scatter

scatter(positions)
scatter(x, y)
scatter(x, y, z)

Examples

Using x and y vectors

Scatters can be constructed by passing a list of x and y coordinates.

using CairoMakie


xs = range(0, 10, length = 30)
ys = 0.5 .* sin.(xs)

scatter(xs, ys)

Using points

It is also possible to pass coordinates as a vector of points, which is preferred if the coordinates should be updated later, to avoid different lengths of x and y.

Attributes like color and markersize can be set in scalar or vector form. If you pass a vector of numbers for color, the attribute colorrange which is by default automatically equal to the extrema of the color values, decides how colors are looked up in the colormap.

using CairoMakie


xs = range(0, 10, length = 30)
ys = 0.5 .* sin.(xs)
points = Point2f.(xs, ys)

scatter(points, color = 1:30, markersize = range(5, 30, length = 30),
    colormap = :thermal)

Markers

There are a couple different categories of markers you can use with scatter:

• Chars like 'x' or 'α'. The glyphs are taken from Makie's default font TeX Gyre Heros Makie.

• BezierPath objects which can be used to create custom marker shapes. Most default markers which are accessed by symbol such as :circle or :rect convert to BezierPaths internally.

• Polygons, which are equivalent to constructing BezierPaths exclusively out of LineTo commands.

• Matrix{<:Colorant} objects which are plotted as image scatters.

• Special markers like Circle and Rect which have their own backend implementations and can be faster to display.

Default markers

Here is an example plot showing different shapes that are accessible by Symbols, as well as a few characters.

using CairoMakie


markers_labels = [
    (:circle, ":circle"),
    (:rect, ":rect"),
    (:diamond, ":diamond"),
    (:hexagon, ":hexagon"),
    (:cross, ":cross"),
    (:xcross, ":xcross"),
    (:utriangle, ":utriangle"),
    (:dtriangle, ":dtriangle"),
    (:ltriangle, ":ltriangle"),
    (:rtriangle, ":rtriangle"),
    (:pentagon, ":pentagon"),
    (:star4, ":star4"),
    (:star5, ":star5"),
    (:star6, ":star6"),
    (:star8, ":star8"),
    (:vline, ":vline"),
    (:hline, ":hline"),
    ('a', "'a'"),
    ('B', "'B'"),
    ('↑', "'\\uparrow'"),
    ('😄', "'\\:smile:'"),
    ('✈', "'\\:airplane:'"),
]

f = Figure()
ax = Axis(f[1, 1], yreversed = true,
    xautolimitmargin = (0.15, 0.15),
    yautolimitmargin = (0.15, 0.15)
)
hidedecorations!(ax)

for (i, (marker, label)) in enumerate(markers_labels)
    p = Point2f(fldmod1(i, 6)...)

    scatter!(p, marker = marker, markersize = 20, color = :black)
    text!(p, text = label, color = :gray70, offset = (0, 20),
        align = (:center, :bottom))
end

f

Markersize

The markersize attribute scales the scatter size relative to the scatter marker's base size. Therefore, markersize cannot be directly understood in terms of a unit like px, it depends on what is scaled.

For Char markers, markersize is equivalent to the font size when displaying the same characters using text.

using CairoMakie


f, ax, sc = scatter(1, 1, marker = 'A', markersize = 50)
text!(2, 1, text = "A", fontsize = 50, align = (:center, :center))
xlims!(ax, -1, 4)
f

The default BezierPath markers like :circle, :rect, :utriangle, etc. have been chosen such that they approximately match Char markers of the same markersize. This makes it easier to switch out markers without the overall look changing too much. However, both Char and BezierPath markers are not exactly markersize high or wide. We can visualize this by plotting some Chars, BezierPaths, Circle and Rect in front of a line of width 50. You can see that only the special markers Circle and Rect match the line width because their base size is 1 x 1, however they don't match the Chars or BezierPaths very well.

using CairoMakie


f, ax, l = lines([0, 1], [1, 1], linewidth = 50, color = :gray80)
for (marker, x) in zip(['X', 'x', :circle, :rect, :utriangle, Circle, Rect], range(0.1, 0.9, length = 7))
    scatter!(ax, x, 1, marker = marker, markersize = 50, color = :black)
end
f

If you need a marker that has some exact base size, so that you can match it with lines or other plot objects of known size, or because you want to use the marker in data space, you can construct it yourself using BezierPath or Polygon. A marker with a base size of 1 x 1, e.g., will be scaled like lines when markersize and linewidth are the same, just like Circle and Rect markers.

