BoxChart Properties

Control box chart appearance and behavior

BoxChart properties control the appearance and behavior of a BoxChart object. By changing property values, you can modify certain aspects of the object.

You can use dot notation to query and set properties. For example, you can change the box color of a box chart:

b = boxchart(rand(10,1));
b.BoxFaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Data Display

BoxWidth — Box width

positive scalar

Box width, specified as a positive scalar. BoxWidth uses the same units as the positional grouping data specified by XData or XVariable.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

CapWidth — Whisker cap width

positive scalar

Since R2025a

Whisker cap width, specified as a positive scalar. CapWidth uses the same units as the positional grouping data specified by XData or XVariable.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

CapWidthMode — How CapWidth is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2025a

How the CapWidth property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB^® sets CapWidth to 0.5*BoxWidth.

• "manual" — You set the value of CapWidth manually, either by specifying a value when you create a BoxChartobject or by setting CapWidth on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of CapWidth manually, MATLAB changes the value of the CapWidthMode property to "manual".

JitterOutliers — Outlier marker displacement

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Outlier marker displacement, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

If you set the JitterOutliers property to 'on', then boxchart randomly displaces the outlier markers along the XData direction to help you distinguish between outliers that have similar ydata values. For an example, see Visualize and Find Outliers.

Example: b = boxchart([rand(20,1);2;2;2],'JitterOutliers','on')

Example: b.JitterOutliers = 'on';

Notch — Median comparison display

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Median comparison display, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

If you set the Notch property to 'on', then boxchart creates a tapered, shaded region around each median. Box charts whose notches do not overlap have different medians at the 5% significance level. For more information, see Box Chart (Box Plot).

Notches can extend beyond the lower and upper quartiles.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,2),'Notch','on')

Example: b.Notch = 'on';

Orientation — Orientation of box charts

'vertical' (default) | 'horizontal'

Orientation of box charts, specified as 'vertical' or 'horizontal'. By default, the box charts are vertically oriented, so that the ydata statistics are aligned with the y-axis. Regardless of the orientation, boxchart stores the ydata values in the YData property of the BoxChart object.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'Orientation','horizontal')

Example: b.Orientation = 'horizontal';

ColorGroupWidth — Color group width

scalar value in range [0, 1]

Since R2025a

Color group width, specified as a scalar value in the range [0, 1]. Specify a value close to 1 to decrease the space between each color grouping. If you do not specify ColorGroupWidth, the function calculates its value automatically.

If you specify ColorGroupLayout="overlaid":

• The function ignores the value of ColorGroupWidth.

• You can adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping by specifying BoxWidth.

Example: 0.5

Data Types: single | double

ColorGroupWidthMode — How ColorGroupWidth is set

"auto" (default) | "manual"

Since R2025a

How the ColorGroupWidth property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — MATLAB controls the value of ColorGroupWidth by calculating it automatically.

• "manual" — You set the value of ColorGroupWidth manually, either by specifying a value when you create a BoxChart object or by setting ColorGroupWidth on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of ColorGroupWidth manually, MATLAB changes the value of the ColorGroupWidthMode property to "manual".

Data Types: string | char

ColorGroupLayout — Color group layout

"grouped" (default) | "overlaid"

Since R2025a

Color group layout, specified as "grouped" or "overlaid". By default, the box charts in each color grouping are plotted next to each other. The width of each box chart depends inversely on the number of colors (that is, unique values in color data) specified in the cgroupdata input argument of the boxchart function.

If you specify ColorGroupLayout="overlaid":

• The box charts in each color grouping are plotted on top of each other.

• The function ignores the value of ColorGroupWidth.

• You can adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping by specifying BoxWidth.

Data Types: string | char

Color and Styling

BoxFaceColor — Box color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Box color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name. The box includes the box edges and median line. To specify the color of the box edges and median line separately, you can use the BoxEdgeColor property. To specify the color of the median line only, use the BoxMedianLineColor property.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• 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].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxFaceColor','red')

Example: b.BoxFaceColor = [0 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.BoxFaceColor = '#EDB120';

BoxFaceColorMode — How BoxFaceColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

How the BoxFaceColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of BoxFaceColor by using the SeriesIndex property of the BoxChart object and the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• 'manual' — You control the value of BoxFaceColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting BoxFaceColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of BoxFaceColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the BoxFaceColorMode property to 'manual'.

