Posts: 28
Threads: 10
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
I am working on a project that requires generating multiple individual plots within a single figure. The challenge is that I need to place legends outside the plot area without shrinking the axes, as that distorts the scale and appearance of my graphs. I've attempted to use `bbox_to_anchor` for relocating the legend, but then it scales down the axes which is not what I want. To demonstrate, here's a simplified version of what I'm doing with just two plots:
Code: # Plot 1
plt.figure(figsize = (10, 5))
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [2, 4, 1], label = 'Line A')
plt.legend(loc = 'upper left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 1))
plt.title('Plot 1')
# Plot 2
plt.figure(figsize = (10, 5))
plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [3, 1, 4], label = 'Line B')
plt.legend(loc = 'upper left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 1))
plt.title('Plot 2')
plt.show()
When I use `bbox_to_anchor`, it inevitably shrinks the plot to fit the legend. But I want to keep the axes fixed. Is there a way to keep the figure size the same and ensure the legend is placed outside the plot area without affecting the plot sizes?
Posts: 24
Threads: 8
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
Have you tried adjusting the subplots parameters? `plt.subplots_adjust` can help you manually set the spacing for the subplots, which might give you the extra room you need for the legends without shrinking the plot itself.
Posts: 26
Threads: 11
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
I'm not sure if I get it, can you provide a code example to clarify what you mean by using `plt.subplots_adjust` in this context?
Posts: 24
Threads: 8
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
Sure, the idea is to adjust the margins of your plots to make space for the legend. Here's a quick example using `plt.subplots_adjust`:
Code: plt.plot([1, 2, 3], [2, 4, 1], label = 'Line A')
plt.legend(loc = 'center left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 0.5))
plt.show()
This should create space for the legend outside the plot without shrinking the actual axes. You'll need to apply the same principle to each of your plots.
Posts: 40
Threads: 12
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
I just tried the approach, but it doesn't seem to be the right solution for multiple figures instead of subplots within one figure. The `subplots_adjust` does not apply to individual figures. I need a method to consistently arrange these legends for all 20 plots in a single figure. Any more ideas?
Posts: 24
Threads: 8
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
My apologies for the confusion. For individual figures, you might want to look into using `GridSpec` for more advanced layout options which can give you more control over individual axes and their respective positioning within a figure.
Posts: 28
Threads: 10
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
Could someone provide an example using `GridSpec` or any other suggestion that could resolve this issue specifically for multiple figures? Each figure must have its axes unaltered, regardless of the legend placement.
Posts: 26
Threads: 11
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
I did some digging and I think `fig.add_subplot` in a loop with `GridSpec` could be a neat way to handle your issue. Here's a basic example that lays out two plots with legends outside their axes:
Code: ax1 = fig.add_subplot(gs[0, 0])
ax1.plot([1, 2, 3], [2, 4, 1], label = 'Line A')
ax1.legend(loc = 'upper left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 1))
ax1.set_title('Plot 1')
ax2 = fig.add_subplot(gs[1, 0])
ax2.plot([1, 2, 3], [3, 1, 4], label = 'Line B')
ax2.legend(loc = 'upper left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 1))
ax2.set_title('Plot 2')
plt.show()
You'll need to expand this concept to accommodate all 20 plots. Adjust the `GridSpec` parameters to fit all your plots and their respective legends.
Posts: 28
Threads: 10
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
Thanks for the suggestion. However, I need a more scalable solution for 20 plots. Manually adjusting GridSpec for so many plots could be impractical.
Posts: 24
Threads: 8
Joined: Dec 2023
Reputation:
0
I understand your point. An alternative approach might be to work with `Figure` sizes and create axes manually to control their position. This way you can allocate a fixed size to each plot and then position the legend outside of it. Here's an improved solution that could fit your case:
Code: fig, axes = plt.subplots(4, 5, figsize = (20, 10))
for i, ax in enumerate(axes.flatten()):
# Plot data
ax.plot([1, 2, 3], [i + 1, i + 2, i * 0.5], label = f 'Line {i}')
# Position the legend to the right of each ax
ax.legend(loc = 'center left', bbox_to_anchor = (1, 0.5))
ax.set_title(f 'Plot {i+1}')
# Adjust layout to prevent overlapping
plt.tight_layout()
plt.subplots_adjust(right = 0.85)
plt.show()
This should generate 20 plots with legends outside their axes, while keeping the axes size intact. Adjust `tight_layout` and `subplots_adjust` to make sure everything fits well. To apply this on an individual figure basis, you could create a figure per plot and repeat the positioning logic for each.
|
