How to set the spacing between subplots in Matplotlib in Python

Matplotlib is a sophisticated Python toolkit for making visualizations and plots. Creating many subplots within a single figure is an operation when using Matplotlib. Setting the spacing between subplots is an essential change. It can improve the readability and attractiveness of the produced figure. 

Matplotlib includes the subplots() method. It produces a grid of subplot axes when we create many subplots. The subplot_kw option accepts a dictionary of subplot parameters. The parameters can be subplot size and width. We can use it to customize the layout of the subplot grid.  After you create a grid, you can adjust the spacing with the subplots_adjust() function. It will accept the set parameters, like vertical and horizontal spacing. You can use customization functions to change the axis labels, titles, and lines. You can include inset axes or axes between subplots for more complicated visualizations. 

Tight Layout guidance can ensure the optimal spacing and aspect ratio. This guide changes the spacing to produce a square image or array with an equal aspect ratio. You can change the margins and white space surrounding the figure. You may use the subplots_adjust() function. When constructing subplots, you can alter the spacing and layout of the subplots. We can do it by varying axes limits, plot elements, or tick labels using Matplotlib's layout() method. With Matplotlib, you can adjust the spacing between subplots in the GridSpec class. 

In this solution kit, we have used the 'gridspec.GridSpecFromSubplotSpec()' method. It helps create a grid of subplots within a larger subplot. And change the spacing between them. This function takes several parameters that allow you to specify the grid's number. It allows the location of the subplots within the subplot and the spacing between them. hspace sets the spacing between subplots in the horizontal direction. 

Preview of the output obtained when the code is executed.

Code

In the code, gridspec.GridSpecFromSubplotSpec(2, 1, subplot_spec=gs0[0], hspace=0) creates a grid of two subplots arranged in a single column.

• 2 is the number of rows in the grid. In this case, there are two subplots arranged in a single column.
• 1 is the number of columns in the grid. In this case, there is only one column.
• subplot_spec=gs0[0] specifies the location of the grid of subplots within the larger subplot. gs0[0] is a subplot specification object that refers to the first subplot in the GridSpec object gs0 that was created earlier.
• hspace=0 sets the spacing between subplots in the horizontal direction to 0. This means that there will be no horizontal spacing between the subplots in the grid.

Follow the steps carefully to get the output easily.

• Install Visual Studio Code in your computer.
• Install the required library by using the following command -

pip install matplotlib

pip install numpy

• If your system is not reflecting the installation, try running the above command by opening windows powershell as administrator.
• Open the folder in the code editor, copy and paste the above kandi code snippet in the python file.
• Run the code using the run command.

I hope you found this useful. I have added the link to dependent libraries, version information in the following sections.

I found this code snippet by searching for "set the spacing between subplots" in kandi. You can try any such use case!

Dependent Libraries

If you do not have matplotlib and numpy that is required to run this code, you can install it by clicking on the above link and copying the pip Install command from the pages in kandi.

You can search for any dependent library on kandi like matplotlib.

FAQ

How can I view the matplotlib gallery to find examples of subplot spacing? 

• Navigate to the Matplotlib website at https://matplotlib.org/ in your web browser. 
• To access the Matplotlib Example Gallery, click "Gallery" in the top navigation menu. 
• Click "Subplots" under the left sidebar's "Subplots, Axes, and Figures" category. 
• This will display a set of examples of how to construct and customize subplots in Matplotlib. 
• Click on a thumbnail image or title to see an example. 
• We can show the code needed to construct the plot and change the subplot spacing on the example page. You can also run the code to see the results. 

How do I access the subplot tool window in matplotlib? 

We can use the plt.subplot_tool() function. This will launch the Subplot Tool window, which offers an interactive interface. It helps to alter the layout and spacing of the figure's subplots. 

What are the best practices for displaying scatter plots with good vertical spacing? 

• Adjust the figure size. 
• Set the subplot layout. 
• Set the subplot size and aspect ratio. 
• Set the axis labels and titles. 
• Set the axis limits. 
• Set the tick labels. 
• Use consistent colors and markers. 
• Add a legend. 

How can I add axis labels to my matplotlib subplots? 

You can use Matplotlib's set_xlabel() and set_ylabel() functions. It will set the axis labels for each subplot. 

How can I adjust the figure area when working with many plots in matplotlib? 

Use the subplots_adjust() function in Matplotlib: 

This function can change the spacing between subplots and figure edges. You can specify how much padding to add using the left, right, bottom, and top parameters. 

Are there tools instead of subplot spacing features for creating visualizations from datasets? 

There are libraries like Plotly, Seaborn, Altair, and Bokeh. It can create visualizations from many datasets beyond adjusting the subplot spacing. 

Environment tested

1. This code had been tested using python version 3.8.0
2. matplotlib version 3.7.1 has been used.
3. numpy version 1.24.2 has been used.

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