BoxEdgeColor — Box edge color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Box edge color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name. The box edges include the median line. To specify the median line color separately, use the BoxMedianLineColor property.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• 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].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxEdgeColor','none')

Example: b.BoxEdgeColor = [0 0 0];

Example: b.BoxEdgeColor = '#7E2F8E';

BoxEdgeColorMode — How BoxEdgeColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

How the BoxEdgeColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of BoxEdgeColor by setting it equal to the BoxFaceColor property of the BoxChart object.

• 'manual' — You control the value of BoxEdgeColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting BoxEdgeColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of BoxEdgeColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the BoxEdgeColorMode property to 'manual'.

BoxMedianLineColor — Box median line color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Box median line color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• 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].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxMedianLineColor','black')

Example: b.BoxMedianLineColor = [1 0 0];

Example: b.BoxMedianLineColor = '#7E2F8E';

BoxMedianLineColorMode — How BoxMedianLineColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

How the BoxMedianLineColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of BoxMedianLineColor by setting it equal to the BoxEdgeColor property of the BoxChart object.

• 'manual' — You control the value of BoxMedianLineColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting BoxMedianLineColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of BoxMedianLineColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the BoxMedianLineColorMode property to 'manual'.

WhiskerLineColor — Whisker color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Whisker color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• 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].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'WhiskerLineColor','r')

Example: b.WhiskerLineColor = [0.25 0.5 0.5];

Example: b.WhiskerLineColor = '#A2142F';

BoxFaceAlpha — Box fill transparency

0.2 (default) | scalar in range [0,1]

Box fill transparency, specified as a scalar in the range [0,1]. A value of 1 is opaque and 0 is completely transparent. Values between 0 and 1 are semitransparent.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'BoxFaceAlpha',0.4)

Example: b.BoxFaceAlpha = 0.4;

WhiskerLineStyle — Whisker style

'-' (default) | '--' | ':' | '-.' | 'none'

Whisker style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Line Style	Description	Resulting Line
"-"	Solid line
"--"	Dashed line
":"	Dotted line
"-."	Dash-dotted line
"none"	No line	No line

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'WhiskerLineStyle','--')

Example: b.WhiskerLineStyle = '--';

LineWidth — Box edge and whisker width

1 (default) | positive scalar

Box edge and whisker width, specified as a positive scalar in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch. The LineWidth value also controls the width of the median line.

Example: b = boxchart(rand(10,1),'LineWidth',1.5)

Example: b.LineWidth = 1.5;

SeriesIndex — Series index

positive whole number | "none"

Series index, specified as a positive whole number or "none". This property is useful for reassigning the box color (BoxFaceColor), outlier color (MarkerColor), box edge color (BoxEdgeColor), and box median line color (BoxMedianLineColor) of several BoxChart objects so that they match each other. By default, the SeriesIndex property of a BoxChart object is a number that corresponds to the creation order of the object, starting at 1.

MATLAB uses the number to calculate an index for assigning colors when you call plotting functions. The index refers to the rows of the array stored in the ColorOrder property of the axes. MATLAB automatically updates the box color or outlier color of the BoxChart object when you change its SeriesIndex, or when you change the ColorOrder property on the axes.

A SeriesIndex value of "none" corresponds to a neutral color that does not participate in the indexing scheme. (since R2023b)

However, the following conditions must be true for the changes to have any effect:

• Either the BoxFaceColorMode or the MarkerColorMode property of the BoxChart object is set to 'auto'.

• The SeriesIndex property on the BoxChart object is greater than 0.

• The NextSeriesIndex property on the axes object is greater than 0.

Additionally, if the BoxEdgeColorMode property of the BoxChart object is set to 'auto', then MATLAB updates the box edge color with the value of the box face color. If the BoxMedianLineColorMode property of the BoxChart object is also set to 'auto', then MATLAB updates the box median line color with the value of the box edge color.

