errorbar

Line plot with error bars

collapse all in page

Syntax

errorbar(y,err)

errorbar(x,y,err)

errorbar(x,y,neg,pos)

errorbar(___,ornt)

errorbar(x,y,yneg,ypos,xneg,xpos)

errorbar(___,linespec)

errorbar(___,Name,Value)

errorbar(ax,___)

e = errorbar(___)

Description

errorbar(y,err) creates a line plot of the data in y and draws a vertical error bar at each data point. The values in err determine the lengths of each error bar above and below the data points, so the total error bar lengths are double the err values.

example

errorbar(x,y,err) plots y versus x and draws a vertical error bar at each data point.

errorbar(x,y,neg,pos) draws a vertical error bar at each data point, where neg determines the length below the data point and pos determines the length above the data point, respectively.

example

errorbar(___,ornt) sets the orientation of the error bars. Specify ornt as 'horizontal' for horizontal error bars or 'both' for both horizontal and vertical error bars. The default for ornt is 'vertical', which draws vertical error bars. Use this option after any of the previous input argument combinations.

example

errorbar(x,y,yneg,ypos,xneg,xpos) plots y versus x and draws both horizontal and vertical error bars. The yneg and ypos inputs set the lower and upper lengths of the vertical error bars, respectively. The xneg and xpos inputs set the left and right lengths of the horizontal error bars.

example

errorbar(___,linespec) sets the line style, marker symbol, and color. For example, '--ro' plots a dashed, red line with circle markers. The line style affects only the line and not the error bars.

example

errorbar(___,Name,Value) modifies the appearance of the line and error bars using one or more name-value pair arguments. For example, 'CapSize',10 sets the lengths of the caps at the end of each error bar to 10 points.

errorbar(ax,___) creates the plot in the axes specified by ax instead of in the current axes. Specify the axes as the first input argument.

example

e = errorbar(___) returns one ErrorBar object when y is a vector. If y is a matrix, then it returns one ErrorBar object per column in y. Use e to modify properties of a specific ErrorBar object after it is created. For a list of properties, see ErrorBar Properties.

Examples

collapse all

Plot Vertical Error Bars of Equal Length

Open Live Script

Create vectors x and y. Plot y versus x. At each data point, display vertical error bars that are equal in length.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90];
err = 8*ones(size(y));
errorbar(x,y,err)

Plot Vertical Error Bars that Vary in Length

Open Live Script

Create a line plot with error bars at each data point. Vary the lengths of the error bars.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90]; 
err = [5 8 2 9 3 3 8 3 9 3];
errorbar(x,y,err)

Plot Horizontal Error Bars

Open Live Script

Create a line plot with horizontal error bars at each data point.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90];
err = [1 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 3 3];
errorbar(x,y,err,'horizontal')

Plot Vertical and Horizontal Error Bars

Open Live Script

Create a line plot with both vertical and horizontal error bars at each data point.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90];
err = [4 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 3 3];
errorbar(x,y,err,'both')

Plot Error Bars with No Line

Open Live Script

Plot vectors y versus x. At each data point, display a circle marker with both vertical and horizontal error bars. Do not display the line that connects the data points by omitting the line style option for the linespec input argument.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90];
err = [4 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 3 3];
errorbar(x,y,err,'both','o')

Control Error Bars Lengths in All Directions

Open Live Script

Display both vertical and horizontal error bars at each data point. Control the lower and upper lengths of the vertical error bars using the yneg and ypos input argument options, respectively. Control the left and right lengths of the horizontal error bars using the xneg and xpos input argument options, respectively.

x = 1:10:100;
y = [20 30 45 40 60 65 80 75 95 90];
yneg = [1 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 3 3];
ypos = [2 5 3 5 2 5 2 2 5 5];
xneg = [1 3 5 3 5 3 6 4 3 3];
xpos = [2 5 3 5 2 5 2 2 5 5];
errorbar(x,y,yneg,ypos,xneg,xpos,'o')

Add Colored Markers to Each Data Point

Open Live Script

Create a line plot with error bars. At each data point, display a marker. Control the appearance of the marker using name-value pair arguments. Use MarkerSize to specify the marker size in points. Use MarkerEdgeColor and MarkerFaceColor to specify the marker outline and interior colors, respectively. Set the colors to either a character vector of a color name, such as 'red', or an RGB triplet.

x = linspace(0,10,15);
y = sin(x/2);
err = 0.3*ones(size(y));
errorbar(x,y,err,'-s','MarkerSize',10,...
    'MarkerEdgeColor','red','MarkerFaceColor','red')

Control Error Bar Cap Size

Open Live Script

Control the size of the caps at the end of each error bar by setting the CapSize property to a positive value in points.

x = linspace(0,2,15);
y = exp(x);
err = 0.3*ones(size(y));
errorbar(x,y,err,'CapSize',18)

Modify Error Bars After Creation

Open Live Script

Create a line plot with error bars. Assign the errorbar object to the variable e.

x = linspace(0,10,10);
y = sin(x/2);
err = 0.3*ones(size(y));
e = errorbar(x,y,err)

e = 
  ErrorBar with properties:

             Color: [0 0.4470 0.7410]
         LineStyle: '-'
         LineWidth: 0.5000
            Marker: 'none'
             XData: [1x10 double]
             YData: [1x10 double]
    XNegativeDelta: [1x0 double]
    XPositiveDelta: [1x0 double]
    YNegativeDelta: [1x10 double]
    YPositiveDelta: [1x10 double]

  Show all properties

Use e to access properties of the errorbar object after it is created.

e.Marker = '*';
e.MarkerSize = 10;
e.Color = 'red';
e.CapSize = 15;

Input Arguments

collapse all

`y` — y values
vector | matrix

y values, specified as a vector or a matrix.

