tightPosition

Position of axes plotting area

Since R2022b

Syntax

pos = tightPosition(ax)

pos = tightPosition(ax,IncludeLabels=true)

Description

pos = tightPosition(ax) returns the position of the rectangle that circumscribes the plotting area of the axes ax. The result is a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height] that describes the position and size of the rectangle in the units specified in the Units property of the axes object. By default, the units are normalized values between 0 and 1.

pos = tightPosition(ax,IncludeLabels=true) returns the position of the rectangle that surrounds the title, subtitle, tick labels, and axis labels. If any of the labels are close to the edge of the figure, the position rectangle might fall outside the bounds of the figure.

Examples

Axes with Nondefault Aspect Ratio and Scale

Plot a spiral. Use the axis function to adjust the plot box so that the x- and y-scales are equal and so that the plot box surrounds the spiral tightly.

t = linspace(0,10,100);
ax = axes;
plot(t.*sin(t),t.*cos(t))
axis equal tight

Get the position vector, and use that vector to draw a red rectangle that circumscribes the plotting area. For Cartesian axes, the plotting area is the area inside the plot box. This rectangle is coincident with the plot box.

pos = tightPosition(ax);
annotation("rectangle",pos,Color="red",LineWidth=2)

Get the position vector that includes the axis tick labels, and use that vector to draw a blue rectangle around the plot box and the tick labels.

poslab = tightPosition(ax,IncludeLabels=true);
annotation("rectangle",poslab,Color="blue",LineWidth=2)

Axes with Image Aspect Ratio

Load the mri data set and display the MRI image stored in the D variable. Use the axis function to preserve the aspect ratio of the image.

figure
ax = axes;
load mri
image(D(:,:,10))
axis image

Get the position vector, and use that vector to draw a red rectangle that circumscribes the plotting (image) area. For Cartesian axes, the plotting area is the area inside the plot box. This rectangle is coincident with the plot box.

pos = tightPosition(ax);
annotation("rectangle",pos,Color="red",LineWidth=2)

Get the position vector that includes the axis tick labels, and use that vector to draw a blue rectangle around the plot box and the tick labels.

poslab = tightPosition(ax,IncludeLabels=true);
annotation("rectangle",poslab,Color="blue",LineWidth=2)

Input Arguments

ax — Axes object

Axes object | PolarAxes object | GeographicAxes object

Axes object, specified as an Axes, PolarAxes, or GeographicAxes object.

Output Arguments

pos — Position vector

four-element vector

Position vector, returned as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height].

This vector specifies the position and size of the circumscribing rectangle in the units specified by the Units property of the axes object. By default, the units are normalized values between 0 and 1.

• The left value is the distance between the left edge of the parent container and the left edge of the rectangle. The parent container is typically a figure, panel, or tab.

• The bottom value is the distance between the bottom edge of the parent container and the bottom edge of the rectangle.

• The width and height values define the width and height of the rectangle.

Version History

Introduced in R2022b