bubblechart

    Description

    example

    bubblechart(x,y,sz) displays colored circular markers (bubbles) at the locations specified by the vectors x and y. Specify the bubble sizes as the vector sz. The vectors x, y, and sz must be the same length.

    example

    bubblechart(x,y,sz,c) specifies the colors of the bubbles.

    • To use one color for all the bubbles, specify a color name, a hexadecimal color code, or an RGB triplet.

    • To assign a different color to each bubble, specify a vector the same length as x and y. Alternatively, you can specify a three-column matrix of RGB triplets. The number of rows in the matrix must match the length of x and y.

    example

    bubblechart(___,Name,Value) specifies BubbleChart properties using one or more name-value pair arguments. Specify the properties after all other input arguments. For a list of properties, see BubbleChart Properties.

    example

    bubblechart(ax,___) displays the bubble chart in the target axes ax. Specify the axes before all other input arguments.

    example

    bc = bubblechart(___) returns the BubbleChart object. Use bc to modify properties of the chart after creating it. For a list of properties, see BubbleChart Properties.

    Examples

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    Define the bubble coordinates as the vectors x and y. Define sz as a vector that specifies the bubble sizes. Then create a bubble chart of x and y.

    x = 1:20;
    y = rand(1,20);
    sz = rand(1,20);
    bubblechart(x,y,sz);

    Define the bubble coordinates as the vectors x and y. Define sz as a vector that specifies the bubble sizes. Then create a bubble chart of x and y, and specify the color as red. By default, the bubbles are partially transparent.

    x = 1:20;
    y = rand(1,20);
    sz = rand(1,20);
    bubblechart(x,y,sz,'red');

    For a custom color, you can specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code. For example, the hexadecimal color code '#7031BB', specifies a shade of purple.

    bubblechart(x,y,sz,'#7031BB');

    You can also specify a different color for each bubble. For example, specify a vector to select colors from the figure's colormap.

    c = 1:20;
    bubblechart(x,y,sz,c)

    Define the bubble coordinates as the vectors x and y. Define sz as a vector that specifies the bubble sizes. Then create a bubble chart of x and y. By default, the bubbles are 60% opaque, and the edges are completely opaque with the same color.

    x = 1:20;
    y = rand(1,20);
    sz = rand(1,20);
    bubblechart(x,y,sz);

    You can customize the opacity and the outline color by setting the MarkerFaceAlpha and MarkerEdgeColor properties, respectively. One way to set a property is by specifying a name-value pair argument when you create the chart. For example, you can specify 20% opacity by setting the MarkerFaceAlpha value to 0.20.

    bc = bubblechart(x,y,sz,'MarkerFaceAlpha',0.20);

    If you create the chart by calling the bubblechart function with a return argument, you can use the return argument to set properties on the chart after creating it. For example, you can change the outline color to purple.

    bc.MarkerEdgeColor = [0.5 0 0.5];

    Define a data set that shows the contamination levels of a certain toxin across different towns in a metropolitan area. Define towns as the population of each town. Define nsites as the number of industrial sites in the corresponding towns. Define levels as the contamination levels in the towns. Then display the data in a bubble chart with axis labels. Call the bubblesize function to decrease the bubble sizes, and add a bubble legend that shows the relationship between the bubble size and population.

    towns = randi([25000 500000],[1 30]);
    nsites = randi(10,1,30);
    levels = (3 * nsites) + (7 * randn(1,30) + 20);
    
    % Display bubble chart with axis labels and legend
    bubblechart(nsites,levels,towns)
    xlabel('Number of Industrial Sites')
    ylabel('Contamination Level')
    bubblesize([5 30])
    bubblelegend('Town Population','Location','eastoutside')

    When you display multiple data sets in the same axes, you can include a multiple legends. To manage the alignment of the legends, create your chart in a tiled chart layout.

    Create two sets of data, and plot them together in the same axes object within a tiled chart layout.

    x = 1:20;
    y1 = rand(1,20);
    y2 = rand(1,20);
    sz1 = randi([20 500],[1,20]);
    sz2 = randi([20 500],[1,20]);
    
    % Plot data in a tiled chart layout
    t = tiledlayout(1,1);
    nexttile
    bubblechart(x,y1,sz1)
    hold on
    bubblechart(x,y2,sz1)
    hold off

    Add a bubble legend for illustrating the bubble sizes, and add another legend for illustrating the colors. Call the bubblelegend and legend functions with a return argument to store each legend object. Move the legends to the right outer tile of the tiled chart layout by setting the Layout.Tile property on each object to 'east'.

    blgd = bubblelegend('Population');
    lgd = legend('Springfield','Fairview');
    blgd.Layout.Tile = 'east';
    lgd.Layout.Tile = 'east';

    Define two sets of data that show the contamination levels of a certain toxin across different towns on the east and west sides of a certain metropolitan area. Define towns1 and towns2 as the populations across the towns. Define nsites1 and nsites2 as the number of industrial sites in the corresponding towns. Then define levels1 and levels2 as the contamination levels in the towns.

