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Is there an easy way to 'break' the axis in a pgfplots environment? What I'm talking about is something like this

enter image description here

Any minimal plot will do as an example...for example

\documentclass{minimal}  
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}

\begin{document}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{axis}[ymin=0, ymax=80]
\addplot {x*0}; 
\addplot {x^2+50};
\end{axis}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

For example, in the below plot,

plot

I want to break the axis from around y = 10 to y = 40.

Any ideas? Does PGF have this functionality? A search for `break' in the manual doesn't yield anything.

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5
  • 2
    You can search for axis y discontinuity in the pgfplots manual. – percusse Mar 1 '12 at 23:03
  • 2
    The axis y discontinuity option won't let you plot values near the origin, it is only meant for showing that a plot doesn't start near zero. TSGM, could you provide a more concrete example of what you want to achieve? A break in a column plot is much easier than in a line plot. – Jake Mar 1 '12 at 23:10
  • @Jake: I've edited the original post to be more specific for what kind of break I want to achieve. – TSGM Mar 1 '12 at 23:19
  • I've posted a related question here – Enlico Dec 18 '15 at 10:58
  • 2
    I've created a feature request ticket on sourceforge sourceforge.net/p/pgfplots/feature-requests/81 – Dilawar Jul 10 '18 at 4:34
60

One solution for the posted minimal example could be the following:

\documentclass{minimal}  
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{pgfplots}
\usetikzlibrary{pgfplots.groupplots}

\begin{document}
\pgfplotsset{
% override style for non-boxed plots
    % which is the case for both sub-plots
    every non boxed x axis/.style={} 
}
\begin{tikzpicture}
\begin{groupplot}[
    group style={
        group name=my fancy plots,
        group size=1 by 2,
        xticklabels at=edge bottom,
        vertical sep=0pt
    },
    width=8.5cm,
    xmin=-6, xmax=6
]

\nextgroupplot[ymin=45,ymax=80,
               ytick={60,80},
               axis x line=top, 
               axis y discontinuity=parallel,
               height=4.5cm]
\addplot {x*0};     
\addplot {x^2+50};         

\nextgroupplot[ymin=0,ymax=5,
               ytick={0},
               axis x line=bottom,
               height=2.0cm]
\addplot {x*0}; 
\addplot {x^2+50};                 
\end{groupplot}
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

It combines two plots in a groupplot-environment and plots them on top of each other. Using the axis y discontinuity is possible then:

Two plots using axis y discontinuity for the upper.

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4
  • Ah yes, that's very clever! Would you mind adding a sentence or two describing the approach? – Jake Jul 9 '12 at 22:58
  • 1
    The basic idea is to disable the "boxed" style when gluing two group plots together while setting vertical sep to 0. Then you can define individual axis x line for the upper and lower plot which results in the whole groupplot appearing as one box. – der Michi Jul 11 '12 at 10:15
  • I extended this answer here: tex.stackexchange.com/questions/46422 – Dr. Manuel Kuehner Dec 19 '15 at 23:03
  • I have 3 levels of plots with grids. To hide x-axes in the plot interior, the middle one must have a combination of commands: x axis line style={draw opacity=0}, axis x line*=none. – forrest Apr 19 '20 at 8:53
20

Is there an easy way ...

The only "easy" ways to accomplish axis discontinuities are the axis y discontinuity feature mentioned by percusse - which is unavailable for your specific use-case.

Your use-case would need a much more sophisticated implementation which

  • maps coordinates
  • draws discontinuity markers at the correct places into the axis
  • knows how to draw such markers into each bar (and knows how to draw it for other plot handlers as well).

In short: the feature is unavailable. You can post a feature request on sourceforge.

If you are a power-user, you could consider implementing the first two steps using a custom coordinate transformation and some decoration for the axis.

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6
  • 4
    Follow up, is there any guru who can solve this problem? – user14024 Apr 28 '12 at 1:29
  • Plus one with Nadim's request – Rave May 28 '12 at 16:08
  • I also need to accomplish something like this. My use case is nearly identical to the excel image in the OP. – Trevor Aug 20 '12 at 23:14
  • 5
    Nice feature request. I would need it myself. – Pygmalion Aug 27 '12 at 15:28
  • 4
    @christian I was wondering if this capability has been added since this question was asked a long time ago? Thanks. – Ali Jan 21 '20 at 3:45

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