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Patch Properties

Patch appearance and behavior

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Patch properties control the appearance and behavior of Patch objects. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the patch. Use dot notation to query and set properties.

p = patch;
c = p.CData;
p.CDataMapping = 'scaled';

Color

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Face color, specified as 'interp', 'flat' an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

To create a different color for each face, specify the CData or FaceVertexCData property as an array containing one color per face or one color per vertex. The colors can be interpolated from the colors of the surrounding vertices of each face, or they can be uniform. For interpolated colors, specify this property as 'interp'. For uniform colors, specify this property as 'flat'. If you specify 'flat' and a different color for each vertex, the color of the first vertex you specify determines the face color.

To designate a single color for all of the faces, specify this property as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.

  • 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.

Color NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

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

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Edge colors, specified as one of the values in this table. The default edge color is black with a value of [0 0 0]. If multiple polygons share an edge, then the first polygon drawn controls the displayed edge color.

ValueDescriptionResult

RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, or color name

Single color for all of the edges. See the following table for more details.

Rectangular patch with red edges

'flat'

Different color for each edge. Use the vertex colors to set the color of the edge that follows it. You must first specify CData or FaceVertexCData as an array containing one color per vertex. The edge color depends on the order in which you specify the vertices.

Rectangular patch with a medium green upper-right vertex, a medium green top edge, a yellow upper-left vertex, a yellow left edge, a dark blue lower-left vertex, a dark blue lower edge, a light blue lower-right vertex, and a light blue right edge

'interp'

Interpolated edge color. You must first specify CData or FaceVertexCData as an array containing one color per vertex. Determine the edge color by linearly interpolating the values at the two bounding vertices.

Rectangular patch with interpolated edge colors. The top two vertices are medium green and yellow, respectively. The bottom two vertices are dark blue and light blue, respectively. The color of each edge is a gradient of the colors at the bounding vertices.

'none'No edges displayed.

No edges displayed.

RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes are useful for specifying custom colors.

  • 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 NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

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

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Patch color data, specified as a single color for the entire patch, one color per face, or one color per vertex.

The way the patch function interprets CData depends on the type of data supplied. Specify CData in one of these forms:

  • Numeric values that are scaled to map linearly into the current colormap.

  • Integer values that are used directly as indices into the current colormap.

  • Arrays of RGB triplets. RGB triplets are not mapped into the current colormap, but interpreted as the colors defined.

The following diagrams illustrate the dimensions of CData with respect to the arrays in the XData, YData, and ZData properties.

These diagrams illustrates the use of indexed color.

Relationship between CData as index numbers and XData, YData, and ZData of the patch. To set a single color for the patch, specify CData as a scalar index. To set one color per face, specify CData as a vector of indices. To set one color per vertex, specify CData as a matrix of indices.

These diagrams illustrates the use of true color. True color requires either a single RGB triplet or an array of RGB triplets.

Relationship between CData as RGB values and XData, YData, and ZData of the patch. Specify RGB triplets along the third dimension of a 3-D array. To set a single color for the patch, specify CData as a 1-by-1-by-3 array. To set one color for each of n faces, specify CData as 1-by-n-by-3 array. To set one color per vertex, specify CData as m-by-n-by-3 array, where m and n are the number of rows and columns of x, respectively.

If CData contains NaNs, then patch does not color the faces.

An alternative method for defining patches uses the Faces, Vertices, and FaceVertexCData properties.

Example: [1,0,0]

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

Control how the CData property is set, specified as one of these values:

  • "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of the CData property by using the SeriesIndex property of the Patch object and the ColorOrder property of the axes.

  • "manual" — You control the value of the CData property directly, or indirectly as a function argument when you create the Patch object.

If you change the value of the CData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the CDataMode property to "manual".

Since R2023b

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for matching the colors of graphics objects, such as text, plot lines, or other Patch objects.

