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Nice multiplots in Gnuplot

I really like Gnuplot. For the last 13 years I have made almost all plots with this great program which gives me full control…

…or at least almost…

You should not complain about short-comings in Gnuplot: it’s for free and you should be grateful for every single line of code which was put down by the volunteers of the Gnuplot-team!!!

For a long time it has been possible to create multiplots in Gnuplot, and lately this functionality was enhanced with additional functions. However, it simply did not do, what I expected. Perhaps my expectations and my understanding of the functionality were wrong – I don’t know. All I wanted originally was a stack of equally sized subplots were I easily could adjust the overall framing, the labeling and tic marks and so on.

So now I put down a template for my own purposes, but perhaps someone else might find it useful as well – if so, please leave a comment below… The template is based on the enhanced postscript terminal, but it should be possible to easily adjust it even to pixel-based terminals, such as PNG:

mpl_top    = 0.4 #inch  outer top margin, title goes here
mpl_bot    = 0.7 #inch  outer bottom margin, x label goes here
mpl_left   = 0.9 #inch  outer left margin, y label goes here
mpl_right  = 0.1 #inch  outer right margin, y2 label goes here
mpl_height = 1.5 #inch  height of individual plots
mpl_width  = 2.0 #inch  width of individual plots
mpl_dx     = 0.1 #inch  inter-plot horizontal spacing
mpl_dy     = 0.1 #inch  inter-plot vertical spacing
mpl_ny     = 3   #number of rows
mpl_nx     = 2   #number of columns

# calculate full dimensions
xsize = mpl_left+mpl_right+(mpl_width*mpl_nx)+(mpl_nx-1)*mpl_dx
ysize = mpl_top+mpl_bot+(mpl_ny*mpl_height)+(mpl_ny-1)*mpl_dy

# placement functions
#   rows are numbered from bottom to top
bot(n) = (mpl_bot+(n-1)*mpl_height+(n-1)*mpl_dy)/ysize
top(n)  = 1-((mpl_top+(mpl_ny-n)*(mpl_height+mpl_dy))/ysize)
#   columns are numbered from left to right
left(n) = (mpl_left+(n-1)*mpl_width+(n-1)*mpl_dx)/xsize
right(n)  = 1-((mpl_right+(mpl_nx-n)*(mpl_width+mpl_dx))/xsize)

set terminal postscript eps enhanced color dl 2.0 size xsize,ysize "Helvetica" 28
set encoding iso_8859_1
set tics scale 1.5

set output 'nxm_plot.eps'

set offsets
set autoscale fix
set size 1,1
set nokey

# define x-axis settings for all subplots
set xrange [-4:4]
set xlabel ''
set format x ''
set xtics pi
set mxtics 4

# start plotting
set multiplot

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  1-3
#  set horizontal margins for first column
set lmargin at screen left(1)
set rmargin at screen right(1)
#  set horizontal margins for third row (top)
set tmargin at screen top(3)
set bmargin at screen bot(3)

set title 'left'

set ylabel "amplitude"
set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
set format y "%-2.1f"
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
sin(x) \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 1 lw 2\
;

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  2-3
#  set horizontal margins for second column
set lmargin at screen left(2)
set rmargin at screen right(2)
#  set horizontal margins for third row (top)
set tmargin at screen top(3)
set bmargin at screen bot(3)

set title 'right'

set ylabel ""             # no label here
set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
set format y ""           # no tic labels
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
cos(x) \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 2 lw 2\
;

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  1-2
#  set horizontal margins for first column
set lmargin at screen left(1)
set rmargin at screen right(1)
#  set horizontal margins for second row (middle)
set tmargin at screen top(2)
set bmargin at screen bot(2)

set title ''

set ylabel "amplitude"
set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
set format y "%-1.1f"
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
-sin(x) \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 3 lw 2\
;

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  2-2
#  set horizontal margins for second column
set lmargin at screen left(2)
set rmargin at screen right(2)
#  set horizontal margins for second row (middle)
set tmargin at screen top(2)
set bmargin at screen bot(2)

set title ''

set ylabel ""             # no label here
set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
set format y ""           # no tic labels
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
-cos(x) \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 4 lw 2\
;

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  1-2
#  set horizontal margins for first column
set lmargin at screen left(1)
set rmargin at screen right(1)
#  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)
set tmargin at screen top(1)
set bmargin at screen bot(1)

set title ''

# now set a label and tic marks for the x-axis
set xlabel "phase angle"
set xtics add ("-{/Symbol p}" -pi, "0" 0, "{/Symbol p}" pi)

set ylabel "amplitude"
set yrange [0:1.5]
set format y "%-1.1f"
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
(sin(x))**2 \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 5 lw 2\
;

