nexttile

Create axes in tiled chart layout

Syntax

nexttile

nexttile(tilenum)

nexttile(span)

nexttile(tilenum,span)

nexttile(t,___)

ax = nexttile(___)

Description

nexttile creates an axes object and places it into the next empty tile of the tiled chart layout that is in the current figure. If there is no layout in the current figure, then nexttile creates a new layout and configures it using the 'flow' tile arrangement. The resulting axes object is the current axes, so the next plotting command can plot into it.

nexttile(tilenum) specifies the number of the tile to place the axes into. The tile numbers start at 1 and increase from left-to-right and top-to-bottom. If the tile is occupied by an axes or chart object, nexttile makes that object the current axes.

nexttile(span) creates an axes object that spans across multiple rows or columns. Specify span as a vector of the form [r c]. The axes spans r rows by c columns of tiles. The upper left corner of the axes is positioned in the upper left corner of the first empty r-by-c region.

nexttile(tilenum,span) creates an axes object that spans across multiple rows or columns. In this case, nexttile places the upper left corner of the axes in the tile specified by tilenum.

nexttile(t,___) places the axes object in the tiled chart layout specified by t. Specify t before all other input arguments. This syntax is useful when you are working with multiple layouts, or when the layout is in a panel or tab instead of a figure.

ax = nexttile(___) returns the axes object. Use ax to set properties on the axes. You can also pass ax as an input argument to other graphics functions that operate on an axes object. For example, you can call the colormap or colororder function to change the color scheme for the axes.

Examples

Create Flow Layout

If a tiled chart layout does not already exist, nexttile creates one.

Create four coordinate vectors: x, y1, y2, and y3. Next, call the nexttile function to create a tiled chart layout and an axes object in the first tile. Then plot y1 in the first tile. This first plot fills the entire layout because nexttile creates the layout using the 'flow' tile arrangement.

x = linspace(0,30);
y1 = sin(x/2);
y2 = sin(x/3);
y3 = sin(x/4);

% Plot into first tile three times
nexttile
plot(x,y1)

Create a second tile and axes, and plot into the axes.

nexttile
plot(x,y2)

Repeat the process to create a third plot.

nexttile
plot(x,y3)

Repeat the process to create a fourth plot. This time, plot all three lines in the same axes by calling hold on after plotting y1.

nexttile
plot(x,y1)
hold on
plot(x,y2)
plot(x,y3)
hold off

Plot Into 2-by-2 Layout

Call the tiledlayout function to create a 2-by-2 tiled chart layout, and call the peaks function to get the coordinates of a predefined surface. Create an axes object in the first tile by calling the nexttile function. Then call the surf function to plot into the axes. Repeat the process using different plotting functions for the other three tiles.

tiledlayout(2,2);
[X,Y,Z] = peaks(20);

% Tile 1
nexttile
surf(X,Y,Z)

% Tile 2
nexttile
contour(X,Y,Z)

% Tile 3
nexttile
imagesc(Z)

% Tile 4
nexttile
plot3(X,Y,Z)

Set Properties on the Axes

Call the tiledlayout function to create a 2-by-1 tiled chart layout. Call the nexttile function with an output argument to store the axes. Then plot into the axes, and set the x- and y-axis colors to red. Repeat the process in the second tile.

t = tiledlayout(2,1);

% First tile
ax1 = nexttile;
plot([1 2 3 4 5],[11 6 10 4 18]);
ax1.XColor = [1 0 0];
ax1.YColor = [1 0 0];

% Second tile
ax2 = nexttile;
plot([1 2 3 4 5],[5 1 12 9 2],'o');
ax2.XColor = [1 0 0];
ax2.YColor = [1 0 0];

Create Axes That Span Multiple Rows and Columns

Define scores and strikes as vectors containing bowling league data over four games. Then create a tiled chart layout and display three plots showing the number of strikes for each team.

scores = [444 460 380 
          387 366 500 
          365 451 611 
          548 412 452];

strikes = [9  6  5  
           6  4  8 
           4  7  16  
           10 9  8];
     
t = tiledlayout('flow');

% Team 1
nexttile
plot([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,1),'-o')
title('Team 1 Strikes')

% Team 2
nexttile
plot([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,2),'-o')
title('Team 2 Strikes')

% Team 3
nexttile
plot([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,3),'-o')
title('Team 3 Strikes')

Call the nexttile function to create an axes object that spans two rows by three columns. Then display a bar graph in the axes with a legend, and configure the axis tick values and labels. Call the title function to add a tile to the layout.

nexttile([2 3]);
bar([1 2 3 4],scores)
legend('Team 1','Team 2','Team 3','Location','northwest')

% Configure ticks and axis labels
xticks([1 2 3 4])
xlabel('Game')
ylabel('Score')

% Add layout title
title(t,'April Bowling League Data')

Span Axes at Specific Tile Number

To span an axes object from a specific location, specify the tile number and the span value.

