Text Properties
Text appearance and behavior for grid of plots
Text properties control the appearance and
behavior of the Text object used to title a grid of plots. By changing
property values, you can modify certain aspects of the text. For example:
subplot(1,2,1)
subplot(1,2,2)
t = sgtitle('Title Text')
t.FontSize = 14;Text
Text to display, specified as a character vector, cell array of character vectors, string array, categorical array, or numeric value.
Example: 'my label'
Example: {'first line','second line'}
Example: string('my label')
Example: 123
To include numeric variables with text, use the num2str function. For
example:
x = 42;
txt = ['The value is ',num2str(x)];To include special characters, such as superscripts, subscripts, Greek letters, or
mathematical symbols use TeX markup. For a list of supported markup, see the
Interpreter property.
To create multiline text:
Use a cell array, where each cell contains a line of text, such as
{'first line','second line'}.Use a string array, where each element contains a line of text, such as
string({'line one','line two'}).Use a character array, where each row contains the same number of characters, such as
['abc'; 'ab '].Use
sprintfto create text with a new line character, such assprintf('first line \n second line'). This property converts text with new line characters to cell arrays.
Text that contains only a numeric value is converted using
sprintf('%g',value). For example, 12345678
displays as 1.23457e+07.
If you specify this property as a categorical array, MATLAB® uses the values in the array, not the categories.
Text color, specified as an RGB triplet, a hexadecimal color code, a color name, or a short
name. The default value of [0 0 0] corresponds to black.
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 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 |
|---|---|
Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by 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: 'blue'
Example: [0
0 1]
Example: '#0000FF'
Text interpreter, specified as one of these values:
'tex'— Interpret characters using a subset of TeX markup.'latex'— Interpret characters using LaTeX markup.'none'— Display literal characters.
TeX Markup
By default, MATLAB supports a subset of TeX markup. Use TeX markup to add superscripts and subscripts, modify the font type and color, and include special characters in the text.
Modifiers remain in effect until the end of the text.
Superscripts and subscripts are an exception because they modify only the next character or the
characters within the curly braces. When you set the interpreter to "tex",
the supported modifiers are as follows.
| Modifier | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
^{ } | Superscript | "text^{superscript}" |
_{ } | Subscript | "text_{subscript}" |
\bf | Bold font | "\bf text" |
\it | Italic font | "\it text" |
\sl | Oblique font (usually the same as italic font) | "\sl text" |
\rm | Normal font | "\rm text" |
\fontname{ | Font name — Replace
| "\fontname{Courier} text" |
\fontsize{ | Font size —Replace
| "\fontsize{15} text" |
\color{ | Font color — Replace
red, green,
yellow, magenta,
blue, black,
white, gray,
darkGreen, orange, or
lightBlue. | "\color{magenta} text" |
\color[rgb]{specifier} | Custom font color — Replace
| "\color[rgb]{0,0.5,0.5} text" |
This table lists the supported special characters for the
"tex" interpreter.
| Character Sequence | Symbol | Character Sequence | Symbol | Character Sequence | Symbol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| α |
| υ |
| ~ |
| ∠ |
| ϕ |
| ≤ |
|
|
| χ |
| ∞ |
| β |
| ψ |
| ♣ |
| γ |
| ω |
| ♦ |
| δ |
| Γ |
| ♥ |
| ϵ |
| Δ |
| ♠ |
| ζ |
| Θ |
| ↔ |
| η |
| Λ |
| ← |
| θ |
| Ξ |
| ⇐ |
| ϑ |
| Π |
| ↑ |
| ι |
| Σ |
| → |
| κ |
| ϒ |
| ⇒ |
| λ |
| Φ |
| ↓ |
| µ |
| Ψ |
| º |
| ν |
| Ω |
| ± |
| ξ |
| ∀ |
| ≥ |
| π |
| ∃ |
| ∝ |
| ρ |
| ∍ |
| ∂ |
| σ |
| ≅ |
| • |
| ς |
| ≈ |
| ÷ |
| τ |
| ℜ |
| ≠ |
| ≡ |
| ⊕ |
| ℵ |
| ℑ |
| ∪ |
| ℘ |
| ⊗ |
| ⊆ |
| ∅ |
| ∩ |
| ∈ |
| ⊇ |
| ⊃ |
| ⌈ |
| ⊂ |
| ∫ |
| · |
| ο |
| ⌋ |
| ¬ |
| ∇ |
| ⌊ |
| x |
| ... |
| ⊥ |
| √ |
| ´ |
| ∧ |
| ϖ |
| ∅ |
| ⌉ |
| 〉 |
| | |
| ∨ |
| 〈 |
| © |
LaTeX Markup
To use LaTeX markup, set the interpreter to "latex". For inline
mode, surround the markup with single dollar signs ($). For
display mode, surround the markup with double dollar signs
($$).
| LaTeX Mode | Example | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Inline |
"$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$" |
|
| Display |
"$$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$$" |
|
The displayed text uses the default LaTeX font style. The
FontName, FontWeight, and
FontAngle properties do not have an effect. To change the
font style, use LaTeX markup.
The maximum size of the text that you can use with the LaTeX interpreter is 1200 characters. For multiline text, this reduces by about 10 characters per line.
MATLAB supports most standard LaTeX math mode commands. For more information, see Supported LaTeX Commands. For examples that use TeX and LaTeX, see Greek Letters and Special Characters in Chart Text.
Horizontal alignment of text within the text box, specified as
'center', 'left', or
'right'.
Font
Text Box
Color of box outline, 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 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 |
|---|---|
Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by 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: 'blue'
Example: [0 0 1]
Example: '#0000FF'
Color of text box background, 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 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 |
|---|---|
Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by 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: 'blue'
Example: [0 0 1]
Example: '#0000FF'
Line style of box outline, specified as one of the options in this table.
| Line Style | Description | Resulting Line |
|---|---|---|
"-" | Solid line |
|
"--" | Dashed line |
|
":" | Dotted line |
|
"-." | Dash-dotted line |
|
"none" | No line | No line |
Width of box outline, specified as a scalar numeric value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.
Example: 1.5
Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64
The space around the text within the text box, specified as scalar numeric value in point units.
MATLAB uses the Extent property value plus the
Margin property value to determine the size of the text box.
Example: 8
Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64
