting all of its properties.

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

• The GraphPlot object — You can access properties of the GraphPlot object from within the callback function. You also can access the GraphPlot 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 Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

DeleteFcn — Deletion callback

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

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 GraphPlot. MATLAB executes the callback before destroying the GraphPlot 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:

• The GraphPlot object — You can access properties of the GraphPlot object from within the callback function. You also can access the GraphPlot 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 Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

Callback Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

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

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

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

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

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

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

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

Note

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

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

Callback queuing specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks.

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 GraphPlot 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.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

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 GraphPlot responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

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

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

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

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the GraphPlot object that has one of these:

  • HitTest property set to 'on'

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

Note

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

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

on/off logical value

This property is read-only.

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

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

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

Parent/Child

Parent — Parent of GraphPlot

axes object | group object | transform object

Parent of GraphPlot, specified as an axes, group, or transform object.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

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

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

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

'on' (default) | 'off' | 'callback'

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

• 'on' — The GraphPlot object handle is always visible.

• 'off' — The GraphPlot 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' — The GraphPlot 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 GraphPlot at the command-line, but allows callback functions to access it.

If the GraphPlot 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.

Identifiers

Type — Type of graphics object

'graphplot'

This property is read-only.

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

Tag — Tag to associate with GraphPlot

'' (default) | character vector

Tag to associate with the GraphPlot, specified as a character vector. Tags provide a way to identify graphics objects. Use this property to find all objects with a specific tag within a plotting hierarchy, for example, searching for the tag using findobj.

Example: 'January Data'

Data Types: char

UserData — Data to associate with GraphPlot

[] (default) | scalar, vector, or matrix | cell array | character array | table | structure

Data to associate with the GraphPlot object, specified as 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

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | logical | char | struct | table | cell

Version History

Introduced in R2015b

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

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

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

R2020a: Control automatic color selection with the SeriesIndex property

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

R2020a: UIContextMenu property is not recommended

Starting in R2020a, using the UIContextMenu property to assign a context menu to a graphics object or UI component is not recommended. Use the ContextMenu property instead. The property values are the same.

There are no plans to remove support for the UIContextMenu property at this time. However, the UIContextMenu property no longer appears in the list returned by calling the get function on a graphics object or UI component.