#-----------------------------------------------
# subplot  2-2
#  set horizontal margins for second column
set lmargin at screen left(2)
set rmargin at screen right(2)
#  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)
set tmargin at screen top(1)
set bmargin at screen bot(1)

set title ''

set ylabel ""             # no label here
set yrange [0:1.5]
set format y ""           # no tic labels
set ytics mirror 1
set mytics 2

set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

plot          \
(cos(x))**2 \
axes x1y1 \
title '' \
with lines lt 1 lc 6 lw 2\
;
unset multiplot

And the output looks like this:
result of the multiplot template

18 comments to Nice multiplots in Gnuplot

  • Brian Koccoloski

    This is __incredibly__ helpful.

  • Man, this settings are awesome! I wrote something similar but without generalizing for the number of columns and rows. Simply stunning, thank you very much for sharing!!!!

  • krv

    Thanks, this is really helpful!

  • Elias

    Thank you very much for this clean and easy to use solution! You’ve spared me a lot of tedious fiddling around.

  • Vijay

    Hi sir, your code is awesome ! This really plot very nice plot. Thank you so much for your effort to produce this script. Hope soon gnuplot come with GUI type of application.

    Best regards
    Vijay

  • Claire M

    You are a life saver! This code is excellent! Thanks so much!

  • H

    Thank you! It is really useful.

  • Anna

    Thanks so much for this – my plots have turned out great 🙂 +1 gnuplot karma to you my good man.

  • Hosein

    Thanks! very useful template. I modified it to make a 4*4 plot.

  • poruri sai rahul

    brilliant post man. I’m going through your code to modify it for my needs – an animated gif containing disproportionate but aligned subplots.
    just wanted to say thanks, keep up the awesome work 🙂

  • Rayd

    Finally, I managed to successfully adapt the script to my situation. Many thanks!

    • uwezi

      …and I just made an example to accomodate for 3×4 plots…

      Uwe.

      mpl_top    = 0.4 #inch  outer top margin, title goes here
      mpl_bot    = 0.7 #inch  outer bottom margin, x label goes here
      mpl_left   = 0.9 #inch  outer left margin, y label goes here
      mpl_right  = 0.1 #inch  outer right margin, y2 label goes here
      mpl_height = 1.5 #inch  height of individual plots
      mpl_width  = 2.0 #inch  width of individual plots
      mpl_dx     = 0.1 #inch  inter-plot horizontal spacing
      mpl_dy     = 0.1 #inch  inter-plot vertical spacing
      mpl_ny     = 4   #number of rows
      mpl_nx     = 3   #number of columns

      # calculate full dimensions
      xsize = mpl_left+mpl_right+(mpl_width*mpl_nx)+(mpl_nx-1)*mpl_dx
      ysize = mpl_top+mpl_bot+(mpl_ny*mpl_height)+(mpl_ny-1)*mpl_dy

      # placement functions
      #   rows are numbered from bottom to top
      bot(n) = (mpl_bot+(n-1)*mpl_height+(n-1)*mpl_dy)/ysize
      top(n)  = 1-((mpl_top+(mpl_ny-n)*(mpl_height+mpl_dy))/ysize)
      #   columns are numbered from left to right
      left(n) = (mpl_left+(n-1)*mpl_width+(n-1)*mpl_dx)/xsize
      right(n)  = 1-((mpl_right+(mpl_nx-n)*(mpl_width+mpl_dx))/xsize)

      set terminal postscript eps enhanced color dl 2.0 size xsize,ysize "Helvetica" 28
      set encoding iso_8859_1
      set tics scale 1.5

      set output 'mptest.eps'

      set offsets
      set autoscale fix
      set size 1,1
      set nokey

      # define x-axis settings for all subplots
      set xrange [-4:4]
      set xlabel ''
      set format x ''
      set xtics pi
      set mxtics 4

      # start plotting
      set multiplot

      #========================================================
      #
      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  1-4

      #  set horizontal margins for first column (left)
      set lmargin at screen left(1)
      set rmargin at screen right(1)

      #  set horizontal margins for fourth row (top)
      set tmargin at screen top(4)
      set bmargin at screen bot(4)

      set title 'left'
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x1 - y4"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel "amplitude"
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y "%-2.1f"
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          sin(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 1 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  2-4

      #  set horizontal margins for second column (middle)
      set lmargin at screen left(2)
      set rmargin at screen right(2)

      #  set horizontal margins for fourth row (top)
      set tmargin at screen top(4)
      set bmargin at screen bot(4)

      set title 'middle'
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x2 - y4"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 2 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  3-4

