stackedplot

stackedplot(tbl) plots the variables of a table or timetable in a stacked plot, up to a maximum of 25 variables. The function plots the variables in separate y-axes, stacked vertically. The variables share a common x-axis.

If tbl is a table, then the function plots the variables against row numbers.
If tbl is a timetable, then the function plots the variables against row times.

The stackedplot function plots all the numeric, logical, categorical, datetime, and duration variables of tbl, and ignores table variables having any other data type.

stackedplot(tbl,vars) plots only the table or timetable variables specified by vars.

stackedplot(___,'XVariable',xvar) specifies the table variable that provides the x-values for the stacked plot. This syntax supports only tables, and not timetables.

stackedplot(X,Y) plots the columns of Y versus the vector X up to a maximum of 25 columns.

stackedplot(Y) plots the columns of Y versus their row number. The x-axis scale ranges from 1 to the number of rows in Y.

stackedplot(___,LineSpec) sets the line style, marker symbol, and color. You can use this syntax with the input arguments of any of the previous syntaxes.

stackedplot(___,Name,Value) sets properties for the stacked plot using one or more Name,Value pair arguments. For a list of the properties, see StackedLineChart Properties. Use this option with any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes. Name-value pair settings apply to all the plots in the stacked plot. Enclose each property name in quotes.

stackedplot(parent,___) creates the stacked plot in the figure, panel, or tab specified by parent. The option parent can precede any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

s = stackedplot(___) returns a StackedLineChart object. You can use s to change properties of the stacked plot after you have created it. For a list of properties, see StackedLineChart Properties.

Examples

Plot Timetable Variables

Read data from a spreadsheet to a timetable. (Read any text data it contains into string arrays). The first variable that contains dates and times, OutageTime, provides the row times for the timetable. Display the first five rows.

tbl = readtimetable("outages.csv","TextType","string");
head(tbl,5)

ans=5×5 timetable
       OutageTime         Region        Loss     Customers     RestorationTime           Cause      
    ________________    ___________    ______    __________    ________________    _________________

    2002-02-01 12:18    "SouthWest"    458.98    1.8202e+06    2002-02-07 16:50    "winter storm"   
    2003-01-23 00:49    "SouthEast"    530.14    2.1204e+05                 NaT    "winter storm"   
    2003-02-07 21:15    "SouthEast"     289.4    1.4294e+05    2003-02-17 08:14    "winter storm"   
    2004-04-06 05:44    "West"         434.81    3.4037e+05    2004-04-06 06:10    "equipment fault"
    2002-03-16 06:18    "MidWest"      186.44    2.1275e+05    2002-03-18 23:23    "severe storm"

Sort the timetable so that its row times are in order. The row times of a timetable do not need to be in order. However, if you use the row times as the x-axis of a plot, then it is better to ensure the timetable is sorted by its row times.

tbl = sortrows(tbl);
head(tbl,5)

ans=5×5 timetable
       OutageTime         Region        Loss     Customers     RestorationTime         Cause     
    ________________    ___________    ______    __________    ________________    ______________

    2002-02-01 12:18    "SouthWest"    458.98    1.8202e+06    2002-02-07 16:50    "winter storm"
    2002-03-05 17:53    "MidWest"      96.563    2.8666e+05    2002-03-10 14:41    "wind"        
    2002-03-16 06:18    "MidWest"      186.44    2.1275e+05    2002-03-18 23:23    "severe storm"
    2002-03-26 01:59    "MidWest"      388.04    5.6422e+05    2002-03-28 19:55    "winter storm"
    2002-04-20 16:46    "MidWest"       23141           NaN                 NaT    "unknown"

Create a stacked plot of data from tbl. The row times, OutageTime, provide the values along the x-axis. The stackedplot function plots the values from the Loss, Customers, and RestorationTime variables, with each variable plotted along its own y-axis. However, the plot does not include the Region and Cause variables because they contain data that cannot be plotted.

stackedplot(tbl)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Specify Variables

Create a table from patient data. Display the first three rows.

tbl = readtable("patients.xls","TextType","string");
head(tbl,3)

ans=3×10 table
     LastName      Gender     Age             Location              Height    Weight    Smoker    Systolic    Diastolic    SelfAssessedHealthStatus
    __________    ________    ___    ___________________________    ______    ______    ______    ________    _________    ________________________