Markers

MarkerStyle — Outlier style

'o' (default) | '+' | '*' | '.' | 'x' | ...

Outlier style, specified as one of the options listed in this table.

Marker	Description	Resulting Marker
"o"	Circle
"+"	Plus sign
"*"	Asterisk
"."	Point
"x"	Cross
"_"	Horizontal line
"|"	Vertical line
"square"	Square
"diamond"	Diamond
"^"	Upward-pointing triangle
"v"	Downward-pointing triangle
">"	Right-pointing triangle
"<"	Left-pointing triangle
"pentagram"	Pentagram
"hexagram"	Hexagram
"none"	No markers	Not applicable

Example: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerStyle','x')

Example: b.MarkerStyle = 'x';

MarkerSize — Outlier size

6 (default) | positive scalar

Outlier size, specified as a positive scalar in point units. One point equals 1/72 inch.

Example: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerSize',8)

Example: b.MarkerSize = 8;

MarkerColor — Outlier color

RGB triplet | hexadecimal color code | color name | short name

Outlier color, specified as an RGB triplet, hexadecimal color code, color name, or short name.

For a custom color, specify an RGB triplet or a hexadecimal color code.

• 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].

• A hexadecimal color code is a string scalar or character vector that starts with a hash symbol (#) followed by three or six hexadecimal digits, which can range from 0 to F. The values are not case sensitive. Therefore, the color codes "#FF8800", "#ff8800", "#F80", and "#f80" are equivalent.

Alternatively, you can specify some common colors by name. This table lists the named color options, the equivalent RGB triplets, and the hexadecimal color codes.

Color Name	Short Name	RGB Triplet	Hexadecimal Color Code	Appearance
"red"	"r"	[1 0 0]	"#FF0000"
"green"	"g"	[0 1 0]	"#00FF00"
"blue"	"b"	[0 0 1]	"#0000FF"
"cyan"	"c"	[0 1 1]	"#00FFFF"
"magenta"	"m"	[1 0 1]	"#FF00FF"
"yellow"	"y"	[1 1 0]	"#FFFF00"
"black"	"k"	[0 0 0]	"#000000"
"white"	"w"	[1 1 1]	"#FFFFFF"
"none"	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	No color

This table lists the default color palettes for plots in the light and dark themes.

Palette	Palette Colors
"gem" — Light theme default Before R2025a: Most plots use these colors by default.
"glow" — Dark theme default

You can get the RGB triplets and hexadecimal color codes for these palettes using the orderedcolors and rgb2hex functions. For example, get the RGB triplets for the "gem" palette and convert them to hexadecimal color codes.

RGB = orderedcolors("gem");
H = rgb2hex(RGB);

Before R2023b: Get the RGB triplets using RGB = get(groot,"FactoryAxesColorOrder").

Before R2024a: Get the hexadecimal color codes using H = compose("#%02X%02X%02X",round(RGB*255)).

Example: b = boxchart([rand(10,1);2],'MarkerColor','magenta')

Example: b.MarkerColor = [0.5 0.5 1];

Example: b.MarkerColor = '#7E2F8E';

MarkerColorMode — How MarkerColor is set

'auto' (default) | 'manual'

How the MarkerColor property is set, specified as one of these values:

• 'auto' — MATLAB controls the value of MarkerColor by selecting a color from the ColorOrder property of the axes.

• 'manual' — You control the value of MarkerColor manually, either by specifying a color when you create a BoxChart object, or by setting MarkerColor on the object after creating it.

If you change the value of MarkerColor manually, MATLAB changes the value of the MarkerColorMode property to 'manual'.

Data

XData — Position data

numeric vector | categorical vector

Position data, specified as a numeric or categorical vector.

• If YData is a vector, then XData is a vector of the same length as YData. The XData(i) value indicates the position of the box chart created using the YData(i) value.

• If YData is a matrix, then XData is a vector whose length equals the number of columns in YData. The XData(i) value indicates the position of the box chart created using the column YData(:,i).