Here, we construct a hexagon polygon with radius 1, which we can then use to tile a surface in data coordinates by setting markerspace = :data.

using CairoMakie


hexagon = Makie.Polygon([Point2f(cos(a), sin(a)) for a in range(1/6 * pi, 13/6 * pi, length = 7)])

points = Point2f[(0, 0), (sqrt(3), 0), (sqrt(3)/2, 1.5)]

scatter(points,
    marker = hexagon,
    markersize = 1,
    markerspace = :data,
    color = 1:3,
    axis = (; aspect = 1, limits = (-2, 4, -2, 4)))

Bezier path markers

Bezier paths are the basis for vector graphic formats such as svg and pdf and consist of a couple different operations that can define complex shapes.

A BezierPath contains a vector of path commands, these are MoveTo, LineTo, CurveTo, EllipticalArc and ClosePath. A filled shape should start with MoveTo and end with ClosePath.

Here is an example with a simple arrow that is centered on its tip, built from path elements.

using CairoMakie


arrow_path = BezierPath([
    MoveTo(Point(0, 0)),
    LineTo(Point(0.3, -0.3)),
    LineTo(Point(0.15, -0.3)),
    LineTo(Point(0.3, -1)),
    LineTo(Point(0, -0.9)),
    LineTo(Point(-0.3, -1)),
    LineTo(Point(-0.15, -0.3)),
    LineTo(Point(-0.3, -0.3)),
    ClosePath()
])

scatter(1:5,
    marker = arrow_path,
    markersize = range(20, 50, length = 5),
    rotations = range(0, 2pi, length = 6)[1:end-1],
)

Holes

Paths can have holes, just start a new subpath with MoveTo that is inside the main path. The holes have to be in clockwise direction if the outside is in anti-clockwise direction, or vice versa. For example, a circle with a square cut out can be made by one EllipticalArc that goes anticlockwise, and a square inside which goes clockwise:

using CairoMakie


circle_with_hole = BezierPath([
    MoveTo(Point(1, 0)),
    EllipticalArc(Point(0, 0), 1, 1, 0, 0, 2pi),
    MoveTo(Point(0.5, 0.5)),
    LineTo(Point(0.5, -0.5)),
    LineTo(Point(-0.5, -0.5)),
    LineTo(Point(-0.5, 0.5)),
    ClosePath(),
])

scatter(1:5,
    marker = circle_with_hole,
    markersize = 30,
)

Construction from svg path strings

You can also create a bezier path from an svg path specification string. You can automatically resize the path and flip the y- and x-axes (svgs usually have a coordinate system where y increases downwards) with the keywords fit, flipy, and flipx. By default, the bounding box for the fitted path is a square of width 1 centered on zero. You can pass a different bounding Rect with the bbox keyword argument. By default, the aspect of the path is left intact, and if it's not matching the new bounding box, the path is centered so it fits inside. Set keep_aspect = false to squeeze the path into the bounding box, disregarding its original aspect ratio.

Here's an example with an svg string that contains the bat symbol:

using CairoMakie


batsymbol_string = "M96.84 141.998c-4.947-23.457-20.359-32.211-25.862-13.887-11.822-22.963-37.961-16.135-22.041 6.289-3.005-1.295-5.872-2.682-8.538-4.191-8.646-5.318-15.259-11.314-19.774-17.586-3.237-5.07-4.994-10.541-4.994-16.229 0-19.774 21.115-36.758 50.861-43.694.446-.078.909-.154 1.372-.231-22.657 30.039 9.386 50.985 15.258 24.645l2.528-24.367 5.086 6.52H103.205l5.07-6.52 2.543 24.367c5.842 26.278 37.746 5.502 15.414-24.429 29.777 6.951 50.891 23.936 50.891 43.709 0 15.136-12.406 28.651-31.609 37.267 14.842-21.822-10.867-28.266-22.549-5.549-5.502-18.325-21.147-9.341-26.125 13.886z"

batsymbol = BezierPath(batsymbol_string, fit = true, flipy = true)

scatter(1:10, marker = batsymbol, markersize = 50, color = :black)

Polygon markers

One can also use GeometryBasics.Polgyon as a marker. A polygon always needs one vector of points which forms the outline. It can also take an optional vector of vectors of points, each of which forms a hole in the outlined shape.