    "Smith"       "Male"      38     "County General Hospital"        71       176      true        124          93              "Excellent"       
    "Johnson"     "Male"      43     "VA Hospital"                    69       163      false       109          77              "Fair"            
    "Williams"    "Female"    38     "St. Mary's Medical Center"      64       131      false       125          83              "Good"

Plot only four of the variables from the table.

stackedplot(tbl,["Height","Weight","Systolic","Diastolic"])

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Reorder Variables

Read a timetable from file and display its first three rows.

tbl = readtimetable("outages.csv","TextType","string");
tbl = sortrows(tbl);
head(tbl,3)

ans=3×5 timetable
       OutageTime         Region        Loss     Customers     RestorationTime         Cause     
    ________________    ___________    ______    __________    ________________    ______________

    2002-02-01 12:18    "SouthWest"    458.98    1.8202e+06    2002-02-07 16:50    "winter storm"
    2002-03-05 17:53    "MidWest"      96.563    2.8666e+05    2002-03-10 14:41    "wind"        
    2002-03-16 06:18    "MidWest"      186.44    2.1275e+05    2002-03-18 23:23    "severe storm"

Reorder the variables by specifying them in an order that differs from their order in the table. For example, RestorationTime is the last variable in the timetable that can be plotted. By default, stackedplot places it at the bottom of the plot. But you can reorder the variables to put RestorationTime at the top.

stackedplot(tbl,["RestorationTime","Loss","Customers"])

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

There are also other ways to reorder the variables.

Specify them by their numeric order in the table: stackedplot(tbl,[4 2 3]);
Return a StackedLineChart object and reorder the values in its DisplayVariables property: s = stackedplot(tbl); s.DisplayVariables = ["RestorationTime","Loss","Customers"]

Plot Multiple Variables Using One Y-Axis

Create a table from a subset of patient data, using the Weight, Systolic, and Diastolic variables.

load patients
tbl = table(Weight,Systolic,Diastolic);
head(tbl,3)

ans=3×3 table
    Weight    Systolic    Diastolic
    ______    ________    _________

     176        124          93    
     163        109          77    
     131        125          83

Create a stacked plot, with Systolic and Diastolic plotted using the same y-axis, and Weight using its own y-axis. First, specify vars as a cell array with two elements. The first element groups "Systolic" and "Diastolic" together in a string array. They are plotted together on a common y-axis. The second element of the cell array is "Weight". It is plotted on its own y-axis.

vars = {["Systolic","Diastolic"],"Weight"}

vars=1×2 cell array
    {["Systolic"    "Diastolic"]}    {["Weight"]}

stackedplot(tbl,vars)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Plot Columns of Matrix

Create a numeric matrix and a numeric vector.

X = [0:4:20]

X = 1×6

     0     4     8    12    16    20

Y = randi(100,6,3)

Y = 6×3

    82    28    96
    91    55    49
    13    96    81
    92    97    15
    64    16    43
    10    98    92

Create a stacked plot using X and Y.

stackedplot(X,Y)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Specify Title and Labels Using Name-Value Arguments

Load a timetable that has a set of weather measurements. Display its first three rows.

load outdoors
outdoors(1:3,:)

ans=3×3 timetable
           Time            Humidity    TemperatureF    PressureHg
    ___________________    ________    ____________    __________

    2015-11-15 00:00:24        49          51.3          29.61   
    2015-11-15 01:30:24      48.9          51.5          29.61   
    2015-11-15 03:00:24      48.9          51.5          29.61

Create a stacked plot. Specify the title and labels for the y-axes using name-value arguments. You can use name-value arguments to change any properties from their defaults values. (Also note that you can specify the degree symbol using char(176).)

degreeSymbol = char(176);
newYlabels = ["RH (%)","T (" + degreeSymbol + "F)","P (in Hg)"];
stackedplot(outdoors,"Title","Weather Data","DisplayLabels",newYlabels)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot. The chart of type stackedplot has title Weather Data.