By default, XData controls the box chart positions along the x-axis. However, when the Orientation property value is 'horizontal', the XData values correspond to positions along the y-axis.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64 | categorical

XDataMode — How XData is set

"auto" | "manual"

How the XData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — The XData property updates automatically when:

  • You pass a table to boxchart during creation. XData is based on the SourceTable and XVariable properties. If the XVariable property is empty, the function uses default values to set XData.

  • You do not pass xgroupdata to boxchart during creation. The function uses default values to set XData.

• "manual" — The XData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass data values as vectors or matrices to boxchart during creation.

YData — Sample data

numeric vector | numeric matrix

Sample data, specified as a numeric vector or matrix.

Data Types: single | double | int8 | int16 | int32 | int64 | uint8 | uint16 | uint32 | uint64

YDataMode — How YData is set

"auto" | "manual"

How the YData property is set, specified as one of these values:

• "auto" — The YData property updates automatically based on the SourceTable and YVariable properties. This is the case when you pass a table to boxchart during creation.

• "manual" — The YData property is set directly and does not update automatically. This is the case when you pass data values as vectors or matrices to boxchart during creation.

Table Data

Since R2025a

SourceTable — Source table

table | timetable

Source table containing the data to plot, specified as a table or timetable.

XVariable — Table variable containing positional grouping data

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the positional grouping data, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the XData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

YVariable — Table variable containing sample data

string scalar | character vector | pattern | numeric scalar | logical vector | vartype()

Table variable containing the sample data, specified using one of the indexing schemes from the following table. The variable you specify can contain numeric, categorical, datetime, or duration values. When you set this property, MATLAB updates the YData property.

This table lists the different indexing schemes you can use to specify the table variable.

Indexing Scheme	Examples
Variable name: A string scalar or character vector. A pattern object. The pattern object must refer to only one variable.	"A" or 'A' — A variable named A "Var"+digitsPattern(1) — The variable with the name "Var" followed by a single digit
Variable index: An index number that refers to the location of a variable in the table. A logical vector. Typically, this vector is the same length as the number of variables, but you can omit trailing 0 or false values.	3 — The third variable from the table [false false true] — The third variable
Variable type: A vartype subscript that selects a table variable of a specified type. The subscript must refer to only one variable.	vartype("double") — The variable containing double values

Legend

DisplayName — Legend label

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Legend label, specified as a character vector or string scalar. The legend does not display until you call the legend command. If you do not specify the text, then legend sets the label using the form 'dataN'.

Annotation — Include object in legend

Annotation object

Include the object in the legend, specified as an Annotation object. Set the underlying IconDisplayStyle property of the Annotation object to one of these values:

• "on" — Include the object in the legend (default).

• "off" — Do not include the object in the legend.

For example, to exclude the BoxChart object named obj from the legend, set the IconDisplayStyle property to "off".

obj.Annotation.LegendInformation.IconDisplayStyle = "off";

Alternatively, you can control the items in a legend using the legend function. Specify the first input argument as a vector of the graphics objects to include. If you do not specify an existing graphics object in the first input argument, then it does not appear in the legend. However, graphics objects added to the axes after the legend is created do appear in the legend. Consider creating the legend after creating all the plots to avoid extra items.

Interactivity

Visible — State of visibility

"on" (default) | on/off logical value

State of visibility, specified as "on" or "off", or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of "on" is equivalent to true, and "off" is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• "on" — Display the object.

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

DataTipTemplate — Data tip content

Read-only: DataTipTemplate object

This property is read-only.

Data tip content, specified as a DataTipTemplate object. For a list of properties, see DataTipTemplate Properties.

You can use the datatip function to modify aspects of the data tips (see Tips). However, setting properties with the datatip function has no effect on the DataTipTemplate property.

Note

The DataTipTemplate object is not returned by findobj or findall, and it is not copied by copyobj.

ContextMenu — Context menu

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array (default) | ContextMenu object

Context menu, specified as a ContextMenu object. Use this property to display a context menu when you right-click the object. 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.

Selected — Selection state

'off' (default) | on/off logical value

Selection state, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• 'on' — Selected. If you click the object 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 object.

