How to force a (small) gap on axis

Hi,

when I plot data with values from -1 to 1, the y-axis ranges from -1 to 1, resulting in the graph reaching the top and bottom of the plot, which looks bad.

If my values range from -pi to pi, the axis will go from -4 to 4, resulting in the graph not reaching the top and bottom, which looks much better.

Is there a way to switch to a mode where there is always a (small) gap?

I know I can define the min/max of the axis, but I don't want to do it manually for each plot or define a formula on my own.

Many thanks!

Answer 1

[ScottB]

Try:

axis padded

[Tim]

Exactly what I want, thanks a lot! May your beer always be cold!

[Adam Danz]

You can also apply this to individual axes using xlim('padded') or with ylim, zlim.

Answer 2

[Les Beckham]

You can use the axis command to specify some padding around the data

plot(-1:0.1:1)
grid on

plot(-1:0.1:1)
axis padded
grid on

[Tim]

Perfect, thank you, may your beer also always be cold!