If y is a vector, then errorbar plots one line.
If y is a matrix, then errorbar plots a separate line for each column in y.

Example: y = [4 3 5 2 2 4];

`x` — x values
vector | matrix

x values, specified as a vector or a matrix. x must be the same size as y.

Example: x = 0:10:100;

`err` — Error bar lengths for symmetrical error bars
vector | matrix

Error bar lengths for symmetrical error bars, specified as a vector or a matrix. err must be the same size as y. If you do not want to draw an error bar at a particular data point, then specify the length as NaN.

Example: err = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`neg` — Error bar lengths in negative direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

Error bar lengths in the negative direction, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array [].

For vertical error bars, neg sets the length of the error bars below the data points.
For horizontal error bars, neg sets the length of the error bars to the left of the data points.

If you do not want to draw the lower part of the error bar at a particular data point, then specify the length as NaN. If you do not want to draw the lower part of the error bar at any data point, then set neg to an empty array.

Example: neg = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`pos` — Error bar lengths in positive direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

Error bar lengths in the positive direction, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array [].

For vertical error bars, pos sets the length of the error bars above the data points.
For horizontal error bars, pos sets the length of the error bars to the right of the data points.

If you do not want to draw the upper part of the error bar at a particular data point, then specify the length as NaN. If you do not want to draw the upper part of the error bar at any data point, then set pos to an empty array.

Example: pos = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`yneg` — Vertical error bar lengths below data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

Vertical error bar lengths below the data points, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array []. Specify the values in data units.

If you do not want to draw the lower part of the error bar at a particular data point, then specify the value as NaN. If you do not want to draw the lower part of the error bar at any data point, then set yneg to an empty array.

Example: yneg = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`ypos` — Vertical error bar lengths above data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

Vertical error bar lengths above the data points, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array []. Specify the values in data units.

Example: ypos = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`xneg` — Horizontal error bar lengths to left of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

Horizontal error bar lengths to the left of the data points, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array []. Specify the values in data units.

If you do not want to draw the left part of the error bar at a particular data point, then specify the length as NaN. If you do not want to draw the left part of the error bar at any data point, then set xneg to an empty array.

Example: xneg = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`xpos` — Horizontal error bar lengths to right of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

Horizontal error bar lengths to the right of the data points, specified as a vector or matrix the same size as y or as an empty array []. Specify the values in data units.

If you do not want to draw the right part of the error bar at a particular data point, then specify the length as NaN. If you do not want to draw the right part of the error bar at any data point, then set xpos to an empty array.

Example: xpos = [.4 .3 .5 .2 .4 .5];

`ornt` — Error bar orientation
`'vertical'` (default) | `'horizontal'` | `'both'`

Error bar orientation, specified as one of these values:

'vertical' — Vertical error bars
'horizontal' — Horizontal error bars
'both' — Vertical and horizontal error bars

Example: errorbar(x,y,err,'horizontal')

`linespec` — Line style, marker symbol, and color
character vector | string

Line style, marker symbol, and color, specified as a character vector or string containing symbols. The symbols can appear in any order. You do not need to specify all three characteristics (line style, marker symbol, and color). For example, if you omit the line style and specify the marker, then the plot shows only the markers and no line. The line style affects only the line and not the error bars.

Example: errorbar(x,y,err,'--or') plots a red, dashed line with circle markers and red error bars at the data points.

Line Style	Description
`-`	Solid line (default)
`--`	Dashed line
`:`	Dotted line
`-.`	Dash-dot line

Marker	Description
`o`	Circle
`+`	Plus sign
`*`	Asterisk
`.`	Point
`x`	Cross
`s`	Square
`d`	Diamond
`^`	Upward-pointing triangle
`v`	Downward-pointing triangle
`>`	Right-pointing triangle
`<`	Left-pointing triangle
`p`	Pentagram
`h`	Hexagram

Color	Description
`y`	yellow
`m`	magenta
`c`	cyan
`r`	red
`g`	green
`b`	blue
`w`	white
`k`	black

`ax` — Axes object
current axes (default) | axes object

Axes object. If you do not specify the axes, then errorbar plots into the current axes.

Name-Value Pair Arguments

Specify optional comma-separated pairs of Name,Value arguments. Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name must appear inside quotes. You can specify several name and value pair arguments in any order as Name1,Value1,...,NameN,ValueN.