When the SeriesIndex value is a number, MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for automatically assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. Any objects in the axes that have the same SeriesIndex number have the same color.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme.

How Manual Color Assignment Overrides SeriesIndex Behavior

One way to manually control the colors of patch faces is to set the FaceColor property of the Patch object to "flat", and then set the CData (or FaceVertexCData) property to a color value. The CData property stores color values for patches created with Cartesian coordinate data (x, y, z), and the FaceVertexCData property stores color values for patches created with face-vertex data. These properties are synchronized. If you change the value of one property, the other property updates to match the new value.

Manually controlling the color of patch edges works the same way. You set EdgeColor property to "flat", and then set the CData (or FaceVertexCData) property to a color value.

When you manually set the color of a Patch object, MATLAB disables automatic color selection for that object and allows your color to persist, regardless of the value of the SeriesIndex property. The mode properties, CDataMode and FaceVertexCDataMode, indicate whether the colors have been set manually (by you) or automatically. A value of "manual" indicates manual selection, and a value of "auto" indicates automatic selection. These mode properties are also synchronized. When one mode property changes, the other property changes to the same value.

Automatic color selection is disabled when you perform either of these actions:

  • Set the CData or FaceVertexCData to a color value manually.

  • Set the FaceColor or EdgeColor to a value other than "flat".

To enable automatic selection again, set the FaceColor, EdgeColor, or both properties to "flat". Set the CDataMode (or FaceVertexCDataMode) property to "auto", and set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number.

In some cases, MATLAB sets the SeriesIndex property to 0, which also disables automatic color selection.

Face and vertex colors, specified as a single color for the entire patch, one color per face, or one color per vertex for interpolated face color.

If you want to use indexed colors, then specify FaceVertexCData in one of these forms:

  • For one color for the entire patch, use a single value.

  • For one color per face, use an m-by-1 column vector, where m is the number of rows in the Faces property.

  • For interpolated face color, use an m-by–1 column vector where m is the number of rows in the Vertices property.

If you want to use true colors, then specify FaceVertexCData in one of these forms:

  • For one color for all the faces, specify a three-element row vector that defines an RGB triplet. When you do this, you must also set the FaceColor to 'flat' and the EdgeColor to a value other than 'flat' or 'interp'.

  • For one color per face, use an m-by-3 array of RGB triplets, where m is the number of rows in the Faces property.

  • For interpolated face color, use an m-by-3 array, where m is the number of rows in the Vertices property.

The following diagram illustrates the various forms of the FaceVertexCData property for a patch having eight faces and nine vertices. The CDataMapping property determines how MATLAB interprets the FaceVertexCData property when you specify indexed colors.

Different forms of the FaceVertexCData property, used to set a single color for the patch, one color per face, or one color per vertex, depending on whether you specify indexed or true-color values

Control how the FaceVertexCData property is set, specified as one of these values:

  • "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of the FaceVertexCData property by using the SeriesIndex property of the Patch object and the ColorOrder property of the axes..

  • "manual" — You control the value of the FaceVertexCData property directly, or indirectly as a function argument when you create the Patch object.

If you change the value of the FaceVertexCData property manually, MATLAB changes the value of the FaceVertexCDataMode property to "manual".

Direct or scaled color data mapping, specified as 'scaled' (the default) or 'direct'. The CData and FaceVertexCData properties contains color data. If you use true color specification for CData or FaceVertexCData, then this property has no effect.

  • 'direct' — Interpret the values as indices into the current colormap. Values with a decimal portion are fixed to the nearest lower integer.

    • If the values are of type double or single, then values of 1 or less map to the first color in the colormap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the colormap map to the last color in the colormap.

    • If the values are of type uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64 , int8, int16, int32, or int64, then values of 0 or less map to the first color in the colormap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the colormap map to the last color in the colormap (or up to the range limits of the type).

    • If the values are of type logical, then values of 0 map to the first color in the colormap and values of 1 map to the second color in the colormap.