In this example, a small circle is cut out of a larger circle:

using CairoMakie, GeometryBasics


p_big = decompose(Point2f, Circle(Point2f(0), 1))
p_small = decompose(Point2f, Circle(Point2f(0), 0.5))
scatter(1:4, fill(0, 4), marker=Polygon(p_big, [p_small]), markersize=100, color=1:4, axis=(limits=(0, 5, -1, 1),))

Marker rotation

Markers can be rotated using the rotations attribute, which also allows to pass a vector.

using CairoMakie


points = [Point2f(x, y) for y in 1:10 for x in 1:10]
rotations = range(0, 2pi, length = length(points))

scatter(points, rotations = rotations, markersize = 20, marker = '↑')

Vec markersize

You can scale x and y dimension of markers separately by passing a Vec.

using CairoMakie


f = Figure()
ax = Axis(f[1, 1])

scales = range(0.5, 1.5, length = 10)

for (i, sx) in enumerate(scales)
    for (j, sy) in enumerate(scales)
        scatter!(ax, Point2f(i, j),
            marker = '✈',
            markersize = 30 .* Vec2f(sx, sy),
            color = :black)
    end
end

f

Marker space

By default marker sizes are given in pixel units. You can change this by adjusting markerspace. For example, you can have a marker scaled in data units by setting markerspace = :data.

using CairoMakie


f = Figure()
ax = Axis(f[1, 1])
limits!(ax, -10, 10, -10, 10)

scatter!(ax, Point2f(0, 0), markersize = 20, markerspace = :data,
    marker = '✈', label = "markerspace = :data")
scatter!(ax, Point2f(0, 0), markersize = 20, markerspace = :pixel,
    marker = '✈', label = "markerspace = :pixel")

axislegend(ax)

f

Airport locations example

using CairoMakie
using DelimitedFiles


a = readdlm(assetpath("airportlocations.csv"))

scatter(a[1:50:end, :], marker = '✈',
    markersize = 20, color = :black)

Dealing with outline artifacts in GLMakie

In GLMakie 3D scatter plots can generate outline artifacts depending on the order markers are rendered in. Currently there are a few ways to mitigate this problem, but they all come at a cost:

• fxaa = true will disable the native anti-aliasing of scatter markers and use fxaa instead. This results in less detailed markers, especially for thin markers like characters.

• transparency = true will disable depth testing to a degree, resulting in all markers being rendered without artifacts. However with this markers always have some level of transparency

• overdraw = true will disable depth testing entirely (read and write) for the plot, removing artifacts. This will however change the z-order of markers and allow plots rendered later to show up on top of the scatter plot

• depthsorting = true will sort markers by depth before rendering to fix the issue. This only works within a plot call, so when other plots are involved the issue may reappear.

using GLMakie

ps = rand(Point3f, 500)
cs = rand(500)
f = Figure(size = (900, 650))
Label(f[1, 1], "base", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[2, 1], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, fxaa = false)
Label(f[1, 2], "fxaa = true", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[2, 2], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, fxaa = true)

Label(f[3, 1], "transparency = true", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[4, 1], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, transparency = true)
Label(f[3, 2], "overdraw = true", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[4, 2], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, overdraw = true)

Label(f[1, 3], "depthsorting = true", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[2, 3], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, depthsorting = true)
Label(f[3, 3], "depthsorting = true", tellwidth = false)
scatter(f[4, 3], ps, color = cs, markersize = 20, depthsorting = true)
mesh!(Rect3f(Point3f(0), Vec3f(0.9, 0.9, 0.9)), color = :orange)
f