Example: errorbar(y,err,'LineWidth',2) specifies a line width of 2 points.

The properties listed here are only a subset. For a complete list, see ErrorBar Properties.

`'CapSize'` — Length of caps at end of error bars
`6` (default) | positive value in points

Length of caps at end of error bars, specified as a positive value in points.

Example: errorbar(x,y,err,'CapSize',10)

`'LineWidth'` — Line width
`0.5` (default) | positive value

Line width, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch. If the line has markers, then the line width also affects the marker edges.

The line width cannot be thinner than the width of a pixel. If you set the line width to a value that is less than the width of a pixel on your system, the line displays as one pixel wide.

Extended Capabilities

GPU Arrays
Accelerate code by running on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

Usage notes and limitations:

This function accepts GPU arrays, but does not run on a GPU.

For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions on a GPU (Parallel Computing Toolbox).

Distributed Arrays
Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

Usage notes and limitations:

This function operates on distributed arrays, but executes in the client MATLAB^®.

For more information, see Run MATLAB Functions with Distributed Arrays (Parallel Computing Toolbox).

Documentation

errorbar

Syntax

Description

Examples

Plot Vertical Error Bars of Equal Length

Plot Vertical Error Bars that Vary in Length

Plot Horizontal Error Bars

Plot Vertical and Horizontal Error Bars

Plot Error Bars with No Line

Control Error Bars Lengths in All Directions

Add Colored Markers to Each Data Point

Control Error Bar Cap Size

Modify Error Bars After Creation

Input Arguments

`y` — y values
vector | matrix

`x` — x values
vector | matrix

`err` — Error bar lengths for symmetrical error bars
vector | matrix

`neg` — Error bar lengths in negative direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

`pos` — Error bar lengths in positive direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

`yneg` — Vertical error bar lengths below data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`ypos` — Vertical error bar lengths above data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`xneg` — Horizontal error bar lengths to left of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`xpos` — Horizontal error bar lengths to right of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`ornt` — Error bar orientation
`'vertical'` (default) | `'horizontal'` | `'both'`

`linespec` — Line style, marker symbol, and color
character vector | string

`ax` — Axes object
current axes (default) | axes object

Name-Value Pair Arguments

`'CapSize'` — Length of caps at end of error bars
`6` (default) | positive value in points

`'LineWidth'` — Line width
`0.5` (default) | positive value

Extended Capabilities

GPU Arrays
Accelerate code by running on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

Distributed Arrays
Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

See Also

Functions

Properties

Introduced before R2006a

MATLAB Documentation

Support

Documentation

errorbar

Syntax

Description

Examples

Plot Vertical Error Bars of Equal Length

Plot Vertical Error Bars that Vary in Length

Plot Horizontal Error Bars

Plot Vertical and Horizontal Error Bars

Plot Error Bars with No Line

Control Error Bars Lengths in All Directions

Add Colored Markers to Each Data Point

Control Error Bar Cap Size

Modify Error Bars After Creation

Input Arguments

y — y values vector | matrix

x — x values vector | matrix

err — Error bar lengths for symmetrical error bars vector | matrix

neg — Error bar lengths in negative direction vector | matrix | []

pos — Error bar lengths in positive direction vector | matrix | []

yneg — Vertical error bar lengths below data points vector | matrix | []

ypos — Vertical error bar lengths above data points vector | matrix | []

xneg — Horizontal error bar lengths to left of data points vector | matrix | []

xpos — Horizontal error bar lengths to right of data points vector | matrix | []

ornt — Error bar orientation 'vertical' (default) | 'horizontal' | 'both'

linespec — Line style, marker symbol, and color character vector | string

ax — Axes object current axes (default) | axes object

Name-Value Pair Arguments

'CapSize' — Length of caps at end of error bars 6 (default) | positive value in points

'LineWidth' — Line width 0.5 (default) | positive value

Extended Capabilities

GPU Arrays Accelerate code by running on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

Distributed Arrays Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

See Also

Functions

Properties

Introduced before R2006a

MATLAB Documentation

Support

`y` — y values
vector | matrix

`x` — x values
vector | matrix

`err` — Error bar lengths for symmetrical error bars
vector | matrix

`neg` — Error bar lengths in negative direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

`pos` — Error bar lengths in positive direction
vector | matrix | `[]`

`yneg` — Vertical error bar lengths below data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`ypos` — Vertical error bar lengths above data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`xneg` — Horizontal error bar lengths to left of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`xpos` — Horizontal error bar lengths to right of data points
vector | matrix | `[]`

`ornt` — Error bar orientation
`'vertical'` (default) | `'horizontal'` | `'both'`

`linespec` — Line style, marker symbol, and color
character vector | string

`ax` — Axes object
current axes (default) | axes object

`'CapSize'` — Length of caps at end of error bars
`6` (default) | positive value in points

`'LineWidth'` — Line width
`0.5` (default) | positive value

GPU Arrays
Accelerate code by running on a graphics processing unit (GPU) using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.

Distributed Arrays
Partition large arrays across the combined memory of your cluster using Parallel Computing Toolbox™.