  • 'scaled' — Scale the values to range between the minimum and maximum color limits. The CLim property of the axes contains the color limits.

Transparency

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Face transparency, specified as one of these values:

  • Scalar in range [0,1] — Use uniform transparency across all of the faces. A value of 1 is fully opaque and 0 is completely transparent. This option does not use the transparency values in the FaceVertexAlphaData property.

  • 'flat' — Use a different transparency for each face based on the values in the FaceVertexAlphaData property. First you must specify the FaceVertexAlphaData property as a vector containing one transparency value per face or vertex. The transparency value at the first vertex determines the transparency for the entire face.

  • 'interp' — Use interpolated transparency for each face based on the values in FaceVertexAlphaData property. First you must specify the FaceVertexAlphaData property as a vector containing one transparency value per vertex. The transparency varies across each face by interpolating the values at the vertices.

Edge line transparency, specified as one of these values:

  • Scalar value in range [0,1] — Use uniform transparency across all of the edges. A value of 1 is fully opaque and 0 is completely transparent. This option does not use the transparency values in the FaceVertexAlphaData property.

  • 'flat' — Use a different transparency for each edge based on the values in the FaceVertexAlphaData property. First you must specify the FaceVertexAlphaData property as a vector containing one transparency value per face or vertex. The transparency value at the first vertex determines the transparency for the edge.

  • 'interp' — Use interpolated transparency for each edge based on the values in FaceVertexAlphaData property. First you must specify the FaceVertexAlphaData property as a vector containing one transparency value per vertex. Vary the transparency across each edge by interpolating the values at the vertices.

Face and vertex transparency values, specified as a scalar, a vector with one value per face, or a vector with one value per vertex.

  • For uniform transparency across all of the faces or edges, specify a scalar value. Then, set the FaceAlpha or EdgeAlpha property to 'flat'.

  • For a different transparency for each face or edge, specify an m-by-1 vector, where m is the number of faces. Then, set the FaceAlpha or EdgeAlpha property to 'flat'. To determine the number of faces, query the number of rows in the Faces property.

  • For interpolated transparency across each face or edge, specify an n-by-1 vector, where n is the number of vertices. Then, set the FaceAlpha or EdgeAlpha property to 'interp'. To determine the number of vertices, query the number of rows in the Vertices property.

The AlphaDataMapping property determines how the patch interprets the FaceVertexAlphaData property values.

Note

If the FaceAlpha and EdgeAlpha properties are both set to scalar values, then the patch does not use the FaceVertexAlphaData values.

Interpretation of FaceVertexAlphaData values, specified as one of these values:

  • 'none' — Interpret the values as transparency values. A value of 1 or greater is completely opaque, a value of 0 or less is completely transparent, and a value between 0 and 1 is semitransparent.

  • 'scaled' — Map the values into the figure’s alphamap. The minimum and maximum alpha limits of the axes determine the alpha data values that map to the first and last elements in the alphamap, respectively. For example, if the alpha limits are [3 5], then alpha data values less than or equal to 3 map to the first element in the alphamap. Alpha data values greater than or equal to 5 map to the last element in the alphamap. The ALim property of the axes contains the alpha limits. The Alphamap property of the figure contains the alphamap.

  • 'direct' — Interpret the values as indices into the figure’s alphamap. Values with a decimal portion are fixed to the nearest lower integer.

    • If the values are of type double or single, then values of 1 or less map to the first element in the alphamap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the alphamap map to the last element in the alphamap.

    • If the values are of integer type, then values of 0 or less map to the first element in the alphamap. Values equal to or greater than the length of the alphamap map to the last element in the alphamap (or up to the range limits of the type). The integer types are uint8, uint16, uint32, uint64 , int8, int16, int32, and int64.

    • If the values are of type logical, then values of 0 map to the first element in the alphamap and values of 1 map to the second element in the alphamap.

