3D Axes in R

How to format axes of 3d plots in R with Plotly.

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Range of Axes

library(plotly)

axx <- list(
  nticks = 4,
  range = c(-25,75)
)

axy <- list(
  nticks = 4,
  range = c(-25,75)
)

axz <- list(
  nticks = 4,
  range = c(0,50)
)

x <- 70*(runif(70, 0, 1))
y <- 55*(runif(70, 0, 1))
z <- 40*(runif(70, 0, 1))

fig <- plot_ly(x = ~x, y = ~y, z = ~z, type = 'mesh3d') 
fig <- fig %>% layout(scene = list(xaxis=axx,yaxis=axy,zaxis=axz))

fig

Fixed Ratio Axes

library(plotly)

# custom grid style
axx <- list(
  gridcolor='rgb(255, 255, 255)',
  zerolinecolor='rgb(255, 255, 255)',
  showbackground=TRUE,
  backgroundcolor='rgb(230, 230,230)'
)

# individual plots
fig1 <- plot_ly(z = ~volcano, scene='scene1') 
fig1 <- fig1 %>% add_surface(showscale=FALSE)

fig2 <- plot_ly(z = ~volcano, scene='scene2') 
fig2 <- fig2 %>% add_surface(showscale=FALSE)

fig3 <- plot_ly(z = ~volcano, scene='scene3') 
fig3 <- fig3 %>% add_surface(showscale=FALSE)

fig4 <- plot_ly(z = ~volcano, scene='scene4') 
fig4 <- fig4 %>% add_surface(showscale=FALSE)

# subplot and define scene
fig <- subplot(fig1, fig2, fig3, fig4) 
fig <- fig %>% layout(title = "3D Subplots",
         scene = list(domain=list(x=c(0,0.5),y=c(0.5,1)),
                      xaxis=axx, yaxis=axx, zaxis=axx,

                      # select the type of aspectmode
                      aspectmode='cube'),
         scene2 = list(domain=list(x=c(0.5,1),y=c(0.5,1)),
                       xaxis=axx, yaxis=axx, zaxis=axx,
                       aspectmode='data'),
         scene3 = list(domain=list(x=c(0,0.5),y=c(0,0.5)),
                       xaxis=axx, yaxis=axx, zaxis=axx,
                       aspectmode='auto'),
         scene4 = list(domain=list(x=c(0.5,1),y=c(0,0.5)),
                       xaxis=axx, yaxis=axx, zaxis=axx,
                       aspectmode='manual',

                       # set your manual fixed aspect ratio
                       aspectratio = list(x=1, y=1, z=2)))

fig

Set Axes Title

library(plotly)

axx <- list(
  title = "X AXIS TITLE"
)

axy <- list(
  title = "Y AXIS TITLE"
)

axz <- list(
  title = "Z AXIS TITLE"
)

x <- 70*(runif(70, 0, 1))
y <- 55*(runif(70, 0, 1))
z <- 40*(runif(70, 0, 1))

fig <- plot_ly(x = ~x, y = ~y, z = ~z, type = 'mesh3d') 
fig <- fig %>% layout(scene = list(xaxis=axx,yaxis=axy,zaxis=axz))

fig

Ticks Formatting

library(plotly)

axx <- list(
  ticketmode = 'array',
  ticktext = c("Huey", "Dewey", "Louie"),
  tickvals = c(0,25,50),
  range = c(-25,75)
)

axy <- list(
  nticks = 4,
  range = c(-25,75)
)

axz <- list(
  nticks = 4,
  range = c(0,50)
)

x <- 70*(runif(70, 0, 1))
y <- 55*(runif(70, 0, 1))
z <- 40*(runif(70, 0, 1))

fig <- plot_ly(x = ~x, y = ~y, z = ~z, type = 'mesh3d') 
fig <- fig %>% layout(scene = list(xaxis=axx,yaxis=axy,zaxis=axz))

fig

Background and Grid Color

library(plotly)

axx <- list(
  backgroundcolor="rgb(200, 200, 230",
  gridcolor="rgb(255,255,255)",
  showbackground=TRUE,
  zerolinecolor="rgb(255,255,255"
)

axy <- list(
  backgroundcolor="rgb(230, 200,230)",
  gridcolor="rgb(255,255,255)",
  showbackground=TRUE,
  zerolinecolor="rgb(255,255,255"
)

axz <- list(
  backgroundcolor="rgb(230, 230,200)",
  gridcolor="rgb(255,255,255)",
  showbackground=TRUE,
  zerolinecolor="rgb(255,255,255"
)

x <- 70*(runif(70, 0, 1))
y <- 55*(runif(70, 0, 1))
z <- 40*(runif(70, 0, 1))

fig <- plot_ly(x = ~x, y = ~y, z = ~z, type = 'mesh3d') 
fig <- fig %>% layout(scene = list(xaxis=axx,yaxis=axy,zaxis=axz))

fig

Reference

See https://plotly.com/r/reference/#layout-scene-xaxis for more information and options!

What About Dash?

Dash for R is an open-source framework for building analytical applications, with no Javascript required, and it is tightly integrated with the Plotly graphing library.

Learn about how to install Dash for R at https://dashr.plot.ly/installation.

Everywhere in this page that you see fig, you can display the same figure in a Dash for R application by passing it to the figure argument of the Graph component from the built-in dashCoreComponents package like this:

library(plotly)

fig <- plot_ly() 
# fig <- fig %>% add_trace( ... )
# fig <- fig %>% layout( ... ) 

library(dash)
library(dashCoreComponents)
library(dashHtmlComponents)

app <- Dash$new()
app$layout(
    htmlDiv(
        list(
            dccGraph(figure=fig) 
        )
     )
)

app$run_server(debug=TRUE, dev_tools_hot_reload=FALSE)