Change Individual Plots to Scatter and Stair Plots

The stackedplot function returns a StackedLineChart object. You can use it to set the same property value for all plots, or to set different property values for individual plots. In this example, first change the line widths for all plots in a stacked plot. Then, use the PlotType property of individual plots, so that the stacked plot has a line plot, scatter plot, and stair plot.

Load a timetable that has a set of weather measurements.

load outdoors
outdoors(1:3,:)

ans=3×3 timetable
           Time            Humidity    TemperatureF    PressureHg
    ___________________    ________    ____________    __________

    2015-11-15 00:00:24        49          51.3          29.61   
    2015-11-15 01:30:24      48.9          51.5          29.61   
    2015-11-15 03:00:24      48.9          51.5          29.61

Create a stacked plot and return a StackedLineChart object.

s = stackedplot(outdoors)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

s = 
  StackedLineChart with properties:

         SourceTable: [51x3 timetable]
    DisplayVariables: {'Humidity'  'TemperatureF'  'PressureHg'}
               Color: [0 0.4470 0.7410]
           LineStyle: '-'
           LineWidth: 0.5000
              Marker: 'none'
          MarkerSize: 6

  Show all properties

The object provides access to many properties that apply to all of the plots. For example, you can use s.LineWidth to make the lines wider.

s.LineWidth = 2;

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

The object also provides access to arrays of objects that you can use to modify the lines and y-axes for individual plots. To access properties of individual lines, use s.LineProperties. For each plot, you can specify a different line style, marker, plot type, and so on.

s.LineProperties

ans=3×1 object
  3x1 StackedLineProperties array with properties:

    Color
    MarkerFaceColor
    MarkerEdgeColor
    LineStyle
    LineWidth
    Marker
    MarkerSize
    PlotType

Change the second plot to a scatter plot, and the third plot to a stair plot, using the PlotType property.

s.LineProperties(2).PlotType = "scatter";
s.LineProperties(3).PlotType = "stairs";

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

You also can access individual y-axes through the s.AxesProperties property.

s.AxesProperties

ans=3×1 object
  3x1 StackedAxesProperties array with properties:

    YLimits
    YScale
    LegendLabels
    LegendLocation
    LegendVisible

For example, change the y-limits of the first plot.

s.AxesProperties(1).YLimits = [46 54];

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Semilog Plot with Y-Axis Log Scale

Import data into a timetable. Then make a stacked plot. By default, all plots have linear scales on both their x- and y-axes.

tbl = readtimetable("outages.csv");
tbl = sortrows(tbl);
s = stackedplot(tbl)

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

s = 
  StackedLineChart with properties:

         SourceTable: [1468x5 timetable]
    DisplayVariables: {'Loss'  'Customers'  'RestorationTime'}
               Color: [0 0.4470 0.7410]
           LineStyle: '-'
           LineWidth: 0.5000
              Marker: 'none'
          MarkerSize: 6

  Show all properties

You can access properties of individual y-axes, such as their scales, through the s.AxesProperties property.

s.AxesProperties

ans=3×1 object
  3x1 StackedAxesProperties array with properties:

    YLimits
    YScale
    LegendLabels
    LegendLocation
    LegendVisible

To turn the first and second plots into semilog plots, with log scales on their y-axes, set their YScale properties to 'log'.

s.AxesProperties(1).YScale = 'log';
s.AxesProperties(2).YScale = 'log';

Figure contains an object of type stackedplot.

Input Arguments

`tbl` — Input table or timetable
table | timetable

Input table or timetable.

`vars` — Variables in input table or timetable
string array | numeric array | logical array | cell array

Variables in the input table, specified as a string array, numeric array, or logical array, or cell array.

If vars is a cell array, then it can be a cell array of character vectors (where each character vector names one variable), or it also can be a nested cell array (where each element of the cell array is an array that groups together multiple variables). For example, if vars = {'A','B','C'}, then variables A, B, and C are each plotted on their own y-axes. But if vars = {["A","B"],"C"}, then A and B are plotted together on one y-axis, and C is plotted on a second y-axis.

`xvar` — Table variable that contains x-values
string scalar | character vector | integer | logical array

Table variable that contains x-values, specified as a string scalar, character vector, integer, or logical array.

You can specify xvar only when the input argument tbl is a table, not a timetable.

