Text color, specified as an RGB triplet or a character vector of a color name. The default color is black with an RGB triplet value of [0 0 0].

An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7]. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

Example: [0 0 0.5]

Example: 'blue'

Background color, specified as an RGB triplet or a character vector of a color name. The default color is white with an RGB triplet value of [1 1 1].

An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7]. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

Example: legend({'A','B'},'Color','y')

Example: legend({'A','B'},'Color',[0.8 0.8 1])

Display of box outline, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Display the box around the legend.

• 'off' — Do not display the box around the legend.

Example: legend({'A','B'},'Box','off')

Color of box outline, specified as an RGB triplet or a character vector of a color name. The default color is dark gray with an RGB triplet value of [0.15 0.15 0.15].

An RGB triplet is a three-element row vector whose elements specify the intensities of the red, green, and blue components of the color. The intensities must be in the range [0,1]; for example, [0.4 0.6 0.7]. This table lists the long and short color name options and the equivalent RGB triplet values.

Example: legend({'A','B'},'EdgeColor',[0 1 0])

Width of box outline, specified as a positive value in point units. One point equals 1/72 inches.

Example: 1.5

Location with respect to the axes, specified as one of the location values listed in this table.

Example: legend('Location','northeastoutside')

Orientation, specified as one of these values:

• 'vertical' — Stack the legend items vertically.

• 'horizontal' — List the legend items side-by-side.

Example: legend('Orientation','horizontal')

Custom location and size, specified as a four-element vector of the form [left bottom width height]. The first two values, left and bottom, specify the distance from the lower left corner of the figure to the lower left corner of the legend. The last two values, width and height, specify the legend dimensions. The Units property determines the position units.

If you specify the Position property, then MATLAB^® automatically changes the Location property to 'none'.

Example: legend({'A','B'},'Position',[0.2 0.6 0.1 0.2])

Position units, specified as one of the values in this table.

All units are measured from the lower-left corner of the container window.

This property affects the Position property. If you change the units, then it is good practice to return it to its default value after completing your computation to prevent affecting other functions that assume Units is the default value.

If you specify the Position and Units properties as Name,Value pairs when creating the legend, then the order of specification matters. If you want to define the position with particular units, then you must set the Units property before the Position property.

Text for legend labels, specified as a cell array of character vectors or a string array.

Interpretation of text characters, specified as one of these values:

• 'tex' — Interpret characters using a subset of TeX markup.

• 'latex' — Interpret characters using LaTeX markup.

• 'none' — Display literal characters.

TeX Markup

By default, MATLAB supports a subset of TeX markup. Use TeX markup to add superscripts and subscripts, modify the font type and color, and include special characters in the text.

This table lists the supported modifiers with the Interpreter property set to 'tex'. Modifiers remain in effect until the end of the text. Superscripts and subscripts are an exception because they only modify the next character or the characters within the curly braces.

This table lists the supported special characters with the Interpreter property set to 'tex'.

LaTeX Markup

To use LaTeX markup, set the Interpreter property to 'latex'. Use dollar symbols around the text, for example, use '$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$' for inline mode or '$$\int_1^{20} x^2 dx$$' for display mode.

The displayed text uses the default LaTeX font style. The FontName, FontWeight, and FontAngle properties do not have an effect. To change the font style, use LaTeX markup.

The maximum size of the text that you can use with the LaTeX interpreter is 1200 characters. For multiline text, this reduces by about 10 characters per line.

For more information about the LaTeX system, see The LaTeX Project website at http://www.latex-project.org/.

Legend title, returned as a legend text object. To add a legend title, set the String property of the legend text object. To change the title appearance, such as the font style or color, set legend text properties. For a list, see Legend Text Properties.

plot(rand(3));
lgd = legend('line 1','line 2','line 3');
lgd.Title.String = 'My Legend Title';
lgd.Title.FontSize = 12;

Alternatively, use the title function to add a title and control the appearance.

plot(rand(3));
lgd = legend('line 1','line 2','line 3');
title(lgd,'My Legend Title','FontSize',12)

Character slant, specified as 'normal' or 'italic'. Not all fonts have both font styles. Therefore, the italic font might look the same as the normal font.

