Graphics Object Properties

View and set graphics object properties, define default values

You can control the behavior and appearance of a particular graphics object by setting its properties. To set properties, return the object as an output argument from the function that creates it. For example, the plot function returns a chart line object. Then, use dot notation to view and set properties.

p = plot(1:10,1:10);
p.LineWidth = 3;

Alternatively, you can set properties using name-value pair arguments when creating the object, such as plot(1:10,1:10,'LineWidth',3). Most plotting functions support name-value pair arguments.

Properties

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Top-Level Objects

Root Properties	Graphics environment and state information
Figure Properties	Control appearance and behavior of figure window
Axes Properties	Axes appearance and behavior
PolarAxes Properties	Polar axes appearance and behavior
GeographicAxes Properties	Geographic axes appearance and behavior
TiledChartLayout Properties	Tiled chart layout appearance and behavior

Chart Objects

Area Properties	Area chart appearance and behavior
Bar Properties	Bar chart appearance and behavior
BoxChart Properties	Control box chart appearance and behavior (Since R2020a)
BubbleChart Properties	Bubble chart appearance and behavior (Since R2020b)
BubbleCloud Properties	Bubble cloud appearance and behavior (Since R2021a)
Contour Properties	Contour chart appearance and behavior
ErrorBar Properties	Error bar chart appearance and behavior
DonutChart Properties	Donut chart appearance and behavior (Since R2023b)
GeographicBubbleChart Properties	Standalone geographic bubble chart appearance and behavior
HeatmapChart Properties	Heatmap chart appearance and behavior
Line Properties	Chart line appearance and behavior
ParallelCoordinatesPlot Properties	Control parallel coordinates plot appearance and behavior
PieChart Properties	Pie chart appearance and behavior (Since R2023b)
PolarCompassPlot Properties	Polar compass plot appearance and behavior (Since R2024b)
Quiver Properties	Quiver chart appearance and behavior
Scatter Properties	Scatter chart appearance and behavior
ScatterHistogramChart Properties	Control scatter histogram chart appearance and behavior
StackedAxesProperties Properties	Appearance and behavior of individual axes in stacked plot
StackedLineChart Properties	Stacked plot appearance and behavior
StackedLineProperties Properties	Appearance and behavior of individual lines in stacked plot
Stair Properties	Stair chart appearance and behavior
Stem Properties	Stem chart appearance and behavior
Surface Properties	Chart surface appearance and behavior
ViolinPlot Properties	Violin plot appearance and behavior (Since R2024b)
WordCloudChart Properties	Control word cloud chart appearance and behavior

Primitive Objects

AnimatedLine Properties	Line animation appearance and behavior
Image Properties	Image appearance and behavior
Light Properties	Light appearance and behavior
Line Properties	Primitive line appearance and behavior
Patch Properties	Patch appearance and behavior
Polygon Properties	Polygon appearance and behavior
Rectangle Properties	Rectangle appearance and behavior
Surface Properties	Primitive surface appearance and behavior
Text Properties	Axes text appearance and behavior

Function Objects

FunctionLine Properties	Line chart appearance and behavior
ImplicitFunctionLine Properties	Implicit line chart appearance and behavior
ParameterizedFunctionLine Properties	Parameterized line chart appearance and behavior
FunctionContour Properties	Function contour chart appearance and behavior
FunctionSurface Properties	Surface chart appearance and behavior
ImplicitFunctionSurface Properties	Implicit surface chart appearance and behavior
ParameterizedFunctionSurface Properties	Parameterized surface chart appearance and behavior

Group Objects

Group Properties	Group object appearance and behavior
Transform Properties	Transform object appearance and behavior

Illustration Objects

ColorBar Properties	Colorbar appearance and behavior
Legend Properties	Legend appearance and behavior
BubbleLegend Properties	Bubble legend appearance and behavior (Since R2020b)
ConstantLine Properties	Constant line appearance and behavior
ConstantRegion Properties	Constant region appearance and behavior (Since R2023a)
ConstantPlane Properties	Constant plane appearance and behavior (Since R2024b)
PolarRegion Properties	Polar region appearance and behavior (Since R2024a)

Ruler Objects

CategoricalRuler Properties	Control axis with categorical values
DatetimeRuler Properties	Control axis with datetime values
DurationRuler Properties	Control axis with duration values
NumericRuler Properties	Control axis with numeric values
GeographicRuler Properties	Control axis with geographic values

Annotation Objects

Arrow Properties	Arrow appearance and behavior
DoubleEndArrow Properties	Double end arrow appearance and behavior
Ellipse Properties	Ellipse appearance and behavior
Line Properties	Annotation line appearance and behavior
Rectangle Properties	Annotation rectangle appearance and behavior
TextArrow Properties	Text arrow appearance and behavior
TextBox Properties	Text box appearance and behavior

Functions

`get`	Query graphics object properties
`set`	Set graphics object properties
`reset`	Reset graphics object properties
Property Inspector	Open property inspector

Topics

Modify Graphics Objects
This example shows how to create, display, and modify graphics objects in MATLAB®.
Graphics Object Hierarchy
Graphics objects are the visual components used by MATLAB^® to display data graphically.
Access Property Values
You can set and query property values or return them to their original (factory default) values.
Default Property Values
Nearly all graphics object properties have predefined values, but you can define default property values.
Multilevel Default Values
This example sets default values on more than one level in the hierarchy.
Default Values for Automatically Calculated Properties
When you create a graph, MATLAB sets certain property values appropriately for the particular graph.
How MATLAB Finds Default Values
All graphics object properties have values built into MATLAB. You can also define your own default values.
Factory-Defined Property Values
Plotting functions use factory-defined property values if you do not specify values as arguments or as defaults.
DPI-Aware Behavior in MATLAB
Learn about DPI-aware behavior that improves the appearance of graphical elements on high-resolution systems.