ViolinPlot Properties

Violin plot appearance and behavior

Since R2024b

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

v = violinplot(randn(100,1));
o = v.Orientation;
v.FaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Data Display

DensityWidth — Maximum violin plot width

positive scalar

Maximum violin plot width, specified as a positive scalar. DensityWidth has the same units as the positional grouping data specified by XData or XVariable.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

DensityDirection — Plot full or half violin

"both" (default) | "positive" | "negative"

Plot a full or half violin, specified as one of the values in this table.

Value	Description
"both"	Plot both halves of the violin.
"positive"	Plot the positive half of the violin, which depends on the Orientation property: "vertical" — Plot only the right half of the violin. "horizontal" — Plot only the top half of the violin.
"negative"	Plot the negative half of the violin, which depends on the Orientation property: "vertical" — Plot only the left half of the violin. "horizontal" — Plot only the bottom half of the violin.

Data Types: string | char

DensityScale — Method for normalizing violin plot

"area" (default) | "width" | "count"

Method for normalizing the violin plot, specified as one of the values in this table.

Value	Description
"area"	The violin plots have equal areas.
"width"	The violin plots have widths equal to DensityWidth.
"count"	The violin plots have widths proportional to the number of data points in each group.

Data Types: string | char

Orientation — Orientation of violin plot

"vertical" (default) | "horizontal"

Orientation of the violin plot, specified as "vertical" or "horizontal". By default, the violin plot is vertically oriented so that it aligns with the y-axis. Regardless of the orientation, the ViolinPlot object stores the sample data in the YData property.

Data Types: string | char

ColorGroupWidth — Color group width

scalar value in range [0, 1]

Since R2025a

Color group width, specified as a scalar value in the range [0, 1]. Specify a value close to 1 to decrease the space between each color grouping. If you do not specify ColorGroupWidth, the function calculates its value automatically.

If you specify ColorGroupLayout="overlaid":

• The function ignores the value of ColorGroupWidth.

• You can adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping by specifying DensityWidth.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

ColorGroupWidthMode — How ColorGroupWidth is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2025a

How the ColorGroupWidth property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB^® controls the value of ColorGroupWidth by calculating it automatically.

• "manual" — You set the value of ColorGroupWidth manually, either by specifying a value when you create a ViolinPlot object or by setting ColorGroupWidth on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of ColorGroupWidth manually, MATLAB changes the value of the ColorGroupWidthMode property to "manual".

Data Types: string | char

ColorGroupLayout — Color group layout

"grouped" (default) | "overlaid"

Since R2025a

Color group layout, specified as "grouped" or "overlaid". By default, the violin plots in each color grouping are plotted next to each other.

If you specify ColorGroupLayout="overlaid":

• The violin plots in each color grouping are plotted on top of each other.

• The function ignores the value of ColorGroupWidth.

• You can adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping by specifying DensityWidth.

Data Types: string | char

Color and Styling

FaceColor — Violin fill color

[0 0.4470 0.7410] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Violin fill color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name. The violin includes the violin edges. To specify the color of the violin edges separately, use the EdgeColor property.

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 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: "red"

Example: [0 0.5 0.5]

Example: "#EDB120"

FaceColorMode — How FaceColor is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

How the FaceColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

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

• "manual" — You set the value of FaceColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a ViolinPlot object or by setting FaceColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of FaceColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the FaceColorMode property to "manual".

EdgeColor — Violin edge color

[0 0.4470 0.7410] (default) | RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Violin edge color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or 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 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 the 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

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: "none"

Example: [0 0 0]

Example: "#7E2F8E"

EdgeColorMode — How EdgeColor is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

How the EdgeColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of EdgeColor by setting it equal to the FaceColor property of the ViolinPlot object.

• "manual" — You set the value of EdgeColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a ViolinPlot object or by setting EdgeColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of EdgeColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the EdgeColorMode property to "manual".

FaceAlpha — Violin fill transparency

0.2 (default) | scalar in range [0,1]

Violin fill transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 makes the violin opaque, and 0 makes the violin completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 make the violin semitransparent.

Example: 0.6

LineStyle — Violin edge line style

"-" (default) | "--" | ":" | "-." | "none"

Violin edge line style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Line Style	Description	Resulting Line
"-"	Solid line
"--"	Dashed line
":"	Dotted line
"-."	Dash-dotted line
"none"	No line	No line

LineWidth — Violin edge width

0.5 (default) | positive scalar

Violin edge width, specified as a positive scalar in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

SeriesIndex — Series index

positive whole number | "none"

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for reassigning the violin face color (FaceColor) and edge color (EdgeColor) of several ViolinPlot objects so that they match each other. By default, the SeriesIndex property of a ViolinPlot object is a number that corresponds to the creation order of the object, starting at 1.

MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. MATLAB automatically updates the face color of the ViolinPlot object when you change its SeriesIndex, or when you change the ColorOrder property on the axes.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme. (since R2023b)

However, the following conditions must be true for the changes to have any effect:

• The FaceColorMode property of the ViolinPlot object is set to "auto".

• The SeriesIndex property of the ViolinPlot object is greater than 0.

• The NextSeriesIndex property of the axes object is greater than 0.

Additionally, if the EdgeColorMode property of the ViolinPlot object is set to "auto", then MATLAB updates the violin edge color with the value of the face color.

Data

XData — Positional grouping data

numeric vector | categorical vector

Positional grouping data, specified as a numeric or categorical vector. XData and YData must have the same length.

By default, XData controls the violin plot position along the x-axis. However, if the Orientation property is "horizontal", the XData values correspond to positions along the y-axis.

Data Types: single | double | categorical

XDataMode — How XData is set

"auto" | "manual"

How the XData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — The XData property updates automatically when:

  • You pass a table to violinplot during creation. XData is based on the SourceTable and XVariable properties. If the XVariable property is empty, the function uses default values to set XData.

  • You do not pass xgroupdata to violinplot during creation. The function uses default values to set XData.

• "manual" — The XData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass data values as vectors or matrices to violinplot during creation.

YData — Sample data

numeric vector

Sample data, specified as a numeric vector. YData and XData must have the same length.

Data Types: single | double

YDataMode — How YData is set

"auto" | "manual"

How the YData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — The YData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and YVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to violinplot during creation.

• "manual" — The YData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass data values as vectors or matrices to violinplot during creation.

SourceTable — Source table

table | timetable

Source table containing the data to plot, specified as a table or timetable.

XVariable — Table variable containing positional grouping data

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the positional grouping data, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the XData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

YVariable — Table variable containing sample data

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the sample data, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the YData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

EvaluationPoints — Evaluation points

numeric vector

Evaluation points for the probability density function (pdf), specified as a numeric vector. If you set EvaluationPoints, it must have the same size as DensityValues.

Data Types: single | double

EvaluationPointsMode — How EvaluationPoints is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

How the EvaluationPoints property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of EvaluationPoints by calculating the evaluation points automatically.

• "manual" — You set the value of EvaluationPoints manually, either by specifying evaluation points when you create a ViolinPlot object or by setting EvaluationPoints on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of EvaluationPoints manually, MATLAB changes the value of the EvaluationPointsMode property to "manual".

DensityValues — Values for pdf

numeric vector

Values for the pdf, specified as a numeric vector. If you set DensityValues, it must have the same size as EvaluationPoints. Specify DensityValues as a

• vector — to create a single violin plot using the evaluation points in EvaluationPoints and the pdf values in DensityValues.

• matrix — to create multiple violin plots. Each violin plot represents the evaluation points in a column of EvaluationPoints and the pdf values in the corresponding column of DensityValues.

Data Types: single | double

DensityValuesMode — How DensityValues is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

How the DensityValues property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of DensityValues by calculating the density values automatically.

• "manual" — You set the value of DensityValues manually, either by specifying density values when you create a ViolinPlot object or by setting DensityValues on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of DensityValues manually, MATLAB changes the value of the DensityValuesMode property to "manual".

Legend

DisplayName — Legend label

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

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'.

Annotation — Include object in legend

Annotation object

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 ViolinPlot 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

Visible — State of visibility

"on" (default) | on/off logical value

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.

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

DataTipTemplate 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.

Note

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

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

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.

Selected — Selection state

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

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.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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 — Clipping of object to axes limits

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

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.

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

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.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

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

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

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.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

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 ViolinPlot object that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. The HitTest property determines if the ViolinPlot object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

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

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

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

Read-only: on/off logical value

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

Parent — Parent

Axes object | Group object | Transform object

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

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

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.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

"on" (default) | "off" | "callback"

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

Type — Type of graphics object

Read-only: 'violinplot'

This property is read-only.

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

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

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.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

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 in R2024b

R2025a: Customize color group appearance

You can customize the width and layout of color groups using these properties:

• ColorGroupWidth — Adjust the space between each violin plot color grouping.

• ColorGroupLayout — Specify whether to group or overlay the violin plots in each color grouping.

• DensityWidth — Adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping.