BoxChart Properties

Control box chart appearance and behavior

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BoxChart properties control the appearance and behavior of a BoxChart object. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the object.

You can use dot notation to query and set properties. For example, you can change the box color of a box chart:

b = boxchart(rand(10,1));
b.BoxFaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Data Display

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Relative width of individual boxes, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. Use this property to control the separation of the boxes. The default value is 0.5, which means the distance between boxes is the same as the width of a single box. If you set this property to 1, then adjacent boxes can touch.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,3),'BoxWidth',0.75)

Example: b.BoxWidth = 0.75;

Outlier marker displacement, 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.

If you set the JitterOutliers property to 'on', then boxchart randomly displaces the outlier markers along the XData direction to help you distinguish between outliers that have similar ydata values. For an example, see Visualize and Find Outliers.

Example: b = boxchart([rand(20,1);2;2;2],'JitterOutliers','on')

Example: b.JitterOutliers = 'on';

Median comparison display, 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.

If you set the Notch property to 'on', then boxchart creates a tapered, shaded region around each median. Box charts whose notches do not overlap have different medians at the 5% significance level. For more information, see Box Chart (Box Plot).

Notches can extend beyond the lower and upper quartiles.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,2),'Notch','on')

Example: b.Notch = 'on';

Orientation of box charts, specified as 'vertical' or 'horizontal'. By default, the box charts are vertically orientated, so that the ydata statistics are aligned with the y-axis. Regardless of the orientation, boxchart stores the ydata values in the YData property of the BoxChart object.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'Orientation','horizontal')

Example: b.Orientation = 'horizontal';

Color and Styling

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Box color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

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: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxFaceColor','red')

Example: b.BoxFaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.BoxFaceColor = '#EDB120';

How the BoxFaceColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

  • 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of BoxFaceColor by selecting a color from the ColorOrder property of the axes.

  • 'manual' — You control the value of BoxFaceColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting BoxFaceColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of BoxFaceColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the BoxFaceColorMode property to 'manual'.

Whisker color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

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: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'WhiskerLineColor','r')

Example: b.WhiskerLineColor = [0.25 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.WhiskerLineColor = '#A2142F';

Box fill transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxFaceAlpha',0.4)

Example: b.BoxFaceAlpha = 0.4;

Whisker style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
'-'Solid line

'--'Dashed line

':'Dotted line

'-.'Dash-dotted line

'none'No lineNo line

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'WhiskerLineStyle','--')

Example: b.WhiskerLineStyle = '--';

Box edge and whisker width, specified as a positive scalar in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch. The LineWidth value also controls the width of the median line.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'LineWidth',1.5)

Example: b.LineWidth = 1.5;

Series index, specified as a whole number greater than or equal to 0. This property is useful for reassigning the box color (BoxFaceColor) and outlier color (MarkerColor) of several BoxChart objects so that they match each other. By default, the SeriesIndex property of a BoxChart object is a number that corresponds to the creation order of the object, starting at 1.

MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes.

MATLAB automatically updates the box color or outlier color of the BoxChart 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:

  • Either the BoxFaceColorMode or the MarkerColorMode property of the BoxChart object is set to 'auto'.

  • The SeriesIndex property on the BoxChart object is greater than 0.

  • The NextSeriesIndex property on the axes object is greater than 0.

Markers

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Outlier style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

ValueDescription
'o'Circle
'+'Plus sign
'*'Asterisk
'.'Point
'x'Cross
'_'Horizontal line
'|'Vertical line
'square' or 's'Square
'diamond' or 'd'Diamond
'^'Upward-pointing triangle
'v'Downward-pointing triangle
'>'Right-pointing triangle
'<'Left-pointing triangle
'pentagram' or 'p'Five-pointed star (pentagram)
'hexagram' or 'h'Six-pointed star (hexagram)
'none'No markers

Example: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerStyle','x')

Example: b.MarkerStyle = 'x';

Outlier size, specified as a positive scalar in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerSize',8)

Example: b.MarkerSize = 8;

Outlier color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

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: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerColor','magenta')

Example: b.MarkerColor = [0.5 0.5 1];

Example: b.MarkerColor = '#7E2F8E';

How the MarkerColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

  • 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of MarkerColor by selecting a color from the ColorOrder property of the axes.

  • 'manual' — You control the value of MarkerColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting MarkerColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of MarkerColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the MarkerColorMode property to 'manual'.

Data

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Position data, specified as a numeric or categorical vector.

  • If YData is a vector, then XData is a vector of the same length as YData. The XData(i) value indicates the position of the box chart created using the YData(i) value.

  • If YData is a matrix, then XData is a vector whose length equals the number of columns in YData. The XData(i) value indicates the position of the box chart created using the column YData(:,i).

By default, XData controls the box chart positions along the x-axis. However, when the Orientation property value is 'horizontal', the XData values correspond to positions along the y-axis.

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

Sample data, specified as a numeric vector or matrix.

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

Legend

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Legend label, specified as a character vector or string scalar. The legend does not display until you call the legend command. If you do not specify the text, then legend sets the label using the form 'dataN'.

This property is read-only.

Control for including or excluding the object from a legend, returned as an Annotation object. Set the underlying IconDisplayStyle property to one of these values:

  • 'on' — Include the object in the legend (default).

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

For example, to exclude a graphics object, go, from the legend set the IconDisplayStyle property to 'off'.

go.Annotation.LegendInformation.IconDisplayStyle = 'off';

Alternatively, you can control the items in a legend using the legend function. Specify the first input argument as a vector of the graphics objects to include. If you do not specify an existing graphics object in the first input argument, then it does not appear in the legend. However, graphics objects added to the axes after the legend is created do appear in the legend. Consider creating the legend after creating all the plots to avoid extra items.

Interactivity

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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.

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.

Ability to capture mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

  • 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the BoxChart object that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. The HitTest property determines if the BoxChart object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

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' — Enable the BoxChart object to capture mouse clicks.

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

    • A HitTest property set to 'on'

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

Note

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

Parent/Child

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Parent, specified as an Axes, Group, or Transform object.

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.

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

  • 'on' — Object handle is always visible.

  • 'off' — Object handle is invisible at all times. This option is useful for preventing unintended changes by another function. Set the HandleVisibility to 'off' to temporarily hide the handle during the execution of that function.

  • 'callback' — 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 object at the command line, but permits callback functions to access it.

If the 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. Examples of such functions include the get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close functions.

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

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This property is read-only.

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

Object identifier, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify a unique Tag value to serve as an identifier for an object. When you need access to the object elsewhere in your code, you can use the findobj function to search for the object based on the Tag value.

User data, specified as any MATLAB array. For example, you can specify a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. Use this property to store arbitrary data on an object.

If you are working in App Designer, create public or private properties in the app to share data instead of using the UserData property. For more information, see Share Data Within App Designer Apps.

See Also

Introduced in R2020a

MATLAB Documentation

Support