Matplotlib Text Wrapping and Styling

Introduction

In this lab, we will learn how to wrap text automatically in Python Matplotlib. We will also explore how to control the placement and style of text in a Matplotlib plot.

VM Tips

After the VM startup is done, click the top left corner to switch to the Notebook tab to access Jupyter Notebook for practice.

Sometimes, you may need to wait a few seconds for Jupyter Notebook to finish loading. The validation of operations cannot be automated because of limitations in Jupyter Notebook.

If you face issues during learning, feel free to ask Labby. Provide feedback after the session, and we will promptly resolve the problem for you.

Setting up the Environment

Before we begin, we need to ensure that Matplotlib is installed. Open your terminal and type the following command:

!pip install matplotlib

Creating a Basic Plot

Let's start by creating a basic plot with a text element. In your Python script, add the following code:

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

fig = plt.figure()
plt.axis([0, 10, 0, 10])
plt.text(5, 5, "Hello, Matplotlib!", ha='center')
plt.show()

Wrapping Text Automatically

Now, let's explore how to wrap text automatically in Matplotlib. Replace the plt.text() line in your code with the following:

t = ("This is a really long string that I'd rather have wrapped so that it "
     "doesn't go outside of the figure, but if it's long enough it will go "
     "off the top or bottom!")
plt.text(5, 5, t, ha='center', wrap=True)

The wrap=True argument tells Matplotlib to wrap the text automatically.

Controlling Text Placement and Style

We can also control the placement and style of the text in our Matplotlib plot. Try adding the following code to your script:

plt.text(2, 8, "Top Left", fontsize=12, color='red')
plt.text(8, 8, "Top Right", fontsize=12, color='blue')
plt.text(2, 2, "Bottom Left", fontsize=12, color='green')
plt.text(8, 2, "Bottom Right", fontsize=12, color='purple')

This will add four text elements to our plot, each with a different color, font size, and position.

Saving the Plot

Finally, let's save our plot as an image file. Add the following code to your script:

fig.savefig("my_plot.png")

This will save our plot as a PNG image in the same directory as our script.

Summary

In this lab, we learned how to wrap text automatically in Python Matplotlib. We also explored how to control the placement and style of text in a Matplotlib plot. With these tools, we can create clear and visually appealing plots for our data.