• 'off' — Not selected.

SelectionHighlight — Display of selection handles

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Display of selection handles when selected, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• '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'.

Clipping — Clipping of object to axes limits

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Clipping of the object to the axes limits, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

• A value of 'on' clips parts of the object that are outside the axes limits.

• A value of 'off' displays the entire object, even if parts of it appear outside the axes limits. Parts of the object might appear outside the axes limits if you create a plot, set hold on, freeze the axis scaling, and then create the object so that it is larger than the original plot.

The Clipping property of the axes that contains the object must be set to 'on'. Otherwise, this property has no effect. For more information about the clipping behavior, see the Clipping property of the axes.

Callbacks

ButtonDownFcn — Mouse-click callback

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

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

• Clicked object — Access properties of the clicked object from within the callback function.

• Event data — Empty argument. 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 Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

Note

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

CreateFcn — Creation function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object creation function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB creates the object. MATLAB initializes all property values before executing the CreateFcn callback. If you do not specify the CreateFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default creation function.

Setting the CreateFcn property on an existing component has no effect.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being created using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

DeleteFcn — Deletion function

'' (default) | function handle | cell array | character vector

Object deletion function, specified as one of these values:

• Function handle.

• Cell array in which the first element is a function handle. Subsequent elements in the cell array are the arguments to pass to the callback function.

• Character vector containing a valid MATLAB expression (not recommended). MATLAB evaluates this expression in the base workspace.

For more information about specifying a callback as a function handle, cell array, or character vector, see Create Callbacks for Graphics Objects.

This property specifies a callback function to execute when MATLAB deletes the object. MATLAB executes the DeleteFcn callback before destroying the properties of the object. If you do not specify the DeleteFcn property, then MATLAB executes a default deletion function.

If you specify this property as a function handle or cell array, you can access the object that is being deleted using the first argument of the callback function. Otherwise, use the gcbo function to access the object.

Callback Execution Control

Interruptible — Callback interruption

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Callback interruption, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

This property determines if a running callback can be interrupted. 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.

MATLAB determines callback interruption behavior whenever it executes a command that processes the callback queue. These commands include drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, and pause.

If the running callback does not contain one of these commands, then no interruption occurs. MATLAB first finishes executing the running callback, and later executes the interrupting callback.

If the running callback does contain one of these commands, then the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback determines if the interruption occurs:

• If the value of Interruptible is 'off', then no interruption occurs. Instead, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines if the interrupting callback is discarded or added to the callback queue.

• If the value of Interruptible is 'on', then the interruption occurs. The next time MATLAB processes the callback queue, it stops the execution of the running callback and executes the interrupting callback. After the interrupting callback completes, MATLAB then resumes executing the running callback.

Note

Callback interruption and execution behave differently in these situations:

• If the interrupting callback is a DeleteFcn, CloseRequestFcn, or SizeChangedFcn callback, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the running callback is currently executing the waitfor function, then the interruption occurs regardless of the Interruptible property value.

• If the interrupting callback is owned by a Timer object, then the callback executes according to schedule regardless of the Interruptible property value.

Note

When an interruption occurs, MATLAB does not save the state of properties or the display. For example, the object returned by the gca or gcf command might change when another callback executes.

BusyAction — Callback queuing

'queue' (default) | 'cancel'

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

The BusyAction property determines callback queuing behavior only when both of these conditions are met:

• The running callback contains a command that processes the callback queue, such as drawnow, figure, uifigure, getframe, waitfor, or pause.

• The value of the Interruptible property of the object that owns the running callback is 'off'.

Under these conditions, the BusyAction property of the object that owns the interrupting callback determines how MATLAB handles the interrupting callback. These are possible values of the BusyAction property:

• 'queue' — Puts the interrupting callback in a queue to be processed after the running callback finishes execution.

• 'cancel' — Does not execute the interrupting callback.

PickableParts — Ability to capture mouse clicks

'visible' (default) | 'none'

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

• 'visible' — Capture mouse clicks when visible. The Visible property must be set to 'on' and you must click a part of the BoxChart object 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 BoxChart object responds to the click or if an ancestor does.

