Note
Go to the end to download the full example code.
Shared axis#
You can share the x- or y-axis limits for one axis with another by
passing an Axes instance as a sharex or sharey keyword argument.
Changing the axis limits on one Axes will be reflected automatically in the other, and vice-versa, so when you navigate with the toolbar the Axes will follow each other on their shared axis. Ditto for changes in the axis scaling (e.g., log vs. linear). However, it is possible to have differences in tick labeling, e.g., you can selectively turn off the tick labels on one Axes.
The example below shows how to customize the tick labels on the various axes. Shared axes share the tick locator, tick formatter, view limits, and transformation (e.g., log, linear). But the tick labels themselves do not share properties. This is a feature and not a bug, because you may want to make the tick labels smaller on the upper axes, e.g., in the example below.
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import numpy as np
t = np.arange(0.01, 5.0, 0.01)
s1 = np.sin(2 * np.pi * t)
s2 = np.exp(-t)
s3 = np.sin(4 * np.pi * t)
ax1 = plt.subplot(311)
plt.plot(t, s1)
# reduce the fontsize of the tick labels
plt.tick_params('x', labelsize=6)
# share x only
ax2 = plt.subplot(312, sharex=ax1)
plt.plot(t, s2)
# make these tick labels invisible
plt.tick_params('x', labelbottom=False)
# share x and y
ax3 = plt.subplot(313, sharex=ax1, sharey=ax1)
plt.plot(t, s3)
plt.xlim(0.01, 5.0)
plt.show()
