Changing Axis Labels

If you want to add Labels to your axis, to describe them, you can use the commands :

set xlabel "string"
set ylabel "string"
set zlabel "string"

Note that the ylabel string in 2D plots will appear at the top left corner of the screen, using a Graphic view. However, it will be vertically placed in a postscript plot. If you want to move the label, you can use the following offsets after the ylabel graph:

set ylabel "Y-Values" 0,-10

These will add labels of the string you specify to the graph. For instance, typing the following:

set xlabel "X-Values"
set ylabel "Y-Values" 0, -10
plot sin(x)

will produce the graph

Labels work the same in 3D plots, where the zlabel is used as well. To turn off the labels, Just use the set xlabel with no arguements.

Displaying Zero Axises...

You can turn off the dashed lines that represent the x=0 and y=0 lines in 2D plots. To turn them off, use one of the following:

set nozeroaxis Turns off both x and y
set noxzeroaxis Turns off just x
set yzeroaxis Turns on y
set zeroaxis Turns on both x and y

For example, if you typed the following:

set nozeroaxis
replot

You would get :

Turning off Border and Graph Key

Command relating to border -

set noborder - Turns off drawing of border
set border - Turns on drawing of border

You can also turn off the display of the function names in the upper right hand corner. Related commands -

set nokey
set key

For example:

set noborder
set grid
set nokey
replot

produces the following:

Changing "Tic" Marks on the Borders...

You can turn off the markings on the axis by using one of the commands like set noxtics. For instance, typing the following:

set noxtics
set border
set noytics
replot

produces the following graph:

To turn the tics back on, use set xtics or set ytics. You can also make the Tics marks correspond to Days of the week (i.e., set xdtics, or months (i.e., set xmtics). For instance, typing the following:

set xdtics
set ymtics
plot x

Produces the following:

Ticslevel

One final thing, with splots, you may have noticed that the graph is always raised above the base. If you want to lower it, see help set ticslevel.

Table of Contents - Changing Variables Used Next - Changing the General Appearance of Graphs

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