Line Styling

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

Line StyleDescriptionResulting Line
"-"Solid line

Sample of solid line

"--"Dashed line

Sample of dashed line

":"Dotted line

Sample of dotted line

"-."Dash-dotted line

Sample of dash-dotted line, with alternating dashes and dots

"none"No lineNo line

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.

Style of line corners, specified as 'round', 'miter', or 'chamfer'. This table illustrates the appearance of the different values.

'round''miter''chamfer'

Sample of a round corner

Sample of a miter corner

Sample of a chamfer corner

The appearance of the 'round' option might look different if the Renderer property of the figure is set to 'opengl' instead of 'painters'.

Sharp vertical and horizontal lines, 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.

ValueDescriptionAppearance
'on'

Sharpen vertical and horizontal lines to eliminate an uneven appearance.

Four vertical lines that are sharp

'off'

Do not sharpen vertical or horizontal lines. The lines might appear uneven in thickness or color.

Four vertical lines that are uneven in thickness. Some of the lines are blurry.

If the associated figure has a GraphicsSmoothing property set to 'on' and a Renderer property set to 'opengl', then the figure applies a smoothing technique to plots. In some cases, this smoothing technique can cause vertical and horizontal lines to appear uneven in thickness or color. Use the AlignVertexCenters property to eliminate the uneven appearance.

Note

You must have a graphics card that supports this feature. To see if the feature is supported, call the rendererinfo function. If it is supported, rendererinfo returns value of 1 for info.Details.SupportsAlignVertexCenters.

Markers

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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.

MarkerDescriptionResulting Marker
"o"Circle

Sample of circle marker

"+"Plus sign

Sample of plus sign marker

"*"Asterisk

Sample of asterisk marker

"."Point

Sample of point marker

"x"Cross

Sample of cross marker

"_"Horizontal line

Sample of horizontal line marker

"|"Vertical line

Sample of vertical line marker

"square"Square

Sample of square marker

"diamond"Diamond

Sample of diamond marker

"^"Upward-pointing triangle

Sample of upward-pointing triangle marker

"v"Downward-pointing triangle

Sample of downward-pointing triangle marker

">"Right-pointing triangle

Sample of right-pointing triangle marker

"<"Left-pointing triangle

Sample of left-pointing triangle marker

"pentagram"Pentagram

Sample of pentagram marker

"hexagram"Hexagram

Sample of hexagram marker

"none"No markersNot applicable

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

Marker outline color, specified as 'auto', 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The 'auto' option uses the same color as the EdgeColor property. The 'flat' option uses the CData value at the vertex to set the color.

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 string scalar or character vector 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. Therefore, 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 NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

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

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

Marker fill color, specified as 'auto', 'flat', an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name. The 'auto' option uses the same color as the Color property for the axes. The 'flat' option uses the CData value of the vertex to set the color.

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 string scalar or character vector 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. Therefore, 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 NameShort NameRGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
"red""r"[1 0 0]"#FF0000"

Sample of the color red

"green""g"[0 1 0]"#00FF00"

Sample of the color green

"blue""b"[0 0 1]"#0000FF"

Sample of the color blue

"cyan" "c"[0 1 1]"#00FFFF"

Sample of the color cyan

"magenta""m"[1 0 1]"#FF00FF"

Sample of the color magenta

"yellow""y"[1 1 0]"#FFFF00"

Sample of the color yellow

"black""k"[0 0 0]"#000000"

Sample of the color black

"white""w"[1 1 1]"#FFFFFF"

Sample of the color white

"none"Not applicableNot applicableNot applicableNo color

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

RGB TripletHexadecimal Color CodeAppearance
[0 0.4470 0.7410]"#0072BD"

Sample of RGB triplet [0 0.4470 0.7410], which appears as dark blue

[0.8500 0.3250 0.0980]"#D95319"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.8500 0.3250 0.0980], which appears as dark orange

[0.9290 0.6940 0.1250]"#EDB120"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.9290 0.6940 0.1250], which appears as dark yellow

