Horizontal radio buttons #13374

mromanie · 2019-02-06T08:22:02Z

PR Summary

Add the option to have horizontal RadioButtons. A new optional keyword argument 'direction' is introduced to control it. The new parameter defaults to 'vertical' for backwards compatibility.

PR Checklist

Has Pytest style unit tests
Code is Flake 8 compliant
New features are documented, with examples if plot related
Documentation is sphinx and numpydoc compliant
Added an entry to doc/users/next_whats_new/ if major new feature (follow instructions in README.rst there)
Documented in doc/api/api_changes.rst if API changed in a backward-incompatible way

lib/matplotlib/widgets.py

jklymak · 2019-02-06T23:39:24Z

flake8 needs to pass 😉 https://travis-ci.org/matplotlib/matplotlib/jobs/489577517

NelleV

Thanks for the PR @mromanie !
Here are a couple of comments. I'll do a more thorough review once these are addressed.

Can you in addition add a what's new entry? See doc/users/next_whats_new/README.rst

NelleV · 2019-02-06T23:40:55Z

lib/matplotlib/widgets.py

+            The orientation of the buttons: 'vertical' (default), or 'horizontal'.
        """
+        if orientation not in ['vertical', 'horizontal']:
+            raise ValueError("Invalid RadioButton orientation: %s" % orientation)


Can you add what are the possible values here?
Can you also add a mock test to make sure it runs, as well as a test to make sure this exception is raised properly.

I also think we need to update the examples to show case this (examples/widgets/radio_buttons.py)

We have a shortcut function to check options like this and raise an appropriate error now, cbook._check_in_list

NelleV · 2019-02-06T23:42:09Z

lib/matplotlib/widgets.py

        activecolor : color
            The color of the selected button.
+        orientation : str
+            The orientation of the buttons: 'vertical' (default), or 'horizontal'.


The keyword being a bit confusing here, I think it's worth detailing a bit more what orientation means (which is the set of radio buttons are on the same horizontal axis or vertical axis).

NelleV · 2019-02-06T23:44:24Z

For the failing flake8 test, I would suggest adding the check directly to your text editor.

timhoffm · 2019-02-16T20:00:38Z

Milestoning 3.2 as there has not been activity recently. @mromanie are you still interested to work on this?

mromanie · 2019-02-17T17:43:09Z

@timhoffm Apologies for my inactivity. I am indeed still very much interested in working on this. In fact, I think I managed to do it properly by using patches.Ellipse instead of patches.Circle and stretching them to look circular using the aspects of the axes and figure. In this way, the entire surface of the buttons is sensitive, unlike the current implementation with patches.Circle.

I still need to clean up the auto-scaling of the size of the symbols, which at the moment still results in the symbols to overlap under certain circumstances, and I'll submit the whole lot for review. Shall I use the same PR for this?

ImportanceOfBeingErnest · 2019-02-17T19:38:21Z

What about using a PathCollection with a circle marker, such that cicles always stay circles independent on the figure- or axes- dimension or aspect?

mromanie · 2019-02-17T20:18:23Z

@ImportanceOfBeingErnest I'm not familiar with PathCollection, so I don't know what are the advantages/disadvantages. The gist of what I have implemented is as follows, which seems to do a reasonable job:

fig = ax.get_figure()
fh, fw = fig.get_figheight(), fig.get_figwidth()
rpos = ax.get_position().get_points()
rscale = (rpos[:,0].ptp() / rpos[:,1].ptp()) * (fw / fh)
circle_radius = 0.25
p = Ellipse(xy=(0.15, y), width=circle_radius, height=circle_radius*rscale, edgecolor='black', facecolor=facecolor, transform=ax.transAxes)

Plus a couple more things to make it backwards compatible. Like I said earlier, setting circle_radius to a fixed value is not always satisfactory and I' fine-tuning it.

mromanie · 2019-02-17T21:12:04Z

...forgot to say, the condition to activate the Ellipse button is:

((xy[0] - p.get_center()[0])/p.width)**2 + ((xy[1] - p.get_center()[1])/p.height)**2 <= 1

ImportanceOfBeingErnest · 2019-02-17T21:21:28Z

If you plot a scatter plot with circular markers (marker="o") you may have noticed that those markers will stay circles even if you resize the figure, change the aspect or zoom into the plot. This is achieved inside the PathCollection by defining the circle path in display coordinates and using an offset transform to shift those circles at the respective positions in data coordinates. I would think the same can be done here. The advantage compared to the strategy above would be that the bullets will keep their size when resizing the figure after it has first appeared on screen.
In addition, checking the clicks on the bullets could be simplified by using a pick_event.

mromanie · 2019-02-18T09:54:23Z

OK, thanks!

All things considered, I would stick to the solution with Ellipse because:

Zooming is disabled for the axes containing the RadioButtons.
It is true that the Ellipse looses its circular shape when the entire window is resized, but I'm not sure that this is a problem.
The solution entails minimal changes wrt the current implementation.
It is straightforward to make it backwards-compatible by mimicking the current behaviour.

