Binscatter Properties

Binscatter appearance and behavior

Binscatter properties control the appearance and behavior of binned scatter plots. By changing property values, you can modify aspects of the display. Use dot notation to refer to a particular object and property:

h = binscatter(randn(1,100),randn(1,100));
N = h.NumBins
h.NumBins = [3 3]

Bins

NumBins — Number of bins

scalar | two-element vector

Number of bins, specified as a scalar or two-element vector [Nx Ny].

• If NumBins is specified as a two-element vector [Nx Ny], then binscatter uses Nx bins in the x dimension and Ny bins in the y dimension.

• If NumBins is specified as a scalar, then Nx and Ny are both set to the scalar value.

binscatter uses Nx and Ny bins along the x and y dimensions in the initial plot, when the axes are not zoomed in. (The axes are not zoomed in when the XLimMode and YLimMode properties are both 'auto'.) When zooming, binscatter adjusts the number of bins to maintain a bin size such that the visible portion of the plot is approximately divided into Nx-by-Ny bins.

The maximum number of bins in each dimension is 250. The default number of bins is computed based on the data size and standard deviation and does not exceed 100.

Example: [10 20]

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

NumBinsMode — Selection mode for number of bins

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Selection mode for number of bins, specified as either 'auto' or 'manual'. With the default value of 'auto', the number of bins is computed from the data according to Scott's rule, [3.5*std(X(:))*numel(X)^(-1/4), 3.5*std(Y(:))*numel(Y)^(-1/4)].

If you specify the number of bins, then the value of 'NumBinsMode' is set to 'manual'.

ShowEmptyBins — Toggle to show empty bins

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Toggle to show empty bins, specified as either 'off' or 'on', 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.

Specify 'on' or true to color tiles in the plot that fall within the bin limits, but have no data points.

XBinEdges — Bin edges in x-dimension

vector

This property is read-only.

Bin edges in x-dimension, returned as a vector.

Data Types: single | double | datetime | duration

YBinEdges — Bin edges in y dimension

vector

This property is read-only.

Bin edges in y dimension, returned as a vector.

Data Types: single | double | datetime | duration

XLimits — Data limits in x-dimension

vector

Data limits in x-dimension, specified as a two-element vector [Xmin Xmax].

binscatter only displays data points that fall within the specified data limits inclusively, $$X_{\min }\le X\le X_{\max }$$.

Example: [0 10]

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

XLimitsMode — Selection mode for data limits in x-dimension

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Selection mode for data limits in x-dimension, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The default value is 'auto', so that the bin limits automatically adjust to the data along the x-axis.

If you explicitly specify XLimits, then XLimitsMode is automatically set to 'manual'. In that case, specify XLimitsMode as 'auto' to rescale the bin limits to the data.

YLimits — Data limits in y-dimension

vector

Data limits in y-dimension, specified as a two-element vector [Ymin Ymax].

binscatter only displays data points that fall within the specified data limits inclusively, $$Y_{\min }\le Y\le Y_{\max }$$.

Example: [0 10]

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

YLimitsMode — Selection mode for data limits in y-dimension

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

Selection mode for data limits in y-dimension, specified as 'auto' or 'manual'. The default value is 'auto', so that the bin limits automatically adjust to the data along the y-axis.

If you explicitly specify YLimits, then YLimitsMode is automatically set to 'manual'. In that case, specify YLimitsMode as 'auto' to rescale the bin limits to the data.

Data

XData — x coordinates of data

vector

x coordinates of data, specified as a vector.

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

YData — y coordinates of data

vector

y coordinates of data, specified as a vector.

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

Values — Bin values

double matrix vector

This property is read-only.

Bin values, returned as a double matrix. The (i,j)th entry in Values specifies the bin count for the bin whose x edges are [XBinEdges(i), XBinEdges(i+1)] and whose y edges are [YBinEdges(j), YBinEdges(j+1)].

The bin inclusion scheme for the different numbered bins in Values, as well as their relative orientation to the x-axis and y-axis, is

For example, the (1,1) bin includes values that fall on the first edge in each dimension. The last bin in the bottom right includes values that fall on any of its edges.