[0.4940 0.1840 0.5560]"#7E2F8E"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4940 0.1840 0.5560], which appears as dark purple

[0.4660 0.6740 0.1880]"#77AC30"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.4660 0.6740 0.1880], which appears as medium green

[0.3010 0.7450 0.9330]"#4DBEEE"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.3010 0.7450 0.9330], which appears as light blue

[0.6350 0.0780 0.1840]"#A2142F"

Sample of RGB triplet [0.6350 0.0780 0.1840], which appears as dark red

This property affects only the circle, square, diamond, pentagram, hexagram, and the four triangle marker types.

Example: [0.3 0.2 0.1]

Example: 'green'

Example: '#D2F9A7'

Data

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Vertex connection defining each face, specified as a vector or a matrix defining the vertices in the Vertices property that are to be connected to form each face. The Faces and Vertices properties provide an alternative way to specify a patch that can be more efficient than using XData, YData, and ZData coordinates in most cases.

Each row in the faces array designates the connections for a single face, and the number of elements in that row that are not NaN defines the number of vertices for that face. Therefore, an m-by-n Faces array defines m faces with up to n vertices each.

For example, consider the following patch. It is composed of eight triangular faces defined by nine vertices. The corresponding Faces and Vertices properties are shown to the right of the patch. Note how some faces share vertices with other faces. For example, the fifth vertex (V5) is used six times, once each by faces one, two, three, six, seven, and eight. Without sharing vertices, this same patch requires 24 vertex definitions.

Patch with eight faces and nine vertices with corresponding Faces and Vertices properties

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

Vertex coordinates, specified as a vector or a matrix defining the (x,y,z) coordinates of each vertex. The Faces and Vertices properties provide an alternative way to specify a patch that can be more efficient than using XData, YData, and ZData coordinates in most cases. See the Faces property for a description of how the vertex data is used.

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

The x-coordinates of the patch vertices, specified as a vector or a matrix. If XData is a matrix, then each column represents the x-coordinates of a single face of the patch. In this case, XData, YData, and ZData must have the same dimensions.

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

The y-coordinates defining the patch, specified as a vector or a matrix. If YData is a matrix, then each column represents the y-coordinates of a single face of the patch. In this case, XData, YData, and ZData must have the same dimensions.

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

The z-coordinates of the patch vertices, specified as a vector or a matrix. If ZData is a matrix, then each column represents the z-coordinates of a single face of the patch. In this case, XData, YData, and ZData must have the same dimensions.

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

Normals

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Vertex normal vectors, specified as an array of normal vectors with one normal vector one per patch vertex. Define one normal per patch vertex, as determined by the size of the Vertices property value. Vertex normals determine the shape and orientation of the patch. This data is used for lighting calculations.

Specifying values for this property sets the associated mode to manual. If you do not specify normal vectors, then the patch generates this data when the axes contains light objects.

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

Selection mode for VertexNormals, specified as one of these values:

  • 'auto' — The patch function calculates vertex normals when you add a light to the scene.

  • 'manual' — Use the vertex normal data specified by the VertexNormals property. Assigning values to the VertexNormals property sets VertexNormalsMode to 'manual'.

Face normal vectors, specified as an array of normal vectors with one normal vector one per patch face. Define one normal per patch face, as determined by the size of the Faces property value. Face normals determine the orientation of each patch face. This data is used for lighting calculations.

Specifying values for this property sets the associated mode to manual. If you do not specify normal vectors, then the patch generates this data when the axes contains light objects. The patch computes face normals using Newell’s method.

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

Selection mode for FaceNormals, specified as one of these values:

  • 'auto' — The patch function calculates face normals when you add a light to the scene.

  • 'manual' — Use the face normal data specified by the FaceNormals property. Assigning values to the FaceNormals property sets FaceNormalsMode to 'manual'.

Lighting

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Effect of light objects on faces, specified as one of these values:

  • 'flat' — Apply light uniformly across each face. Use this value to view faceted objects.

