# Automatic adjustment of ticks when zooming with Plots.jl
**URL:** https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055
**Category:** Visualization
**Tags:** pyplot, plots, plotlyjs, inspectdr
**Created:** [July 25, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055 "2017-07-25T11:37:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@mzaffalon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/mzaffalon)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2017, 11:37am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055/1 "2017-07-25T11:37:58Z")
In `Plots.jl` using `pyplot` as the backend, when I zoom in the plot using the pan/zoom button, the axes ticks are not automatically adjusted as `PyPlot`, nor the x,y coordinates at the bottom left of the plot window are displayed.
Is there a way of obtaining this in `Plots.jl`?
---
### Author:  [@MA\_Laforge](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/MA_Laforge)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055/2 "2017-07-30T03:30:18Z")
You might want to try out a different backend. Each one has very different underlying behaviours (Plot.jl tries to achieve the similar _outputs_ only).
Choosing a backend: [https://juliaplots.github.io/backends/](https://juliaplots.github.io/backends/)
Of course, I suggest trying the InspectDR.jl backend:
```julia-auto
using Plots
inspectdr() #use InspectDR
#pyplot() #instead of pyplot
plot(1:100,rand(100))
```
- InspectDR was designed with interactivity in mind. For example, you can always box-zoom in on plots by using the right mouse button.
- InspectDR is faster at plotting than PyPlot. It is more noticeable with larger datasets… especially if you draw using only lines (without symbols).
See more on mouse/keybindings: [GitHub - ma-laforge/InspectDR.jl: Fast, interactive Julia/GTK+ plots (+Smith charts +Gtk widget +Cairo-only images)](https://github.com/ma-laforge/InspectDR.jl#Bindings)
### Limitations
InspectDR is mostly limited to 2D plots. Among other things, it does not support:
- 3D plots
- Heatmaps
---
### Author:  [@dalarev](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/dalarev)
#### Post date: [February 10, 2021, 1:50pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055/3 "2021-02-10T13:50:04Z")
Nice, I was also looking for a fix to OP’s issue and InspectDR works well so far. Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@MA\_Laforge](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/MA_Laforge)
#### Post date: [February 13, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/automatic-adjustment-of-ticks-when-zooming-with-plots-jl/5055/4 "2021-02-13T16:07:19Z")
I had forgotten about this post. That’s great to hear @dalarev!
### FYI: How to get it to work with PyPlot
Apparently, this behaviour _ **can** _ be achieved with PyPlot if you set options:
```julia-auto
pyplot(ticks=:native)
```
or if you set the option in your plot command:
```julia-auto
plot(x, y, [other args here], ticks=:native)
```
I checked with the maintainers of Plots.jl, and it appears the intent of `ticks=:native` is indeed to use PyPlot’s own internal programming to display ticks (which auto-adjusts as you zoom):
→ [https://github.com/JuliaPlots/Plots.jl/issues/3263](https://github.com/JuliaPlots/Plots.jl/issues/3263)
### PyPlot bug warning
Having said that, there still appears to be a bug with how Plots.jl controls the PyPlot backend. Specifically, it has issues displaying tick labels when `ticks=:native`, for some reason:
→ [pyplot(ticks=:native) doesn't use native ticks · Issue #3284 · JuliaPlots/Plots.jl · GitHub](https://github.com/JuliaPlots/Plots.jl/issues/3284)