Transparency

FaceAlpha — Transparency of tiles

1 (default) | scalar value between 0 and 1 inclusive

Transparency of tiles, specified as a scalar value between 0 and 1 inclusive. binscatter uses the same transparency for all the tiles. A value of 1 means fully opaque and 0 means completely transparent (invisible).

Example: binscatter(X,Y,'FaceAlpha',0.5) creates a binned scatter plot with semitransparent bins.

Legend

DisplayName — Text used by legend

variable name of Data or '' (default) | character vector

Text used by the legend, specified as a character vector. The text appears next to an icon of the binscatter.

Example: 'Text Description'

For multiline text, create the character vector using sprintf with the new line character \n.

Example: sprintf('line one\nline two')

Alternatively, you can specify the legend text using the legend function.

• If you specify the text as an input argument to the legend function, then the legend uses the specified text and sets the DisplayName property to the same value.

• If you do not specify the text as an input argument to the legend function, then the legend uses the text in the DisplayName property. The default value of DisplayName is one of these values.

  • For numeric inputs, DisplayName is a character vector representing the variable name of the input data used to construct the histogram. If the input data does not have a variable name, then DisplayName is empty, ''.

  • For categorical array inputs, DisplayName is empty, ''.

If the DisplayName property does not contain any text, then the legend generates a character vector. The character vector has the form 'dataN', where N is the number assigned to the binscatter object based on its location in the list of legend entries.

If you edit interactively the character vector in an existing legend, then MATLAB^® updates the DisplayName property to the edited character vector.

Annotation — Include object in legend

Annotation object

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:

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

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

For example, to exclude the Binscatter 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.

Interactivity

Visible — State of visibility

"on" (default) | on/off logical value

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.

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

DataTipTemplate 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.

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

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.

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then the context menu does not appear.

Selected — Selection state

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

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.

• 'on' — Selected. If you click the object when in plot edit mode, then MATLAB sets its Selected property to 'on'. If the SelectionHighlight property also is set to 'on', then MATLAB displays selection handles around the object.

• 'off' — Not selected.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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.

• 'on' — Display selection handles when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

• 'off' — Never display selection handles, even when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

Callbacks

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

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

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

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:

• Clicked object — Access properties of the clicked object from within the callback function.

• Event data — Empty argument. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

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

Note

If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then this callback does not execute.

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

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.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

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 Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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:

• The running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

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:

• If the value of Interruptible is 'off', then no interruption occurs. Instead, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines if the interrupting callback is discarded or added to the callback queue.

• If the value of Interruptible is 'on', then the interruption occurs. The next time MATLAB processes the callback queue, it stops the execution of the running callback and executes the interrupting callback. After the interrupting callback completes, MATLAB then resumes executing the running callback.

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

• If the interrupting callback is a DeleteFcn, CloseRequestFcn, or SizeChangedFcn callback, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the running callback is currently executing the waitfor function, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the interrupting callback is owned by a Timer object, then the callback executes according to schedule regardless of the Interruptible property value.

Note

When an interruption occurs, MATLAB does not save the state of properties or the display. For example, the object returned by the gca or gcf command might change when another callback executes.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

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 running callback is the currently executing callback.

• The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback.

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

• The running callback contains a command that processes the callback queue, such as drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, or pause.

• The value of the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback is 'off'.

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:

• 'queue' — Puts the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution.

• 'cancel' — Does not execute the interrupting callback.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

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

• 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks only when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on'. The HitTest property determines if the Binscatter object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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' — Trigger the ButtonDownFcn callback of the Binscatter object. If you have defined the ContextMenu property, then invoke the context menu.

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the Binscatter object that meets one of these conditions:

  • HitTest property is set to 'on'.

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

Note

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

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

on/off logical value

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/Child

Parent — Parent

Axes object

Parent, specified as an Axes object.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

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.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

"on" (default) | "off" | "callback"

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 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

Type — Type of graphics object

'binscatter'

This property is read-only.

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

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

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.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

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.

Version History

Introduced in R2017b

R2020a: UIContextMenu property is not recommended

Starting in R2020a, using the UIContextMenu property to assign a context menu to a graphics object or UI component is not recommended. Use the ContextMenu property instead. The property values are the same.

There are no plans to remove support for the UIContextMenu property at this time. However, the UIContextMenu property no longer appears in the list returned by calling the get function on a graphics object or UI component.