clabelm

Add contour labels to map contour display

Syntax

clabelm(C)

clabelm(C,h)

clabelm(C,v)

clabelm(C,h,v)

clabelm(___,Name,Value)

clabelm(C,'manual')

clabelm(C,h,'manual')

text_handles = clabel(___)

Description

clabelm(C) labels all contours displayed in the current contour plot. Labels are upright and displayed with '+' symbols. clabelm randomly selects label positions.

clabelm(C,h) rotates the labels and inserts them in the contour lines. This syntax inserts only those labels that fit within the contour, depending on the size of the contour.

clabelm(C,v) labels only the contour levels specified by the vector, v.

clabelm(C,h,v) labels only the contour levels specified by vector v, rotates the labels, and inserts them in the contour lines.

clabelm(___,Name,Value) specifies the text object properties and the 'LabelSpacing' contour group property, using one or more Name,Value pair arguments, in addition to any of the input arguments in previous syntaxes.

clabelm(C,'manual') places contour labels at locations you select with a mouse. Click the mouse or press the space bar to label the contour closest to the center of the crosshair. Press the Return key while the cursor is within the figure window to terminate labeling.

clabelm(C,h,'manual') places contour labels at locations you select with a mouse. Press the Return key while the cursor is within the figure window to terminate labeling. The labels are rotated and inserted in the contour lines.

text_handles = clabel(___) additionally returns an array containing the handles of the text objects created, using any of the input arguments in the previous syntaxes. If you call clabel without the h argument, text_handles also contains the handles of line objects used to create the '+' symbols.

Input Arguments

C — Contour matrix

2-by-n matrix

Contour matrix containing the data that defines the contour lines. C is returned by the contourm, contourfm, or contour3m functions.

h — Handle to the contour group object

Handle to the contour group object returned by the contourm, contourfm, or contour3m functions.

v — Contour level values

vector

Contour level values, specified as a row or column vector of individual values.

Example: [0,10,20]

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.

LabelSpacing — Spacing between labels

144 (default) | scalar

Spacing between labels on each contour line, specified as the comma-separated pair consisting of 'LabelSpacing' and a scalar. Specify the label spacing in points, where 1 point = ¹/₇₂ inch.

Example: 'LabelSpacing',72

Output Arguments

text_handles — Handles of text objects

Handles of the text objects that clabelm creates. The UserData properties of the text objects contain the contour values displayed.

If you call clabelm without the h argument, text_handles also contains the handles of line objects used to create the '+' symbols.

Examples

Add Labels to Contour Plot

Get geoid heights and a geographic postings reference object from the EGM96 geoid model. Then, create a contour plot using a Miller projection. Add a frame using framem and eliminate extra white space using tightmap.

[N,R] = egm96geoid;
axesm miller
[C,h] = contourm(N,R,-100:50:80);
framem
tightmap

Add labels to the contour plot.

clabelm(C,h)

Version History

Introduced before R2006a