ImportanceOfBeingErnest · 2019-03-11T13:15:10Z

Not sure what the status is here. Since someone asked a question about horizontal buttons on stackoverflow, I thought it might be worth showing a solution over there: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/55095111/displaying-radio-buttons-horizontally-in-matplotlib/55102639#55102639

Of course this could also be used for this update.

QuLogic · 2020-10-03T03:47:15Z

This looks mostly done, but needs a rebase and a small tweak to the checks. The squashing is something that affects vertical buttons too, so could be a separate PR.

rbroders · 2025-03-12T00:09:45Z

Are you guys still working on this? Its been 5 years for what seems like a trivial (but very useful) feature

doronbehar · 2025-03-12T07:55:14Z

I'm using this patch locally and it has been working fine for me for a while now.

mromanie · 2025-03-12T12:23:02Z

Yeah, sorry: I originated this and then overlooked to complete it. Anything I should do now? Thanks! Ciao, Martino -- Due to my own family/work balance, you may receive emails from me outside of normal working hours. I do not expect a response from you outside of your own working pattern, nor do I expect an immediate response when you are working. From: Doron Behar ***@***.***> Reply to: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Date: Wednesday, 12. March 2025 at 08:56 To: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Cc: Martino Romaniello ***@***.***>, Mention ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [matplotlib/matplotlib] Horizontal radio buttons (#13374) This email was sent from outside of ESO from the address ***@***.***. If it looks suspicious, please report it to ***@***.*** I'm using this patch locally and it has been working fine for me for a while now. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#13374 (comment)>, or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE5K2YYOOHOR4BRYUT6QMVD2T7R7RAVCNFSM6AAAAABY2HAI2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDOMJWHE3DCNBXGI>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***> [Image removed by sender. doronbehar]doronbehar left a comment (matplotlib/matplotlib#13374)<#13374 (comment)> I'm using this patch locally and it has been working fine for me for a while now. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#13374 (comment)>, or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE5K2YYOOHOR4BRYUT6QMVD2T7R7RAVCNFSM6AAAAABY2HAI2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDOMJWHE3DCNBXGI>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

timhoffm · 2025-03-12T13:38:04Z

lib/matplotlib/widgets.py

            .. versionadded:: 3.7
+        layout_direction : {'vertical', 'horizontal'}
+            The orientation of the buttons: 'vertical' places buttons from top
+            to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right.


Suggested change

to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right.

to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right, distributing

the buttons across the whole Axes. The Axes is divided into equal-sized

boxes, and each button is left-aligned in the box. There is currently no

size check with the associated labels, so that long labels may overlap

with the next box.

Sorry, I did not check what this actually does:

I strongly think we should follow standard conventions that labels are right of the button not above, because I consider the unusual layout a UX issue. See also #27946 (comment).

timhoffm · 2025-03-12T17:02:36Z

lib/matplotlib/widgets.py

+            The orientation of the buttons: 'vertical' places buttons from top
+            to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right.
+
+            .. versionadded:: 3.10


Suggested change

.. versionadded:: 3.10

.. versionadded:: 3.11

github-actions · 2025-06-06T02:13:11Z

Since this Pull Request has not been updated in 60 days, it has been marked "inactive." This does not mean that it will be closed, though it may be moved to a "Draft" state. This helps maintainers prioritize their reviewing efforts. You can pick the PR back up anytime - please ping us if you need a review or guidance to move the PR forward! If you do not plan on continuing the work, please let us know so that we can either find someone to take the PR over, or close it.

story645 · 2025-06-06T14:40:17Z

It looks like there isn't much left to do here, @mromanie do you have the bandwidth to do so or are you okay w/ someone else closing this out?

timhoffm · 2025-06-06T15:24:32Z

It looks like there isn't much left to do here

Um, I disagree #13374 (comment)

mromanie · 2025-06-06T15:26:58Z

I’m off for three weeks now, so I’d be very happy with someone closing this out … thanks!

…

-- Due to my own family/work balance, you may receive emails from me outside of normal working hours. I do not expect a response from you outside of your own working pattern, nor do I expect an immediate response when you are working. From: hannah ***@***.***> Reply to: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Date: Friday, 6. June 2025 at 16:40 To: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Cc: Martino Romaniello ***@***.***>, Mention ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [matplotlib/matplotlib] Horizontal radio buttons (#13374) This email was sent from outside of ESO from the address ***@***.***. If it looks suspicious, please report it to ***@***.*** [Image removed by sender.]story645 left a comment (matplotlib/matplotlib#13374)<#13374 (comment)> It looks like there isn't much left to do here, @mromanie<https://github.com/mromanie> do you have the bandwidth to do so or are you okay w/ someone else closing this out? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#13374 (comment)>, or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE5K2Y2H7GWEDE7C7QSEOVL3CGR6PAVCNFSM6AAAAABY2HAI2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDSNBZGQ3TKMRRGI>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

story645 · 2025-06-06T15:54:16Z

It looks like there isn't much left to do here

Um, I disagree #13374 (comment)

To me put labels next to rather than on top reads like a relatively small/clear change if there's agreement that that should be the position.