  • 'gouraud' — Vary the light across the faces. Calculate the light at the vertices and then linearly interpolate the light across the faces. Use this value to view curved surfaces.

  • 'none' — Do not apply light from light objects to the faces.

To add a light object to the axes, use the light function.

Note

The 'phong' value has been removed. Use 'gouraud' instead.

Face lighting when the vertex normals point away from camera, specified as one of these values:

  • 'reverselit' — Light the face as if the vertex normal pointed towards the camera.

  • 'unlit' — Do not light the face.

  • 'lit' — Light the face according to the vertex normal.

Use this property to discriminate between the internal and external surfaces of an object. For an example, see Back Face Lighting.

Effect of light objects on edges, specified as one of these values:

  • 'flat' — Apply light uniformly across the each edges.

  • 'none' — Do not apply lights from light objects to the edges.

  • 'gouraud' — Calculate the light at the vertices, and then linearly interpolate across the edges.

Note

The 'phong' value has been removed. Use 'gouraud' instead.

Strength of ambient light, specified as a scalar value in the range [0,1]. Ambient light is a nondirectional light that illuminates the entire scene. There must be at least one visible light object in the axes for the ambient light to be visible.

The AmbientLightColor property for the axes sets the color of the ambient light. The color is the same for all objects in the axes.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: double

Strength of diffuse light, specified as a scalar value in the range [0,1]. Diffuse light is the nonspecular reflectance from light objects in the axes.

Example: 0.3

Data Types: double

Strength of specular reflection, specified as a scalar value in the range [0,1]. Specular reflections are the bright spots on the surface from light objects in the axes.

Example: 0.3

Data Types: double

Expansiveness of specular reflection, specified as a scalar value greater than 0. SpecularExponent controls the size of the specular reflection spot. Greater values produce less specular reflection.

Most materials have exponents in the range of 5 to 20.

Example: 17

Data Types: double

Color of specular reflections, specified as a scalar between 0 and 1 inclusive.

  • 0 — The color of the specular reflection depends on both the color of the object from which it reflects and the color of the light source.

  • 1 — The color of the specular reflection depends only on the color or the light source (that is, the light object Color property).

The contributions from the light source color and the patch color to the specular reflection color vary linearly for values between 0 and 1.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

Legend

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Legend label, specified as a character vector or string scalar. The legend does not display until you call the legend command. If you do not specify the text, then legend sets the label using the form 'dataN'.

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 Patch 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

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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.

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.

This property applies only to patches with pinned data tips.

Note

The DataTipTemplate object is not returned by findobj or findall, and it is not copied by copyobj.

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.

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.

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'.

Clipping of the object to the axes limits, 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.

  • A value of 'on' clips parts of the object that are outside the axes limits.

  • A value of 'off' displays the entire object, even if parts of it appear outside the axes limits. Parts of the object might appear outside the axes limits if you create a plot, set hold on, freeze the axis scaling, and then create the object so that it is larger than the original plot.

The Clipping property of the axes that contains the object must be set to 'on'. Otherwise, this property has no effect. For more information about the clipping behavior, see the Clipping property of the axes.

Callbacks

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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.

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.

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

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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.

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.

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

  • 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the Patch object that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. If the plot contains markers, then the entire marker is clickable if either the edge or the fill has a defined color. The HitTest property determines if the Patch object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

  • 'all' — Capture mouse clicks regardless of visibility. The Visible property can be set to 'on' or 'off' and you can click a part of the Patch object that has no color. The HitTest property determines if the Patch object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

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 Patch object. If you have defined the ContextMenu property, then invoke the context menu.

  • 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the Patch 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 Patch object can capture mouse clicks. If it cannot, then the HitTest property has no effect.

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

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Parent, specified as an Axes, Group, or Transform object.

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.

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

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This property is read-only.

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

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.

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 before R2006a

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See Also

Topics