Subplot spacing adjustment in Matplotlib - Step-by-Step Execution

Concept Flow - Subplot spacing adjustment

Create figure and subplots

↓

Plot data on each subplot

↓

Adjust spacing parameters

↓

Render figure with new spacing

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Display or save figure

This flow shows creating subplots, plotting data, adjusting spacing between them, and then displaying the figure.

Execution Sample

Matplotlib

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
fig, axs = plt.subplots(2, 2)
fig.subplots_adjust(hspace=0.5, wspace=0.3)
axs[0,0].plot([1,2,3], [1,4,9])
plt.show()

Creates a 2x2 grid of plots, adjusts vertical and horizontal spacing, plots data on top-left subplot, then shows the figure.

Execution Table

Step	Action	Parameter Changed	Value	Effect on Layout
1	Create figure and 2x2 subplots	None	None	4 subplots arranged in 2 rows and 2 columns with default spacing
2	Adjust vertical spacing (hspace)	hspace	0.5	Increases vertical space between rows
3	Adjust horizontal spacing (wspace)	wspace	0.3	Increases horizontal space between columns
4	Plot data on axs[0,0]	None	None	Data plotted on top-left subplot
5	Render and display figure	None	None	Figure shown with adjusted subplot spacing

💡 All steps complete, figure displayed with new subplot spacing

Variable Tracker

Variable	Start	After Step 1	After Step 2	After Step 3	Final
fig	None	Figure with 4 subplots	Figure with adjusted hspace=0.5	Figure with adjusted wspace=0.3	Final figure ready to display
axs	None	2x2 array of Axes objects	Unchanged	Unchanged	Unchanged

Key Moments - 2 Insights

Why do we need to call fig.subplots_adjust after creating subplots?

Because default subplot spacing can be too tight, fig.subplots_adjust lets us increase space between plots to avoid overlap, as shown in steps 2 and 3 in the execution_table.

What happens if we set hspace or wspace to 0?

Subplots will have no space between rows or columns, causing axes labels or titles to overlap, which is why positive values like 0.5 or 0.3 are used in steps 2 and 3.

Visual Quiz - 3 Questions

Look at the execution_table, what is the value of wspace after step 3?

A 0.5

B Default (usually 0.2)

C 0.3

D 1.0

💡 Hint

Check the 'Parameter Changed' and 'Value' columns at step 3 in execution_table.

At which step is data plotted on the top-left subplot?

A Step 4

B Step 2

C Step 1

D Step 5

💡 Hint

Look at the 'Action' column in execution_table for when plotting occurs.

If we set hspace to 0, how would the layout effect change compared to step 2?

A More vertical space between rows

B No vertical space between rows

C More horizontal space between columns

D No horizontal space between columns

💡 Hint

Refer to the 'Effect on Layout' column for hspace in execution_table step 2.

Concept Snapshot

Subplot spacing adjustment:
- Use fig.subplots_adjust(hspace=val, wspace=val)
- hspace controls vertical space between rows
- wspace controls horizontal space between columns
- Default spacing may cause overlap
- Adjust before plt.show() to see effect

Full Transcript

This visual execution shows how to adjust spacing between subplots in matplotlib. First, we create a figure with a 2x2 grid of subplots. Then, we increase vertical spacing using hspace=0.5 and horizontal spacing using wspace=0.3 with fig.subplots_adjust. Next, we plot data on the top-left subplot. Finally, we render and display the figure with the new spacing. Adjusting subplot spacing helps prevent overlapping labels and makes the figure clearer.