Note:   The 'oblique' value has been removed. Use 'italic' instead.

Font name, specified as the name of the font to use or 'FixedWidth'. To display and print properly, the font name must be a font that your system supports. The default font depends on the specific operating system and locale.

To use a fixed-width font that looks good in any locale, use 'FixedWidth'. The 'FixedWidth' value relies on the root FixedWidthFontName property. Setting the root FixedWidthFontName property causes an immediate update of the display to use the new font.

Example: 'Cambria'

Font size, specified as a scalar value greater than zero in point units. If you change the axes font size, then MATLAB automatically sets the legend font size to 90% of the axes font size. If you manually set the legend font size, then changing the axes font size does not affect the legend.

Thickness of the text characters, specified as one of these values:

• 'normal' — Default weight as defined by the particular font

• 'bold' — Thicker character outlines than normal

MATLAB uses the FontWeight property to select a font from those available on your system. Not all fonts have a bold font weight. Therefore, specifying a bold font weight still can result in the normal font weight.

Note:   The 'light' and 'demi' font weight values have been removed. Use 'normal' instead.

State of visibility, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Display the legend.

• 'off' — Hide the legend without deleting it. You still can access the properties of an invisible legend object.

This property is read only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'legend'. Use this property to find all objects of a given type within a plotting hierarchy.

User-specified tag to associate with the legend, specified as a character vector. Tags provide a way to identify graphics objects. Use this property to find all objects with a specific tag within a plotting hierarchy, for example, searching for the tag using findobj.

Example: 'January Data'

Data to associate with the legend object, specified as any MATLAB data, for example, a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. MATLAB does not use this data.

To associate multiple sets of data or to attach a field name to the data, use the getappdata and setappdata functions.

Example: 1:100

Parent of the legend, specified as a figure object, uipanel object, or a uitab object.

The legend must have the same parent as the associated axes. If you change the parent of the associated axes, then the legend automatically updates to use the same parent.

The legend has no children. You cannot set this property.

Visibility of legend object handle in the Children property of the parent, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — The legend object handle is always visible.

• 'off' — The legend object handle is invisible at all times. This option is useful for preventing unintended changes to the UI by another function. Set the HandleVisibility to 'off' to temporarily hide the handle during the execution of that function.

• 'callback' — The legend object handle is visible from within callbacks or functions invoked by callbacks, but not from within functions invoked from the command line. This option blocks access to the legend at the command-line, but allows callback functions to access it.

If the legend object is not listed in the Children property of the parent, then functions that obtain object handles by searching the object hierarchy or querying handle properties cannot return it. This includes get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close.

Hidden object handles are still valid. Set the root ShowHiddenHandles property to 'on' to list all object handles regardless of their HandleVisibility property setting.

Callback that executes when you click legend items, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle. For example, @myCallback.

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments. For example, {@myCallback,arg3}.

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended).

If you specify this property using a function handle, then MATLAB passes the legend object and an event data structure as the first and second input arguments to the function. This table describes the fields in the event data structure.

Event Data Structure Fields

For an example using this property, see Create Interactive Legends Using Callbacks.

Note:   If you set the ButtonDownFcn property, then the ItemHitFcn property is disabled.

Mouse-click callback, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

Use this property to execute code when you click the legend. If you specify this property using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• The legend object — You can access properties of the legend object from within the callback function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Callback Definition.

Note:   If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then this callback does not execute.

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

Context menu, specified as a uicontextmenu object. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click the legend. Create the context menu using the uicontextmenu function.

Note:   If the PickableParts property is set to 'none' or if the HitTest property is set to 'off', then the context menu does not appear.

Selection state, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Selected. If you click the legend when in plot edit mode, then MATLAB sets its Selected property to 'on'. If the SelectionHighlight property also is set to 'on', then MATLAB displays selection handles around the legend.

• 'off' — Not selected.

Display of selection handles when selected, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Display selection handles when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

• 'off' — Never display selection handles, even when the Selected property is set to 'on'.

