3D Hover Options in Python/v3

How to customize 3d hover options in python with Plotly.

Note: this page is part of the documentation for version 3 of Plotly.py, which is not the most recent version.
See our Version 4 Migration Guide for information about how to upgrade.

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In [1]:

import plotly.plotly as py
import plotly.graph_objs as go

import pandas as pd

Customize Hover for Spikelines¶

By default, Plotly's 3D plots display lines called "spikelines" while hovering over a point. These lines project from the hover point to each of the three axes' normal planes and then extend from those projection data points to the planes' wall boundaries.

In [2]:

import plotly.plotly as py
import plotly.graph_objs as go

import numpy as np

data = [go.Scatter3d(
    x=np.random.randn(50),
    y=np.random.randn(50),
    z=np.random.randn(50),
)]

layout = go.Layout(
    scene=go.layout.Scene(
        xaxis=go.layout.scene.XAxis(
            spikecolor='#1fe5bd',
            spikesides=False,
            spikethickness=6,
        ),
        yaxis=go.layout.scene.YAxis(
            spikecolor='#1fe5bd',
            spikesides=False,
            spikethickness=6,
        ),
        zaxis=go.layout.scene.ZAxis(
            spikecolor='#1fe5bd',
            spikethickness=6,
        ),
    )
)

fig = go.Figure(data=data, layout=layout)
py.iplot(fig, filename='hover-spikelines')

Out[2]:

Customize Hover for Surface Contours¶

In addition to spikelines, Plotly 3D Surface plots also display surface contours on hover by default. These are customized by styling the contours attribute in the surface trace.

In [3]:

import plotly.plotly as py
import plotly.graph_objs as go

x = [10,20,30,40]
y = [0,1,2,3]
z = [[2,2,2,3],
     [1,1,1,1],
     [1,1,0,0],
     [0,0,0,0]]

data = [go.Surface(
    opacity=0.9,
    x=x,
    y=y,
    z=z,
    contours=go.surface.Contours(
        x=go.surface.contours.X(
            highlight=True,
            highlightcolor="#41a7b3",
        ),
        y=go.surface.contours.Y(highlight=False),
        z=go.surface.contours.Z(highlight=False),
    )
)]

layout = go.Layout(
    scene=go.layout.Scene(
        xaxis = go.layout.scene.XAxis(showspikes=False),
        yaxis = go.layout.scene.YAxis(showspikes=False),
        zaxis = go.layout.scene.ZAxis(showspikes=False),
    )
)

fig = go.Figure(data=data, layout=layout)
py.iplot(fig, filename='hover-surface-contours')

Out[3]:

Reference¶

See https://plotly.com/python/reference/#layout-scene and https://plotly.com/python/reference/#surface-contours for more information and options!