      #  set horizontal margins for third column (right)
      set lmargin at screen left(3)
      set rmargin at screen right(3)

      #  set horizontal margins for fourth row (top)
      set tmargin at screen top(4)
      set bmargin at screen bot(4)

      set title 'right'
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x3 - y4"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 2 lw 2\
        ;

      #========================================================
      #
      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  1-3

      #  set horizontal margins for first column (left)
      set lmargin at screen left(1)
      set rmargin at screen right(1)

      #  set horizontal margins for third row (second from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(3)
      set bmargin at screen bot(3)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x1 - y3"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel "amplitude"
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y "%-2.1f"
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          sin(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 1 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  2-3

      #  set horizontal margins for second column (middle)
      set lmargin at screen left(2)
      set rmargin at screen right(2)

      #  set horizontal margins for third row (second from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(3)
      set bmargin at screen bot(3)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x2 - y3"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 2 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  3-3
      #  set horizontal margins for third column (right)
      set lmargin at screen left(3)
      set rmargin at screen right(3)

      #  set horizontal margins for third row (second from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(3)
      set bmargin at screen bot(3)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x3 - y3"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 2 lw 2\
        ;

      #========================================================
      #
      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  1-2

      #  set horizontal margins for first column (left)
      set lmargin at screen left(1)
      set rmargin at screen right(1)

      #  set horizontal margins for second row (third from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(2)
      set bmargin at screen bot(2)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x1 - y2"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel "amplitude"
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y "%-1.1f"
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          -sin(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 3 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  2-2

      #  set horizontal margins for second column (middle)
      set lmargin at screen left(2)
      set rmargin at screen right(2)

      #  set horizontal margins for second row (third from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(2)
      set bmargin at screen bot(2)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x2 - y2"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          -cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 4 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  3-2

      #  set horizontal margins for third column (right)
      set lmargin at screen left(3)
      set rmargin at screen right(3)

      #  set horizontal margins for second row (third from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(2)
      set bmargin at screen bot(2)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x3 - y2"

      #.....................................................
        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [-1.5:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          -cos(x) \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 4 lw 2\
        ;

      #========================================================
      #
      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  1-1

      #  set horizontal margins for first column (left)
      set lmargin at screen left(1)
      set rmargin at screen right(1)

      #  set horizontal margins for second row (third from top)
      set tmargin at screen top(1)
      set bmargin at screen bot(1)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x1 - y1"

      #.....................................................
      # now set a label and tic marks for the x-axis

        set xlabel "phase angle"
        set xtics add ("-{/Symbol p}" -pi, "0" 0, "{/Symbol p}" pi)

        set ylabel "amplitude"
        set yrange [0:1.5]
        set format y "%-1.1f"
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          (sin(x))**2 \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 5 lw 2\
        ;

      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  2-1

      #  set horizontal margins for second column (middle)
      set lmargin at screen left(2)
      set rmargin at screen right(2)

      #  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)
      set tmargin at screen top(1)
      set bmargin at screen bot(1)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x2 - y1"

      #.....................................................
      # now set a label and tic marks for the x-axis

        set xlabel "phase angle"
        set xtics add ("-{/Symbol p}" -pi, "0" 0, "{/Symbol p}" pi)

        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [0:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          (cos(x))**2 \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 6 lw 2\
        ;
      #-----------------------------------------------
      # subplot  3-1

      #  set horizontal margins for third column (right)
      set lmargin at screen left(3)
      set rmargin at screen right(3)

      #  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)
      set tmargin at screen top(1)
      set bmargin at screen bot(1)

      set title ''
      set label 1 at graph 0.5, graph 0.5 "x3 - y1"

      #.....................................................
      # now set a label and tic marks for the x-axis

        set xlabel "phase angle"
        set xtics add ("-{/Symbol p}" -pi, "0" 0, "{/Symbol p}" pi)

        set ylabel ""             # no label here
        set yrange [0:1.5]
        set format y ""           # no tic labels
        set ytics mirror 1
        set mytics 2

        set arrow 1 from graph 0, first 0 rto graph 1,0 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0
        set arrow 2 from first 0, graph 0 rto 0, graph 1 nohead lt 1 lw 1 lc 0

        plot          \
          (cos(x))**2 \
          axes x1y1 \
          title '' \
          with lines lt 1 lc 6 lw 2\
        ;
       
      #========================================================
      # The End
      #-----------------------------------------------
       
      unset multiplot
  • Rayd

    It’s an extremely useful post. I helped me. I’m also trying to extend and adapt it to my case of 12 plots in a 4-rows by 3-columns layout. But still I’m not getting things right. I don’t know if you could help.

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