Ability to capture mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

• 'visible' — Can capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the legend that has a defined color. You cannot click a part that has an associated color property set to 'none'. The HitTest property determines if the legend responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

• 'none' — Cannot capture mouse clicks. Clicking the legend passes the click to the object below it in the current view of the figure window. The HitTest property of the legend has no effect.

Response to captured mouse clicks, specified as one of these values:

• 'on' — Trigger the ButtonDownFcn callback of the legend. If you have defined the UIContextMenu property, then invoke the context menu.

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the legend that has a HitTest property set to 'on' and a PickableParts property value that enables the ancestor to capture mouse clicks.

Note:   The PickableParts property determines if the legend object can capture mouse clicks. If it cannot, then the HitTest property has no effect.

Callback interruption, specified as 'off' or 'on'. The Interruptible property determines if a running callback can be interrupted.

If the ButtonDownFcn callback of the legend is the running callback, then the Interruptible property determines if it can be interrupted by another callback. The Interruptible property has two possible values:

• 'off' — The running callback cannot be interrupted. MATLAB finishes executing the running callback without any interruptions. This is the default behavior.

• 'on' — The running callback can be interrupted. Interruption occurs at the next point where MATLAB processes the queue, such as when there is a drawnow, figure, getframe, waitfor, or pause command.

  • If the running callback contains one of these commands, then MATLAB stops the execution of the callback at this point and executes the interrupting callback. MATLAB resumes executing the running callback when the interrupting callback completes. For more information, see Interrupt Callback Execution.

  • If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then MATLAB finishes executing the callback without interruption.

Note:   There are two callback states to consider: The running callback is the currently executing callback. The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback. Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt a running callback. The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is allowed. If interruption is not allowed, then the BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if it is discarded or put in the queue.

Example: 'off'

Callback queuing specified as 'queue' or 'cancel'. The BusyAction property determines how MATLAB handles the execution of interrupting callbacks.

Note:   There are two callback states to consider: The running callback is the currently executing callback. The interrupting callback is a callback that tries to interrupt the running callback. Whenever MATLAB invokes a callback, that callback attempts to interrupt a running callback. The Interruptible property of the object owning the running callback determines if interruption is allowed. If interruption is not allowed, then the BusyAction property of the object owning the interrupting callback determines if it is discarded or put in the queue.

If the ButtonDownFcn callback of the legend tries to interrupt a running callback that cannot be interrupted, then the BusyAction property determines if it is discarded or put in the queue. Specify the BusyAction property as one of these values:

• 'queue' — Put the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution. This is the default behavior.

• 'cancel' — Discard the interrupting callback.

Creation callback, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

Use this property to execute code when you create the legend. Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing legend has no effect. You must define a default value for this property, or define this property using a Name,Value pair during legend creation. MATLAB executes the callback after creating the legend and setting all of its properties.

If you specify this callback using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• The legend object — You can access properties of the legend object from within the callback function. You also can access the legend object through the CallbackObject property of the root, which can be queried using the gcbo function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Callback Definition.

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

Deletion callback, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle

• Cell array containing a function handle and additional arguments

• Character vector that is a valid MATLAB command or function, which is evaluated in the base workspace (not recommended)

Use this property to execute code when you delete the legend. MATLAB executes the callback before destroying the legend so that the callback can access its property values.

If you specify this callback using a function handle, then MATLAB passes two arguments to the callback function when executing the callback:

• The legend object — You can access properties of the legend object from within the callback function. You also can access the legend object through the CallbackObject property of the root, which can be queried using the gcbo function.

• Event data — This argument is empty for this property. Replace it with the tilde character (~) in the function definition to indicate that this argument is not used.

For more information on how to use function handles to define callback functions, see Callback Definition.

Example: @myCallback

Example: {@myCallback,arg3}

This property is read only.

Deletion status of legend, returned as 'off' or 'on'. MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the delete function of the legend begins execution (see the DeleteFcn property). The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the legend no longer exists.

Check the value of the BeingDeleted property to verify that the legend is not about to be deleted before querying or modifying it.