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

HitTest — Response to captured mouse clicks

'on' (default) | on/off logical value

Response to captured mouse clicks, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

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

• 'off' — Trigger the callbacks for the nearest ancestor of the BoxChart object that meets one of these conditions:

  • HitTest property is set to 'on'.

  • PickableParts property is set to a value that enables the ancestor to capture mouse clicks.

Note

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

BeingDeleted — Deletion status

Read-only: on/off logical value

This property is read-only.

Deletion status, returned as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

MATLAB sets the BeingDeleted property to 'on' when the DeleteFcn callback begins execution. The BeingDeleted property remains set to 'on' until the component object no longer exists.

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

Parent/Child

Parent — Parent

Axes object | Group object | Transform object

Parent, specified as an Axes, Group, or Transform object.

Children — Children

empty GraphicsPlaceholder array | DataTip object array

Children, returned as an empty GraphicsPlaceholder array or a DataTip object array. Use this property to view a list of data tips that are plotted on the chart.

You cannot add or remove children using the Children property. To add a child to this list, set the Parent property of the DataTip object to the chart object.

HandleVisibility — Visibility of object handle

"on" (default) | "off" | "callback"

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

• "on" — Object handle is always visible.

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

• "callback" — 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 object at the command line, but permits callback functions to access it.

If the 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. Examples of such functions include the get, findobj, gca, gcf, gco, newplot, cla, clf, and close functions.

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

Identifiers

Type — Type of graphics object

Read-only: 'BoxChart'

This property is read-only.

Type of graphics object, returned as 'BoxChart'. Use this property to find all objects of a given type within a plotting hierarchy, such as by searching for the type using findobj.

Tag — Object identifier

'' (default) | character vector | string scalar

Object identifier, specified as a character vector or string scalar. You can specify a unique Tag value to serve as an identifier for an object. When you need access to the object elsewhere in your code, you can use the findobj function to search for the object based on the Tag value.

UserData — User data

[] (default) | array

User data, specified as any MATLAB array. For example, you can specify a scalar, vector, matrix, cell array, character array, table, or structure. Use this property to store arbitrary data on an object.

If you are working in App Designer, create public or private properties in the app to share data instead of using the UserData property. For more information, see Share Data Within App Designer Apps.

Version History

Introduced in R2020a

R2025a: Box widths are calculated based on input data

If you do not specify BoxWidth when you create a BoxChart object, MATLAB calculates the box width according to your data. In previous releases, the default value of BoxWidth was 0.5.

R2025a: Properties that support plotting from tables

Modify box charts created with table data using the SourceTable, XVariable, and YVariable properties.

The XDataMode and YDataMode properties control how MATLAB manages your data.

R2025a: Customize whisker and color group appearance

You can further customize the appearance of box chart whiskers as well as color groups using these properties:

• CapWidth — Set the width of the whisker end caps.

• ColorGroupWidth — Adjust the space between each box chart color grouping.

• ColorGroupLayout — Specify whether to group or overlay the box charts in each color grouping.

• BoxWidth — Adjust the space between each overlaid color grouping.

R2025a: Control selection and clipping behavior

BoxChart objects have these additional properties: Selected, SelectionHighlight, and Clipping. You can view and modify these interactivity properties in the Property Inspector. To open the Property Inspector, enter inspect in the Command Window.

R2023b: Opt out of automatic color selection with SeriesIndex="none"

Opt out of automatic color selection for BoxChart objects by setting the SeriesIndex property to "none". When you specify "none", the BoxChart object has a neutral color.

To enable automatic color selection again, set the SeriesIndex property to a positive whole number.

R2023a: Create callback functions and context menus

Specify these properties to define your own callback functions or context menus for a box chart:

• ContextMenu — Create a context menu that appears when you right-click the box chart.

• ButtonDownFcn — Define a callback function that executes when you click the box chart.

• CreateFcn — Define a callback function that executes when the box chart is created.

• DeleteFcn and BeingDeleted — Define a callback function that executes when the box chart is deleted, and query whether the box chart is being deleted.

• Interruptible and BusyAction — Manage callback queuing.