Multiplot

Next: Mx2tics Up: Set-show Previous: X11 mouse Contents Index

Multiplot

The command set multiplot places gnuplot in the multiplot mode, in which several plots are placed on the same page, window, or screen.

Syntax:

     set multiplot { layout <rows>,<cols>
                     {rowsfirst|columnsfirst} {downwards|upwards}
                     {title <page title>}
                     {scale <xscale>{,<yscale>}} {offset <xoff>{,<yoff>}}
                   }
     unset multiplot

For some terminals, no plot is displayed until the command unset multiplot is given, which causes the entire page to be drawn and then returns gnuplot to its normal single-plot mode. For other terminals, each separate plot command produces an updated display, either by redrawing all previous ones and the newly added plot, or by just adding the new plot to the existing display.

The area to be used by the next plot is not erased before doing the new plot. The clear command can be used to do this if wanted, as is typically the case for "inset" plots.

Any labels or arrows that have been defined will be drawn for each plot according to the current size and origin (unless their coordinates are defined in the screen system). Just about everything else that can be set is applied to each plot, too. If you want something to appear only once on the page, for instance a single time stamp, you'll need to put a set time/unset time pair around one of the plot, splot or replot commands within the set multiplot/unset multiplot block.

The multiplot title is distinct from the individual plot titles, if any. Space is reserved for it at the top of the page, spanning the full width of the canvas.

The commands set origin and set size must be used to correctly position each plot if no layout is specified or if fine tuning is desired. See set origin (p. ) and set size (p. ) for details of their usage.

Example:

     set multiplot
     set size 0.4,0.4
     set origin 0.1,0.1
     plot sin(x)
     set size 0.2,0.2
     set origin 0.5,0.5
     plot cos(x)
     unset multiplot

This displays a plot of cos(x) stacked above a plot of sin(x).

set size and set origin refer to the entire plotting area used for each plot. Please also see set term size (p. ). If you want to have the axes themselves line up, you can guarantee that the margins are the same size with the set margin commands. See set margin (p. ) for their use. Note that the margin settings are absolute, in character units, so the appearance of the graph in the remaining space will depend on the screen size of the display device, e.g., perhaps quite different on a video display and a printer.

With the layout option you can generate simple multiplots without having to give the set size and set origin commands before each plot: Those are generated automatically, but can be overridden at any time. With layout the display will be divided by a grid with 5#5rows6#6 rows and 5#5cols6#6 columns. This grid is filled rows first or columns first depending on whether the corresponding option is given in the multiplot command. The stack of plots can grow downwards or upwards. Default is rowsfirst and downwards.

Each plot can be scaled by scale and shifted with offset; if the y-values for scale or offset are omitted, the x-value will be used. unset multiplot will turn off the automatic layout and restore the values of set size and set origin as they were before set multiplot layout.

Example:

     set size 1,1
     set origin 0,0
     set multiplot layout 3,2 columnsfirst scale 1.1,0.9
     [ up to 6 plot commands here ]
     unset multiplot

The above example will produce 6 plots in 2 columns filled top to bottom, left to right. Each plot will have a horizontal size of 1.1/2 and a vertical size of 0.9/3.