`X` — x-values
numeric vector | datetime vector | duration vector | logical vector

x-values, specified as a numeric, datetime, duration, or logical vector. The length of X must equal the number of rows of Y.

`Y` — y-values
numeric array | datetime array | duration array | categorical array | logical array

y-values, specified as a numeric, datetime, duration, categorical, or logical array. The stackedplot function plots each column in a separate y-axis.

`LineSpec` — Line style, marker, and color
character vector | string

Line style, marker, and color, specified as a character vector or string containing symbols. The symbols can appear in any order. You do not need to specify all three characteristics (line style, marker, and color). For example, if you omit the line style and specify the marker, then the plot shows only the marker and no line.

Example: '--or' is a red dashed line with circle markers

Line Style	Description	Resulting Line
`'-'`	Solid line
`'--'`	Dashed line
`':'`	Dotted line
`'-.'`	Dash-dotted line

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
`'o'`	Circle
`'+'`	Plus sign
`'*'`	Asterisk
`'.'`	Point
`'x'`	Cross
`'_'`	Horizontal line
`'\|'`	Vertical line
`'s'`	Square
`'d'`	Diamond
`'^'`	Upward-pointing triangle
`'v'`	Downward-pointing triangle
`'>'`	Right-pointing triangle
`'<'`	Left-pointing triangle
`'p'`	Pentagram
`'h'`	Hexagram

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet
`'red'`	`'r'`	`[1 0 0]`
`'green'`	`'g'`	`[0 1 0]`
`'blue'`	`'b'`	`[0 0 1]`
`'cyan'`	`'c'`	`[0 1 1]`
`'magenta'`	`'m'`	`[1 0 1]`
`'yellow'`	`'y'`	`[1 1 0]`
`'black'`	`'k'`	`[0 0 0]`
`'white'`	`'w'`	`[1 1 1]`

`parent` — Parent container
`Figure` object | `Panel` object | `Tab` object | `TiledChartLayout` object | `GridLayout` object

Parent container, specified as a Figure, Panel, Tab, TiledChartLayout, or GridLayout object.

Name-Value 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: 'Marker','o','MarkerSize',10

The stacked chart line properties listed here are only a subset common to all stacked plots, whether the data source is a table or array. For a complete list, see StackedLineChart Properties.

`Color` — Line color
`[0 0.4470 0.7410]` (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | `'r'` | `'g'` | `'b'` | ...

Line color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, or one of the color options listed in the first table.

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 Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
`'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 applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

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

RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
`[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: 'blue'

Example: [0 0 1]

Example: '#0000FF'

`LineStyle` — Line style
`'-'` (default) | `'--'` | `':'` | `'-.'` | `'none'`

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

Line Style	Description	Resulting Line
`'-'`	Solid line
`'--'`	Dashed line
`':'`	Dotted line
`'-.'`	Dash-dotted line
`'none'`	No line	No line

`LineWidth` — Line width
`0.5` (default) | positive value

Line width, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch. If the line has markers, then the line width also affects the marker edges.

The line width cannot be thinner than the width of a pixel. If you set the line width to a value that is less than the width of a pixel on your system, the line displays as one pixel wide.

`Marker` — Marker symbol
`'none'` (default) | `'o'` | `'+'` | `'*'` | `'.'` | ...

Marker symbol, specified as one of the values listed in this table. By default, the object does not display markers. Specifying a marker symbol adds markers at each data point or vertex.

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
`'o'`	Circle
`'+'`	Plus sign
`'*'`	Asterisk
`'.'`	Point
`'x'`	Cross
`'_'`	Horizontal line
`'\|'`	Vertical line
`'s'`	Square
`'d'`	Diamond
`'^'`	Upward-pointing triangle
`'v'`	Downward-pointing triangle
`'>'`	Right-pointing triangle
`'<'`	Left-pointing triangle
`'p'`	Pentagram
`'h'`	Hexagram
`'none'`	No markers	Not applicable

`MarkerSize` — Marker size
`6` (default) | positive value

Marker size, specified as a positive value in points, where 1 point = 1/72 of an inch.

Output Arguments

`s` — Stacked line chart object
`StackedLineChart` object

StackedLineChart object, which is a standalone visualization. Use s to set properties on the stacked plot after creating it.

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