Vertical line with constant x-value
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Syntax
xline(x)
xline(x,LineSpec)
xline(x,LineSpec,labels)
xline(___,Name,Value)
xline(ax,___)
xl = xline(___)
Description
example
xline(x) creates a vertical line at one or more x-coordinates in the current axes. For example, xline(2) creates a line at x=2.
example
xline(x,LineSpec) specifies the line style, the line color, or both. For example, xline([12 20 33],'--b') creates three dashed blue lines.
example
xline(x,LineSpec,labels) adds labels to the lines.
example
xline(___,Name,Value) specifies constant line properties using one or more name-value pair arguments. For a list of properties, see ConstantLine Properties. Specify name-value pairs after all other input arguments.
example
xline(ax,___) creates the lines in the specified axes instead of the current axes.
example
xl = xline(___) returns a ConstantLine object or an array of ConstantLine objects. Use xl to modify or query properties of the line after it is created.
Examples
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Create Vertical Line
Open Live Script
Create a vertical line at x = 3.
xline(3);
Add a Label
To create a line with a label, you must also specify the line style. The default line style is a solid line, '-'.
x = linspace(0,6,100);y = exp(x);plot(x,y)xline(4.5,'-',{'Acceptable','Limit'});
Create Multiple Lines with Labels
Open Live Script
Create a vector of normally distributed random numbers and display them in a histogram. Then create three vertical lines with labels at the average value, one standard deviation below the average, and one standard deviation above the average.
data = 5 * randn(1,500) + 20;histogram(data,'FaceAlpha',0.1,'EdgeAlpha',0.1);m = mean(data);s = std(data);xline([m-s m m+s],'-',{'-1 Standard Dev.','Average','+1 Standard Dev.'})
Specify Line Style and Color
Open Live Script
Create a red dashed line at x = 5.
xline(5,'--r');
Add Legend and Specify Label Alignment
Open Live Script
Create a vertical dash-dot line with both a label and a display name for a legend.
y = [3187 2693 1771 1826 1958 3222 1645];barh(y,'DisplayName','Daily Sales')xl = xline(2328,'-.','Average','DisplayName','Average Sales');
Adjust the vertical and horizontal alignment of the label, then display the legend.
xl.LabelVerticalAlignment = 'middle';xl.LabelHorizontalAlignment = 'center';legend('show');
Add Lines to Different Axes
Open Live Script
Call the tiledlayout function to create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout. Call the nexttile function to create the axes objects ax1 and ax2. Then plot into each of the axes. Add a dotted vertical line and label to each plot by passing the axes to the xline function.
tiledlayout(2,1)ax1 =nexttile;x = linspace(0,10,200);y1 = cos(x); plot(ax1,x,y1)ax2 = nexttile;y2 = sin(x); plot(ax2,x,y2)xline(ax1,pi/2,':','cos(\pi/2)=0');xline(ax2,pi,':','sin(\pi)=0');
Input Arguments
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x — x-coordinates
scalar | vector
x-coordinates, specified as a scalar or a vector containing numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. The data type of x must match the data type of the x-axis.
Example: xline(10) displays a line at x=10.
Example: xline([13 20 33]) displays lines at x=13, x=20, and x=33.
Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | logical | categorical | datetime | duration
LineSpec — Line style and color
character vector | string scalar
Line style and color, specified as a character vector or string scalar containing characters and symbols. The characters and symbols can appear in any order. You can specify the line style, line color, or both. Marker symbols such as 'o' are ignored.
Example: '--g' is a green dashed line.
| Line Style | Description | Resulting Line |
|---|---|---|
"-" | Solid line |
|
"--" | Dashed line |
|
":" | Dotted line |
|
"-." | Dash-dotted line |
|
| Color Name | Short Name | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
'red' | 'r' |
|
'green' | 'g' |
|
'blue' | 'b' |
|
'cyan' | 'c' |
|
'magenta' | 'm' |
|
'yellow' | 'y' |
|
'black' | 'k' |
|
'white' | 'w' |
|
ax — Target axes
Axes object
Target axes, specified as an Axes object. Use this argument if you want xline to plot in axes other than the current axes.
labels — Line labels
'' (default) | character vector | string scalar | cell array of character vectors | string array
Line labels, specified as a character vector, string scalar, cell array of character vectors, or string array.
Create a Label for One Line
Specify a character vector or a string scalar to display one line of text. To display multiple lines of text, specify a cell array of character vectors or a string array.
| Presentation | How to Specify labels | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One line of text | Specify a character vector or a string scalar. | xline(12,'-','Sample')
|
| Multiline text | Specify a cell array of character vectors or a string array. Each element in the array is a different line of text. | xline(12,'-',{'Sample','x=12'})
|
Create Labels for Multiple Lines
Specify a character vector or a string scalar to display the same label next to all the lines. Specify a cell array of character vectors or a string array to display different labels for each line.
| Presentation | How to Specify labels | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One shared text label | Specify a character vector or a string scalar. | xline([13 20 33],'-','Sample')
|
| Different labels for each line | Specify a cell array of character vectors or a string array. Each element in the array is a label for a different line. The number of elements in the labels array must match the length of x. | label = {'Sample 1','Sample 2','Sample 3'};xline([13 20 33],'-',label)
|
| Different labels with some multiline labels | Create a cell array of character vectors or a string array. Use the sprintf function to insert newline characters ('\n') in the text. | label = {'Sample 1',sprintf('Sample 2\nx=20'),'Sample 3'};xline([13 20 33],'-',label)
|
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: xline(5,'LabelVerticalAlignment','middle') specifies the vertical alignment of the label as 'middle'.
Note
The properties listed here are only a subset. For a complete list, see ConstantLine Properties.
Color — Line color
[0.15 0.15 0.15] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | 'r' | 'g' | 'b' | ...
Line color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short name.
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 from0toF. 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 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: 'g'
Example: [0.6 0.2 0.5]
Example: '#D2F9A7'
LineWidth — Line width
0.5 (default) | positive value
Line width, specified as a positive value in points.
LabelHorizontalAlignment — Horizontal alignment of label
'right' (default) | 'left' | 'center'
Horizontal alignment of the label with respect to the line, specified as one of the options in the table.
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
'right' | Right side of the line. |
|
'left' | Left side of the line. |
|
'center' | Center of the line. The label segments the line. |
|
LabelVerticalAlignment — Vertical alignment of label
'top' (default) | 'middle' | 'bottom'
Vertical alignment of the label with respect to the line, specified as one of the options in the table.
| Option | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
'top' | Top of the line |
|
'middle' | Middle of the line |
|
'bottom' | Bottom of the line |
|
LabelOrientation — Label orientation
'aligned' (default) | 'horizontal'
Label orientation, specified as 'aligned' or 'horizontal'. Examples are shown in the table.
| Orientation | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
'aligned' | Label has the same orientation as the line. |
|
'horizontal' | Label is horizontal, regardless of the line orientation. |
|
Algorithms
In a 3-D view of the axes, the constant line appears in the x-y plane at the midpoint of the z-axis limits. If the axes are rotated, then the constant line rotates accordingly.
Version History
Introduced in R2018b
See Also
Functions
- yline | xregion | yregion
Properties
- ConstantLine Properties
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