Bar Properties

Fill color, specified as 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The 'flat' option uses the CData property value of the Bar object to color the faces.

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

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

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

Starting in R2017b, the default value is an RGB triplet from the ColorOrder property of the axes. In previous releases, the default value was 'flat' and the colors were based on the colormap.

Example: b = bar(1:10,'FaceColor','red')

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

Example: b.FaceColor = 'flat';

Example: b.FaceColor = '#D2F9A7';

Control how the FaceColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

If you change the value of the FaceColor property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the FaceColorMode property to "manual".

Outline color, specified as 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. If there are 150 bars or fewer, the default value is [0 0 0], which corresponds to black. If there are more than 150 adjacent bars, the default value is 'none'.

Starting in R2017b, the 'flat' option uses the CData values to color the edges. In previous releases, the 'flat' option colored the edges using colors from the colormap.

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

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

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

Example: b = bar(1:10,'EdgeColor','red')

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

Example: b.EdgeColor = 'flat';

Example: b.EdgeColor = '#D2F9A7';

Face 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 = bar(1:10,'FaceAlpha',0.5)

Example: b.FaceAlpha = 0.5;

Edge 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 = bar(1:10,'EdgeAlpha',0.5)

Example: b.EdgeAlpha = 0.5;

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

Width of bar outlines, specified as a positive value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: 1.5

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

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for matching the colors of graphics objects, such as text, plot lines, or other Bar objects.

By default, the SeriesIndex property of a Bar object is a number that corresponds to its order of creation, starting at 1. MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for automatically assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. Any objects in the axes that have the same SeriesIndex number will have the same color.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme. (since R2023b)

How Manual Color Assignment Overrides SeriesIndex Behavior

To manually control the colors of the bars, use either of these approaches:

When you manually set the color of a Bar object, MATLAB disables automatic color selection for that object and allows your color to persist, regardless of the value of the SeriesIndex property. The mode properties, FaceColorMode and CDataMode, indicate whether the colors have been set manually (by you) or automatically. A value of "manual" indicates manual selection, and a value of "auto" indicates automatic selection.

To enable automatic selection again, set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number and perform either of these steps:

In some cases, MATLAB sets the SeriesIndex property to 0, which also disables automatic color selection.

Since R2024b

Bar labels, specified as a string vector, cell array of character vectors, numeric vector, datetime vector, duration vector, or categorical vector. The length of the vector must match the number of bars.

When the chart displays multiple series of grouped or stacked bars, each series corresponds to one Bar object. Set the Labels property for each Bar object that you want labeled.

Since R2024b

Location of bar labels, specified as "end-inside" or "end-outside". You might need to adjust the axes limits to provide enough space for the labels.

Since R2024b

Control how the LabelLocation property is set, specified as one of these values:

If you change the value of the LabelLocation property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the LabelLocationMode property to "manual".

Since R2024b

Label color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name. To use a different color for each label, specify an m-by-3 matrix of RGB triplets or a string vector of m hexadecimal color codes, color names, or short names. The value m is the number of labels (one for each bar).

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

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and hexadecimal color codes.

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

Since R2024b

Control how the LabelColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

If you change the value of the LabelColor property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the LabelColorMode property to "manual".

Font name, specified as a supported font name or "FixedWidth". To display and print text properly, you must choose a font that your system supports. The default font depends on your operating system and locale.

To use a fixed-width font that looks good in any locale, use "FixedWidth". The fixed-width font relies on the root FixedWidthFontName property. Setting the root FixedWidthFontName property causes an immediate update of the display to use the new font.

Font size, specified as a scalar value greater than zero in point units. The default font size depends on the specific operating system and locale. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Character thickness, specified as 'normal' or 'bold'.

MATLAB uses the FontWeight property to select a font from those available on your system. Not all fonts have a bold weight. Therefore, specifying a bold font weight can still result in the normal font weight.

Character slant, specified as 'normal' or 'italic'.

Not all fonts have both font styles. Therefore, the italic font might look the same as the normal font.

Text interpreter, specified as one of these values:

TeX Markup

By default, MATLAB supports a subset of TeX markup. Use TeX markup to add superscripts and subscripts, modify the font type and color, and include special characters in the text.

Modifiers remain in effect until the end of the text. Superscripts and subscripts are an exception because they modify only the next character or the characters within the curly braces. When you set the interpreter to 'tex', the supported modifiers are as follows.

This table lists the supported special characters for the 'tex' interpreter.

LaTeX Markup

To use LaTeX markup, set the interpreter to 'latex'. For inline mode, surround the markup with single dollar signs ($). For display mode, surround the markup with double dollar signs ($$).

'$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$'

'$$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$$'

The displayed text uses the default LaTeX font style. The FontName, FontWeight, and FontAngle properties do not have an effect. To change the font style, use LaTeX markup.

The maximum size of the text that you can use with the LaTeX interpreter is 1200 characters. For multiline text, this reduces by about 10 characters per line.

For examples that use TeX and LaTeX, see Greek Letters and Special Characters in Chart Text. For more information about the LaTeX system, see The LaTeX Project website at https://www.latex-project.org/.

Arrangement of bars, specified as one of these values:

Relative width of individual bars, specified as a scalar in the range [0, 1]. Use this property to control the space between the bars within a group. The default value is 0.8, which separates the bars slightly. If you set this property to 1, the adjacent bars touch.

