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matplotlib.pyplot.subplot

matplotlib.pyplot.subplot(*args, **kwargs)

Return a subplot axes at the given grid position.

Call signature:

subplot(nrows, ncols, index, **kwargs)

In the current figure, create and return an Axes, at position index of a (virtual) grid of nrows by ncols axes. Indexes go from 1 to nrows * ncols, incrementing in row-major order.

If nrows, ncols and index are all less than 10, they can also be given as a single, concatenated, three-digit number.

For example, subplot(2, 3, 3) and subplot(233) both create an Axes at the top right corner of the current figure, occupying half of the figure height and a third of the figure width.

Note

Creating a subplot will delete any pre-existing subplot that overlaps with it beyond sharing a boundary:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# plot a line, implicitly creating a subplot(111)
plt.plot([1,2,3])
# now create a subplot which represents the top plot of a grid
# with 2 rows and 1 column. Since this subplot will overlap the
# first, the plot (and its axes) previously created, will be removed
plt.subplot(211)
plt.plot(range(12))
plt.subplot(212, facecolor='y') # creates 2nd subplot with yellow background

If you do not want this behavior, use the add_subplot() method or the axes() function instead.

Keyword arguments:

facecolor:
The background color of the subplot, which can be any valid color specifier. See matplotlib.colors for more information.
polar:
A boolean flag indicating whether the subplot plot should be a polar projection. Defaults to False.
projection:
A string giving the name of a custom projection to be used for the subplot. This projection must have been previously registered. See matplotlib.projections.

See also

axes()
For additional information on axes() and subplot() keyword arguments.
gallery/pie_and_polar_charts/polar_scatter.py
For an example

Example:

(Source code, png, pdf)

../../_images/subplot.png