stackedplot

Stacked plot of several variables with common x-axis

• 

Syntax

stackedplot(tbl)

stackedplot(tbl,vars)

stackedplot(___,'XVariable',xvar)

stackedplot(X,Y)

stackedplot(Y)

stackedplot(___,LineSpec)

stackedplot(___,Name,Value)

stackedplot(parent,___)

s = stackedplot(___)

Description

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)

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"])

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"])

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)

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)

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)

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)

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;

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";

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];

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)

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';

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	Appearance
'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 pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

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.

More About

Standalone Visualization

A standalone visualization is a chart designed for a special purpose that works independently from other charts. Unlike other charts such as plot and surf, a standalone visualization has a preconfigured axes object built into it, and some customizations are not available. A standalone visualization also has these characteristics:

• It cannot be combined with other graphics elements, such as lines, patches, or surfaces. Thus, the hold command is not supported.

• The gca function can return the chart object as the current axes.

• You can pass the chart object to many MATLAB functions that accept an axes object as an input argument. For example, you can pass the chart object to the title function.

Tips

• To interactively explore the data in your stacked plot, use these features.

  • Zoom — Use the scroll wheel to zoom.

  • Pan — Click and drag the stacked plot to pan across the x-values.

  • Data cursor — Hover over a location to display y-values for each plot.

Version History

Introduced in R2018b

R2022a: R2022a: Plot a variable multiple times in a stacked plot

Behavior changed in R2022a

Starting in R2022a, you can display the same table or timetable variable multiple times in a stacked plot. In previous releases, specifying a variable more than once results in an error.

For example, create a timetable from the outages.csv file. Then plot the RestorationTime variable under each of the other variables you specify.

tbl = readtimetable("outages.csv");
tbl = sortrows(tbl);
stackedplot(tbl,["Loss","RestorationTime","Customers","RestorationTime"])