For example, these bar charts are same except for their BarWidth values. As the BarWidth value increases, the bars become wider.

The BarWidth value is relative to the GroupWidth property, which controls the amount of space for a group of bars. As the GroupWidth value increases, the bars become wider. (since R2024a)

Plotting groups of bars produces multiple Bar objects. Changing the BarWidth property of one object changes the value for all of the objects.

Since R2024a

Width of the bar groups, specified as a scalar in the range [0, 1]. This property specifies the fraction of the available space for a group of bars. It has no effect if the bars are not grouped. A value of 1 uses all of the available space for each group, but it minimizes the space between groups. Smaller values produce thinner bars with more space between the groups.

For example, these bar charts are the same except for their GroupWidth values. As the GroupWidth value increases, the bars become wider and the groups become harder to distinguish.

Plotting groups of bars produces multiple Bar objects. Changing the GroupWidth property of one object changes the value for all of the objects.

Since R2024a

Control how the GroupWidth property is set, specified as one of these values:

Horizontal bar chart, 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.

Baseline value, specified as a numeric scalar value.

The baseline value that you specify applies to either the x-axis or the y-axis depending on the bar chart orientation. If you change the orientation of the bar chart from vertical to horizontal, or vice versa, the baseline value might change. Set the BaseValue property after setting the Horizontal property.

Baseline 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.

This property is read-only.

Baseline object. For a list of baseline properties, see Baseline Properties.

Color data, specified as one of these values:

By default, when you create a bar chart, the CData property contains a three-column matrix of RGB triplets. You can change the color for a particular bar by changing the corresponding row in the matrix.

This property applies only when the FaceColor or EdgeColor property is set to 'flat'.

Example

Change the color for a particular bar by setting the FaceColor property to 'flat'. Then change the corresponding row in the CData matrix to the new RGB triplet. For example, change the color of the second bar.

b = bar(1:10,'FaceColor','flat');
b.CData(2,:) = [0 0.8 0.8];

Control how the CData property is set, specified as one of these values:

If you change the value of the CData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the CDataMode property to "manual".

Bar locations, specified as a vector with no repeating values.

Alternatively, specify the bar locations using the input argument X to the bar or barh function. If you do not specify X, then the indices of the values in YData determine the bar locations.

XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: 1:10

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

Selection mode for XData, specified as one of these values:

Variable linked to XData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the XData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the XData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Example: 'x'

Bar lengths, specified as a vector. Alternatively, specify the bar lengths using the input argument Y to the bar or barh function.

XData and YData must have equal lengths.

Example: 1:10

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

Variable linked to YData, specified as a character vector or string containing a MATLAB workspace variable name. MATLAB evaluates the variable in the base workspace to generate the YData.

By default, there is no linked variable so the value is an empty character vector, ''. If you link a variable, then MATLAB does not update the YData values immediately. To force an update of the data values, use the refreshdata function.

Example: 'y'

This property is read-only.

x-coordinates of the tips of the bars, returned as a vector. These coordinates are useful when you want to add text, error bars, or other objects to the tips of the bars. For example, you can pass the value of this property to the text function when you want to add text to the tips of the bars.

This property is read-only.

y-coordinates of the tips of the bars, returned as a vector. These coordinates are useful when you want to add text, error bars, or other objects to the tips of the bars. For example, you can pass the value of this property to the text function when you want to add text to the tips of the bars.

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'.

Include the object in the legend, specified as an Annotation object. Set the underlying IconDisplayStyle property of the Annotation object to one of these values:

For example, to exclude the Bar object named obj from the legend, set the IconDisplayStyle property to "off".

obj.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.

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.

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.

Context menu, specified as a ContextMenu object. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click the object. Create the context menu using the uicontextmenu function.

Selection state, 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.

Display of selection handles when selected, 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.

Clipping of the object to the axes limits, 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.

The Clipping property of the axes that contains the object must be set to 'on'. Otherwise, this property has no effect. For more information about the clipping behavior, see the Clipping property of the axes.

Mouse-click callback, specified as one of these values:

Use this property to execute code when you click the object. If you specify this property using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB creates the object. MATLAB initializes all property values before executing the CreateFcn callback. If you do not specify the CreateFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default creation function.

Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing component has no effect.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being created using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB deletes the object. MATLAB executes the DeleteFcn callback before destroying the properties of the object. If you do not specify the DeleteFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default deletion function.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being deleted using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Callback interruption, 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.

This property determines if a running callback can be interrupted. There are two callback states to consider:

MATLAB determines callback interruption behavior whenever it executes a command that processes the callback queue. These commands include drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, and pause.

If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then no interruption occurs. MATLAB first finishes executing the running callback, and later executes the interrupting callback.

If the running callback does contain one of these commands, then the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback determines if the interruption occurs:

Callback queuing, specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks. There are two callback states to consider:

The BusyAction property determines callback queuing behavior only when both of these conditions are met:

Under these conditions, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines how MATLAB handles the interrupting callback. These are possible values of the BusyAction property:

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

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.

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the DeleteFcn callback begins execution. The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the component object no longer exists.

Check the value of the BeingDeleted property to verify that the object is not about to be deleted before querying or modifying it.

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:

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.

This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'bar'. Use this property to find all objects of a given type within a plotting hierarchy, such as 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.