Define scores and strikes as vectors containing bowling league data over four games. Then create a 3-by-3 tiled chart layout and display five bar graphs showing the number of strikes for each team.

scores = [444 460 380 388 389
          387 366 500 467 460
          365 451 611 426 495
          548 412 452 471 402];

strikes = [9  6  5  7  5
           6  4  8 10  7
           4  7 16  9  9
           10  9  8  8  9];
       
t = tiledlayout(3,3);

% Team 1
nexttile
bar([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,1))
title('Team 1 Strikes')

% Team 2
nexttile
bar([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,2))
title('Team 2 Strikes')

% Team 3
nexttile
bar([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,3))
title('Team 3 Strikes')

% Team 4
nexttile
bar([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,4))
title('Team 4 Strikes')

% Team 5
nexttile(7)
bar([1 2 3 4],strikes(:,5))
title('Team 5 Strikes')

Display a larger plot with a legend. Call the nexttile function to place the upper left corner of the axes in the fifth tile, and span the axes across two rows by two columns of tiles. Plot the scores for all the teams. Configure the x-axis to display four ticks, and add labels to each axis. Then add a shared title at the top of the layout.

nexttile(5,[2 2]);
plot([1 2 3 4],scores,'-.')
labels = {'Team 1','Team 2','Team 3','Team 4','Team 5'};
legend(labels,'Location','northwest')

% Configure ticks and axis labels
xticks([1 2 3 4])
xlabel('Game')
ylabel('Score')

% Add layout title
title(t,'April Bowling League Data')

Display Polar and Geographic Plots

Create a 1-by-2 tiled chart layout. In the first tile, display a geographic plot containing a line that connects two cities on a map. In the second tile, create a scatter plot in polar coordinates.

tiledlayout(1,2)

% Display geographic plot
nexttile
geoplot([47.62 61.20],[-122.33 -149.90],'g-*')

% Display polar plot
nexttile
theta = pi/4:pi/4:2*pi;
rho = [19 6 12 18 16 11 15 15];
polarscatter(theta,rho)

Reconfigure Content in Previous Tile

One of the ways that the nexttile output argument is useful is when you want to adjust the content in a previous tile. For example, you might decide to reconfigure the colormap used in a previous plot.

Create a 2-by-2 tiled chart layout. Call the peaks function to get the coordinates for a predefined surface. Then create a different plot of the surface in each tile.

tiledlayout(2,2);
[X,Y,Z] = peaks(20);

% Tile 1
nexttile
surf(X,Y,Z)

% Tile 2
nexttile
contour(X,Y,Z)

% Tile 3
nexttile
imagesc(Z)

% Tile 4
nexttile
plot3(X,Y,Z)

To change the colormap in the third tile, get the axes in that tile. Call the nexttile function by specifying the tile number, and return the axes output argument. Then pass the axes to the colormap function.

ax = nexttile(3);
colormap(ax,cool)

Replace Content in Previous Tile

Load the patients data set and create a table from a subset of the variables. Then create a 2-by-2 tiled chart layout. Display a scatter plot in the first tile, a heatmap in the second tile, and a stacked plot across the bottom two tiles.

load patients
tbl = table(Diastolic,Smoker,Systolic,Height,Weight,SelfAssessedHealthStatus);
tiledlayout(2,2)

% Scatter plot
nexttile
scatter(tbl.Height,tbl.Weight)

% Heatmap
nexttile
heatmap(tbl,'Smoker','SelfAssessedHealthStatus','Title','Smoker''s Health');

% Stacked plot
nexttile([1 2])
stackedplot(tbl,{'Systolic','Diastolic'});

Call nexttile, and specify the tile number as 1 to make the axes in that tile the current axes. Replace the contents of that tile with a scatter histogram.

nexttile(1)
scatterhistogram(tbl,'Height','Weight');

Display Layout in a Panel

Create a panel in a figure. Then create a tiled chart layout t in the panel by specifying the panel object as the first argument to the tiledlayout function. By default, nexttile looks for the layout in the figure. However the layout is in a panel instead of a figure, so you must specify t as an input argument when you call nexttile.

p = uipanel('Position',[.1 .2 .8 .6]);
t = tiledlayout(p,2,1);

% Tile 1
nexttile(t)
stem(1:13)

% Tile 2
nexttile(t)
bar([10 22 31 43 52])

Create and Configure Axes Manually

Occasionally, you might need to create the axes manually before calling a plotting function. When you create the axes, specify the parent argument as the tiled chart layout. Then position the axes by setting the Layout property on the axes.

Create a tiled chart layout t and specify the 'flow' tile arrangement. Display a plot in each of the first three tiles.

t = tiledlayout('flow');
nexttile
plot(rand(1,10));
nexttile
plot(rand(1,10));
nexttile
plot(rand(1,10));

Create a geographic axes object gax by calling the geoaxes function and specify t as the parent argument. By default, the axes goes into the first tile, so move it to the fourth tile by setting gax.Layout.Tile to 4. Span the axes across a 2-by-3 region of tiles by setting gax.Layout.TileSpan to [2 3].

gax = geoaxes(t);
gax.Layout.Tile = 4;
gax.Layout.TileSpan = [2 3];

Call the geoplot function. Then configure the map center and zoom level for the axes.

geoplot(gax,[47.62 61.20],[-122.33 -149.90],'g-*')
gax.MapCenter = [47.62 -122.33];
gax.ZoomLevel = 2;

Input Arguments

tilenum — Tile number

positive whole number

Tile number, specified as a positive whole number. The tile numbers start at 1 and increase from left-to-right and top-to-bottom.

If the tile is empty, nexttile places an axes object into that tile. If the tile contains an axes or chart object, then that object becomes the current axes, so the next plotting command can plot into it.

span — Tile span

[1 1] (default) | [r c]

Tile span, specified as a vector of the form [r c], where r and c are positive whole numbers. Use this argument to make the axes span r rows by c columns of tiles in the layout.

If you specify the span argument without the tilenum argument, nexttile places the upper left corner of the axes in the upper left corner of the first empty r-by-c region in the layout.

However, if you specify both the tilenum and span arguments, nexttile places the upper left corner of the axes in the upper left corner of the tile specified by tilenum. For example, the large axes on the right side of this 3-by-4 layout has a tile number of 2 and a span of [2 3].

t — Tiled chart layout

TiledChartLayout object

TiledChartLayout object to place the axes into. This argument is useful when you are working with multiple layouts, or when the layout is in a panel or tab instead of a figure. When you do not specify t, nexttile looks for the layout in the current figure.