What am I missing here?

mromanie · 2025-06-06T16:02:40Z

My two cents … I had put them on top to make the layout more compact and save space, I think, but either way is fine …

…

-- Due to my own family/work balance, you may receive emails from me outside of normal working hours. I do not expect a response from you outside of your own working pattern, nor do I expect an immediate response when you are working. From: hannah ***@***.***> Reply to: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Date: Friday, 6. June 2025 at 17:54 To: matplotlib/matplotlib ***@***.***> Cc: Martino Romaniello ***@***.***>, Mention ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [matplotlib/matplotlib] Horizontal radio buttons (#13374) This email was sent from outside of ESO from the address ***@***.***. If it looks suspicious, please report it to ***@***.*** [Image removed by sender.]story645 left a comment (matplotlib/matplotlib#13374)<#13374 (comment)> It looks like there isn't much left to do here Um, I disagree #13374 (comment)<#13374 (comment)> To me put labels next to rather than on top reads like a small change if there's agreement that that should be the position. What am I missing here? — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#13374 (comment)>, or unsubscribe<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AE5K2Y7WHZ6EZ25PZCGLBRD3CG2T3AVCNFSM6AAAAABY2HAI2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHMZDSNBZG4ZDENRSHA>. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

timhoffm · 2025-06-06T16:40:53Z

o me put labels next to rather than on top reads like a relatively small/clear change if there's agreement that that should be the position.

What am I missing here?

That depends on your size of small 😆. Putting the buttons above the text a bit simpler because you only calculate the centers and center-align text and button to these coordianates. For horizontal, you have to think a bit more: What is the starting point for each buttom+text group, how much offset does the text need from the button? It's not terribly complicated, but needs a bit more effort.

marko-pi · 2025-10-22T15:11:32Z

For my purposes, I would prefer the labels to the right of the circles. Horizontal radio buttons are supposed to be used when vertical space is limited. Placing labels above the circles reduces the efficiency of the solution.
It can also be used instead of dropdown menus, which also do not exist.
Is there any chance that this will be implemented soon?

timhoffm · 2025-10-22T18:01:06Z

Is there any chance that this will be implemented soon?

This is not a priority of the core developers. So unless somebody steps up to contribute, it won’t be implemented soon.

story645 · 2025-10-22T18:34:18Z

So unless somebody steps up to contribute, it won’t be implemented soon.

Just to add to this, one way to contribute is to take over this orphaned PR and get it to the finish line by addressing/implementing the feedback in #13374 (comment)

The RadioButtons widget now supports arranging buttons in a 2D grid by passing a list of lists of strings as the labels parameter. Each inner list represents a row in the grid. Key features: - Active index and index_selected remain as single integers for the flattened array (reading left-to-right, top-to-bottom) - Column positions are automatically calculated based on the maximum text width in each column for optimal spacing - Text offset is now consistent between 1D and 2D layouts (0.10) - Includes new example: galleries/examples/widgets/radio_buttons_grid.py Closes matplotlib#13374 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

doronbehar · 2025-12-01T13:02:30Z

I implemented this feature slightly more generally in:

{Radio,Check}Buttons: Add 2D grid labels layout support #30803

Reviews are welcome :).

The RadioButtons widget now supports arranging buttons in a 2D grid by passing a list of lists of strings as the labels parameter. Each inner list represents a row in the grid. Key features: - Active index and index_selected remain as single integers for the flattened array (reading left-to-right, top-to-bottom) - Column positions are automatically calculated based on the maximum text width in each column for optimal spacing - Text offset is now consistent between 1D and 2D layouts (0.10) - Includes new example: galleries/examples/widgets/radio_buttons_grid.py Closes matplotlib#13374 🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code) Co-Authored-By: Claude <[email protected]>

timhoffm reviewed Feb 6, 2019

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anntzer added the topic: widgets/UI label Feb 7, 2019

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QuLogic modified the milestones: v3.4.0, v3.5.0 Jan 27, 2021

jklymak added the status: needs rebase label May 8, 2021

jklymak marked this pull request as draft May 8, 2021 17:07

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QuLogic force-pushed the horizontalRadioButtons branch from f76df0a to b82537a Compare August 21, 2024 22:08

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doronbehar mentioned this pull request Dec 1, 2025

{Radio,Check}Buttons: Add 2D grid labels layout support #30803

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-            to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right.
+            to bottom, 'horizontal' places buttons from left to right, distributing
+            the buttons across the whole Axes. The Axes is divided into equal-sized
+            boxes, and each button is left-aligned in the box. There is currently no
+            size check with the associated labels, so that long labels may overlap
+            with the next box.

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Horizontal radio buttons #13374

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Horizontal radio buttons #13374

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mromanie commented Feb 6, 2019

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