    towns1 = randi([25000 500000],[1 30]);
    towns2 = towns1/3;
    nsites1 = randi(10,1,30);
    nsites2 = randi(10,1,30);
    levels1 = (5 * nsites2) + (7 * randn(1,30) + 20);
    levels2 = (3 * nsites1) + (7 * randn(1,30) + 20);

    Create a tiled chart layout so you can visualize the data side-by-side. Then create an axes object in the first tile and plot the data for the west side of the city. Add a title and axis labels. Then, repeat the process in the second tile to plot the east side data.

    tiledlayout(1,2,'TileSpacing','compact')
    
    % West side
    ax1 = nexttile;
    bubblechart(ax1,nsites1,levels1,towns1);
    title('West Side')
    xlabel('Number of Industrial Sites')
    
    % East side
    ax2 = nexttile;
    bubblechart(ax2,nsites2,levels2,towns2);
    title('East Side')
    xlabel('Number of Industrial Sites')
    ylabel('Contamination Level')

    Reduce all the bubble sizes to make it easier to see all the bubbles. In this case, change the range of diameters to be between 5 and 30 points.

    bubblesize(ax1,[5 30])
    bubblesize(ax2,[5 30])

    The west side towns are three times the size of the east side towns, but the bubble sizes do not reflect this information in the preceding charts. This is because the smallest and largest bubbles map to the smallest and largest data points in each of the axes. To display the bubbles on the same scale, define a vector called alltowns that includes the populations from both sides of the city. Use the bubblelim function to reset the scaling for both charts. Next, use the xlim and ylim functions to display the charts with the same x- and y-axis limits.

    % Adjust scale of the bubbles
    alltowns = [towns1 towns2];
    newlims = [min(alltowns) max(alltowns)];
    bubblelim(ax1,newlims)
    bubblelim(ax2,newlims)
    
    % Adjust x-axis limits
    allx = [xlim(ax1) xlim(ax2)];
    xmin = min(allx);
    xmax = max(allx);
    xlim([ax1 ax2],[xmin xmax]);
    
    % Adjust y-axis limits
    ally = [ylim(ax1) ylim(ax2)];
    ymin = min(ally);
    ymax = max(ally);
    ylim([ax1 ax2],[ymin ymax]);

    Input Arguments

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    x-coordinates, specified as a numeric scalar or vector the same length as y.

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

    y-coordinates, specified as a numeric scalar or vector the same length as x.

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

    Bubble sizes, specified as a numeric scalar or vector the same length as x and y.

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

    Bubble color, specified as an RGB triplet, a color name, a hexadecimal color code, a matrix of RGB triplets, or a vector of colormap indices. You can display all the bubbles with the same color, or you can display each bubble with a different color. By default, the bubbles are filled with partially transparent color, and the edges of the bubbles are opaque.

    Display the Bubbles with the Same Color

    Specify one of the following values to display all the bubbles with the same color:

    • RGB triplet — 1-by-3 row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of a color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7].

    • Hexadecimal color code — 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.

    • Color name or short name — Color name or short name from the table below.

    Color NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    '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 TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    [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'

    Display the Bubbles with Different Colors

    Specify one of the following values to assign a different color to each bubble:

    • Three-column matrix of RGB triplets — Each row of the matrix specifies an RGB triplet color for the corresponding bubble. The values in each row specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]. The number of rows must equal the length of the coordinate vectors.

    • Vector of colormap indices — An m-by-1 vector of numbers that index into the current colormap. The values in the vector cover the full range of the colormap. The length of c must equal the length of the coordinate vectors. To change the colormap for the axes, use the colormap function.

    Target axes, specified as an Axes, PolarAxes, or GeographicAxes object. If you do not specify the axes, MATLAB plots into the current axes, or it creates an Axes object if one does not exist.

    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: bubblechart([1 2 3],[4 10 9],[1 2 3],'MarkerFaceColor','red') creates red bubbles.

    Note

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

    Marker outline color, specified 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The default value of 'flat' uses colors from the CData property.

    For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

    • 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 NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    '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'

    'none'Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

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

    RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    [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: [0.5 0.5 0.5]

    Example: 'blue'

    Example: '#D2F9A7'

    Marker fill color, specified as 'flat', 'auto', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The 'flat' option uses the CData values. The 'auto' option uses the same color as the Color property for the axes.

    For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

    • 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 NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    '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'

    'none'Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

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

    RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
    [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: [0.3 0.2 0.1]

    Example: 'green'

    Example: '#D2F9A7'

    Width of marker edge, specified as a positive value in point units.

    Example: 0.75

    Marker edge transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1] or 'flat'. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

    To set the edge transparency to a different value for each point in the plot, set the AlphaData property to a vector the same size as the XData property, and set the MarkerEdgeAlpha property to 'flat'.

    Marker face transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1] or 'flat'. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are partially transparent.

    To set the marker face transparency to a different value for each point, set the AlphaData property to a vector the same size as the XData property, and set the MarkerFaceAlpha property to 'flat'.

    Introduced in R2020b