{"id":570,"date":"2011-05-18T22:19:39","date_gmt":"2011-05-18T21:19:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/?p=570"},"modified":"2025-06-16T18:38:22","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T16:38:22","slug":"nice-multiplots-in-gnuplot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/?p=570","title":{"rendered":"Nice multiplots in Gnuplot"},"content":{"rendered":"

I really like Gnuplot<\/a>. For the last 13 years I have made almost all plots with this great program which gives me full control…<\/p>\n

…or at least almost…<\/p>\n

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!!!<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n

mpl_top    =<\/span> 0.4<\/span> #inch  outer top margin, title goes here<\/span>
\nmpl_bot    =<\/span> 0.7<\/span> #inch  outer bottom margin, x label goes here<\/span>
\nmpl_left   =<\/span> 0.9<\/span> #inch  outer left margin, y label goes here<\/span>
\nmpl_right  =<\/span> 0.1<\/span> #inch  outer right margin, y2 label goes here<\/span>
\nmpl_height =<\/span> 1.5<\/span> #inch  height of individual plots<\/span>
\nmpl_width  =<\/span> 2.0<\/span> #inch  width of individual plots<\/span>
\nmpl_dx     =<\/span> 0.1<\/span> #inch  inter-plot horizontal spacing<\/span>
\nmpl_dy     =<\/span> 0.1<\/span> #inch  inter-plot vertical spacing<\/span>
\nmpl_ny     =<\/span> 3<\/span>   #number of rows<\/span>
\nmpl_nx     =<\/span> 2<\/span>   #number of columns<\/span>
\n
\n# calculate full dimensions<\/span>
\nxsize =<\/span> mpl_left+<\/span>mpl_right+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_width*<\/span>mpl_nx)<\/span>+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_nx-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_dx
\nysize =<\/span> mpl_top+<\/span>mpl_bot+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_ny*<\/span>mpl_height)<\/span>+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_ny-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_dy
\n
\n# placement functions<\/span>
\n#   rows are numbered from bottom to top<\/span>
\nbot(<\/span>n)<\/span> =<\/span> (<\/span>mpl_bot+<\/span>(<\/span>n-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_height+<\/span>(<\/span>n-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_dy)<\/span>\/<\/span>ysize
\ntop<\/span>(<\/span>n)<\/span>  =<\/span> 1<\/span>-<\/span>(<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_top+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_ny-<\/span>n)<\/span>*<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_height+<\/span>mpl_dy)<\/span>)<\/span>\/<\/span>ysize)<\/span>
\n#   columns are numbered from left to right<\/span>
\nleft<\/span>(<\/span>n)<\/span> =<\/span> (<\/span>mpl_left+<\/span>(<\/span>n-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_width+<\/span>(<\/span>n-<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>*<\/span>mpl_dx)<\/span>\/<\/span>xsize
\nright<\/span>(<\/span>n)<\/span>  =<\/span> 1<\/span>-<\/span>(<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_right+<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_nx-<\/span>n)<\/span>*<\/span>(<\/span>mpl_width+<\/span>mpl_dx)<\/span>)<\/span>\/<\/span>xsize)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> terminal<\/span><\/a> postscript<\/span> eps<\/span> enhanced<\/span> color<\/span> dl<\/span> 2.0<\/span> size<\/span><\/a> xsize,<\/span>ysize "Helvetica"<\/span> 28<\/span>
\nset<\/span> encoding<\/span><\/a> iso_8859_1
\nset<\/span> tics<\/span><\/a> scale 1.5<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> output<\/span><\/a> 'nxm_plot.eps'<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> offsets<\/span><\/a>
\nset<\/span> autoscale<\/span><\/a> fix
\nset<\/span> size<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span>,<\/span>1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> nokey<\/span><\/a>
\n
\n# define x-axis settings for all subplots<\/span>
\nset<\/span> xrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>-<\/span>4<\/span>:<\/span>4<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> xlabel<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> x<\/span> ''<\/span>
\nset<\/span> xtics<\/span><\/a> pi<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mxtics<\/span><\/a> 4<\/span>
\n
\n# start plotting<\/span>
\nset<\/span> multiplot<\/span><\/a>
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  1-3<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for first column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for third row (top)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>3<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>3<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> 'left'<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> "amplitude"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>-<\/span>1.5<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> "%-2.1f"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\nsin<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  2-3<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for second column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for third row (top)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>3<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>3<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> 'right'<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> ""<\/span>             # no label here<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>-<\/span>1.5<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> ""<\/span>           # no tic labels<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\ncos<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 2<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  1-2<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for first column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for second row (middle)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> "amplitude"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>-<\/span>1.5<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> "%-1.1f"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\n-<\/span>sin<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 3<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  2-2<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for second column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for second row (middle)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> ""<\/span>             # no label here<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>-<\/span>1.5<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> ""<\/span>           # no tic labels<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\n-<\/span>cos<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 4<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  1-2<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for first column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\n
\n# now set a label and tic marks for the x-axis<\/span>
\nset<\/span> xlabel<\/span><\/a> "phase angle"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> xtics<\/span><\/a> add<\/span> (<\/span>"-{\/Symbol p}"<\/span> -<\/span>pi<\/span>,<\/span> "0"<\/span> 0<\/span>,<\/span> "{\/Symbol p}"<\/span> pi<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> "amplitude"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>0<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> "%-1.1f"<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\n(<\/span>sin<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>)<\/span>**<\/span>2<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 5<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\n
\n#-----------------------------------------------<\/span>
\n# subplot  2-2<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for second column<\/span>
\nset<\/span> lmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> left<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> rmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> right<\/span>(<\/span>2<\/span>)<\/span>
\n#  set horizontal margins for first row (bottom)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> tmargin<\/span> at<\/span> screen<\/span> top<\/span>(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\nset<\/span> bmargin<\/span><\/a> at<\/span> screen<\/span> bot(<\/span>1<\/span>)<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> title<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> ylabel<\/span><\/a> ""<\/span>             # no label here<\/span>
\nset<\/span> yrange<\/span><\/a> [<\/span>0<\/span>:<\/span>1.5<\/span>]<\/span>
\nset<\/span> format<\/span><\/a> y<\/span> ""<\/span>           # no tic labels<\/span>
\nset<\/span> ytics<\/span><\/a> mirror 1<\/span>
\nset<\/span> mytics<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span>
\n
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 1<\/span> from graph 0<\/span>,<\/span> first 0<\/span> rto graph 1<\/span>,<\/span>0<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\nset<\/span> arrow<\/span><\/a> 2<\/span> from first 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 0<\/span> rto 0<\/span>,<\/span> graph 1<\/span> nohead lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lw<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 0<\/span>
\n
\nplot<\/span>          
\n(<\/span>cos<\/span>(<\/span>x<\/span>)<\/span>)<\/span>**<\/span>2<\/span>
\naxes x1y1
\ntitle<\/span><\/a> ''<\/span>
\nwith<\/span> lines<\/span> lt<\/span> 1<\/span> lc 6<\/span> lw<\/span> 2<\/span>
\n;
\nunset<\/span> multiplot<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n

And the output looks like this:
\n\"result<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Multiplots are supported by Gnuplot, but I wasn’t satisfied with the output of the automatic routines – so I wrote my own template with placement functions.
\n“> [ Read More \u2192 ]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computers_en","category-everything_en","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/20111027_20W_LED_spice.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p48grL-9c","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=570"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570\/revisions\/2520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sciencetronics.com\/greenphotons\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}